The Moon Melts at Dawn

Four medical school classmates go on to lead four very different lives:

Meng Xiaomei, a school doctor earning a meager salary at a community hospital, falls ill during an epidemic and finally realizes that the greatest happiness lies in sharing an ordinary life with someone. Dani, a successful pediatrician, rises from the ashes after her marriage is betrayed and starts a new chapter in love with her son. Nurse Li Wen ends her first marriage because she cannot have children, but finds unexpected familial affection after becoming a stepmother. The unconventional Lan Xin gives up medicine to return to her county town and teach, living true to herself with an androgynous style and a child-free life.

When they reunite years after graduation at a Chengdu hotpot restaurant, their four lives mingle and collide in the bubbling red-oil broth: Meng Xiaomei's appreciation of a simple life, Dani's balancing act between her career and raising a child, the bittersweet joys of Li Wen's role as a stepmother, and the freedom of Lan Xin's solitary life. Over clinking glasses, they realize that whether one chooses the daily grind or a life of independence, a happy marriage or the freedom of being single, every choice deserves respect.

Through the stories of four women, this heartwarming and healing novel portrays the diverse wisdom with which women navigate life today. It tells us that happiness is not about becoming who others expect us to be, but about living the way we want.