City Insomnia

The day Tang Yu discovered that her first love and her best friend were cheating together, snow fell over the city all day.

Betrayed at once by the two people she considered most important in the world, she fell into depression, couldn't sleep, and got sick. She never got better.

The support group recommended by her therapist held immersive sharing sessions every month. The idea was simple enough: everyone talked about how to move on from their trauma and embrace a new life.

Tang Yu let herself go and made up a story, saying she had fallen in love with the man who lived on the seventh floor.

Every morning at seven, the man went downstairs to pick up the milk. He always wore pale blue shirts of all kinds, and he had a red mole below his right ear. She boldly declared that before the next sharing session, she would confess to him.

Just then, a man in a pale blue shirt, with a red mole below his right ear, walked in and sat among them. Everyone looked at him as though fate itself had come calling.

The man introduced himself. "I'm Su Jian'an."

That night, the elevator doors closed on the seventh floor, then opened again.

Su Jian'an held the doors open, his face serious, as if he were saying something sacred. "I heard you like me. Would you like to... come over to my place?"

Tang Yu waved him off. "...I was just saying things."

The next second, the man took her hand. "But I was serious."

*

Su Jian'an met someone who claimed to have a "crush" on him. After a night together, he discovered that everything about her was fake.

Her name was fake, her WeChat account was fake, and even her "crush" was fake.

He wanted to know: aside from the woman in his arms every night, was there anything about her that was real?

Later, the two, now as good as strangers, met again.

Su Jian'an brought Tang Yu, half-frozen and dazed in the snow, back to his home. "You dumped me so coolly. Regretting it now?"

Snow fell thickly outside the window. Tang Yu reached out and pressed a finger to her chest. "It feels like this snow will never stop. I can't get warm again."

Su Jian'an lowered his head and kissed her finger, his eyes clear as a deep pool. "The snow has stopped here. Come into my arms."

Theme: Improving sleep quality