A man runs an inn in the mountains for two years, thinking he's hiding from something. A girl with insomnia comes to stay. He cooks for her, and she draws him. Separated by a floor and two wooden staircases, neither of them says what they really feel.
In winter, she returns to Chengdu to hand in her work. Before leaving, she says, "I'll come back, and then we'll go see the lantern festival in Zigong together." He says yes. He books a hotel, checks the high-speed train schedule, and for the first time writes those two words on his calendar.
What happens next? Later, he receives a wooden box containing old letters left behind when he moved away from the city. His former business partner comes to find him and says, "Come back." She returns, and a new person appears on the final page of her picture book. In her sketchbook, she writes three words.
He says nothing.
Later still, she leaves. Someone goes to the lantern festival; someone doesn't. Later yet, he returns to the city, and she publishes a book. They talk now and then on WeChat, but not much. One day, she mails him a drawing with a line written on the back. He doesn't reply. But that night, he brews a pot of tea and pours two cups.
Some people come into your life simply to let you know that you can leave a light on.
