The scene opens on the eve of New Year's Eve, with the dog and the old man walking together. The old man tells the dog that he has not heard from the young woman for two weeks, and that she has just left for China. The dog, who has been suffering from hyper-thymesia for the past few years, asks the old dog what is going on, and the dog responds by saying that his back hurts when he bumps into him like that. He then asks the dog to listen to him, and when the dog does, he says that he likes him very much. The editor of the novel asks where the young man has been, and he replies that he hasn't been home for a long time. He says that his hometown has changed, and his parents have changed too. The conflict with his parents is not as serious as it used to be, he tells the editor, because he was too stubborn, and naive before. He also wants to face his parents in a better state of mind, so that he can decide what he wants to do with his life. The young man says that the court has ruled that he is not liable for the death of his son, but that he will try to obtain his Ph.D. in psychology. The two men argue about whether or not the parents of the dead boy are still appealing, and finally the dog says that they are too full of themselves to come near him.