[Seven thousand extra words added. Please add the upcoming novel, Deep and Shallow on a Lonely Island, to your wishlist.]
Story Blurb
A footless bird soaring through the clouds and a great banyan tree rooted in the soil were never meant to cross paths.
And yet, that summer when they were eighteen,
Wei Ermin followed her mother into the mountains to gather material for an art project. The day she was chased by a goose, she looked up in utter disarray and saw the tall, slender Yao Chuanbei.
From that moment on, a carefree girl like a footless bird and a boy growing wild and strong like a banyan tree had found each other.
-
On a sweltering summer day, a group of people squatted beneath the old banyan tree at the village entrance to escape the heat.
Yao Chuanbei pointed to the old bell and told her, "I've never heard it ring."
Wei Ermin picked up a branch and grinned, eager to try. "Come on, let's go see if we can ring it."
Yao Chuanbei stayed beneath the shade, not moving.
He watched this vibrant city girl run into the sunlight, where she seemed to shine with dazzling brilliance.
That scene became his most vivid memory of the scorching summer.
-
"She was dazzling. She shone into my barren life and nurtured the greed in my heart. From then on, I had no heart for beautiful nights."
"He always let his schemes show at just the right moment, all calculation and cunning. But when I looked up at him, how could I see any scheming in his eyes? They held nothing but sincerity."
-
Many years later, Wei Ermin died in a flash flood.
On the seventh day after her death, the ancient bell at the entrance to Bailin Village, silent for decades, rang 108 times for the young village official stationed there.
Her deeds were celebrated far and wide.
People were filled with admiration and curiosity about this girl who had grown up on the eastern coast but put down roots in a poor mountain region.
Someone came across a video from her alma mater, filmed years ago as it sent off its civil-service trainees. In it, they were asked why they had chosen to become trainees. Some spoke of personal ambitions; others wanted to help develop their hometowns.
When it was Wei Ermin's turn, she said just five words: "For Yao Chuanbei."
Who was Yao Chuanbei?
People opened a search box and typed in his name.
Oh. So it was him.
As they read, their eyes grew wet once more.
(This section is the heroine's personal epilogue. The leads' story ended long before this.)
-
College campus, a boy secretly in love with a girl
A lively, cheerful city girl and a cold, withdrawn boy from the mountains
Theme: The bell rings on, and their deeds live on
I don't know if my wife still remembers me, but it's okay if she doesn't. I just re-read the story again, and there are still some things I want to say in the middle of the night when I tend to get depressed. When I first read this work, it had already been serialized for more than a dozen chapters. Since I didn't often read serialized articles, I wasn't interested in reading this work until I took the time to read the copy. Needless to say, I am actually a fan of BE novels. The first novel I came across (I won't mention the name) was a BE novel. Going back further, I used the pocket money I saved in two weeks to buy magazines from the canteen at the school gate, just to see if the works I liked were updated. A work that I liked very much at the time gave me a big inspiration with its ultimate technique, and I had a more intuitive feeling about "sadness". "The Footless Bird" shocked me. When I was a child, I lived in my grandmother's house. Because the country's reform had already made some progress at that time, my grandmother often whispered in my ears, saying that our roots are deeply rooted in the fertile soil of the shining five stars. And I have always defined myself as a bird that strives hard and keeps flying away from home, so the word "footless bird" gives me a lot of associations and memories. I saw the sentence "I have no intention of loving good nights from now on" written in the copy. I liked this sentence very much, so I read the copy many times. I always thought, "Don't follow the serial. After reading this copy, I will finish the story." However, the less I don't want to do some things, the more I feel like doing them. During that time, people around me also sent me recommendations for this book one after another, taking my friend A as an example. A came to me that day and told me that he had a novel on hand that was still being serialized but was quite interesting so far, and asked me if I wanted to read it. As soon as I heard that it was a serial novel, I hurriedly rejected it. A continued to bombard me with messages, telling me that I must read it, saying that the characters written by this author were very interesting and vivid. I thought it wouldn't be a big deal to read it, so I asked her what it was called, and A said "Not Hearing the Bells". I was very happy when I heard it. Isn't this the same novel I had read several times not long ago? I said OK, I'll go check it out. So I clicked on the first chapter. In fact, I am embarrassed to say too much about the content of this book, for fear of spoiling it for new readers, but I think that from "The Alone Grass" to "The Ringing Bell", I have witnessed two completely different love affairs. A love is like wading through time, flowing continuously until it flows in front of you again after turning a corner; a love is like rain hitting banana trees, gathering together and hanging from the tips of the leaves without leaving a trace. I also witnessed two completely different years. A period of time when one enters the gate of society and dances hand in hand with intrigues; a period of time when one is vigorous and performs art with the breeze and blue sky. Each story moved me greatly, and I often shed tears, nestling under the quilt in the room with the lights off, rubbing the dry and sore tissue under my eyes, and couldn't help but sigh at the beauty and happiness of their stories. I had a dream during my lunch break yesterday, and I immediately wrote it down on paper when I woke up. In the dream, I saw a tree lined with shades. There was a young man leaning under the big tree, with a straw hat covering his face to block the sun. He put his hands behind his head and hummed a tune. I turned my head and saw that the blue sky not far away was very dazzling. It was so dazzling that a barefoot girl was running towards me with backlight. She stretched her arms and swayed her right hand, getting closer and closer to me. Her bright eyes were piercing, and her wide smile was brilliant. I heard her shouting: "Yao Chuanbei——!" She penetrated me and hugged the young man behind me tightly. I think that outside of the story, they were already running freely in the sky, holding hands.
I feel a little uncomfortable. I have never dared to read be's novels before. I opened this book when I had nothing to do and then I read it. I cried and shed a lot of tears... I just hope that Wei Ermin and Yao Chuanbei can live the life they want in another world.
It's too late to work overtime, the word count will be made up on Thursday
They are all living for each other
2023.2.15
Did you just find out that the name of this book has been changed? The previous song "Don't Hear the Ringing of the Bell" was quite nice.
Happy New Year. You hurt me and I cry-!
Wish Zhou Zhen, this paragraph, damn, cry well
A new day has arrived, and in my dream they are hugging each other for warmth.
Although I also like Xu Yuanzhou, I really can't accept Er'er being with anyone else except Yao Chuanbei.