Ode to Orange Lost in the Fog

In Spring City, which was shrouded in the epidemic in 2020, the sycamore leaves fell earlier than in previous years. Siyu, a Chinese language and literature major, carries the secret concerns of high-functioning depression and anxiety, disguises vulnerability with a cheerful smile, and hides fatigue in the shadows. She posted a silhouette of the sunset on social media and said, "There are no clouds today." She deceived herself, but was exposed by Lu Jing, a distant and distant finance student: "The shadow in the photo seems to be more tiring than the smile." A word of understanding makes two souls accustomed to pretending to be closely attached to each other. They talked all night long online, met offline three times, fell in love in the evening breeze and the shadow of the sycamore tree, and briefly had the most passionate tenderness of youth. But the long distance, family pressure, misunderstandings between childhood sweethearts, Lu Jing's silence and cowardice and Si Yu's sensitivity and uneasiness eventually broke up the relationship. In the years since the separation, Si Yu has transformed in the workplace, put aside pretense and drug dependence, and learned to be independent and self-loving; Lu Jing returned to China to start a business, faced regret and cowardice, and slowly unlocked the shackles of his heart. Many years later, they reunited at a business dinner and the old relationship was rekindled, but it was unable to withstand the personality dislocation and divergence in life direction after growing up. In the end, they said goodbye calmly, letting each other go and themselves. This encounter, which began with pretense and finally understood, did not have a happy ending, but it allowed two lonely people to grow up in regret and understand that true healing is never dependent on others, but about accepting vulnerability, being true to oneself, and living as one's own light. Concept: The novel is based on the youth under the 2020 epidemic, focusing on two young people who are accustomed to wrapping up their fragility with disguises - Si Yu, who is high-functioning and depressed, and is accustomed to pleasing people, and Lu Jing, who is emotionally repressed and not good at expressing. It tells the story of how they met because of a heart-piercing message, fell in love because of the compatibility of their souls, and regretfully separated due to the estrangement in reality, personality dislocation, and youthful cowardice, and finally each transformed over time. The core of the work explores the propositions of disguise and authenticity, dependence and independence, love and self: We are taking off our disguises throughout our lives. We do not need to use perfect personas to please the world, and we do not need to rely on other people's preferences to fill the holes in our hearts. Real healing never relies on others' salvation, but rather accepts one's own sensitivity, vulnerability and imperfection, learns to coexist with emotions, and reconcile with the past. At the same time, it conveys: Love is not a shackle that binds each other, but the confidence for each to grow. Even if there are regrets in youth, the warmth when we meet and the healing when we understand will become nutrients for growth, allowing us to eventually live an independent, calm and loyal life, understanding that being loved is not as good as loving ourselves, and regrets are also life.