In March of this year, I rented out my only apartment because I could no longer stand living in that boring little city in China. Although there was a gay sauna there, I disliked both the environment and the guests, even hated it.
So, I decided to return to my parents' house in the countryside. Little did I know that after a few months there, my relationship with my parents became increasingly tense, prompting me to plan a trip to Italy and not return.
Unexpectedly, I found out that the Italian embassy no longer had any travel visa slots available. Later, I applied for a French visa through an agency. Since I was running low on money in my bank account, I took out a loan of 50,000 RMB to keep in my account. I thought this would lead the visa officer to deny my application, they even arranged for a staff member to call me for a long conversation about my reasons for going to France.
About a week after submitting my visa application, I received a text from the French visa center to pick up my passport. So, braving the 38-degree heat in Shanghai, I went to the French visa center.
The moment I opened the envelope, I was overjoyed—I had received a 30-day multiple-entry Schengen visa for France. Back at my rental, I booked a flight from Shanghai to Paris for August 26. I notified the housing agency about my lease cancellation in Shanghai and lost a month's deposit.
While waiting at the boarding gate at Shanghai Pudong Airport, a Swedish man in his 40s sat next to me, and we happily struck up a conversation. He was an IT employee at a heavy truck company in Sweden, working at their branch in China, and was now returning to Sweden. He mentioned that while taking the bus in Shanghai, he had chatted with two Chinese people who kindly took him out for a meal of Chinese food, which made him very happy.
I guessed he was initiating conversation with me partly because he had a pleasant experience interacting with Chinese people.
The next day, the plane landed at Copenhagen Airport in Denmark. I wanted to buy something to eat at the airport, but the food was incredibly expensive, so I settled for a cup of yogurt and a bottle of mineral water to stave off hunger.
Upon landing at Paris airport, I noticed many signs were in Chinese, which felt particularly welcoming. I bought a subway ticket from the airport to my accommodation. At the connection point between the airport and the subway, there were many armed police officers, and I couldn't help but think about how good-looking they all were. Why are French people so attractive?
Dragging my suitcase out of the subway station, the weather was nice that afternoon, albeit a bit hot. The small square at the subway exit was filled with people who seemed relaxed and leisurely, reminiscent of Chinese people in the 1980s. It was a stark contrast to how most Chinese people live today, burdened by stress and a fast-paced lifestyle.
Following Google Maps, I finally found the homestay I had booked, located in a street-facing apartment building on a China town street. Climbing the stairs with my heavy suitcase was one of the most challenging parts of the trip for me. But thinking about the oppressive life in China, this little hardship felt trivial.
The landlord was a couple from Chinese Korean National Minority in Northern China. Strangely, they did not allow guests to use their kitchen or washing machine.
When I opened Grindr, I received messages from several people around, most of whom were looking for casual encounters. In the morning, I saw a Taiwanese person living nearby had sent me a message on Grindr, asking if I wanted to go to his place for breakfast together.