In 2007, my first love, Taozi, died in that terrible downpour because I was too cowardly to act. I was haunted by unbearable guilt and regret, and, disillusioned with life, I even let myself sink. I wished more than anything that I could start over...
Twelve years after Taozi’s death, when I already had a family of my own, I met a girl who looked just like her: Yang Xiaoshun. She was just as petite, frail, pure, and clear-eyed as Taozi. Her build and bearing were the same, even down to one little imperfection.
She was like a zebra separated from its herd: lonely, fragile, and mired in a quagmire.
From the day we met, it was as if we were cursed, caught up in one perilous incident after another. But to me, it didn’t feel like a curse so much as a trial, and a chance at redemption.
We became each other’s only friend, growing closer with careful steps, until our bond was intimate, yet purely platonic.
What fate awaits two people who can never be together?
