[Ensemble cast, bittersweet ending, devoted to each other, secretly in love, aching romance]
Second-generation machine-tool factory boy × girl who is deaf in her left ear
“Smoke a Red Plum cigarette out in the snow, and three yuan fifty can get you through the day. But I’d gladly never smoke again for the rest of my life if only my Jiaojiao would get better. Let every illness and pain come for me instead. She’s still so young.”
Liang Chiye never believed in gods or Buddhas, but for Xu Wu, he did.
When they first met, Liang Chiye stood up for Xu Wu and chased off a gang of thugs. Then the workers were laid off, Xu Wu’s grandmother passed away, and even a reckless man like Liang Chiye was powerless to help her. Just when life finally seemed to hold some hope, Xu Wu was diagnosed with a hereditary illness. Liang Chiye stayed by her side day and night, until she wore down his temper completely. Everyone, without exception, wants only to hold on to what they have. But that’s how fate works: the tighter you grip, the faster it slips through your fingers.
“Jiaojiao, wear this red string. It’ll keep you safe.”
“Okay.”
After Xu Wu died, Liang Chiye became President Liang. But whenever he woke from a dream in the middle of the night, he could still feel that Xu Wu was there.
