"He is the brightest spark I've ever seen in my life."
[A wild, rugged police captain x a gentle, ethereal ballet dancer]
They parted in 2008
They reunited in 2015
For seven years, she basked in the evening breeze of Barcelona.
He raced through Gangcheng, hunting criminals and risking his life in fights.
They reunited at a classmate's wedding. Chen Baizhao sat among the guests, smoking half a pack and smiling as he greeted all their classmates. He didn't even look at He Shiman.
Everyone said he no longer loved her.
Later, He Shiman was trapped at a performance venue engulfed in flames. A man in a police uniform risked his life and rushed into the fire, pulling her back from the brink of death.
She escaped without a scratch, but he spent two whole months in the hospital.
He Shiman would never forget that day in the smoke-filled inferno. She asked him if he was crazy, if he didn't care about his life.
Chen Baizhao's eyes were bloodshot as he held her and ran for his life. Before she passed out, she heard him grit his teeth and say:
"I said I'd protect you, and I won't break my word."
*
"I wrote you so many letters. Why didn't you ever write back?"
"There were so many cases. How was I supposed to find time for all that romantic nonsense?"
It wasn't until she found hundreds of unsent letters in the bottom drawer of his locker that she understood.
The last letter contained only one line.
"If I could,
I'd give my life to He Shiman."
She glanced at the date.
It was exactly the year she'd fallen off the stage in an accident.
*
In countless nights no one knew about,
his longing had long since sunk into his flesh and bones, deep into his marrow.
(Blurb dated 21-12-6)
Theme: A love story that leaves an indelible mark
