I grew up in Beijing, the capital and largest city of China, so when I first came to Wooster I was a little bored. I didn’t have a car and wasn’t interested in parties, so walking around campus or playing games alone in my dorm was my only entertainment on Friday nights.

As time went on, I gradually adapted to the place. I found such a simple environment very conducive to learning, and that was the most important purpose for which I had crossed 10,000 kilometers, waited for three years (I had studied at a Chinese university and then dropped out for various reasons), and spent high tuition fees. In addition, I found that such an environment also made it very simple and I hardly spent any time struggling with others.

Even so, Wooster is nowhere near the status of Beijing in my heart, I always miss the family, friends, culture, food, easy access to transportation, etc.

But due to the overly expensive airfare and the almost month-long quarantine policy, I chose to stay here for the summer. Many other Chinese students made the same decision as I did, and it was a very special time for us because it was real-time where you “live” with your classmates (not just study together or have fun together), and we shopped, cooked, talked, walked, played board games, and had a lot of fun together every day.

This semester, I was getting more and more comfortable with the classroom. I remember that at the beginning of my freshman year, I was afraid of group discussions and presentations, and sometimes I couldn’t say a single word. Now although I am still not as good as a native speaker, but I have made a lot of progress compared to my previous self in these two tasks.

In this class (ENGL-20000) and another class called Gender, Genre, and History, I was exposed to a lot of knowledge about “power and gender”, which is rarely talked about in China nowadays, so it was an intellectual innovation for me. When I used this knowledge to look at some literary works and social issues, I gained more perspective. I hope that when I return to China, I can bring this knowledge back with me, so that more people can learn about it and understand it, and so that society can develop in a more equitable and harmonious direction.

I plan to graduate in three years, so I’m already halfway through my time here. One day, a year and a half from now, I can imagine carrying my bags into the trunk, wiping the tears from the corner of my left eye, putting on See You Again, and waiting for the driver to drive me to the airport in Cleveland.

Once I couldn’t find the direction of my future, and A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man tells me that a unique life will always be confusing, and you will eventually go to the place where you belong.

Once I felt the darkness and injustice of society, The Catcher in the Rye tells me that there is someone who guards your inner child, who can be your closest friend, your beloved brother, or maybe yourself.

Once I was confusing the meaning of love, The Great Gatsby tells me that you don’t have to think too hard about love, find a moonlight in your heart, seek they, and in the process become a better and better person.

……

Those instrumental rationalists who are running around for money and social status, please stop your boring questions once in a while. I respect your way of life, and I ask you to respect the things we love most in our hearts.

It is true that literature cannot bring us tall buildings, highways, and rich food, but it can fill the emptiness in our hearts and bring us the joy of thinking and appreciating. A person struggling to survive may not be able to distract too much energy from these things, but if we solve our basic material needs, then why can’t we have higher pursuits?

Finally, I’d like to return to your question. As more and more people stop worrying about the scarcity of food and houses, they will invest their lives in many interesting things, and literature, without a doubt, is one of the most time-tested. At that time, whether teaching it, spreading it, or creating it, it will naturally bring me enough wealth to sustain my life, so please don’t worry about me anymore.

I have never believed in ghosts in this world, and Halloween is just an opportunity to provide entertainment for children and teenagers.

But it’s still fun to go out and on Halloween and enjoy people’s fancy costumes. Girls in black dresses, girls in white dresses, boys in black dresses, boys in white dresses …… you can simply feel the diversity like never before.

I went to eight parties on Halloween Saturday this year, and I didn’t really fit into any of them. I just stood next to one and watched them while looking up at the stars in the sky. I tried to count whether there were more stars in the sky or more people at the party, and I came to the conclusion that I blinked more than both combined.

It was two o’clock and time to go back. I opened the door, started the car, and drove to Beall Ave, which I had passed more times than I had blinked, where the red light temporarily blocked my way at the intersection called Born-Bissman-Compton-Gault.

I rolled down my window to take one last look back at the Halloween party spectacle, but a man stood at the side of my car, about to stick up, blocking my view in its entirety.

He looked like both my 70-year-old professor and my 17-year-old freshman classmate, and his hair had the aesthetic appeal of both a conch and a light bulb. He couldn’t have been dressed more normally, but on a day like today, it was so out of the normal. “Can you give me a ride home, my legs aren’t so good,” he asked me, “it’s only a mile away.”

Rolling up the window and stepping on the accelerator was probably the best choice I could have made at that moment. But I couldn’t control myself anymore, and the only response I made was, “Yes, please get in.” This may be the power of the supernatural.

“You know that most famous cemetery in all of Wooster,” he said with a smile, “my home is there.”

What should I do? Is brake hard and get out of the car and scream for help? It’s no use, real ghosts can find you even if you run to the other side of the world. Please don’t ask why someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts would know so much about them, when you experience such moments, you will understand too.

I think that maybe honestly spilling your thoughts is the best solution.“I sincerely apologize for all the disrespect I have shown to ghosts in the past.” However, these were just words in my head, and when I tried to say them, the supernatural forces once again came into play and I only said“I’m sorry”.

“You’re driving slowly, but you certainly don’t have to apologize for that. I’m not in a hurry.” He said in a reassuring tone of voice.

Finally, we arrived, and although only two minutes had passed in reality, I had already thought about thousands of things that had happened in the past and might happen in the future. He opened the car door: “Thank you, young man, enjoy the holiday where you belong!”

Belong? What do you mean by a holiday that belongs to me? Had I now become a ghost? I observed my own body and found nothing different, but when I looked out the car door, I couldn’t see any figure. The man, no, the undefinable figure, had completely disappeared.

Escaping from here was of course the best option at the moment, but supernatural forces were acting on me for the third time, and I was ready for the final judgment when I heard the scream.

“Which asshole left the manhole cover open!”