Pains and gains of running into celebrity figures

I wondered if I should seize the chance to ask for his autograph, which would definitely sell well in the art market. But then, how could I take advantage of an honest old man?

When I learned that translator/writer Yang Jiang lived in Sanlihe in downtown Beijing, I would look around anxiously, focusing on any old lady on the street. My mind raced to find the answer to one question: What should I say if I did spot her?

Finally, I got the answer. Yang's husband, the great scholar Qian Zhongshu once wrote a book titled Cat. Yang had also said that her husband would get up at midnight to help their clever cat, which often fought the cat raised by their neighbor, writer Lin Huiyin.

If I did meet Yang, I would ask the old lady: Did your cat win the fight?

The place where I live is part of the same district where renowned painter Huang Yongyu lives. Although this district is bigger than a county, I always dream of the day I will bump into him.

Last summer, I saw from the news that the old man had worn a pair of fashionable sandals to an interview. I've have already decided on what I will say to him: Master Huang, I also have a pair of Crocs, and it's of the same color as yours.

There are some famous people who mean a lot to me, but I'll never have the chance to meet them in person. I was in the Futian Public Cemetery when I discovered the tombstone of writer Wang Zengqi. Quite by accident, I had a collection of his novelettes with me. I sat for a long time in front of his tomb and felt wonderful. Of course, I was not expected to say anything in such a place.

My work gives me many opportunities to see national leaders, who all seem to get up at 4 am to work. Once I saw a leader doing taichi in a courtyard early in the morning.

We were a dozen meters away, but I thought I could feel the energy in his hands. I feel knowing that our nation is in the hands of people with such strength.