"After the wasteland comes the spring hills."
After PE class that day, Meng Shan returned to her classroom with a friend. At the turn on the east side of the stairs, she ran into Chen Wu again.
In the dim light, he wore that black T-shirt, one hand in his pocket, his posture languid. The bright red between his fingers was especially glaring.
A breeze blew, and his gaze turned with it.
His eyes were full of menace, like those of a dangerous beast.
Her friend tugged her away and listed his many misdeeds, warning her not to get involved with someone like him.
One was the well-behaved student teachers praised, a treasure cherished by everyone. The other was a regular on the disciplinary list, a hopeless case who could never amount to anything.
They were like two parallel lines, destined never to intersect.
But that very night, in a narrow alley,
just after a brawl, Chen Wu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glanced at the figure a few meters away. Looking relaxed, he raised an eyebrow and teased, "Aren't you scared?"
Meng Shan walked up to him, her gaze clear. "I'm not that timid."
He chuckled. "Really?"
But the next moment, his cool, crisp scent drew close. He cornered her, his eyes dark. "Then do you dare to date me?"
That winter was long, and even the height of summer seemed to hold a chill.
Raindrops splashed everywhere, the damp air spreading around them. She gave him her final goodbye.
Chen Wu leaned against the damp stone wall. Falling ash from his cigarette burned his pale, cold arm. His voice was rough as he said coldly, "Think it over. This is your last chance."
In the rain, the girl's silhouette was stubborn and resolute.
-
Years later, on another rainy day, they met again on the street. Their eyes met, but neither spoke first.
After who knew how long, Chen Wu walked to the edge of the street beneath his umbrella and looked down at the curled-up figure.
His Adam's apple bobbed, his expression seeming both helpless and self-mocking.
"Meng Shan."
"Give me one more chance."
-
That night, Chen Wu dreamed again of that night when he was seventeen.
Under the dim yellow streetlights, two figures, one tall and one short, stood pressed together.
Blood trickled slowly down from his brow. A half-smoked cigarette rested between his fingers. The gray-white ring of smoke veiled his vision, leaving only a flash of red that stood out in the night.
Meng Shan came over and took the cigarette from his hand. She pulled a bandage out of her pocket to put on his forehead, but he gripped her wrist violently, his eyes bloodshot. "If you don't want to die, stop meddling in my business."
The winter night was cold and quiet. The girl's gaze was pure and clear, unforgettable after just one look.
She looked at him and said, "Chen Wu."
"Have you ever heard a saying?"
Time stood still for a few seconds. He suppressed the fury between his brows, his voice hoarse to the point of breaking. "What?"
"Where the level plain ends, the spring hills begin."
Later, he told her, "Where Chen Wu ends, Meng Shan is always there."
Chen Wu x Meng Shan
A fierce-tempered boy x an insecure girl
A story of redemption. Synopsis revised on 2022.10.16, revised a second time on 2023.3.11, and a third time on 2024.1.1.
"Where the level plain ends, the spring hills begin" comes from Ouyang Xiu's poem "Treading on Grass: Plum Blossoms Fade at the Traveler's Lodge."
Theme: Grow up well.
