With the Order of Spring

Eighteen-year-old Shen Yin lay in the intensive care unit. As the New Year bells rang, she gazed at the fireworks outside the window, knowing she wouldn’t live to see the following spring. Her one regret was never getting to take the college entrance exam.

Time rewound. Seventeen-year-old Shen Jiayin lay on the school field. She had a long dream in which a boy told her, “Stay strong. Don’t give up.” When she woke...