Crossing the Line

1.

Wanying's husband has a violent temper. He slaps her hard across the face, grabs her by the hair and shoves her head into a bathtub full of water, and punishes her by making her stand barefoot in the snow.

She thought she would be trapped in that endless darkness forever, until she met Xie Nanyuan.

A new neighbor who is obsessed with motorcycles, rich and handsome, and radiates a dazzling confidence utterly unlike her own.

Xie Nanyuan often catches her being abused. At first, he just says casually, "Hit him back."

Later, he grows more serious each time.

"You have to fight back. Do you understand?"

"Get up. I'll take you to the police."

Wanying is in too much pain to stand. She covers her bruised face with both hands and shakes her head as she cries. He bends down toward her. "I'll carry you."

2.

The two of them spend more and more time together, and things seem on the verge of crossing a line.

The pipes break, and Xie Nanyuan fixes them.

The lightbulb burns out, and Xie Nanyuan replaces it.

Once, she forgets to buy sanitary pads. Xie Nanyuan buys every kind on the supermarket shelves and lays them out in front of her, one by one. "Surely there's one you like?"

Wanying laughs. "What if I don't like any of them?"

The light happens to go out. In the darkness, Xie Nanyuan asks softly, "What about me? Do you like me?"

The light comes back on, and the last of Wanying's brief lapse in judgment disappears. "I have a husband."

He never expected to be turned down, and his expression turns cold. "Don't regret it. Plenty of young women are crazy about me."

Wanying's eyes redden. She says she understands.

After that, Xie Nanyuan never speaks to her again. He treats her like a stranger.

*

But Xie Nanyuan still can't bring himself to stand by and watch.

The next time he sees her being abused, he rushes in without hesitation.

After they leave the police station,

right in front of her husband, he puts a helmet on her, lifts her onto the back of his motorcycle,

then revs the engine with brazen abandon and speeds away.

He takes her through the city streets at night, teaching her to spread her arms in the wind, shout as loud as she likes, and laugh freely from the heart.

But she learns far more from him than that.

She also learns to be brave, resilient, independent, and outstanding.

[Reading Guide]

1. The female lead is not a virgin, while the male lead is. Neither lead is perfect; they both have flaws.

2. The story opens with a dark, oppressive tone. This is not a typical romance. It mainly follows the female lead's growth, and has a happy ending.

3. This story is entirely fictional. Please do not relate it to real life. The characters' values do not represent the author's, and serve only the plot.

Theme: Firmly oppose domestic violence and protect women's independence and autonomy.