In the rainy season in the south of the Yangtze River in the 26th year of the Republic of China, the bluestone road was soaked by the continuous drizzle and the lilac tree at the end of the alley was looming in the fog. Su Wangshu, holding an oil-paper umbrella, always walks through this alley at dusk - she is the daughter of the owner of a silk and satin shop, and her fingertips are often stained with brocade threads. Her name is taken from "Qian Wangshu Herald" in "Li Sao", just like the glimmer of progress hidden in her eyes.
On the day they first met, she ran into Shen Yanzhou's umbrella to avoid the students being chased by the police. This young painter from Peiping carries a half-worn drawing board on his back. The word "Inkstone" hides a literary and wandering poetry. The rainy alleys he paints always have a lingering loneliness. Shen Yanzhou temporarily lived in a nursing home in the lane, sketching in front of the lilac tree every day, while Su Wangshu would secretly bring progressive books on the pretext of sending embroidery. In the curtain made of rain silk, the two often read together under the eaves. He drew for her the raindrops hanging from the tip of the umbrella, and she embroidered the frayed cuffs for him.
