In this chapter, the young man and the young woman discuss the events of the novel, which takes place in the northern kingdom of China. The young man, Ming, is imprisoned for his part in the conspiracy to overthrow the southern emperor, and Ming is accused of helping him escape. Three months later, Ming is killed by the northern emperor, who blames Ming for his death. Ming and Ming return to the palace and Ming tells Ming that he is upset because he walked too close to Ming. Ming says that he would never dare touch Ming because the wives of Ming's male leads were off-wife. Ming replies that Ming is not gay and that he likes the male performer from the show they watched today. Ming asks Ming to sing a song and Ming agrees to try it.