In this chapter, we are introduced to a young man named Caius, who has just returned from a trip to China with his older brother. Caius tells his younger brother that he has come to China to visit his father, who is a well-known physician. The two men discuss Caius's recent marriage, and Caius reveals that he was once in love with a woman named Lin, whom he had met in a bar in Shanghai. He tells Caius that he is sorry that he did not realize his true feelings for her for five years, but that he wishes that he had known her when he was younger. He asks Caius to tell him what has happened, and the two men agree to do so.