This novel is intended to celebrate traditional intangible cultural heritage, paying tribute to the artisans who preserve it and the enthusiastic members of the public who promote it.
An online competition showcasing intangible cultural heritage set Su Mianyan and Lin Hengyu at odds.
Competing under the account Zhiyi, Su Mianyan narrowly lost by a single vote to Muyan, the designer whom netizens later revealed to be Lin Hengyu.
Lin Hengyu disagreed with Su Mianyan’s ideas about innovation and posted a mocking comment. Though they had never met, the two began trading barbs online, becoming rivals who refused to back down.
At an offline exhibition of intangible cultural heritage, they met in person for the first time, but didn’t recognize each other. Their encounter revealed that they shared the same passion for preserving traditional crafts. With a single invitation from Su Mianyan, the two set off together to seek out practitioners of intangible cultural heritage.
They visited artisans in different places, devoted themselves to learning their skills, and recorded the many facets of intangible cultural heritage on camera. Using new media, they helped more young people discover these ancient crafts, growing step by step from students of traditional techniques into inheritors of their culture.
Along the way, they unexpectedly realized that they were the same rivals who had clashed online. That was when one of them said, “Zhiyi, let’s get to know each other all over again. I’m Muyan.”
As they spent every day together, their feelings grew stronger. When Lin Hengyu fell ill, Su Mianyan stayed by his side to care for him. When Su Mianyan suffered from a severe lacquer tree allergy, Lin Hengyu watched over her day and night. Beneath the brilliant lights of the lantern festival, they confessed their feelings.
Their journey grew more harmonious, but it also brought many challenges: crises in their relationship and an accidental venture into forbidden territory belonging to an ethnic minority. Arguments, silence, and steadfast companionship followed one after another. Yet despite all the twists and turns, neither could truly leave the other. In the end, they joined hands to safeguard a thousand years of craftsmanship.
Come on!