[A sensitive girl raised in a troubled family * A favored son of heaven who has lived his whole life constrained by expectations]
Girl and uncle / 12-year age gap / unrequited love / happy ending
Liang Die comes from a poor family, and Zhou Xuchen sponsors her education.
She adds him as a contact and sends him updates about her studies every so often.
No matter how busy he is, Zhou Xuchen always makes time to reply, telling her to work hard and make her way out of their small town, like a kind older relative.
Little by little, Liang Die gets used to telling him everything, even cheekily calling him Old Zhou on the phone.
Zhou Xuchen always smiles and says helplessly, "Oh, you. You're such a child."
Every time she hangs up, Liang Die lets out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Heaven knows how hard she has to work to act cheerful and joke with him so freely.
Liang Die goes through a lot to become good enough to stand by Zhou Xuchen's side. Fortunately, her efforts pay off, and little by little she turns herself into someone who shines from head to toe.
Thinking that would be enough, she gathers her courage and confesses to Zhou Xuchen.
After several long, agonizing minutes, the man finally says, "I can't love a girl like you."
As snow swirls all around her, Liang Die curls up with her knees to her chest and cries for a long time, her limbs stiff and her legs numb.
Behind her, in the corner by the wall, the man silently takes out his phone and makes a call. A car pulls up in front of Liang Die.
The car's lights gradually fade into a distant point. Zhou Xuchen slowly walks to the spot where Liang Die stood and stays there until dawn.
Liang Die disappears. No one knows where she went.
A year later, Zhou Xuchen holds a family-arranged wedding by the sea. Liang Die appears in a beautiful white dress, one that looks just like a pure white wedding gown.
An exquisite piano has been placed by the sea. Everyone assumes it's just a decoration.
As the crowd looks on with curiosity and gossip in their eyes, Liang Die slowly sits down at the piano and rests her hands on the keys.
Zhou Xuchen taught her to play the piano, one step at a time. She once said that when she got married, she would play the piano by the sea, letting the sea breeze carry all her love to the person she loved.
As the final note fades, Liang Die's vision blurs.
Without looking back, she gazes at the boundless sea and leaps into its icy depths.
In her final moments, she hears Zhou Xuchen's voice, torn with anguish.
The end comes at last: in the end, life itself must reach its conclusion.
Theme: Break the cycle of dysfunctional families and become a parent who loves their children.
