You’re the Cure for My Life

Jiang Ye’s world was once an airless shade of gray: the oppressive cubicles at work, the virtual revelry behind his computer screen, and his instinctive urge to avoid crowds made up his entire life. Like a plant that had never seen sunlight, he curled up inside the cocoon he had built for himself, until he met Lin Guoguo on a snack street, handing out flyers.

She was the first person bold enough to stride into his world, a girl whose eyes seemed to brim with sunshine whenever she smiled. She would drag him over to try the spicy hot pot at a street stall, press a fitness flyer into his hands and say, “You’d look so cool with muscles,” and, when he hid in a corner again, smile as she offered him a piece of candy. “Jiang Ye, the world isn’t that scary.”

Hoping to see the light in her eyes again, Jiang Ye began to change, clumsily at first. He followed workout videos until his muscles ached, put on a delivery uniform and made his way through the city streets, and, for the first time, mustered the courage to say “I want to go” at a team outing. The shut-in who once couldn’t even meet someone’s gaze gradually learned to stand tall, using his newly toned arms to shield her from the crowd. He had once thought that “living means working and gaming,” but at last he understood: salvation was her bursting into his life with light, and his choosing to walk through the door he had kept shut for her.

“Lin Guoguo,” Jiang Ye said beneath the neon lights of the snack street, clutching the lemon water she had given him. His voice trembled, but his words were firm. “You’re my cure.”

She smiled and rose onto her toes, brushing a fallen leaf from his shoulder. “No. We’re each other’s.”