Out of Reach

The day Shen Bozhou met Ye Linglu, she was down on her luck and a mess, curled up in a hospital stairwell, crying as she spoke on the phone. He had long since grown used to hardship, so he stood around the corner, listening to her ramble with indifference.

He never expected someone as fragile as Ye Linglu to stand tall like a pine or bamboo, never once bending beneath the raging storms of fate.

That year, Shanghai saw its first snow. With nowhere else to turn, Ye Linglu bowed before Shen Bozhou. “Shen Bozhou, save me. I’ll give you anything.”

Shen Bozhou gently wiped the tears from her cheek. “All right.”

Later, Shen Bozhou led her out of the shadows in her life. She kept her promise and repaid him in her own way.

The night after that, Ye Linglu fled Shanghai. Every message Shen Bozhou sent her vanished without a trace.

What a heartless little thing. Shen Bozhou sighed. What else could he do? Go after her and bring her back, of course.

Theme: I hope that in every moment of helplessness, someone will be there to take your hand.