A Book Against the Current

This is a fated love story about two people finding their way to each other across a rift in time that runs backward. It is also an epic about guardians of civilization. Synopsis: Shen Buyan, a modern restorer of ancient books, accidentally triggers a mysterious power while repairing an antique and transmigrates to the past. To his surprise, every time he travels through time, he returns to an even earlier point. In the past, he meets Lu Wanwan, a female official and archivist at the Imperial Academy. Their meeting is cruelly out of sync: from Shen Buyan's perspective, his love for Lu Wanwan deepens with every return to the past. But from Lu Wanwan's perspective, she has been deeply in love with him ever since their first meeting many years ago. With every reunion, she knows him better and foresees their fated tragic ending sooner. Beginning with the dying words of a strange woman at the execution grounds, Shen Buyan fights alongside her, witnesses her falling in love, and traces her life back to its beginning. Only then does he discover Lu Wanwan's true identity: a survivor of the former dynasty and a “Keeper of Civilization's Archives.” She bears infamy and sacrifices everything to protect a collection of precious books that can reveal the truth of history and prevent wars in future generations. After Shen Buyan deciphers the cultural code she spent her whole life creating and travels one last time to the eve of the turning point in her fate, when she was fourteen, he does not try to change history. Instead, he completes the circle of their love and passes on the legacy of civilization. In a nutshell: This is a story about two people who spend their lives reaching for a meeting they are fated to miss across the backward flow of time, ultimately protecting civilization with love and conviction and transcending fate.