"In January 1997, I finally reached the end of the world. This is the last lighthouse on the southern tip of the American continent. Beyond it lies Antarctica."
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The first time Nan Wuxun saw Zhu Le, she was digging a hole with a shovel. The team leader brought her over and said, "This is your mentor."
She was probably over 1.7 meters tall, her long hair pinned up on her head beneath a plain straw hat. She looked just like a farmer's daughter.
Nan Wuxun couldn't understand why someone who studied finance had been brought here to do this sort of work.
He was arrogant, rude, and prejudiced. His lofty attitude angered many people. But Zhu Le only watched coldly, utterly unimpressed.
They were enemies when they first met. Who could have imagined they would fall in love?
-
In America, Nan Wuxun had spent his time making money make more money. Reserved and refined, with an unmistakable Eastern elegance, he became an archaeology intern under Zhu Le, working bent over in the fields from dawn to dusk.
But whenever Nan Wuxun recalled those days, he was overwhelmed with regret. If only he had recognized his love sooner, they could have stayed together longer.
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Zhu Le's first impression of Nan Wuxun was that he was a rich playboy who only cared about pleasure and couldn't endure hardship. She didn't expect much from him.
Sure enough, Nan Wuxun offended so many people that he nearly got kicked off the archaeological team. Then the team ran into funding trouble, and Nan Wuxun's timely help solved the problem with a surprisingly small effort.
She had seen the storage room still lit by candlelight at two in the morning, with Nan Wuxun inside carefully filling out the register, stroke by stroke, writing Chinese characters as neat squares.
Later, amid the Antarctic snow and ice, she took out the little shovel Nan Wuxun had given her. In his ugly handwriting, it said, "Come back soon."
-
"Zhu Le, let's get married."
Neither poverty nor wealth, not even death, can part us.
Please note before reading:
Enemies to lovers
A story about an Antarctic archaeology team member and a Chinese American, set between 1984 and 1997
Theme: Passing on the values of cultural relic preservation
