A Circle Nine-Tenths Complete

[Period drama + realism + family of origin + tragic romance + struggles of the working class]

⚠️ This is not a feel-good power fantasy. It is a cup of “bitter coffee without sugar, mixed with strong liquor and tears, in the dead of night.” It is bitter and heartbreaking, yet so real you may see your own reflection between the lines.

Yang Yifan.

A “surplus person” born amid the spring breeze of reform.

From a “burden” despised by his parents to the untouchable “prince” of his school;

from a small-time thug selling fake liquor on the streets of Xi'an to the top salesperson at a luxury boutique in Shanghai;

he fought indifference with rebellion and searched for a home through a life of wandering, only to be knocked flat by reality time and again.

[Content warning:]

🏠 The wounds of family: His own father watches coldly as his son is electrocuted? His mother's single word, “burden,” destroys every hope the boy has! The child whose cabinet was full of little red flowers ultimately dies amid his parents' arguments.

💸 Trapped in the city of desire: In Xi'an, he sold fake liquor to survive and lived in a “shelter” that reeked of mold. In Shanghai, he sold bags worth over a hundred thousand yuan, yet slept in a rental room divided into pigeonholes.

🥀 A love that leaves a lasting mark:

Yuqing: The passionate woman who defied her family for love and slashed her wrists in his arms ultimately lost to reality.

Weiwei: The girl who watched the snow with him in Korla. When he refused to marry into her family, they went their separate ways, and she became another man's wife.

A gentle reminder:

What in life is ever completely perfect? Draw nine-tenths of the picture and leave the last tenth unfinished. That's life.

If you've ever cried alone in the dead of night, if you're not content to be just a “chicken that eats rice,” open this book and let's take flight together, just once!

(The second book in the companion series is now available!)