What you just heard,
is Beethoven's No.3 Piano concerto.
Played by the young pianist
Miss Tan Wei-Ching.
As you know,
Miss Tan is having her concert at the concert hall
tomorrow night.
She just returned today.
She is very busy,
But luckily,
We invited her to our program,
To talk to the classical music fans
in the air.
Hello,
Hello, Miss Tan. - Please put me to extention number 2681.
Hello, everyone.
Hello,
can I speak to Jian Lan Shin from the cultural vision?
Hey Lan Shin, I am Jia-Li
Do you know the pianist who just returned,
Tan Wei-Ching?
After the concert tomorrow,
I will go to the Japan.
How long have your travel abroad?
13 Years.
Wow! 13 years. - Right.
Is this your first time back to Taiwan?
Yes
How come it take so long? Are you busy at work?
At first I stayed in school
practice a lot.
I also participated several competitions in Europe.
There are many competions in a year.
One after another.
I need to gain more experience.
Then I started to played in concert, one after another.
Can you tune for me? The touch is loose.
Of course. But, it'll take time.
Can you start now and finish tonight?
Certainly.
The hotel room is settled.
They found the luggage. It's in your room now.
This is for you, from the hotel.
What's wrong?
It's nothing.
My sister is bringing me clean clothes.
How come she's not here yet?
She's in Taipei?
Just moved up.
That's right. High school starts a week earlier than we do.
Look at that dummy!
Jia-Li, over here...
This is Ching-Ching. Tan Wei-Ching
Hello.
Cat got your tongue? Introduce yourself!
Jia... I'm Lin Jia-Li.
Are you OK?
Just a little tired. I think I'll go back to my hotel.
The press conference is at three.
The limousine will be at the hotel at five-thirty,
then to dinner and the concert hall by seven.
There's a cocktail party in your honor after the performance.
We must leave no later than nine in the morning...
Our Cathay Pacific Flight 450 leaves for Tokyo at 10:50 a.m.
And we arrive three hours later...
Don't forget the press at three.
Birgit come over.
Hi
You're back.
Father.
How is the weather in Taipei?
It seems so much hotter than usual this year.
This is the photo I took in competition when I was little.
Is this you?
Yes.
This is Jia Sen.
He was the champion.
And this?
I don't remember.
He looks like his mom.
They said I look like dad.
Agree.
I didn well in pathology and analysis.
But when it comes to dissection,
I always feel...
Don't worry.
I'll give you a little practice during the vacation.
But you must force yourself to watch during surgery.
The closer you look
the quicker you'll get used to it.
How do you like it?
What did you say?
Do you feel at home here?
It's fine.
Just smells a little like a hospital.
Can we cancel this afternoon's press conference?
I'll see what I can do...
But why?
There's someone I must go and see.
It's that hotel message, isn't it?
I don't know if I should go or not.
You go if you think you should.
But remember,
A pianist should concentrate on the performance.
Relax and I'll take care of the press conference.
How did you find me?
From a journalist friend.
Hot coffee.
How long has it been?
13 years.
You left in a hurry.
I'm not even sure when you left.
The scholarship was a bit of a surprise.
School was starting and they expected me in Vienna right away.
I was in a rush.
I guess a lot of water has passed under the bridge...
But I think you ought to know.
I tried more than once to get in touch with you.
I wanted to tell you...
Is Ching-Ching home, Mrs. Tan?
No, she's not in.
When will she be back?
I'm not sure. She's been getting in very late lately.
It was only later I heard you'd gone to Europe.
Do you remember
the summer before my college freshman year?
Come on. Choose one.
Call it my graduation gift.
Go ahead dummy!
My paycheck can take it.
It's from Ching-ching.
What's up?
Can't bare to go home and leave Ching-ching?
Home to dinner with Dr. Chen.
Still trying to set you up with his daughter?
Dr. Chen and dad were at medical school together in Japan.
They grew up together.
Chen's practive
is as well-known as Dad's.
School starts in July, doesn't it, Jia Sen?
So it's settled.
You'll exchange rings with Wan-jen in early July,
and we'll set the wedding for the Autumn festival.
Or should we wait another month until Confucius' Day?
Everyone has a day or two off.
They will be able to come.
What do you think?
It's fine if you don't have other oppinions.
Then Tetso can attend his sister's wedding before he goes overseas.
Tetso, if possible,
you'll have you Ph. D, in four years.
Jia-li will graduate at that time.
I'll be out of another wedding gift!
I hardly even know Wan-jen.
If you marry Wan-jen,
what about Ching-Ching?
It's not fair.
What's your problem?
You know.
Jia-sen is taking the whole thing very sensibly.
Jia-sen?
He certainly knew how to let himself off the hook.
No, I shouldn't have said that.
What chance do we have
when it comes to honor... face.
It's all so superficial.
Sometimes my hypocrisy scares me.
The way we protect ourselves is phoney.
Like insects changing its colors.
To tell the truth, I had no desire to go abroad.
All I ever wanted was to make a little money teaching,
and wait for your brother graduate.
But we broke up.
Everything changed.
All that was left was the music.
And all I wanted was to leave.
I know you came looking for me,
but what use was there in meeting?
Words couldn't change a thing.
Is Ching-ching home, Mrs. Tan?
No, she isn't in.
Will she be back soon?
I'm not sure. She's been getting in very late.
Please give this letter on to her.
Sure. - Thank you.
Goodbye.
This is for you.
I hadn't the courage to see you to this very day!
Married?
Your parent's choice?
What're you having?
It's Ah-Tsai.
Ah-Tsai! Over here!
Sit here!
I'm Ah-Tsai.
This is Chen De-Wei. What do they call you?
Lin Jia-li. Western Languages.
Interested?
Not specially.
All right!
Afterwards?
This dump is mine, now.
Everything you see is mine.
I can hardly hear myself think.
My old man picked up the mortgage
when a friend of his went broke.
Now the old man's passing it on to me.
No power?
No water.
Little fucker couldn't pay. They cut if off eons ago.
When do you move in?
Who knows.
Possibly next week
My old man might have to mortgage it himself!
Creep!
De-wei is a bit of a childish.
But he's straight, and that has its advantages.
No matter what,
At least he won't walk out,
unless you drop him first.
Take a chance
You can always find someone else,
if you're not satisfied.
And he'll always be around,
if you don't find anything better.
De-wei'll be training all summer.
What about you? Going home?
Let's get together before you go
Bye!
Are you all done with your finals?
One more to go.
Ah-Tsai stole his Dad's money to play the market.
His old man caught him, now he's afraid to go home.
I'm leaving for the army tomorrow.
I know
Your family never interfered?
Father was a little more tactful with me.
As soon as I graduated.
He rented out the Taipei house
I had no choice but to move back home.
It was only with De-wei gone off to the army
that I realized he wasn't there anymore, I was kind of dazed.
At that time,
I hardly know what I was doing.
Four years of college were over just like that
Like everyone else,
I took a toefl tested and applied to schools,
I don't know what I really want.
De-wei wrote me often during his service;
He's no poet,
but his letters gave me
a sense of contentment.
But two years is a long time to wait,
and he often asked me
to meet him in Taipei.
Come, Jia-li.
An American Ph.d. In just four and half years.
Tetso's no fool.
Your father always hoped you would marry such a man.
You should keep that in mind,
and think a little of your future.
It's hard to imagine a more satisfying day in my whole life!
Dr. Chen and I have agreed
on an August engagement.
Jia-li can then go abroad with Tetso
just in time for school.
A son and a daughter.
It's all settled.
So that's a great weight off my mind.
My ideas have changed a lot since college.
People say I have matured.
I think it's more a question of the way
we'd idealize things
and the extent of our ambition.
And now?
I try not to expect too much of the future.
I don't ask much,
Just hope for
a share of the small pleasures of life.
Like a good piece of music
or a letter from old team-mates back in college.
But I have no right to be telling you what to do.
What can I possibly tell you?
I just wanted to know are you happy?
First tell me what you call "happiness?"
With all that education
you should know what happiness is.
De-wei it's for you!
Have a sit.
I'll arrange a couple of tickets for my concert.
Bring De-wei along.
Not tonight.
I... let me put it this way
Something happened three years ago.
I remember it so clearly-like that morning.
The air so fresh and full of promise.
For the first time in my life I knew
a kind of contentment.
I could almost smell the greenness of the leaves.
I walked all the way home.
I hadn't felt so good in ages.
But the moment I walked in the apartment door.
The maid told me
the police had found De-wei on some beach;
Drowned.
The duty officer will be a while.
He's getting some coastguard frogmen
to drag for your husband's body.
How did it happen?
It's none of my business, really.
But as far as I can tell...
I'd collected my nets
and was on my way home last night around dusk.
There was this city guy;
tall and skinny... sitting over there;
I could see it clear as day, he was frowning.
I saw him too, it was darker now.
I thought it was strange
to go swimming at that time of day.
I truned and looked
Later, after dinner,
must've been around eight,
When the tide was high...
We were down on the beach around dawn this morning.
And found these things of your husband's
A bottle with your husband's name.
It was... Cheng... De-wei, right?
The Duty Officer looked forever in the phonebook,
before he found that... something Luo's Health Clinic,
But I don't remember my husband going to any Dr. Luo
Do you think it might be some other Chen De-wei?
I'm not too clear.
You should ask the officer
Wait here.
He's coming.
Take care of this, will you?
Ok.
I've seen your translation, Miss Li
It's not quite what I expected
from a language major like yourself.
I don't want to tell you how to do your job
You are in charge of the translation
for all these documents in future.
Your incompetence is rather unsettling!
Come on, De-wei
You see
Come.
Hey!
What?
De-wei!
Where are you?
What the hell's happened?
Take your time.
Ah-tsai announced his marriage around this time
The eternal playboy, Ah-Tsai
with four or five girls forever in tow, marrying!
T only made sense later, when we found out
that he'd married the daughter of some big financier.
It came as no surprise when not much later
Ah-tsai was named his father-in-law's new Corporate Chairman.
Right away he strengthened his position
by gathering a loyal group of old buddies
to work with him.
De-wei and Ah-tsai had grown up together
they were closest in school or on the basketball court
they were even stationed in the same army service unit
So it was only natural
that De-wei became Ah-tsai's general manager
Morning call, Mr. Manager. Wake up, sir.
Aren't you the one who's always saying
Late managers get late workers?
Just another five minutes.
My head's killing me.
Look who's complaining.
It's not all dinner and dancing, you know
You can't imagine,
there are so many things to do.
Everyday's the same
I arrive office, take off my coat,
and the day's already done.
So I come home with this strange anxiety
that I've left so much undone
Do you like hanging around here or going to work better?
I don't have my feet up all day either, you know
Even with a maid,
there's a lot I take care of myself.
Shopping, cleaning, pressing your clothes
While you're working for others, I'm here working for us
I've been thinking of
taking a class in flower arranging
But it's still not fair
I have to get up every morning,
while you sleep in
Next time you entertain,
at least give me a call.
Pay attention, now
Fix the stem about one-third of the way in,
with the chrysanthemums at an angle of forty-five degrees
Take care with the petals to the front and back
Hsin-hsin
Jia-li
How old is your child?
Come on over.
I live nearby
Not today. De-wei will be off any minute now
So you did marry De-wei!
He's hardly ever home for dinner... he's working very hard
So I want to be there for him tonight
Promise to come and see me
in a day or two
there's so much I want to tell you!
It's true.
They will hold a singing competition?
The wife if back.
Let me help you
I am late.
We'll have to move fast
De-wei'll be home any minute
First, take a vase for the flowers
OK.
Then put the fruit in the fridge
OK.
Have her wait a moment
OK
Hello
This is he.
OK
The deal is confirmed.
Great!
We will make a fortune! Cool, a 7 milliard deal!
Let's party tonight!
Let's go!
You're still here.
I will have a look of your proposal.
Let's have dinner together.
De-wei! Move your ass
It didn't even cross your mind.
Tonight is our third anniversary.
The apartment's my mother's.
After all the crap I've been through.
I don't even end up with a place of my own!
Hush, too hot to sleep?
Shh... Grandma will fan you
All I got for my trouble was that fatherless kid.
Remember that visiting professor?
I wasted two whole years with that bastard
expecting him to take me back to the States.
Before I found out he'd been married for years
Next it was a businessman...
Ah-tsai might know the guy
He ran away and left debts.
He only left the baby.
At that time,
I don't know why I will keep the baby.
How does De-wei treat you?
De-wei's always been a straight-shooter
Remember back in college
how I'd always be telling you this and showing you that
I wish there was someone who could teach me a thing or two, now
It's beautiful.
Thank you.
You're really making progress!
Very impressive.
You have such lively color and line.
I hope you will do even more beautiful work at home
Thank you, I will.
It's me. I can't come home tonight.
I have to go first thing in the morning to look over a Taichung site.
I'll drive down there tonight.
Don't wait for me.
OK
Please.
Come one.
Stop.
No.
See, your wife
Go home, your wife if waiting.
Go home.
De-wei
Do you hear me? I'm talking to you!
What is that supposed to mean?
Are you trying to punish me?
You think I want to snoop on you like this?
It's been two years of business trips and entertaining
And not once have I questioned you, or doubted what you've said
because I know you wouldn't tolerate it
But you're gone from morning until late at night
without even a phone call sometimes
How should I know where you are? Or who you're with?
I wouldn't even know if something'd happen to you
All I can do is sit at home nursing my fears
Maybe that's all you'll ever nurse!
How often have I told you to stop worrying
and to stay out of my work space
I don't want you to interfere my work or to worry.
What did you want at the site?
You make a fool of me.
I am embarrassed.
I work day and night.
Where am I? How, for Christ's sake, don't you know?
I am working.
I'm working for us.
What do you know anyway, except how to wait for me?
What can you do?
Flower arranging!
Do you think I enjoy all this entertaining
I hate drinking.
I throw up!
All the next day, my head aches!
I always have to measure up to your standards
It's taken me so long to see just how selfish you are!
Selfish?!
If I come home to you every night for dinner,
would it make you happy?
Would I be less selfish?
What about you!
With your demands to come home to keep you company
You don't call that selfish?
De-wei,
is there no chance to get back to where we were?
Don't you even have a little time to share with me
to bring a little warmth back to our home? Are we family?
With all that I've given you
I just don't know what more you want
Yes?
Still tied-up?
Will you be off soon?
Still angry with me?
Not really
OK
What's going on?
The old woman's spot-checking?
Keep her in line, man!
Catch you tonight, our old table!
Don't come over... I'll pick you up
Where are you?
I know the place
Can I help you?
I just want to let you know I moved
Here's my new number
I'll be getting my own place uptown
As soon as this deal comes through
I will move to TienMu
Call me
Have you been getting enough sleep?
Where do you eat?
Been anywhere in particular?
What are you trying to prove?
I'm just showing a little concern.
You wouldn't be afraid if you trusted me
Jia-li
Excuse me,
Should we eat, Mrs. Cheng?
Your husband's been and gone already
I don't know you will come.
I'm glad you're here
You're just in time to identify these
Then sign your name here...
Is there anything else?
You mean they're not your husband's?
I'm not sure, I can't be certain.
You should at least recognize this.
It has his name on it.
It was with all this stuff
we found on the beach.
It could not be wrong
I spoke with this clinic on the label.
About your husband's condition
That's how I got your number.
His doctor gave it to me.
But I really don't recall
my husband seeing a psychiatrist.
I suppose he was keeping something from you.
Logically speaking,
There's no other explanation for his death.
Since he was already receiving this kind of treatment
Do you think he might have considered suicide?
Only you could really know.
Was there anything strange
About his behaviour yesterday?
I don't know.
I haven't seen him for days
She still doesn't know!
Maybe he didn't kill himself
Maybe the medicine made him drowsy, he laid down
and got carried off with the tide.
It's possible, don't you think?
Or maybe he swam way out
and couldn't make it back.
Honestly,
I know something was wrong
It's all different.
I don't know
how to find way out...
I felt
Jia-li and I are drifting further and further apart.
You know better than anyone what I...
In these few years
What I been through,
what we been throguh
is different from anything she knows
The only advice I can give you
Speaking for myself and the boys...
Don't let the external issues
influence your moods
and work
You and I are basically different
I've lived this way all my life
So I can handle this kind of thing
With one eye closed and one hand tied behind my back.
It's tough out there
You should know
This is a competetive world.
The more time you waste on your minds
The more people will surpass you.
I'll be straight with you
Don't think I will protect you if you allow personal affairs
to affect company interests
just because you're one of my right-hand men
It's for that reason
that I'll make an example of you.
What kind of future did you have in mind?
Do you call these days "happy"?
Thanks for the encouragement.
Why do you always...
Trust me a little, won't you?
Let me make a go of it. Just let me try!
De-wei, everything you say
is just one more excuse
Cut if off, Jia-li
I know you're dissatisfied at the moment
Can't you think of tomorrow for a change?
I promise things will be better
Just be patient
I don't know anymore.
You sound like you're preaching
Trust in the lord,
And all your wrongs will be right...
What the hell am I talking about? What are you talking about?
De-wei,
Maybe it's all just too trivial to worry about
For God's sake, relax.
But all I've ever prayed for is today
Let's stop all this fighting now, please
I only want to lean on you. Just rest for awhile.
I'm tired.
You'll feel a lot better
If you get away for awhile
Trust me.
In the future,
I'm going to put you
in charge of all our Asian business.
I think it'll do you good.
What do you think?
Okay
Hi! No trouble finding the place?
Are you in a hurry?
No. De-wei's abroad
I'll just finish up here
and we can get out for a breath of air
When did you move in?
A week or two ago.
He's seven years younger than me
I'd only known him a couple of weeks
when he asked me to move in
Who could have guessed
at my age?
Things like this just happened.
What about the chile?
With my mother.
You can relax in the other room.
I'll be with you in a minute.
Here
Ping-ping
This is Jia-li
and he is Ping-ping, my "old man's" best friend
Get to know each other
Hello?
Alright
What do you call that?
Just an impulse
I like your own look.
I guess it was curiosity
Ping ping is different... from others
I have no idea
What he really did
He said he'd come home to write
he'd travelled a lot- been everywhere
I suppose that's why...
he talked often of his travels
to Europe, South America, the Middle East, India, Nepal...
It's true I get around
but I haven't a penny to my name
There's no way I could ever settle down like you
But maybe marriage isn't just a question of money...
I guess I've always been this way
That's what I like about writing...
With one book I can make enough... if I sell... to go back on the road
Then I travel and collect more ideas for my next book
It's with me all the time
Like my watch
In this way
I can keep a record
Of whatever comes in to my head
Like some safe-deposit box
for all those precious moments of life.
What do you say?
I guess I've never really
thought of things that way
Perhaps not
but do you think you'll always want things to be so simple?
Why don't you come back with me tonight?
Wait here. I'll get the car.
Dad
Are you feeling well?
I'm not sure. That's why I came for this checkup.
And?
The lab report is not in yet.
How's things at home?
T's difficult to keep the practice going
Younger doctors aren't interested in private clinics;
They're not big enough, and the equipment's too old
Then there's long hours
We can't hold a candle to a big hospital
Thank god Jia-sen is about ready to take over.
But it's going to be tough on him
Excuse me, Mrs. Cheng?
Could I have a word or two with you?
I'm a colleague of De-wei's
Come in
Thank you
My name is Liu. They call me Hsiao-hui
What I am going to say
might startle you a little
But I hope you can appreciate
That I bear you no malice
I'm merely here to straighten the record.
Now
I have something here that is rightfully yours...
This is De-wei's writing.
It's addressed to you
But the letter inside is for you
I believe you should've received his letter to me!
That's hardly necessary
You can rest assured that the letter inside is mine.
He mixed the envelopes
With all the married men I've been with in the past
Tok great pains not to intrude on their family lives
But in this case,
Because of this,
I cannot walk away,
I felt obliged to speak with you frankly,
I sympathize your situations.
After all, I'm a woman too
In fact, I believe I can even help you
For your own benefit
I'd advise you to get better prepared
You must realize,
That De-wei is not exactly full of confidence
There's so much he's unsure of
And he has a habit of avoiding issues
This mistake with the letters is a perfect example.
He intentionally mixes the letters
Only he will do things like this.
On the one hand,
He wants to tell you his difficulties
On the other hand, he wants me to forgive
his inability to explain things to you.
By the time he returns
our reactions to the situation allow him a fairly simple choice.
From the beginning,
I suppose I can see
De-Wei is the most inexperience man in the company
Winning him over was my only hope
Of access to that tight group of theirs
Perhaps others will say I used him
During this period of time, however,
I've stood by him
And helped him through many difficulties
Perhaps that's just one more reason
He can't seem to do without me
I must leave
The only other thing I wanted to tell you
Is not to lose anymore sleep over De-wei and me
We're through
This whole thing
has brought me too much trouble.
And I hate trouble
Just one question. Do you love him?
I imagine that you grew up
In a very peaceful, story-book world
The world I grew up in taught me
That it's a world without love
Perhaps you will find a moment or two of passion...
But there's not much
So we've read all these books
And taken test after test
But nobody's taught us
How to handle the big questions like this
In every book, and every movie
It's always the same
They all marry and live happily ever after
But after that?
Nobody told us.
And there's no practice run or on-the-job training
I haven't slept in days.
I can't
I lie down and my mind is full of questions
De-wei will be back in a few days
But I don't know how to face him
These might help
Get a good night's rest.
At least it'll help you forget
Do you think you'll divorce De-wei?
It'd be such a waste to give up just like that
Where's Jia-li?
Where does she go?
Where am I?
I must leave.
De-wei is getting off work.
Take it easy,
Mrs. Cheng Relax, you're still weak
Just now,
When the doctor was in to see you
He left specific instructions for you to get more rest
Hsin-hsin have you been here long? - Take a good rest.
Will you keep me company?
I will.
You're the only one left
It's like we're back in school again
I'm done.
You've hardly touched it
I don't have an appetite
De-wei's here
I didn't know you were coming
Otherwise
I would've done something about the way I look...
I'm a mess
We haven't really talked for ages
Do you remember
How we'd talk half the night sometimes
I often wonder
If we know each other so well now
That there's no need for words
Or is this what marriage does to people?
Leaves them with nothing left to say?
I know
There are plenty of problems
waiting you to solve
And worries you want to forget
I know the last thing you want when you come home
Is to go through all that hassle again
But
I try... I've tried so hard
To find something else we could discuss
It's hard...
Harder than any test I can think of.
The whole society seems designe to tear husband and wife apart...
Men have their male places to go, and
women have a world of their own
Sunday is the only time left to be together.
But you said
Sunday is your basketball day.
So... what day does that leave for us?
I know people who say our problem's no kids.
I disagree.
If we can't convince even ourselves
Life means happiness and contentment
How can we ever bring a child into the world?
Come with me, I'll bring you happiness
That would be irresponsible.
Don't you agree?
These days I've been sleeping heavily
And while I was sleeping
I couldn't stop seeing these years as a dream
Our marriage was yesterday... just before I slept
We forget dreams. Don't we?
Can't we?
Mrs. Cheng...
De-wei must be busy lately
Jia-li
Come
Mom.
I am disappointing you?
Will you blame me?
I was wrong.
Mom
Have you ever been afraid?
Afraid that papa would walk out someday?
That there'd be no one to take care of you?
He's always been such a child. What is there to be afraid of?
It was I who took care of him!
I scare of nothing.
It's a change for me to make the move
instead of waiting to be walked out on
Hsiao-jiang's too young
There's so much he has yet to do
I guess I knew all along
Nothing much would come out of it
Thank God we were reasonably in control when we broke up,
No violence or bloodshed!
De-wei's pretty much the same
Even a little busier than before
He's usually not at home.
But I have this kind of premonition...
That he's going through something
Just last week he took me out walking for a change
But on the last couple of days
Who knows where he's gotten himself off to
I slowly appreciate
just how much pressure he's under
I could almost feel it in my bones this last time
He went off.
I guess I'm getting used to it
The way he comes and goes
But I think
If we can look at the bright side,
And trust each other enough
I think we'll pull through
We've found new hope and beginning
After all these years
Babe, why don't you sleep?
Why are you awake?
What's wrong
Look
What's that?
A bird.
A bird is saying good morning to babe.
Mrs. Cheng
When exactly was it
That you last saw your husband, Mrs. Cheng?
Can you describe what he was wearing?
Do you suppose he was in some kind of trouble?
Just who has he spent the last few days with?
I really have no idea!
You mean there's not a single thing
you can give us to work on?
Forget it.
Let's get on with the search. We can talk later
Let's go. - How can I make my report
with her humming and hawing like this?
All I'm asking is whether or not it's her husband!
What kind of a wife can't answer a question as simple as that?
What are they up to now?
What are you doing here?
It's a little off the beaten track, isn't it?
I wanted to talk a few things over with you.
But there's no way to call you here
Anyway, I thought I'd better tell you in person.
You know
I grew up with De-wei
We've played basketball together all our lives.
Which makes it all the more difficult for me to tell.
Befero I drove here,
I checked with the company,
No one knows what happened to the 5 billion dollars in securities
that De-wei was responsible for!
I also heard that recently
He's hussled up quite a pile of cash.
It's my guess that your house, car, and
Have all been mortgaged off
Of course these are only rumors and speculation
It'll all take a day or two to confirm
But I have a certain sixth sense about this kind of thing
He already...
Let me finish. The real news is that
He left the country a few days ago
You mean... that's not De-wei out there?
With no evidence so far
We can't jump to conclusions
Just a minute.
Who told you all of this?
I spoke to a close friend of De-wei's
After you called this morning
Not that "friend" they call Hsiao Hui, by any chance?
Everything went blank
the moment you hung up
That's not something that happens to me everyday
Hello,
I'm looking for your general manager
I've been to that beach, once or twice with De-wei.
In fact, we went there last week
Just before he went to Japan
What, he went to Japan?
You didn't know?
I thought it was you who sent him
What's he doing in Japan?
No wonder I haven't seen him around
He must be back by now
Have they found his body yet?
Not yet
But they found a medicine bottle
Which belongs to De-wei
Jia-li said it was a psychiatrist's prescription
That's what got the police onto her in the first place
That could just as easily be the bottle
De-wei dropped on the beach last week
Medicine bottle... too much of a coincidence.
If that's really his game...
What kind of medicine was it?
The doctor prescribed it...
An anxiety suppressant.
You know how De-wei.
He's been under a lot of pressure from work
And the way things are at home
Come on. Come with me to the beach
We have to let them know about this
You go ahead
I'm not going to be dragged back into that mess!
How can you refuse to become involved
When a friend is in this kind of trouble?
This whole thing with De-wei.
You've known all along, haven't you?
But you're not letting on...
Come to think of it
Who could possibly know
All that's gone on between De-wei and you?
Only you, right?
There is nothing so big or bleak at work
send him running off to a psychiatrist, taking all these medicines
What other pies have you two gotten your fingers into?
What concern is it of mine if his side interests go bust?
I'm just helping him out. Is that a crime?
Helping him out?
De-wei...
First you use De-wei then you try to capitalize on our contracts
But now you want out.
You can go it alone, huh?
Shouting's not going to change things.
Lin
I always though you were the sharpest, coolest of them all
You say De-wei went to Japan.
What's he doing in Japan?
He's not there on any business of mine.
That's for sure.
I can find out myself.
I'm going back to the office now
I warn you don't ever cross my path again
Listen sonny
You are still a baby
Go on, run to Mommy now
It wasn't till I got back to the office
That I learnt about the money.
The truth is, I feel very close to De-wei
50 million dollars can buy
Twenty-odd years of friendship
Maybe it all went too smoothly in the beginning
With business so good
Somehow De-wei got it into his head
That making money was a piece of cake
Perhaps it was my fault
I've got to go
I came to such different conclusions
On my way here.
At first, I was sure that's him out there
Then. I got thinking we'd got it all wrong
That bottle they found...
Could be the one De-wei tossed away last week
And now,
He might be fooling aournd somewhere in Taipei
However, base on my instinct
Chances like that are low
But going off to Japan like that
With all that cash in his pocket,
He'd been planning that some time now
Without anybody's knowledge
He might even have gotten himself some South American passport
So you think he's not coming back?
Let me put it this way
If it were me, I wouldn't come back
You know what I mean?
I could be wrong
There could be any number of possible explanations
Think it over, I have to go
Think of it this way, whatever the explanation
Things end up pretty much the same for you
Don't they?
Time is so overwhelming.
It's frightening
Papa died, and the clinic's dying too
The world's left us all behind
Remember the night you ran away?
We were talking here, quietly for so long
Do you remember?
I heard things aren't going too well with you and De-wei
If I had known this is what we'd become
I would never have come so naively to talk with you that night
With one thing and another, look at the state of things now
And yet, at last I know now how to set things right
Between De-wei and me
What do you have in mind?
I must give him my complete trust
Do you really trust De-wei?
The one lesson I've learnt best in life
Is that everything depends on yourself.
I depent on myself all through my life
Once, I blindly followed someone else...
You should never do that
Jia-li, once I believed too much in Papa
Look at me now
Following him
Following all this that time has left behind
But if you came to me again like you did that night you left
I don't think Id be able to tell you anything different
I know it was partly my words that gave you the courage
To leave home.
But my real intention
Was that you'd learn to rely on yourself
And come to make your own decisions
It's my guess
That you're facing the same kind of choice again now
We kept this fragile silence for a long time
Jia-li's eyes were fixed, looking out the window and beyond
She seemed to be quietly surveying all those distant meJia Senes
Or perhaps she just didn't want to look too directly at me
For fear I'd see how moved she was
Whatever the reason,
I felt it would be simply cruel to press her now
For the rest of what happened that day on the beach
Or what the investigations might have turned up
There was an emergency company meeting that
Jia-li was called to convene.
So she had to hurry off.
It was only when we were saying goodbye
That I realized
I still hadn't asked after Jia-sen
After all, that was my main motive in coming
It was only then that I learnt
Jia-sen died of cancer the previous winter
The family clinic was now an apartment block
Jia-li told me how, in his last couple of days
Jia-sen woke suddenly one day from deep sleep
It feels like the two-o'clock sun
Taking the winter away
Just like the sunlight in the spring
When even the birds are singing
Things seem to be coming to life all around me
I want so much to know it all from the start
What a violent contrast
Everything here is so cold
But my heart is hot and beating hard
With some strange,
Formless energy against that icy world
What makes it work so hard I wonder?
But, I'm happy enough
Am I wrong?
You know? Just keeping this small life going so long
Is something worth celebrating in itself
To this day, I still have no idea
Whether it was De-wei who drowned
But that's not important anymore
What really matters is that
The girl I once knew has grown into the woman
Who walked away from
That day on the beach.