Isn't the least bit excited.

Act IV

Night. Malu and Mingming are on the roof of their building

Mingming: I'm talking about LOVE! Where does that feeling come from? From

the heart, the liver, the veins? Where does it emanate from, internally?

Maybe on the day you felt it the moon was closer to the earth; the sun shone

directly on the Tropic of Cancer; monsoon winds blew over your skin,

lubricating it with damp sea air; a low pressure area forming in Mongolia

made your heart beat faster. Or maybe it was only your own heart's desire,

your time of the month that brought on the disturbance; the newly changed

light bulb in his apartment; the fresh smell of an orange he just ate that

lingered on his fingers; the prickly feel of his stubble brushing up against

your face. These kinds of things numb your nerves making you limp. That's

love . . .

Malu: Some rhinos live on the wild and vast savannah, some like to rest in

dense forests. They also eat different kinds of food. Some like to eat

grass, others like to eat leaves, some eat both grass and leaves. The name

rhinoceros comes from Greek; it's a tropical animal. There are five kinds of

rhinos in the world: the black rhino, the white rhino, the Sumatran rhino,

as well as the Indian and the Javan rhino, both of which are basically on

the verge of extinction. Tula comes from the African savannah.

Mingming: Who's Tula?

Malu: An African black rhino.

Mingming: You're raising it?

Malu: Ya. A rhino's eyesight is very bad. They can't see somebody standing

this far away from them clearly. (Holds his hand in front of his face at an

arm's length)

Mingming: Are you from the zoo?

Malu: Do you want to go see Tula?

Mingming: Go to the zoo? I haven't been in such a long time! It's quite

strange. I've seen a rhino, but I've never met someone who raises them! They

say that people who are patient with animals will definitely be patient with

women. But why don't you go do a normal job like drive a taxi, or be a

repairman or something? Of course not everyone can be an artist like Chen

Fei, but raising a rhino is rather strange.

Malu: I've got a career, one approved by the Ministry of Parks and

Recreation.

Mingming: What I mean is that you'll have a hard time changing jobs. If you

don't like that zoo, or don't like that particular rhino, then what? In

today's society people say that if you don't know English, computers or how

to drive a car, it's the same as if you don't know anything at all.

Malu: Can you do those things?

Mingming: I know computers. I can type 110 words in one minute, the fastest

In my company. I use English daily without any problems. And, I can also

drive a car.

Malu: Can that guy do those things?

Mingming: Who? You mean Chen Fei? He's an artist. He guides people's

thoughts, so of course he should be treated differently. It's a pity you

can't do those things. Since you can't, you're finished!

(She unwraps a stick of chewing gum and pops it in her mouth.)

Malu: When I graduated from middle school I took a test to become an airline

pilot. I could've worn a leather jacket, goggles and been on the cover of

the newspaper. I was qualified in all categories except eyesight. I should

be a pilot, a rhino should be an eagle. We shouldn't depend on our sense of

smell to live, but most animals do, like zebras and elephants that live on

Africa's savannah. Humans can't smell more than one hundred different

scents, but we can smell if there's something good to eat nearby. (He

pauses) It's lemon.

Mingming: (She chews her gum) What?

Malu: Lemon?

Mingming: Ya. It's lemon-flavoured. Do you want some?

Malu shakes his head.

Malu: When I first started at the zoo, they said they'd never seen a

zookeeper who wore glasses. After that I never wore them again. A rhino is

really big. Even if you don't wear glasses you can still see it.

Mingming: Yesterday I was speaking with Chen Fei. I told him, "They all said

that I was too nice to you, that we don't fit together." Can you guess what

he said? You'll never think of it. He said, "That's good. I just don't fit.