The Sun Has Left

Back then, they were both too headstrong, each convinced that they alone held the truth.

The summer of 2009 was just as it had always been: hot and long. Cicadas screamed toward the sky, their cries blanketing the northern city. In a sudden, unexpected rainstorm, Liang Shenze looked through his car window and for the first time met those bright, passionate eyes.

That person told him her name was Winnie.

One morning, she left without a word, as if she had never been there.

In the storm, he always stood at its center, and yet he loved her.

Three years later, they met again.

“Have I changed a lot, Liang Shenze? Actually, I haven’t changed at all.”

“My greatest love, my summer: whenever I try to get a little closer to you, I become even more afraid of losing you.”

“You’re a thornbird. How could you ever stay in one place?”