The narrator tells us that it's been a year since he signed the contract to live with his aunt. He's now 25 years old, and he's afraid that people will no longer recognize him as the "15-year-old" he once was. Aunt Mei, the woman who agreed to take care of him when he moved in, has also changed: she seems to have aged a bit too fast. She's also decided to cut his allowance by half, so that he can spend less on clothes and makeup. The narrator can't believe that she's cutting his allowance, but he doesn't understand why she'd want to waste money on makeup and clothes when she can earn it herself washing dishes. He wonders why she would want to show off her "quick aging" when she could just go out and do the same thing for others. He also wonders if he'll be an old lady by the time this contract is over. He wants to cancel it, but she won't let him do so.