Prednisone and hyponatremia

Courtship had more red flags pop up than in the annual running of the bulls, yet our put-upon protagonist can't hear the sound of the Mack truck bearing down on him, at full ramming speed.
Goodness, do all such folks have to be possessed of IQs lower than their age? How does this guy manage to dress himself?
Given all that family and friends dished out on him, I'm surprised that: (a) he hadn't been institutionalized; and (b) his revenge was so weak...poison ivy/oak for most folks, a few days of prednisone will handle that.

Ironic that I'm hopped up on prednisone & some antibiotics that I think are called Godzilla. I've got pneumonia gagantuosa, & lo & behold your story speaks to me. I love the sweet, gentleness of this story, how so many people show their concern & caring. The worst thing after a rape is the loneliness & I'm glad that wasn't part of the mix. You are a joy to read & a gifted writer. I'm moving on to the next installment, happily, because I have the company of a beloved writers stories to help me heal.

I met an Armenian girl who was, is, a friend of one of my daughters; petite little girl, long curly black hair, eyes so black they hypnotize. She's just lovely; all perky and saucy. She'll be my next heroine. I showed her this story and she was furious! She wanted to know what was going to happen to poor Poncho and Lefty.
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold, so the story ends we're told. Poncho needs your prayers it's true, but save a few for Lefty too. He only did what he had to do, and now he's growing old. (They played it on the radio...)
You guys are going to be sorry when Poncho's gone and you didn't give him one measly tip of the hat. That's thoughtless indifference to a national institution.
The story's still pretty good in a silly sort of way, but shouldn't the sun be up by now? There's going to be a lot of commuter traffic, and I bet a lot of people are double parked. Can't remember the name of the island in the Arctic where they think the last Mammoths lived. Save that damn pachyderm; I heard some nefarious Zambians were out to get his tusks.
These things should all be getting fives; for balls if nothing else. (Elephants have big balls)
Oh, oh I just felt a rush of blood to the head! The damn Prednisone is kicking in. By for now...

Can't believe I did not read and review this. Strawberry definitely qualifies as ditzy, but many times it works for her--and especially regarding the reputation Shanghai girls have.
***
While her syntax matches typical Chinese phrasings in English from my experience--and although I understand the addiction to using the word so--that word and several phrases repeat often where many could have stayed but there should have been reduced. Sometimes those about Alan or especially the girl we later discover as his sister Gwen, did interrupt the flow enough to make me stop and refocus. While it hardly sinks the story and no reader would say Strawberry was unjustified in traversing this love-hate view of Alan, I kind of imagine strategic editing would probably have cut half a page.
***
It proves funny when the story reveals Gwen and now Strawberry reinterprets. One can understand Pete's behavior, but it's clear he's still taking advantage instead of being the gentleman. While she diffuses the possible conflict, there's no way the other roommates didn't get some idea from their screaming. It remains to be seen if a conflict occurs because really it should or she gets off a little easy and Pete escapes unscathed.
***
It surprised me you were somehow unaware of one of the best foods that remedy hangover--especially since Strawberry ate it in ch 1--CONGEE. It's best for absorbing some of the alcohol and rehydrating. Also, ginger (and it's assumed ginger tea) do an excellent job. Chinese homeopaths typically use ginger tea to help prevent colds, although it helps fight nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea. The cups of jasmine tea and Tylenol presented as too hyperbolic, because more than 3,250 mg of that can damage the liver, possibly causing jaundice; had she drank 200 cups of tea, it would have caused her hyponatremia. You researched so many other things that I have to kind of rib you about this by channeling my inner Number Five from the movie Short Circuit, saying this: Chloe Tzang, Ph.d not know this???
***
I absolutely loved the end notes you used and of course all of the linguistic elements you fuse to the story. To even culminate the narrative with a communal meal is a very nice touch. You certainly pictured her well according to how Shanghai girls are, as verified by my own research--and the reason why the guys tend to do more in the house is because many Shanghai girls that were the only children by policy never developed many housekeeping skills because their parents allowed them to study to do their best in school, and so the parents did all the housework. This also partially explains Strawberry.
***
I enjoyed this edition, especially by liking it. Despite the need to rid the tale of sometimes-excessive repetitions above, it didn't hinder communicating the story, nor did it detract from how entertaining it was. 4

God damn give it a rest. Repeating the same fucking things over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again!!! STOP!!!!!