Xiaotao drove me back to college that night. The minute Dali saw that I was fine, he hugged me and cried, saying, “Dude! I thought they’d lock you up forever! It was terrifying seeing you get dragged away by the police today!”

He then asked me if I was hungry, then proceeded to make me a bowl of instant noodles. I kept staring at him until he asked me, “What’s the matter, dude? You fancy me? I would’ve seriously considered it if I was a girl.”

“Dali, are you sure you were with Professor Li backstage the whole time?” I asked him.

“Yeah, dude!” Dali nodded.

“What were you talking about?” I asked. 

“All sorts of stuff… We talked about…” Dali stumbled. “Um, now that you asked, I can’t really recall…”

It looked like Dali was hypnotized into believing that Professor Li had been there with him the whole time. It was a common occurrence that...