"Right? It sounds so awful," says Shen Yuan, enormously relieved that finally someone understands. "I didn't really get it, at first," he admits. "I didn't know he was gay, just that he was... exploring things with men, and I thought he would approach them—approach me—the way he had with women. Quick, and passionate, and then—" he waves a hand. "Ultimately meaningless. And I was being very stupid about my own sexuality, as I'm sure you remember." He means their extremely circuitous conversation in the greenhouse.