Singapore is a small place. It takes about an hour anda half to drive around the city. If you stay there for too long, it will becomeboring. I was determined to pursue a master's degree. The main campus ofSouthern Cross University, where I was enrolled, is in Lismore, New SouthWales. It has a branch in Singapore, and some courses need to be completed atthe main campus. Lismore is not far from Queensland's Gold Coast, less than 200kilometers away. The Gold Coast is a famous tourist attraction. I planed totravel there in November.

One day at the end of November, at 2:30 in theafternoon, I arrived at the Gold Coast of Australia. It was the turn of springand summer. It was raining lightly outside, and the wind was strong. I onlywore a thin jacket and felt a little cold. I took a direct bus to the city butdid not book a room in advance. I thought that if everything was arranged inadvance, the trip would lose the expectation of the unknown.

In the city center, young faces and people could beseen everywhere, filling the streets and alleys. Along the way, there wereoncoming boys or girls, reaching out a hand from time to time, smiling and highfiving you. This scene made me excited. I liked the world of young people.

I liked this city and wandered around the streets fora long time before starting to look for a place to stay. But all the hotels andhostels told me: no room during graduation season, adult ceremony. This season,the Gold Coast had been occupied by these young people who had just come ofage. They used various parties to express their needs nakedly and express theirdesires for life, wine and the opposite sex.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, I was cold andhungry. I had lost the carefully prepared guide. I began to feel anxious andfrightened inside. However, I had to cheer up and continue looking for a placeto stay, otherwise I would have to sleep on the street. The road was boundless.Half an hour later, I found a backpacker hostel called Islander. It was thelargest backpacker hostel I had ever seen, with more than 200 rooms and morethan 1,000 beds. The hotel was a ten-story building with a parking lot, independentyard, spacious lobby, restaurant, and bar. It had the configuration and scaleof a large hotel, but it did not have independent single rooms. The rooms weredivided into four-person rooms and eight-person rooms. Four-person rooms costed30 Australian dollars, and eight-person rooms costed 20 Australian dollars.They were all mixed-gender dormitories, and the entire building was occupied byBackpacker. A place like this excited me inexplicably, and I was thankful whenthe hostel receptionist confirmed that they still had a few beds available.

I requested a bed in a quadruple room, room 2 on thefirst floor. There were two male and one female roommates. The tall andhandsome boy was named Matt. He wore a brown cowboy hat and raised the cornersof his mouth, giving him a bad boy vibe, like a western cowboy coming out of amovie. The handsome boy was Jamie, who had just turned eighteen and comes fromEngland. He always lowered his head and looked very shy. The girl was of mixedAsian and European descent, her name was Kate. She had a well-proportionedfigure, a pretty face, and was very beautiful. Her bed was on the bottom bunkopposite mine. She is from Canada. Kate and Jamie are on one-year workingholiday visas, which allow them to travel while working. Matt, like me, is ashort-term visitor, and he will return to the United States in a week. It wasthe first time I heard about the Working Holiday Visa, so I asked Kate aboutit. Kate said that this was a policy implemented by the Australian governmentfor young people around the world. Anyone under the age of 30 could apply forit. The maximum period was one year, and they could work legally without anytaxes payable. But each job position could not last more than six months. Nowonder there were so many backpackers gathering. I suddenly realized thatAustralia was a paradise for backpackers despite its vast land and sparsepopulation. We sat casually on the carpet in the room, talking about randomthings we had seen and heard. Everyone was friendly and enthusiastic. Then wewalked to the streets together to explore the various customs of the city.

In the evening, we went to a bar called Vegas on theleft side of the lobby. We each bought our own drinks and drank for two orthree rounds. The men sitting in twos and threes on the bar came over to chatwith Kate when they saw her. Kate introduced us to everyone as her roommates.This title made me a little embarrassed, but I gradually got used to it. The guyswere a little more cheeky knowing Kate was single, and I pulled on Kate toexpress my concern. Kate said, couldn't you see they all like me? And you wouldprotect me too, right? She used the word “protect”. I looked at the two tallmen next to her. Their arms were thicker than my thighs. But I still said, Iwould let you return to your room safely. Although she and I had just met, shewas never wary of me. This made me realize the weight of the word"roommate."

There was loud music coming from many rooms in thehotel, and during the coming-of-age ceremony, there were parties everywhere.Drinking made you bold, Kate said, “let's go to the party too.” Kate took thethree of us along the corridor of the hotel, knocking on doors one afteranother, looking for parties. Kate's half-drunk and charming look caused manymen to scream, and one boy even ran out wearing only a bath towel, chasing Kateall the way. In a room at the end of the corridor, the men put Kate in but lockedthe three of us out. We were worried about Kate, kept knocking on the door,eventually used our feet, and even threatened to call the police before thesebastards let Kate out.

Kate hadn't had enough fun yet, so she took us to abar called Beer Garden on the beach. There, I accidentally met two Chinesepeople. One of them kept emphasizing to me that he was a famous lawyer from China Central Television and knewmany national leaders. He kept talking to me. Maybe, among the many restaurantsand bars, I was the only one willing to listen to him.

When we returned to the room, it was already early inthe morning and everyone fell asleep. When I woke up, I didn't see Kate. Sheleft us a message saying that she was going to Balina, a neighboring city, fora job interview. She didn't get back until two days later. Kate was like thesoul of our room. Without her, everyone lost interest in partying. The three ofus all played with our own things without disturbing each other. I went toVegas alone again, ordered a beer, and sat at the same table we had sat before.At that moment, I missed Kate very much.

When Kate came back on Sunday, I was alone in theroom. As soon as she saw me, she ran over and gave me a hug. She said shewanted to celebrate tonight. I thought I was congratulating her for finding ajob, but she said it was for our reunion. I couldn't help but laugh. To satisfymy appetite, Kate suggested that we eat Hainanese chicken rice together. Shesaid that she had stayed in Singapore for some time and her favorite food wasHainanese chicken rice. Being able to eat Chinese food on the Gold Coast and inthe company of friends makes me feel satisfied.

As soon as Kate returned, the spirit of our Room 2returned. Her communication skills were extraordinary. She was able to go toRoom 3 next door, pulled everyone over, and announced to everyone in ahigh-profile manner, "Let's have a party, and we won't come back until weget drunk."

I went to the liquor store and bought two bottles ofwhiskey and a few dozen beers. A group of people gathered in a small room todrink and make noise. I got along well with my new friends in Room 3,especially the girl named Amy. While drinking, she hugged me and said loudly,"I like you, my Chinese friend."

Everyone was having a great time drinking. In theearly morning, there were still groups of young people on the streets, howlinglike crazy and smashing bottles with banging noises. When the police came, theyran away, and nothing could be done to them. Our group also walked to thestreets, holding beer bottles in our hands and wandering aimlessly. Kate heldlittle Jamie's arm, like a couple, but Matt suddenly pushed a young man who wascoming towards him on the road to the ground, almost triggering a fight. Imingled with my new friends in Room 3 and sang loudly.

I forgot when I went back to the room. When I woke up,it was dark and I had a splitting headache. I got out of bed to find some waterand found that Matt was on Kate's bed. They were lying on their sides withtheir legs curled up. Matt was holding Kate, like two parallel curves. I wassurprised, my stomach felt uncomfortable, and my heart also felt uncomfortable.I looked over at Jamie's bed. Jamie turned over. When I came back from drinkingwater, Jamie turned over again. Jamie was not asleep. I think he was alsosuffering.

I couldn't sleep anymore, so I simply got out of bed,took a shower, and felt much fresher. I took my phone and wrote a note on thetable saying that I went to the beach to watch the sunrise. Then I went outalone.

The sunrise on the Gold Coast was beautiful. The seaand sky were all dark gray, and golden waves appeared on the horizon. One waveafter another, they rushed towards the shore and stretched endlessly. The beachwas usually crowded with people, but at this moment it was a world of seagulls,with their crisp calls and the sound of rushing waves piercing the sky.

My heart calmed down, and I laid on the bench on theshore, thinking about this girl named Kate. The short time we spent together inthe past few days actually made me rely on and look forward to her. It was justthat she still disappointed me after all. Kate may just wanted someone toaccompany her to indulge her youth. Today, I needed you and you needed me.Tomorrow, I will no longer needed you, and you would no longer need me. Thiswas the world of backpackers, and whoever took it seriously would get hurt.

From that night onwards, the mood in the room changed.Jamie went out early every morning, saying he was looking for work. I ran tothe beach all day long to watch the seagulls. I wondered what Matt and Katewere doing. However, Matt never climbed into Kate's bed again.

On my last day on the Gold Coast, I took a bus toBrisbane alone. Brisbane was a beautiful city. The rivers wind and stretch fordozens of kilometers in the city. The sky is blue and the water is clear. Theembankments on both sides are picturesque. I began to realize that thedepression I felt these past few days was entirely asking for trouble.

After visiting Brisbane, I returned to the hostel andsaw Kate eating pizza, which was very cheap at one dollar a piece. Kate neededto stay for another year and needed to save money. I felt a little distressed,so I walked over, threw the pizza bag on the table, and said, I would take youto eat Hainan chicken rice. Kate said no. I took her hand and said, “let's go,don't be polite to me.”

In the Chinese restaurant, Kate was eating herfavorite food and chatting with me about her life in Singapore. She was livelyand naughty. I realized that Kate was just a twenty-year-old girl. I said: “Youshould take good care of yourself. Go home if you can't find a good job, andjust do your best. Matt is leaving soon, and he can't take care of you. Jamiewon't leave and he is an honest man. Although he is shy and not good at words,you are in his heart. And you both must help each other.” I rambled on, whichmade Kate laugh out loud. But I just wanted to say what I wanted to say.

We went back very late. My friends in Room 3 asked meto go drink again, but I declined. I accidentally saw Jamie shed tears, and hesaid to Kate: "You still said that we are a team, and you left me when youwent out by yourself." Then I remembered that he happened to see when Ipulled Kate out. The boy was so cute.

The next day I checked out and took the bus tothe airport. I didn't let my roommates see me off. Before leaving, we took aphoto at the door of Room 2. I hugged everyone. When I hugged Jamie, I pattedhis shoulder and said, take good care of our princess.