In this chapter, we are introduced to Mr. qiu, a student at an unnamed elementary school in Shanghai. He has just returned from a trip to the Middle East, where he met with Mr. Gadani, a friend of Gadani's, and Mr. Hamdan, another friend of Hamdan's. The two men discuss the events of the previous day, when Mr. Gualtieri, a teacher at the school, refused to allow Mr. Huan, another student, to play with his friend, Mr. Ganymede, because the boy was involved in a fight with another student. Mr. Han, another teacher, was also present at the fight, but he did not intervene.