Ling Xu lived to be thirty-four years old, and her marriage was just a life-saving straw to escape the quagmire of her original life.
She witnessed domestic violence against her father and mother since she was a child. She grew up with harsh treatment and criticism, and was regarded as a troublesome burden by her family. In order to escape the endless abuse and persecution, she rushed into a blind date and was willing to marry anyone.
Lu Jinsheng is also trapped in the quagmire of fate.
Five years ago, at the end of the New Year, he took his ex-girlfriend back to his hometown, but was brutally injured and died by the village bully. That tragedy turned into a deep nightmare, trapping him in memories and never daring to touch love again. Unable to bear the ardent expectations of his frail mother, he accepted the blind date arranged by his family.
Two scarred adults agreed to get married without even taking a closer look at each other.
Before the marriage, he put a written marriage agreement in front of her, stipulating that they would live in separate rooms after marriage, not be husband and wife, and only act like they were loving in front of their elders. Ling Xu knew that the contract marriage might be exposed at any time, so she still chose to sign it. She just wanted a place to stay.
Under the same roof, there is a daily life of being polite and alienated, and it is also the gradual approach of two broken souls.
The entanglement of the original family keeps coming, and the nightmares of the past repeatedly haunt the night. They saw each other's hidden sufferings and did not force each other to forget the past. They only silently gave each other a rare understanding and belated return.
Purpose: Marriage should not be a refuge, but two adults covered with scars can be each other's antidote. The male protagonist is trapped in the trauma of the tragic death of his lover and no longer believes in intimacy and happiness. The female protagonist is constantly squeezed by her original family and sees marriage as an escape route from hell. They entered into a private marriage with the purpose of each getting what they needed. Originally they just wanted to act and deal with their elders without disturbing each other.
The story is not about "healing all pain with love", but about two people who dare not love each other and see each other's hidden suffering in the trivial daily life of living together. They learn to empathize and protect, and slowly unravel the nightmare of the past. The female protagonist breaks away from the spiritual shackles of her original family, and the male protagonist reconciles with the past and understands that living is not about forgetting the pain, but allowing yourself to have warmth again.
It criticizes the use of marriage as a tool to solve life difficulties, the prejudice that favors boys over girls in rural areas, and the moral kidnapping of traumatized people who are asked by others to "get out quickly", and praises the belated tenderness, self-salvation and two-way perfection of adults.