Asteroids Aren't Lonely Planets

In 2011, the Tropic of Cancer received the sun's direct rays. It was the summer solstice.

Sheng Xuan had her bangs cut a little short and wore glasses that pressed down on her nose. The sweat on her back was drying in the air conditioning of the large lecture hall.

The man onstage wore a simple white shirt. He was refined and proud, his face gentle. In response to a question, he replied with a touch of humor, "I don't have a girlfriend. I welcome you all to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and work with me."

After the speech, Sheng Xuan was bold enough for the first time to squeeze into the front row for autographs, her palms sweating.

The man smiled warmly as he took a sip of water. Holding her notebook and pen, he asked, "What would you like me to write?"

Her heart pounded like it might leap out of her chest. Gritting her teeth, she said, "I'll be waiting for you in the capital."

The man looked up at her, his lips curving. He added three more words, each stroke full of force.

--I'll be waiting for you in the capital, Lu Shaoqin.

-

Throughout her teens, Sheng Xuan had worked herself to the bone studying and taking exams, but there was no end in sight.

After 2011, she did something incredibly rebellious. She decided to love someone impossible.

On the eve of the college entrance exam, she really did go to the capital. She sat on the sofa with her knees bent, her school uniform soaked through. "Lu Shaoqin, I lost my test papers."

The man, usually so gentle, glared at her and hauled her up from the sofa. He undid two buttons of her shirt, buttoned all the way to the top. "Aren't you supposed to get into a university in the capital? Don't make me scold you."

No inappropriate behavior before adulthood. SC. HE.

Theme: Life is a glass wind blowing straight at you. It doesn't seem like much, but when you're in love, you feel as though there's something between you.