Fingers on the Strings

Who is Wen Yuanjun? A guqin player who has lived in Yingqing Pavilion for three years. She has never plucked those seven strings for anyone. If she ever does, it is only for herself. And yet, somehow, he heard her. Geng Fenglin was nothing but a scholar, a petty official. He was indeed lovesick, but what about her? Was she not lovesick too? She had her pride, but did he lack ambition? Let us speak plainly... He was weak and indecisive; she was cold and ruthless. When he left, he severed all ties without a second thought. The tune she played, though, was tender and full of longing. To call it a mere love affair between a man and a woman would be to underestimate them both. Yuanjun masked a bitter smile; Fenglin hid a sigh. Since it was all just an if, then neither of them should say a word. The land and the passing years were no more than a snap of the fingers. She still had her guqin, and he could still remember its music, remember her. A story written with entirely impure motives... An outline whipped up over a McDonald's meal... Aside from some fan fiction of mine that went completely off the rails and fantasies I never got around to realizing, this is probably my first original work... I only thought of all this later. I really did work hard on it at the time... It isn't long, but it took me ages to write... Looking back, I'm still not very satisfied. It never quite captured the feeling I wanted. But I felt too constrained while writing it, so I don't want to revise it anytime soon... It was first posted on my blog and Xiaolou... Premise: