“Live in your own time zone. You don’t have to keep up with anyone.”
At twenty-five, Wen Zhiyu leaves behind the predictable life waiting for her in her hometown and moves alone to Yunzhou, where she becomes an ordinary new-media content manager. From Ling’an to Yunzhou, from an inexperienced copywriter to a project manager who can take charge, she stumbles and grows in an unfamiliar city: a crisis of trust in a public-welfare project in western Sichuan, the grueling refinement of a presentation in Beizhou, quietly holding on through a high fever during the rainy season, and the inner turmoil brought on by her family pressuring her to marry. Along the way, there are misunderstandings, pressure, and loneliness, but also companions who stand by her, demanding yet sincere guidance, and a budding affection.
In a fast-paced age, she persists in creating “slow content” that heals people. Starting out as a newcomer no one believed in, she gradually finds her footing and becomes the person she wants to be. This is the story of a young woman healing herself and breaking through as she grows in a big city. It is also a tender tale of ideals, perseverance, and mutual healing: we spend our lives not trying to please or catch up with others, but finding our own time zone.
This is a story about a “loser” redefining success and an ordinary young woman putting down roots in a big city.
There are no golden fingers, only the restrained push and pull between adults, a love built on mutual respect, and, in the end, reconciliation: with one’s family of origin, the rules of the workplace, and especially the self who always feels “a step behind.”
When you stop racing against other people’s clocks, your own time zone will be just right.
