Spring Comes Again to the Withered Wood

A laid-back, emotionally detached junior office worker × a designer who never lets a grudge go unavenged HE The story follows two parallel threads: the leads’ real lives and the story written by the protagonist. The perspective shifts about every eight chapters. Wang Yan is determined to cultivate an image at work of someone who lies flat and wants no trouble. She has a mortgage and is under immense pressure, so she also writes girls’ love novels on a publishing platform. She considers herself a writer with ideas and is wholeheartedly determined to write a “masterpiece” exploring the fundamental logic of intimate relationships! Jia Xi is the lead designer at an independent studio. Her boundless imagination and solid design skills keep her employees fed, though it’s a struggle in a small city in the northwest. When they meet again, Jia Xi’s mother takes her hand and places it in Wang Yan’s palm, then solemnly introduces them to each other. After a few drinks, one bold woman leans in and presses a searing, forceful kiss to the other’s lips. The next time they meet, their parents have set them up to become roommates. Wang Yan was Jia Xi’s high school deskmate. They were so close that they were just one step away from holding hands, going off to university together, and embarking on a passionate romance. Everyone said Jia Xi was an unattainable beauty, but Wang Yan had won her over effortlessly. Everyone knew it. Just as Jia Xi was about to accept Wang Yan’s request to get together as soon as they started university, Wang Yan stood in front of the entire school and confessed her feelings to another girl with all her heart. That stunt made Wang Yan the top post on the school’s online forum and turned Jia Xi into the campus’s favorite topic of gossip. Three years after graduating, they met again. Wang Yan repeatedly confirmed what Jia Xi had long ago declared: Wang Yan was a heartbreaker. Jia Xi, who always paid people back for what they’d done, decided to string Wang Yan along until she was hooked, then decisively walk away. An eye for an eye. Bonus Scene: Jia Xi: “Besides her, how many relationships have you had?” Wang Yan: “None.” Jia Xi: “That must be because every girl at university avoided you like the plague, right?” Wang Yan: “Maybe it’s also because I’m a cripple.” Theme: Desire never needs to be hidden. The more you try to disguise it, the worse you look.