When I told people I was going to walk across America, many said, "Wow, just saying it takes courage." Others said, "You can't do it." But weighing 181 kilograms, with a heavy backpack on my back, I've already walked 489 kilometers. I'm already a father of two, but obesity has been tormenting me. To lose weight, I decided to set off from San Diego and walk across the entire United States, with New York as my destination. Actually, weight loss isn't my only goal; I have a vague feeling that this journey is destined to change my life. I wasn't always overweight. When I was young, I served in the Navy fleet, once a handsome man with many friends, living happily every day in California. But at the age of 25, a car accident changed everything. Two passengers got off the bus at an intersection, and I didn't see them... I spent 10 days in jail for vehicular manslaughter. Since then, I've been trapped in deep self-blame, unable to face the families of the victims. As time passed, my guilt only grew stronger, and long-term depression caused my weight to rise uncontrollably.

Background: Her father, who had lost a limb due to injury, passed away when she was 21. Her mother supported their family of seven by working as a cashier at an ice rink. Who she is now: Senior journalist at *Paris Match*, France's highest-circulation magazine, and France's "quasi-First Lady." Senior journalist Valérie Trierweiler probably never imagined that the number of times she interviewed others in the first half of her life would be far fewer than the number of times she'd be interviewed in the second half. Resembling classic Hollywood star Katharine Hepburn, Valérie became the globally watched "quasi-First Lady" after her boyfriend, François Hollande, was elected President of France. Hollande was jokingly dubbed by the French public as the "President with Three No's": no experience, no distinctive traits, no wife. Valérie, too, is the genuine "girlfriend with Three No's": no background, no social standing, no patron. Yet, Valérie solemnly told the media, "I'm not Cinderella." She also declared her intention to follow in Hillary Clinton's footsteps to redefine the image of France's First Lady.

While traveling in Turkey, I quickly became fascinated by how Turks would argue endlessly over prices. I often found that in these disputes, the success or failure of the deal mattered more than the actual price itself. One day, at a rural bus station, representatives from two competing tour companies approached me. When I asked one of them about the cost of the journey, he replied, "My bus will cost you 600 lira." But as soon as he finished speaking, the second man immediately stepped forward and said, "Come with me! You only need to pay 500 lira." And so the competition began. The two men went back and forth, arguing intensely, while I stood silently to the side, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

A large department store in the city had just opened, launching a "Spend 200, Get 100" promotional campaign, and I was browsing the store with great interest. On the second floor, at the small appliances counter, I noticed two fair-haired, blue-eyed, high-nosed foreigners who seemed to be having some trouble. "I know, but, but..." the salesgirl was flustered, her face red, repeatedly muttering this junior-high-level English phrase. The foreigners, holding gift vouchers in their hands, kept pointing at an electric shaver behind the glass case and mumbling unclear English. It turned out they had their eyes on a shaver priced at 95 yuan and wanted to use their two 50-yuan vouchers to cover the cost. However, clearly displayed on the counter was a sign stating: "Only one voucher per purchase."

Once, when Cathay Pacific launched its direct flight to San Francisco, USA, they invited us to film a special feature, accompanied by Lydia Lee, Carol Cheng, and Christy Chung. "Is it true that Gu Long died from excessive drinking?" Carol Cheng asked. Mr. Ni Kuang replied, "Well, you could say that. Gu Long and I often drank several bottles of brandy in one night, sometimes so much that we had to get IV drips the next day. But the real reason was this: one time, Gu Long went to drink at Xinghua Pavilion, and a group of gang members asked him to toast their boss. Gu Long refused. As he walked out, a few henchmen stabbed him several times with long, thin knives. He lost so much blood that he was rushed to the hospital. The hospital’s blood bank didn’t have enough supply, so they were forced to buy blood from drug addicts on the street. The blood wasn’t clean, and as a result, he received blood infected with hepatitis."

Previously, my impression of the "poet" profession was: long hair, disliking washing their face or clothes, and being taciturn. But recently, this impression changed. It all started when I was invited to attend a gathering of "folk poets." As I entered the room, I first saw three bald heads. A poet friend I knew was also bald, and enthusiastically introduced them to me: "This is poet So-and-So, poet So-and-So..." After we sat down to eat, two more of their like-minded companions arrived, each entering with a bald head. If it weren't for the hearty dishes and vodka on the table, one might have mistaken this not for a poetry gathering, but for Buddhist disciples exchanging spiritual experiences. I asked, "Why have you all become bald?" They replied, "We don't really know why either. A couple of us shaved first, and everyone thought it was the in-thing within the circle, so we all followed suit."

Question: One day, after having dinner together, you're enjoying a cozy walk by the roadside when you suddenly notice a stray dog scavenging for food beside a garbage pile. What would he do? a. Take the stray dog to an animal shelter b. Come back every day to feed the stray dog c. Not notice the stray dog and walk straight past d. Take the stray dog home to adopt it Answers: a. You hold 50% of his heart. The other 50% is occupied by his friends. He's quite playful and has a wide circle of friends. Compared to spending weekends alone with you, he'd rather bring you out to hang out with his group of friends, so you rarely get the intimate one-on-one time you desire.

At the end of the first month after Deng Feike took over our branch, I prepared the payroll and took it to him for his signature. Before I could even return to my seat, the phone rang—it was Deng Feike, asking me to come back to his office. "Please tell me, why are there deductions in the employees' salaries?" "Sir, according to branch regulations, employees are fined for being late to work..." I answered fluently when it came to rules and regulations. His usual smile was unexpectedly gone. He looked serious and said, "The employee handbook has no clause about fines for tardiness, nor does the employment contract."

As the saying goes: "Timing is less important than location, and location is less important than human harmony." But Old Zhang managed to secure all three advantages. Old Zhang opened a restaurant. The timing was perfect—just after the financial crisis, with the economy on the upswing. That was the advantage of timing. His restaurant was located in the busiest commercial district of the city center—an absolutely prime location—and directly across the street stood the financially powerful Finance Bureau. That was the advantage of location. As for human harmony? The director of the Finance Bureau was his old classmate. Right after the restaurant opened, Old Zhang contacted this old friend, asking for some support. With such broad connections, who wouldn't respect his word? Let alone others—even if just their single department visited a few times, it would be more than enough to make Old Zhang rich. But Old Zhang miscalculated. Two months after opening, his old classmate hadn't visited even once!

After three months of training, the market development team returned from Shanghai. They belonged to a new branch, and I was in charge of administrative affairs during the preparatory phase. This was the company's first new office established outside Zhejiang Province, and the preparation process was challenging. Although the German parent company had thorough and efficient plans, and departments collaborated seamlessly, some details were still not properly coordinated: the transportation expenses for the marketing staff could not be reimbursed in a timely manner from headquarters, and the department manager asked me what to do. According to the company's defined authority, the HR manager was not authorized to sign off on expense requests for the marketing department. With no other options, out of a sense of professional responsibility, I used my own money to cover the employees' transportation costs.