The Wind Upstream

Zhu Qiao spent nineteen years traveling from village to town to a crumbling county seat.

The year she got into university, she contacted her benefactor and asked for a summer job. He agreed quickly.

As she was leaving, Song Xun gave her a white dress. Later, he pinned her beneath him and dirtied it with his own hands.

Night after night of reckless passion, but dawn would come at last.

In early summer, with the trees swaying and the wind rustling, Zhu Qiao stood at the door of her rented room and looked back at the man in a tank top. "Song Xun, I'm leaving."

-

Zhu Qiao had only ever heard her benefactor, Mr. Pei, speak over the phone. His voice was careless and laid-back. When they met for the first time, she discovered that he was so young, so dissolute, and so rich.

He was the wind blowing over the glittering world, high above it all.

Only when he kissed her did he become flesh and blood, ablaze with passion.

And when he learned that Song Xun existed, and when Song Xun came looking for her.

Pei Zhiyue grabbed her hand like a madman. His voice seemed to rise from the depths of his heart, full of scorn and contempt. "Are you still going to find that poor backup who's like a lovesick dog?"

"Zhu Xiaoman, don't even think about it."

-

Zhu Qiao trusted neither men nor fate.

The day she changed her name, she considered countless options. After closing the dictionary, she looked out the window. The mountains across the way were lush and green, and she couldn't help reading aloud:

"Qiao: a steep, high mountain."

That was the kind of person she wanted to be.

"Reading Guide":

*Love triangle: devoted dog-like man x seductive woman x fake playboy (some coercive elements).

*The male lead has been decided, but I'll keep it secret for now.

*It's not yet certain who's the lovesick dog.

Theme: Grow wild and strong