[Reunion After Years Apart] [Old Flames Rekindled] [The Push and Pull of Adulthood] [Desire Before Love]
At twenty-one, Shen Mingzhu was deeply in love with Cheng Yan.
She loved him enough to cross half the city in the middle of the night to see him, and to hold his hand even when nobody believed they would last.
But she never intended to decide the course of the next several decades of her life just for him.
She wanted to study abroad, to continue her education, to see a bigger world.
Cheng Yan, however, had already begun seriously planning their future.
On the day they broke up, she said, "Cheng Yan, I love you, but I can't promise you what we'll be doing years from now just because I love you today."
Seven years apart.
When they meet again, Shen Mingzhu is the founder of a fragrance brand with a growing reputation, while Cheng Yan has gone from a penniless student to the youngest managing partner in the investment world.
They're both doing well, and both think that passionate romance from their youth has long since become a thing of the past.
Until they end up in bed together again after reuniting.
Shen Mingzhu lays down the rules first: "No getting back together, no promises, and don't ask about the future."
Cheng Yan agrees.
So by day, they politely call each other Mr. Cheng and Ms. Shen in front of others. At night, neither of them mentions what happened seven years ago or asks whether the other will regret it tomorrow.
Shen Mingzhu thinks that at twenty-eight, she's finally capable of keeping love and the future separate.
Until one day, Cheng Yan is the first to stop.
She thinks he's lost interest.
But after a long silence, he finally says, "Shen Mingzhu, I mean it again."
"So by your rules, this time we have to end it."
Only when he really turns to leave does she finally understand:
Seven years ago, she was most afraid of Cheng Yan talking about their future.
Seven years later, what she fears most is that he truly doesn't want a future anymore.
