Twenty-three-year-old Lin An is a graduate student and has a smooth and uneventful life. Until she met Chen Du for the third time in the spring of Guyan - a man who had just been released from prison, was fifteen years older than her, and had the smell of rust on his hands. He was convicted of intentional injury for protecting his sister and served seven years in prison. When he was released from prison, he had nothing and could not even hold his keys.
She couldn't explain why she was near him. Maybe it was because his fingers were very light when turning the book to avoid hurting the pages; maybe it was because he used a scrap saw blade to sharpen a carving knife behind the bars and carved the word "Lin An" more than 20 times; maybe it was just that he looked up at her while squatting in the hallway to tie his shoelaces.
He carries the debt of seven years, and she carries all the recklessness and tenderness of a twenty-three-year-old. Two people who shouldn't have met, slowly learned what it means to "be a good person" between a bowl of clear noodle soup and a silver ring.
This is a story about everyday redemption. There is no earth-shattering reversal, only the long process of one person getting another person out of the prison inch by inch. The rust will be washed away by the soap locust, and the old scars will be covered by the new days. Every day they spend together is the best way to repay the debt of the past seven years. Dedicated to all those who believe that scars can heal and time can come back.
