[Coolheaded, Rational Test-Prep Teacher × Sunny, Cheerful Photographer]
[Adult Sapiosexual Romance + Everyday Life + Realistic, Gentle Sweet Romance + Workplace and Marriage]
The leads were high school classmates. They're ordinary office workers in a second-tier city in northern China, and both come from the same county.
At twenty-seven, the cool and slow-to-warm Wen Jinhe ended her single streak. The man was Jiang Xun, the boy from her school days who was always taking pictures with a camera and had a pair of dimples whenever he smiled.
The story begins with Wen Jinhe, her hair tied in a low bun, standing beneath a warm yellow streetlamp. She lifts her face slightly, her bright eyes fixed on the person in front of her, and gives him a clear answer, one word at a time:
“Jiang Xun, let's give this a try.”
At the end of the story, Jiang Xun is a father. He has just put their daughter to sleep and, after taking a shower, sidles up to his wife to get her attention.
Wen Jinhe glances up at him with a helpless look. The first thing she sees is his firm, defined torso. Before she can react, someone snatches the book from her hands. His tall figure leans over her, his tone seemingly aggrieved:
“Does Teacher Wen have no interest in me at all anymore?”
The novel unfolds chronologically, following the twenty-four solar terms. Each chapter begins with a matching poem.
“This is a realistic collection of everyday life, depicting different aspects of society and all kinds of people. Many characters are based on people in the author's real life.
You'll find reflections of your own life in its themes of friendship, love, work, family of origin, marriage, and parenthood. Reading it feels like looking in a mirror, and little details will bring back memories. It's the kind of story that gets better the further you read.”
