1. Arranging a Date (p. 51)
by @Electric Lotus
She looked up at him. "You doing this blind date for your family?"
"Yep. You, too?"
"Yea. So, what's the situation?"
"Age 39, widow, engineer."
"Age 38, divorced, teacher."
Next they exchanged photos, and talked about personalities and interests.
"Very good. Pick a time and I'll bring her over."
"OK, great. Your uniform – Red Star Elementary?"
"Right, fifth grade. You?"
"We're schoolmates. I'm in sixth grade."
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2. Blind Date (p. 51)
by @Just Love Me Once
I'd been diagnosed with cancer, but he was very caring towards me. I didn't want to make things tough for him, so I suggested that we break up. He didn't respond at first.
Next day he told me he had a blind date. He wanted me to come along to help him check out the girl. I told him I would, even though I wasn't really up for it. I cried all that evening.
Next day he took me to a coffee shop. He had me sit facing him. After a moment he stood up and held out his hand to me.
"Hello, Miss!"
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3. The Collector (p. 117)
by @Seaside Blogger
The wife had kept the letter from thirty years ago. It was his first love letter to her.
He was so moved that his hand trembled, and tears came to his eyes.
She smiled at him as he took the letter and very carefully put it back in its place.
"Good thing I didn't get the stamp wet," he kept muttering, over and over.
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4. Diehard Gamblers (p. 61)
by @Zhang Chunfeng
A: Bet we'll be chiseling rocks today.
B: I bet we'll be digging potatoes.
Prison Guard: You two are facing death and you can't quit your gambling!
….
A: Well, I bet you eat a bullet.
B: I bet you're sentenced to hang.
They were both right. A few days later, they were on their way to their executions.
A: One last time. I bet when you eat the bullet, you'll fall backwards, face up.
B: And I bet, when you're hanging, your head will droop to the left.
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5. The Final Bet (p. 60)
by @Autumn Leaves Invite the Moon
He was terminally ill, and she was half dead from crying.
"Let's make a bet," he said. "Take a guess, which one of my eyes will close first?"
She wouldn't guess. "C'mon," he pressed.
"The left one." She trembled as she said it.
"If you lose, you've got to do what I ask. Smile the rest of your life, and no more tears permitted."
She nodded. "And you've got to do what I say, if you lose. You're not allowed to leave me."
He nodded, with a good deal of effort, and then closed both eyes.
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6. First Love Reunion (p. 117)
by @Son's Country
He'd kept the photo all along, the one he'd taken with her in high school. Later he heard she'd gotten married. He was heartbroken for a long time.
Then he saw her at a class reunion. That pure, smiling face was tightly covered under a layer of high quality makeup. He chatted with her for a while about the old days, but she seemed uninterested.
"You mean," she said coquettishly, "you still think of me?"
"No," he said. "I just think about my first love. It's a kind of feeling – nothing to do with you."
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7. Keys (p. 207)
by @Heart Song
When he was young, he was jealous of the keys hanging on a ring at his father's waist, clitter-clattering. Every key was able to open his curiosity.
When he got to middle age, he was jealous of the keys on a ring in his boss's hand, flapping and clicking. There were only three of them, but they could open the world that he looked forward to, a world of power and wealth and beauty.
And then in the evening of his life, there was only one key that he really wanted to get. It would click softly when turned; it would open the lock on the yoke that held his spirit, and give him a new life.
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8. A Kiss (p. 48)
By @Soda Hero
They looked at each other tenderly, he and she, and gazed into each other's eyes without a sound. The fire of love burned hotter and hotter in his eyes. Suddenly he rushed forward, with no regard for anything else, and frantically kissed her face.
"That's enough of that!" With some difficulty, the matchmaker pulled him back onto his seat and looked at her, sitting there as shy as ever.
"How about it," the matchmaker asked, "are you happy with this handsome fellow?" She looked up innocently, her eyes glistening. Finally she made up her mind, opened her mouth, and said, "Arf!"
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9. Love Me? (p. 207)
by @Long Hair Unruly
The pair of hot lips started to move around again. The room was enshrouded with the air of a dubious relationship. Burl sighed deeply as he stuck out his hand and squeezed Maple tightly around the throat. Deep in his eyes was a jade-green spring.
"Do you love me, Maple?"
"Yes. I love you more than my own life."
"So you'd give up your life for me?"
"Anytime, if you need it."
A thin smile showed on the corner of Burl's mouth, a razor blade ready for use on his tongue....
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10. Love That Girl (p. 48)
By Ancient Oil Lamp
She was all red in the face when they came to see me. Her beloved daughter Zhuzhen, a college freshman, was with them.
The man was 6 years older than her. They were chatting happily, and me, the wedding planner, I was chuckling to myself. It looked so hopeful!
When they were getting ready to leave, the man took me aside to say thanks. "That girl is so pure," he said. "I like her so much!"
I was stunned. "The one you want, it's the daughter?"
He frowned at me, his old man's face full of scorn. "Of course. Who'd see anything special in that old lady?"
That's when I stopped being a wedding planner.
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11. My Old Girlfriend (p. 50)
by @Green Moss
Today I had to go on a blind date with a girl named Blue. When we met at the restaurant I was surprised to hear my old girlfriend's voice. I stood up and pretended to take a casual look around the place.
What a coincidence, she was at the next table. Fortunately she didn't see me.
She was having a loud argument with Mr. Current. She was crying and said she wanted to look me up, to get back together. Her boyfriend dared her to give me a phone call right then and there.
I told Blue I was going to the bathroom and rushed off, but in my haste I left my cell phone laying on the table. By the time I got back, both Blue and my old girlfriend were gone. I wonder what happened.
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12. The Performer (p. 102)
by @Deer Circle Wolves Howl
The street was boiling with a babble of voices as the monkey leapt up and down under its trainer's whip. It turned somersaults and climbed onto bushes and up poles, sometimes igniting a burst of cheers from the onlookers who crowded around. By the time the sound of the gong rang out, the flat basket in front of the trainer had been filled with coppers thrown in by the throng.
Only one person, a boy seven or eight years old, walked over to where the monkey was crouching. He watched silently as the performer, who had so recently been the focus of the crowd's attention, sat rubbing the wounds on its body.
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13. Perseverance (p. 60)
by @Cold and Empty
They were having an anti-gambling meeting in the village. It was boring and gradually people dropped out.
Only Wang Two, an inveterate gambler, stuck with it. Everybody thought that was strange and figured he must have reformed.
Presently the meeting ended, and Wang Two came home happy as a clam. "I knew all along," he said, smugly, "that I'd make money at the meeting. I put down three handfuls and didn't hit. I stayed in and put down another handful, and just like I figured, I won a big pot. It's really true, hard work and determination pay off!"
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14. The Pet (p. 28)
by @Mansioneer
The boy used to pat the plum mark on its head when it was young. "You're my pet," he told it. But the villagers made him take it back to the forest on the mountain.
One day when the boy was up on the mountain hunting, he was chased by a wild boar. He was just about done for when a gray wolf jumped out and savagely attacked the boar. The boar was beaten and ran away.
The wolf then rushed toward the boy. Terrified, he pulled the trigger and the wolf fell to the ground. The gentle look in its eyes gradually glazed over. The boy's eyes opened wide when he saw the striking mark on its head, a plum flower, red as blood….
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15. Saving the Boss (p. 207)
by @Zhu Daoneng
The reporter hurried to the hospital to interview the worker who had covered his boss's body with his own during the earthquake. "You suffered serious injuries in order to save your boss. Do you have any regrets?" he asked.
The worker shook his head.
"What were you thinking at the time," the reporter continued.
The worker was quiet for a long while, lost in thought, and then said, "I wasn't thinking of anything, except to save the boss. He owes me over six thousand Yuan, and the money's earmarked for my kid's tuition this semester. If he'd died...."
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16. Shoelaces (p. 207)
by @Bamboo in the Pond
His shoelaces kept coming undone. Whenever it happened, she'd squat down and quickly tie them for him. Then, much to her satisfaction, he would take her hand in his.
Truth is, she really hoped he would help her tie her laces for once. Unfortunately, her laces never came loose.
One day he squatted down in front of her all of a sudden and pulled her laces loose, then very meticulously tied them up for her.... She was amazed.
"In any romantic scenario I can make for you," he said, "if even one little bit is lacking, it's regrettably imperfect."
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17. Tiptoes / Ballet Dancer (p. 103)
by @Slow South
I'm often on my toes when I'm onstage, because I'm a ballet dancer.
But even before I became a ballet dancer, my mom and dad were often on their toes. We were poor when I was young, so they had to get up at the crack of dawn and work until all hours of the night. When they came home late at night, mom would always tell dad to walk on his tiptoes, so as not to make noise and wake me up.
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18. The Women He Loves (p. 49)
by @Shao Fujun
She finally agreed to meet him, in front of the kindergarten. They would each carry a rose. She got there first and began chatting with a little girl.
"Mama, look behind you," the girl said in surprise. A man was standing there, smiling, with a rose in his hand.
"You saw all that?" she asked calmly.
"Yeah. Actually, I had a feeling."
"And you still came?"
"A fortune teller told me I'd live with two women I loved. Now I understand."
To get Chinese text by return email, send name of story to jimmahler1@yahoo.com
1. Arranging a Date
2. Blind Date
3. Collector, The
4. Diehard Gamblers
5. Final Bet, The
6. First Love Reunion
7. Keys
8. Kiss, A
9. Love Me?
10. Love That Girl
11. My Old Girlfriend
12. Performer, The
13. Perseverance
14. Pet, The
15. Saving the Boss
16. Shoelaces
17. Tiptoes
18. Women He Loves, The
Stories Magazine 2012 New Wave Mini-Story Contest Winners (page 3)
All Stories from 故会事•新浪微故事大赛
上海锦绣文章出版社 (at page # in parentheses)
Chinese Stories in English