Cold Today in the Prefectural Study

The heroine, Zhang Jie, is a young woman from Northeast China. Her parents divorced when she was little, and after her mother remarried and moved to Guangdong, she lost all contact with her. Zhang Jie lived with her father and stepmother, never feeling the warmth of home, and suffered bullying at school. Yet she always looked forward to the future and cherished life, eventually earning a place at Guizhou University through her own efforts. Outgoing and forthright, with a tall, graceful figure and beautiful, delicate features, she graduated from university and went on to find work, fall in love, get married, and have a child. She faced the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, and her company's collapse. Though she sometimes felt lost, anxious, and unsure of herself, she never backed down or gave up, persevering to the end. When she found love, she loved wholeheartedly and worked to make it last. When trouble came, she was neither afraid nor avoidant. As she put it, “Do your best in everything, and make sure you have no regrets.” Through its story and characters, the author seeks to reflect the spirit of the times, keep pace with the era, and answer the nation's call for literary and artistic workers to “observe the times, reflect the times, stay close to the people, and serve the people,” all in the hope of spreading positive energy.