You Are Both the Sunset and the Sunrise

1.

In 1996, Zhang Jiaming was seventeen, a boy as gentle as they come.

He fell for An'an, the aloof top student, and cherished her above all else for two years.

In a county high school in the 1990s, their first love was passionate yet innocent, and their days were warm and tranquil.

When Liuzi burned An'an so badly that her flesh was left bloody and raw, he touched the one and only thing Zhang Jiaming would never forgive.

Gentleness turned to violence. He beat the instigator until he was crippled, then dropped out of school.

As he left, he said, "An'an, you don't have to wait for me. I'll come back on my own."

An'an didn't wait.

A year later, she went to college. When someone pursued her, she would calmly say, "I have a boyfriend. He'll come see me in a little while."

When he finally came, their time together picked up where it had left off. The gentle boy was just as he had been before.

He spoiled her rotten.

Reality came crashing down. He began to feel inferior, act recklessly, and think about letting her go.

Under the watchful eyes of his brothers, An'an shaved his long hair back into a crew cut and calmly said, "Everyone rebels once in their life. I'll just assume your rebellious phase came late."

Zhang Jiaming asked, "But you've always been so good. You never rebelled."

She replied, "I rebelled once, too. I fell in love with you at sixteen."

2.

During the years of his youth when his family cast him out, he fell in love at first sight with that aloof girl. From then on, he gave her every ounce of tenderness he had, for the rest of his life.

He emerged from the shadows, but when she was sixteen, he set a fire that lit up her entire youth.

Loving her meant warm soy milk in the morning.

Loving her meant the rushing wind as his motorcycle sped along.

Loving her meant unrestrained favoritism and protection.

Loving her meant a cool first kiss as winter snow blanketed the mountains and rivers.

Loving her meant carrying her through the fiery light of winter sunsets, again and again.

Loving her meant keeping a magic backpack ready with everything she might need.

Loving her meant slipping away time and again so she would never have to taste the pain of saying goodbye.

Loving her meant fireworks over a frozen river in winter.

Loving her meant the Leonid meteor shower of 1999.

Loving her meant thirty-two photos of sunsets.

Loving her meant the pot of jasmine blooming in the north.

Loving her meant dreaming of a life filled with the simple joys of the world, even as a spirited young man in fine clothes.

Loving her meant using his fists to win her their first home.

Loving her meant that even if he had to humble himself to the dust, he would make sure she shone brightly.

He loved her so much, yet didn't dare say so lightly. He waited carefully until the day she turned eighteen.

He loved her so much, yet didn't dare speak lightly of the future. Letting go was his final act of love.

What about her? Did she love him?

Of course!

She was always cool and indifferent. Loving him was the full extent of her passion and devotion.

She always followed the rules. Falling in love with him at sixteen was the coolest thing she had ever done.

They fought their way toward each other through hardship, in exchange for a lifetime of ordinary, peaceful days.

Theme: Thank you for loving me since we were young