Thirteen Seconds Apart

You've surely seen people walking their dogs. When a dog gets too far away from its owner, it will either catch up or stop and wait. This is the psychological "safe distance" between a pet and its owner. If they are apart for too long, the pet becomes inexplicably uneasy.

People have this kind of relationship with one another, to varying degrees. For example, the safe distance between the heroine, Xiao Zhi, and her uncle is thirteen seconds.

[Blurb for Beginners]

From now on, she has to live with a strange man. He must support her, look after her, and protect her until she comes of age. She doesn't have to do anything, or even like him. She just has to hold out until she turns eighteen, then she can leave him...

[Blurb with Major Spoilers]

She thinks he isn't manly enough, and their days together are too dull. He isn't good at expressing himself, so he can only keep trying in silence.

They're about to break up, and this is his last chance to confess his feelings to her, when another man appears.

In short, this is a story about a girl and her uncle during a hot, humid summer vacation.

As for the style, it's an unhurried story about complicated relationships that doesn't take much thought to read. Like a memory from the past that comes back to you unexpectedly and makes your heart flutter, just for a moment, and nothing more.