"Two Worlds" is a short story set in a youth campus. It tells a clean and restrained growth story between Yu Xiu, a boy who loves science fiction, and Xi Shuxing, a girl who is obsessed with the history of the Ming Dynasty.
Yu Xiu is accustomed to drawing his imagination of the universe on a star map and hiding it silently in the margins of "The Three-Body Problem"; Xi Shuxing is good at telling history into a warm fairy tale, and even the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in the Ming Dynasty recipe has a human touch. A borrowed book, a pair of earphones for separate listening, and a one-hour bus ride across the county and urban areas - two seemingly unrelated worlds were quietly welded together.
They walked along the river and talked about Ming Dynasty ships and interstellar probes; they shared music by the window in the library, saying that each other looked like Yun Tianming in "The Three-Body Problem"; they exchanged clumsy but sincere letters using square manuscript paper and floral letterhead. He said "give time to the person you like" and she said "I understand". It turns out that if you like someone, even the time you wait is filled with light.
However, the gravity of reality is heavier than imagined. The pressure of family, the wear and tear of distance, and the invisible gap between the two worlds caused the "three-year agreement" to shatter in the snow of winter. The book "The Three-Body Problem" with stars written all over it was never returned.
With delicate and restrained writing, the novel captures the clean and sad love of adolescence, weaving the grandeur of science fiction and the weight of history into the glimmer of daily life. There was no grand confession, only Xueluo's silent farewell - and the "goodbye" that was frozen in the wind.
Purpose: Record my lost youth