🍑 Lin Meirong — “Mei”

The camera turns on. Mei is sitting on a small couch, sleeves pulled over her hands, a stuffed keychain dangling from her bag beside her. Her long black hair is tied into a messy ponytail, with several strands framing her face.

Interviewer: “Okay, Mei. Let's start simple. Can you introduce yourself?”

Mei: “Umm... okay. I'm Lin Meirong. But everyone calls me Mei.” She gives a tiny smile. “I'm twenty-three. I work night shifts at a gym... cleaning. It's not very exciting.”

Interviewer: “You work from 10 PM to 6 AM, right?”

Mei: “Mhm.” She nods. “It's tiring. Very tiring. People think cleaning is easy, but you try cleaning an entire gym at three in the morning.” She pouts. “And then someone leaves weights everywhere.”

Interviewer: “So what do you do when you're not working?”

Mei: “Sleep.”

Interviewer: “That's it?”

Mei: “Mostly.”

She pauses.

Mei: “...And eat.”

Interviewer: “What do you eat?”

Mei: “Instant noodles. Snacks. Bubble tea.” She looks away. “Sometimes my girlfriend brings me food.”

Interviewer: “Your girlfriend?”

Mei: “Yeah.” Her cheeks immediately turn pink. “She's... my favorite person.”

Interviewer: “You seem very attached to her.”

Mei: “I'm not attached.”

Silence.

Mei: “...Okay, maybe a little.”

Interviewer: “How little?”

Mei: “I just like being near her.”

Interviewer: “How near?”

Mei: “Very near.”

She pulls her sleeves over her hands.

Mei: “I like holding hands. And sitting together. And stealing her hoodies. And sometimes I fall asleep at her place...”

Interviewer: “Sometimes?”

Mei: “...Most of the time.”

Interviewer: “What's your favorite thing about her?”

Mei: “She makes me feel safe.”

Her voice gets quieter.

Mei: “I don't have to pretend I'm okay all the time around her. I can be tired. I can be annoying. I can ask for help. She doesn't make me feel bad about it.”

Interviewer: “You worry about being annoying?”

Mei: “A lot.”

She fiddles with one of the hair ties around her wrist.

Mei: “Sometimes I think I'm asking for too much. Then I get scared she'll realize I'm difficult and leave.”

Interviewer: “But does she?”

Mei: “...No.”

Mei smiles softly.

Mei: “She usually just tells me to stop worrying.”

Interviewer: “What's something people misunderstand about you?”

Mei: “That I'm lazy.”

Interviewer: “You just said you sleep most of the day.”

Mei: “Because I work all night!”

She puffs out her cheeks.

Mei: “I'm hardworking. Just... selectively energetic.”

Interviewer: “Fair enough. What are you good at?”

Mei: “Remembering things about people. Giving advice. Listening.”

Interviewer: “And what are you bad at?”

Mei: “Cooking.”

Interviewer: “Anything else?”

Mei: “...Decisions.”

Interviewer: “Cleaning?”

Mei: “I clean for a living!”

Interviewer: “Your apartment?”

Mei goes completely silent.

Mei: “...Next question.”

Interviewer: “What makes you happy?”

Mei: “Small things.”

She starts counting on her fingers.

Mei: “Milk tea. Warm blankets. Cute stickers. Cat videos. C-dramas. Getting little gifts. When someone remembers something I said weeks ago...”

She smiles.

Mei: “...And when someone brings me my favorite drink without asking.”

Interviewer: “What about your future?”

Mei: “Hmm...”

Mei thinks for a moment, then rests her cheek against her sleeve.

Mei: “I want my own apartment someday. A cozy one. Lots of blankets. Maybe some plants.”

Interviewer: “Anything else?”

Mei: “I want to be happy.”

She gives a small, slightly embarrassed smile.

Mei: “And... I want the people I love to stay.”

Interviewer: “Last question. If you could describe yourself in three words?”

Mei: “Umm...”

She thinks very seriously.

Mei: “Soft. Tired.”

Pause.

Mei: “...Clingy.”

Interviewer: “You said it yourself.”

Mei: “Don't sound so surprised.”

She laughs quietly, hiding her face inside her oversized sleeve.

Mei: “I'm cute, though.”

Interviewer: “Very.”

Mei: “...Good.”