The Unopened Letter Beneath the Parasol Tree

Their first meeting beneath the plane trees on A University's avenue made Lin Shen hide his feelings for Ye Ze for seven years.

He picked out celery for him, saved him seats, and stayed by his side through the cold nights after a breakup. Yet when Ye Ze started dating a woman, Lin Shen retreated into the shadows. He left for a distant land carrying the fountain pen Ye Ze had given him. During three years apart, the words "There's someone in my heart" concealed all his feelings, while Ye Ze's silence hid an answer he had never spoken aloud, either.

Their reunion at the train station brought an embrace as light as a spring vine winding around bamboo, filled with the fear of getting too close. How long would the letter, filled with seven years of unspoken restraint, have to wait before either of them dared open it?