The Lost Band-Aid: Youth Hidden in Old Keepsakes

First-person narration + unrequited love + true to life + open ending

Eight years later, looking back on youth once more, old keepsakes unlock the feelings buried in the heart of a young boy.

From meeting in a new class in 2005 to going their separate ways in 2013, introverted Li Xiao spends his entire youth harboring feelings for Zhao Ling that he never dares to confess.

During a Chinese lesson, Zhao Ling softly sings “Always Quiet,” and quietly finds a place in the boy's heart. A tiny bandage gently soothes his youthful anxieties, becoming a secret tenderness shared by the two of them.

While repeating a year of school, their separation comes without warning. She quietly leaves, and he is left anxiously waiting in the pouring rain.

After the college entrance exam, he sends her a heartfelt confession of seven thousand words, only to receive the answer that they should remain friends.

During college, they exchange only a few brief phone calls. After that, they gradually drift apart, and neither makes an effort to reach out again.

A young boy's feelings are hidden in the years; close friends help one another through confusion. The inseparable trio endures a year of repeating exams, separation, acceptance, and growth together.

Photographs fade yellow, old pens break, sketches gather dust, and diaries fill with unspoken feelings.

Told in the first person as a recollection of the past, the novel interweaves bonus chapters from other characters' perspectives to fill in what was left unresolved. It depicts the tumultuous youth of a generation, holding all the heartache of unrequited love, the warmth of being together day after day, and the calm acceptance of letting go of the past as an adult.