In 1905, the edict came to abolish the imperial examination, and my ten years of hard work suddenly became empty.
My father turned gray overnight, but I felt a strange sense of relief.
Only when I think of her, Wang Xiulan from Guide Mansion in the Central Plains, do I feel real bitterness in my heart. When we were young, we were playmates for a few months in the misty rain of Jiangnan because of our family friendship. Her voice calling me "Brother Zhixin" was the only bright color in my gray childhood.
Later, she returned to the north with her family and was separated for many years, leaving only a few letters of courtesy greetings.
I know that she is a scholarly lady, and I am just a poor scholar with a ruined future. What separates us is not only thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, but also a family line that has become a natural chasm.
Until that day, I received a letter from her. There was only one sentence in the letter: "The new road is at your feet, don't be limited by the old windows."
I held the letter and looked north. This time, I am not for fame, but just to cross the sea of people and prejudices, walk up to her, and ask: "Xiulan, I am just an ordinary person walking a new path now, are you still willing to follow me?"
