The chapter opens with the narrator's mother, who is overjoyed to find out that her son is in love with lingwei. The narrator tells us that his parents are traveling in Africa, and that his mom has been secretly caring for him. He says that auntie has been worrying about him all this time, just like they've been concerned about her. It's not his fault, he says, because it's his fault that he ran away from the professor. He tells the narrator that he was just a "young fool" when he first met the professor and that he's had his eyes on him ever since. The professor says that he will bring the child to him when he gets well, but that he has to go back to work right now. He also says that his father is now having "deadly cancer" . He warns the narrator not to drink or smoke, and not to be careless. He then tells the story of how his first auntie is mean and selfish, and how his second auntie is a polite girl. He goes on to say that his second aunt is his father's son, and his first aunt is a "gentlewoman" , and so on.