It was pouring the day Lin Qici quit her job.
She dragged her suitcase along, her shoes and hair soaked, and her bank balance nothing to be proud of. Looking for shelter from the rain, she stepped into an independent bookstore called Nanzhi.
A help-wanted notice was posted by the door:
One events planner wanted.
Must be able to write copy, organize events, and know a little about social media.
Don't turn the bookstore into an influencer photo studio.
Don't start by suggesting the owner sell milk tea.
Lin Qici: "..."
Shen Zhitan, twenty-nine, is the owner and manager of Nanzhi Bookstore.
Calm, clearheaded, and firm about her boundaries, she's even unfailingly polite when turning people down.
At first, Lin Qici thinks she's just taken a temporary job.
Only later does she realize that some places aren't there to change people. They're there to let people sit down first.
Nanzhi has made room for many women's papers, old belongings, letters, and silences.
And once it is seen, it also faces misunderstanding, rivalry, imitation, and the return of people from the past, reaching out to take it back.
Shen Zhitan has looked after this bookstore for many years.
After Lin Qici arrives, Nanzhi is no longer just being looked after.
It begins to move forward.
And so do they.
Reading guide:
An older woman and a younger woman, with an age gap of about four years.
It's neither a sugary romance nor a tragic love story.
The two slowly fall in love as they work together to protect, reinvent, and run a space for women. The romance is a slow burn, and there's a lot I'd like to say. We'll take our time.
Theme: How women's lives are seen, written about, and misunderstood, and how women can take the pen back into their own hands.
