Jade is precious to me, so I trap you to claim you. When I cannot have you, I pursue you, confine you, and imprison you.
At first, whenever Ji Linglu saw a flower while in despair, she wanted to pluck it and hide it in her arms.
So when that person was Cui Chiyan, that's exactly what she did.
Only later did she realize the flower had already fallen into her arms.
*
There were three rains between them.
The first time, in the bamboo grove at the Ji residence, he asked her for directions, though that wasn't all he wanted. He left without a word, and she tossed aside her umbrella and walked away.
The second time, at Jing'an Temple, she lay in the downpour, crying and losing her mind. He came toward her and never thought of leaving again.
The third time, outside the Susui Pavilion, they went there together in the rain and left together.
In the past, Ji Linglu liked to put her arms around the blue-robed gentleman before her and ask whether he liked or hated her.
After that, it was Cui Chiyan who asked the questions.
He was the one who spent his days uneasy and couldn't bear to let go.
*
What should you do when you meet someone you like?
Obviously, trick him into coming home with you, lock him up, and then let him go.
Have him provide you with emotional support.
You can also vent all your emotions on him and demand whatever you want.
When you're in a good mood, go see him and treat him well.
When you're in a bad mood... do whatever you want.
Once you're tired of him, let him leave and become strangers.
Reader's Guide
1. An imaginary setting, with extensive original worldbuilding. Entirely fictional.
2. This story can also be read as a fairy tale.
3. Told in first person, so what the heroine sees and knows isn't necessarily true.
Theme: Imprisoning him is imprisoning yourself; setting him free is setting yourself free
