Three Hundred Years After the Rain Stopped

General introduction] Lin Wan is an ordinary illustrator who picked up a crow that could speak human language in an alley during the rainy season. Crow calls himself the Demon King Xuan Ming, who is injured and in desolation. In return, he is willing to help her realize three wishes. Lin Wan thought about it and made the first promise: "Let my crush like me too." Crow was silent for a moment: "... The one you secretly love is the demon king I sealed with my own hands three hundred years ago." My crush, Zhou Yan, is an ordinary employee in the design company next door. He goes to the convenience store to buy tuna sandwiches at 7:23 every day, knows how to hold the elevator door, and comes back from overtime work late at night with the smell of cold rain and coffee on his body. But three hundred years ago, he had a more famous name - the Black Flame Demon King who burned the sky and destroyed the world. The sealed demon king is looking for a bronze lamp, the sealed demon king is squatting on the window sill of the rental house, drinking porridge, and the human illustrator caught in the middle just wants to submit manuscripts, eat noodles, and figure out one thing: why are these two old enemies separated by three hundred years coming to her side? There is a monster market hidden deep under the tracks of the flea market. The noodle shop proprietress is a two-hundred-year-old cat demon, the night watchman on the railway tracks is a black cat with dark green pupils, and the old man of Huaiyin Bookstore is a book beetle who has lived for hundreds of years. The city was far more crowded than she'd expected—filled with tailed, flying, translucent, mirages that peddled fragments of memory at the end of the tracks late at night. It wasn't until the bronze lamp was lit and the three-hundred-year seal shattered that Lin Wan understood: Some rain had been falling for three hundred years, and the wait was not for the sky to clear up, but for someone to finally remember why he had fallen. --- --- [Character Profile] Lin Wan - heroine, illustrator, living in a rental house in the old city. The only special thing about an ordinary human being is that she can see monsters. After picking up a crow, his life completely went astray, and he was forced to act as a mediator between the Demon King and the Demon King. His daily worries changed from "due the manuscript next Wednesday" to "when will they stop quarreling?" Xuan Ming - the demon king, whose body is a huge black-winged crow, in charge of rain. Three hundred years ago, he sealed the Black Flame Demon King at the cost of half of his demon power. He himself was trapped in the seal and slept for a hundred years. After waking up, the demon power dissipated and he possessed the body of a crow in distress and was picked up by Lin Wan. He has a cold personality and a tough mouth, but is extremely soft-hearted. He will find a home for the Yunu cubs whose nests were demolished by the construction team, and he will also complain in letters about neighbor weasels stealing his dried dates. Zhou Yan - the reincarnation/incarnation of the Black Flame Demon Lord, was sealed in a bronze lamp by Xuan Ming three hundred years ago. After escaping from the trap, he lost most of his memory and became an ordinary designer. He usually buys tuna sandwiches at the convenience store, works overtime until late at night, and secretly pays attention to Lin Wan in the building next door. The dark red flame pupils only appear when the mood fluctuates violently, and are usually a gentle and harmless dark brown. Before meeting Xuan Ming again, he searched for him for three hundred years with a crow feather and vague memories of rainy nights. Ah happy - the cat demon, noodle shop proprietress, with amber vertical pupils, lived long enough to witness the whole process of Xuan Ming and Hei Yan from meeting, working side by side to turning against each other. He talks straightforwardly, but he will sit alone at the door after closing the shop late at night and watch the rain. Fox - Axi's husband, a member of the nine-tailed fox clan. All but one of his tails was lost in a fight. He is responsible for the cashier and kitchen. He is taciturn and cooks well. Ginkgo Tree Spirit - The old ginkgo tree at the east gate of the flea market has a human face. It takes a nap with its eyes closed during the day, and keeps one eye open at night to guard the night market. He spoke slowly, like the sound of tree roots stretching in the soil. Mirage - a slender humanoid figure wrapped in a gray cloak who makes a living by selling fragments of his own memories. Every time a piece of white porcelain is sold, a piece of the past is forgotten, and the fingertips are as transparent as glass. Mr. □□——A stall owner at the night watch market, selling copper coins and roasted chestnuts that can extract memories. After living for three hundred years, I have learned two things. --- Main highlights · Comedy of misplacement: Make a wish to your enemy to make him fall in love with you, and God sneezes in the middle ·Three Hundred Years of Rain: A two-way journey across time, but both of them forgot how to speak. · Yokai City: A flea market where humans and monsters coexist, selling used books during the day and memories at night · Unit group portraits: Cat Demon Noodle House, Mirage Demon Porcelain Pieces, and Copper Coins—Every memory has an owner · Gentle healing: All the hatred was extinguished in the heavy rain, and all that was left was a bowl of hot noodles --- [Trial reading passage] Lin Wan squatted by the water at the entrance of the alley, tilting the umbrella to protect an injured crow from the rain. The crow opened his eyes, his irises were a very deep purple. "Water..." She poured water and fed it. The crow lowered its head to drink, then raised its head and said in a clear, rusty human voice: "Human... You saved me. I am the demon king Xuan Ming, and I would like to repay you with my three wishes." Three wishes. Lin Wan thought about it, and the designer from the next building who always bought sandwiches at the convenience store came to mind. "Then let my crush like me too." The crow was silent for a long time. "... The one you have a crush on is the demon king I sealed back then." --- Positioning and style Light fantasy background + urban daily texture + light comedy rhythm. It does not pursue a grand world view and fierce conflicts, but focuses on the emotional flow between three "abnormal humans/birds" and the monsters in the flea market who have lived for hundreds of years. It's warm and a little moist, like opening an old book during the rainy season. Suitable for readers: Readers who like daily life of monsters, slow-burning emotional lines, and urban themes where monsters and humans coexist. It's not abusive, the ending is HE, there are bumps in the process but overall it's gentle. Concept: Layered Interpretation] Level 1: About the old enemy. The old enemy in the eyes of the world may just be two people who have gone astray. One used fire and the other poured rain. They seemed to be incompatible, but in fact one was waiting for the other to stop, and the other was waiting for the other to understand. In that long-lasting confrontation, the strongest thing was not hatred, but that one did not know how to express it, and the other did not learn how to listen. Level 2: About memory Forgetting someone takes more effort than remembering someone. Zhou Yan forgot Xuan Ming's face, the details of the seal, and why he stood on the tower and burned the city three hundred years ago. He only remembered a pair of purple eyes and one syllable on a rainy night - "enough". Memories will be broken and blurred, but the warmth in the deepest part will not dissipate. It will light up again with the action of a person squatting down at an alleyway during the rainy season. Level Three: About Reconciliation The real reconciliation is not "I forgive you", but "I recognize you". I recognize you as the little kestrel three hundred years ago, I recognize that you have rained so many times but you just don't want me to continue burning, I recognize the words you carved in the lamp, the words "Let's meet next time" you wrote in the letter, and the half-second pause on your fingertips when you handed the porcelain piece to the other person. Reconciliation does not require apology, only recognition. Level Four: About Time Three hundred years is a long time. It is long enough for a city to grow from the ruins, long enough for a demon king to become an ordinary person who buys a sandwich at 7:23 every day, and long enough for a crow to wait for a tilted umbrella in the water at the entrance of the alley. Three hundred years is also very short. It is so short that before a bowl of noodles goes cold, two people face to face and talk to each other, and a memory comes back. The fifth level (the deepest level): About "Abnormal" The "abnormal" in the title of the book does not refer to monsters, devils, or spells, but to those who love in the wrong way. Use seals instead of retention, use burning the city instead of shouting, and use three hundred years of forgetfulness instead of saying "Don't leave." These "abnormal" actions are hatred in the eyes of mortals. Over a long period of time, they are just a clumsy person saying "you are very important to me" in his own way. --- [Summary in one sentence] Hate is love that has been forgotten, and rain is unspeakable retention. Three hundred years later, they all learned to speak in the right way - with a bowl of noodles, a letter, and an old dream solidified on a piece of white porcelain. ---