Tales from the 1990s

In 1992, Qi Qingze went to Nanchang for the first time and met someone he could never forget. Sadly, they only shared a fleeting encounter, as if fate had kept them apart.

After graduating from university in 1998, he went to Nanchang alone. On his first day at work, he immediately took a dislike to one of his colleagues. If Qi Qingze had to describe him, he'd say rigid, dull, lifeless, and pretentious.

Though he gradually realized the man was quite handsome, had a lovely voice, and was capable at his job, sincere and resilient. Perhaps he was worldly, but he wasn't slick.

Forget it. No “but.” He just liked him.

But the other man was straight, so they were only friends.

After years of unrequited love, a photograph made him decide to let go and live his own life.

He cut off contact with the man, but he couldn't cut off his longing. When they met again, the other man was gravely ill. Leaning against the hospital wall, Qi Qingze held the pendant his mother had prayed for on his coming-of-age birthday and prayed devoutly, asking only that the other man be safe and well.

The gods gave him no answer then. Years passed, and when he went to visit the grave, he waited until the other man's younger siblings had left before stepping forward to offer a bouquet.

In his later years, he traveled far and wide with the other man's photograph, exploring the world. At last, he returned to Beijing and thought of visiting the temple where his mother had prayed for his pendant. On the way down the mountain, the pendant around his neck grew heavier and heavier, until he was forcibly pulled off a cliff.

Amid pain and darkness, it seemed the gods finally gave him an answer.

Let him live again. He could not force another person's fate, but his own would be in his hands.

The blurb is from the top's point of view. Please be aware of the following: rebirth, a gay man in love with a straight man, and both had other romantic relationships in their past lives.

Theme: An expression of ideal love.