In 1980, in the family compound of a Su machinery factory, cicadas sang in the brick-paved courtyard, and the aroma of cured pork and bamboo shoots filled the air.
She was the second daughter in her family, the one most easily overlooked. So considerate it broke your heart, she often had to make do with chicken carcasses that had already been picked clean.
He was the son of the repair shop foreman, new to town and taciturn, gloomy, and distant with everyone. Yet he laid all his awkward tenderness and affection before her without reservation.
And then there was the compound's young bully, who rode around on a classic black bicycle and had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He always said the most dismissive things, but secretly saved warm tea eggs and his pocket money for her.
From the black-and-white television days, when goods were rationed by coupons, to the turbulent years of economic transformation.
Five childhood friends, half a lifetime of bonds, and two young hearts with feelings pure to the core.
One is a once-in-a-generation genius, utterly rational yet devoted to her alone. The other is her childhood friend, who retreats to his place and protects her in silence.
No melodramatic fights, just the fiery warmth of everyday life in the Jiangnan alleyways, the hilarious routines of ordinary folk, and that white-clad summer they can never return to.
