Just Getting By

Su Wan's greatest talent in life is just muddling through.

She's easygoing and accustomed to going through life halfheartedly. She doesn't hope for perfection, crave special affection, dwell on love or hate, or cling to the past. The ups and downs of her youth smoothed away every sharp edge and expectation, teaching her early to hide her emotions and keep her true feelings under wraps. To her, life doesn't need to burn bright or be dramatic. All she wants is a peaceful, uneventful existence. She takes things as they come, goes with the flow, and never asks for more than she can get by with.

Meeting Lu Zeyan was meant to be a chance encounter in her quiet life.

She planned to keep things casual, love carelessly, and part on good terms. But Lu Zeyan was her complete opposite. Forceful, stubborn, and passionate to the point of obsession, he'd always been used to being in control and certain of himself. Once he made up his mind, he had to give his all and see things through to the end.

He couldn't stand her halfheartedness or her indifference.

In his eyes, her attitude of just muddling through meant she wouldn't give him her heart, wouldn't stay for him, and was treating him carelessly.

So he pressed her at every turn, insisting on drawing her in, and fought to pry open the layers of defenses around her. He pushed her to take things seriously, to favor him, to abandon all her half-measures, and to love him as passionately and decisively as he loved her.

But he didn't know that Su Wan's coldness wasn't indifference. It was fear.

She had long since grown used to expecting nothing, longing for nothing, and losing herself in nothing, turning her life into an empty city where she merely scraped by. Love weighed too heavily, and sincerity was too risky. She couldn't bear either and didn't dare reach for them.

He came at her easygoing acceptance with all the sincerity in his heart, obsessed with rewriting every compromise she'd made.

One was consumed by a deep devotion and wanted them to stay together forever.

The other felt only a little and wanted nothing more than to muddle through.

Passion met desolation, and devotion met indifference. From the very beginning, they were doomed to be unequal.

Only when he was left completely broken did Lu Zeyan finally understand:

She could endure regrets, accept goodbyes, and get used to settling for less.

But she would never give everything for him.

Theme: An urban story of healing.