The chapter opens with a soliloquy by Rourou, who tells his mother that he wants to stay in Paris. He wants to be closer to his mother and to be with his son, who is more dependent on him than on his father. Rourou's mother tells him that he can stay if he wants, but she warns him that they will be worried if he does not leave. They promise to take care of him, and she promises that she will visit him anytime she wants. The chapter ends with an exchange between Rourou and his mother, in which she says that she wants to give her grandfather an "overall physical examination" without being noticed.