Peerless Dancer

Prologue：A Joke

A child asked his father to explain four words: anger, fury, madness, and exasperation. Finding it difficult to explain, the father suddenly had an idea. He picked up the phone, looked for a number, and dialed it.

"Hello, this is the Lin residence. Whom are you looking for?" answered a woman's voice.

"I’d like to speak to Chow Yun-fat."

"This is the Lin residence. You have the wrong number," she replied gently.

"But I really need to speak to Chow Yun-fat."

"I told you, this is the Lin residence. There's no Chow Yun-fat here!" she said, hanging up the phone.

The father turned to his child and said, "Guess what? She’s angry now."

"Dad, what’s fury then?"

The father dialed the same number again.

"Hello, this is the Lin residence."

"I’d like to speak to Chow Yun-fat."

"I told you, this is the Lin residence. There’s no Chow Yun-fat here. Stop calling!"

"I really need to speak to Chow Yun-fat."

"Are you out of your mind? This is the Lin residence. I told you, there’s no Chow Yun-fat here. If you call again, I’ll call the police!" she yelled, slamming down the phone.

The father said, "See, that’s fury."

"What about madness?" the child asked.

The father dialed the number once more.

"Are you crazy? I told you, if you call again, I’ll call the police. There’s no Chow Yun-fat here," she screamed.

"Is this the Lin residence?" the father asked.

"Oh, I’m sorry, sir. This is the Lin residence. Someone kept calling asking for Chow Yun-fat. I’m so sorry. Whom are you looking for?"

"Could you please connect me to Chow Yun-fat?"

"•#￥%—*%￥#•" was all that came from the other end.

"What’s exasperation?" the child asked.

The father dialed once again, "Hello, this is Chow Yun-fat. Did someone ask for me?"

Once, I visited a friend who was chatting with his father. In the middle of their lively conversation, the phone rang. Here’s how the conversation went:

Friend: Hello, who is this? Caller: It’s me, your dad. Friend: (looking at his father, feeling something was off) Stop joking. Who is this? Caller: Your dad. Friend: (getting angry) Who the hell are you? Caller: Your dad. Friend: (furious) If you’re my dad, then I’m your dad! Caller: How dare you! I’m your father-in-law. Everyone present fainted.

Once, Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei, Sun Quan, and Cao Cao were on a plane when an emergency forced them to parachute out. But there were only three parachutes. As everyone panicked, Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan and said, "Let’s solve this with some questions. Answer correctly, and you get a parachute."

First, he asked Liu Bei, "How many suns are there in the sky?"

"One," Liu Bei answered and took a parachute.

Next, he asked Sun Quan, "How many moons are there in the sky?"

"One," Sun Quan answered and took a parachute.

Finally, it was Cao Cao's turn. Zhuge Liang asked, "How many stars are there in the sky?"

Cao Cao was stunned, unable to answer, and had to jump without a parachute. Miraculously, he landed in the sea and survived, secretly relieved.

The second time, the same four men faced another emergency on a plane. They decided to use the same method. Zhuge Liang asked Liu Bei, "What was the battle in which King Wu of Zhou defeated King Zhou?"

"Battle of Muye," Liu Bei replied and took a parachute.

Then he asked Sun Quan, "How many soldiers died in that battle?"

"About thirty to forty thousand," Sun Quan replied and took a parachute.

Cao Cao, feeling smug, thought Zhuge Liang wouldn’t outsmart him this time. But Zhuge Liang asked, "What were their names?"

Cao Cao, dumbfounded, had to jump without a parachute again. Once more, he landed in the sea and survived, feeling fortunate.

The third time, facing another emergency, Cao Cao, suspecting Zhuge Liang’s trickery, decided to jump without waiting. As he fell, he heard Zhuge Liang’s laughter from above, "Cao Cao, you fool! This time there were four parachutes!"

Cao Cao fainted mid-air.

--Summer Heat, Busy Days, Enjoy a Joke to Cool Down--