The railings were reddish brown, the tiles asphalt gray. Raindrops clung to the glass, which the wind occasionally teased into an unsteady sway. When the rain stopped and the sky cleared, the damp breeze slipped inside.
You peered down from the stairs, and I looked up from below. Our eyes suddenly met, and we saw ourselves reflected in each other's eyes. I curled my lips into a smile and thought, "So this is possible after all." The evening sun fell lazily on us, and I felt carefree and happy.
"I tried so hard to live. I tried so hard to understand the rules of this world, to play my part in the act of harmony and goodwill, to grow stronger and stay. What did I do wrong?" I watched the despair in his eyes as he tore open his own battered heart with his hands. My reflection in his pupils slowly blurred. "Yan Zaicheng, the Ninth Squad needs you. I need you. I need Yan Zaicheng, a man of flesh and blood."
: Name reflected, long-form story
Younger man
Female lead Guo Xiaoxiao: commander of the Blaze Unit, an elite special forces unit
Male lead Yan Zaicheng: top student at the National Defense University and a new recruit in the Blaze Unit
Redemption-focused story
The male lead's personality changes over the course of the story. The female lead is strong.
Everyone in this world seems to have a reason to hurry through life. Sometimes it's the salt missing from the pantry, sometimes it's an assignment from the boss, and sometimes it's the lofty ambition of shedding blood for one's country. So we hurry and bustle about, until we meet someone. There's no thunderbolt or grand, earth-shaking drama, but you still want to slow down for her. She is a flower I keep close to my chest along the dusty, miserable road I travel.
Theme: Saving each other
