After death, a person's hearing lasts for only 20 minutes.
At the 21st minute, the world falls completely silent, and all the love left unspoken becomes a final message no one can receive.
Xu Fu'an is a curator who wears turtlenecks pulled up to her chin. Jiang Wu is a lounge singer who makes a living in backless tops that show off her tattoos.
They did everything lovers do, but never said they loved each other.
One held back, the other tested the waters, and in all their almost-said words, they wore each other down.
Until an art exhibition pushed Xu Fu'an to the brink.
By the time Jiang Wu arrived, all that remained was the fading warmth of those 21 minutes.
She confessed her love to a body that could no longer hear, saying what she had never managed to say while Xu Fu'an was alive.
Later, Jiang Wu put away all her camisoles and long skirts and wrapped herself in turtlenecks, living as another Xu Fu'an.
They never officially confessed their love. Their bodies had long since embraced, but their souls never managed to be honest before death.
What always stood between them was never society's judgment, but those words, "I love you."
By the time they were spoken, the person meant to hear them was already gone from this world.
Core theme: The tragedy of love left unspoken, which in the end becomes a lifelong regret.
