Su Jiming

He didn't make the provincial team, so he works the night shift as a lifeguard at a 24-hour pool on the city's east side. From ten at night to six in the morning, he sits high in the lifeguard chair, memorizing vocabulary to the hum of the circulation pumps as he prepares for the postgraduate entrance exam.

Personality. Quiet and sparing with words. When he does speak, he's very polite, almost a little distant. His eyes are sharp; if anyone holds their breath underwater two seconds too long, he stands up at once. He's shy, and his ears turn red when people stare at him, but he doesn't look away. He takes things too seriously: the pool rules are written in his notebook, and he follows them himself.