Mist Rising Over the Riverbank

“In a lifetime of yearning, no dream could ever take me to Huizhou.”

…

Coming soon: Love, Love, She. Another story set in southern Anhui. Please add it to your reading list. See below for the blurb. For more ongoing and upcoming works, visit the author's page.

Song Zhiyun once dreamed of being the brightest star onstage. Now, with an injured knee, she was stuck in a small mountain village, carrying out a charity project assigned by her company.

She no longer wore exquisite makeup or bright clothes. Instead, she went bare-faced every day in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops.

She used to be surrounded by flowers, applause, and fans. Now all she had was the chirping of cicadas and birds, and countless chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep.

…

Fang Jingchen, heir to a well-known domestic conglomerate and a descendant of Huizhou merchants, was the undisputed crown prince of their circle.

With an eye for opportunity, he'd focused on that stretch of green mountains and clear waters long ago.

Rumor had it that he'd stayed in the mountain village for a woman.

Everyone knew he was smitten with a washed-up female idol. What they didn't know was that he was usually proud and refined, decisive and ruthless in business, yet somehow he saved every bit of his tenderness for her.

He was willing to cook for her and quietly clear every obstacle in her way.

…

She'd thought they'd first met in Jiangnan, never knowing that fate had brought them together six years earlier.

After failing to debut for the first time, she'd hidden in a corner backstage and cried silently.

Fang Jingchen offered her a tissue. She stood with the light behind her, unable to make out his face...

All place names and building names in this story are fictional.

The poem quoted is from Ming-dynasty playwright Tang Xianzu's “A Friend, Seeing My Poverty, Urges Me to Visit Huangshan and Baiyue.” The full poem reads:

If you would know where gold and silver lie, seek the lands of yellow and white.

In a lifetime of yearning, no dream could ever take me to Huizhou.

Blurb for Love, Love, She

□□ | Faux rough-and-tumble hero | 161 cm x 185 cm, contrasting builds | The male lead has incredible stamina

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A beautiful, bold heroine who sleeps with him and runs off x a clearheaded, restrained male lead who's slow to realize his feelings

Beauty blogger x young man of the She ethnic group

Xu Yilian, a beauty blogger whose career and personal life have both hit rock bottom, decides to take a trip with no destination in mind. She wanders into a picturesque She village in southern Anhui and soon finds herself reluctant to leave.

On an unexpected visit home, Lan Yichuan discovers that the new guest at his little courtyard, which he runs without any thought of making a profit, seems to be particularly popular. The village aunties and children gather around her every day, and even his own big yellow dog likes to stay by her side.

Until one day, he too finds himself drawn to her.

…

Xu Yilian: “How about we have a short-term relationship? It ends whenever I leave.”

Lan Yichuan: “Sounds good.”

He thought it was just something she'd said while drunk. But one morning, he reached an arm out beside him and found that the bed had long since gone cold. Only then did Lan Yichuan realize that Xu Yilian had headed north and run away.

“Xu Yilian, did you really treat me like a human-shaped pillow? Use me and throw me away?”

Theme: I hope every girl can be brave enough to be herself.