Our Neck of the Woods

Hotheaded, chatty, warmhearted Northeastern top Zhao Kai vs. seemingly well-behaved but actually unhinged, refined young master He Mingfeng

Both are devoted to each other, and it’s each other’s first love. Their engagement is an arranged marriage, with no feelings involved.

"The moon shines bright, the wind blows softly, leaves cover the window lattice."

[Blurb]

On the eve of their wedding, He Mingfeng followed his fiancé to the Northeast for a business project. In the middle of the night, he discovered that his fiancé seemed to be cheating on him.

Trembling, he found the only phone repair shop in the entire county still open. He had them unlock his fiancé’s phone, and the evidence of the affair was undeniable.

As he walked out of the little shop, the harsh white light stretched his shadow long across the heavy snow and ice in the bleak, silent night. It looked ragged and broken.

Overcome by his emotions, He Mingfeng had been expressionless just a moment ago, forcing himself to stay calm. The next second, he plopped down in the snow and burst into tears.

Meanwhile, the repair shop clerk who had unlocked the phone was outside. A tall, buzz-cut young man had a cigarette in his mouth and wore a black down jacket. He was poking at the thick snow hanging from the eaves, which looked like a mountain of milk tea cream, with a broom handle.

When He Mingfeng burst into tears, the young man’s hand jerked. Snow came crashing down, burying him from head to toe.

"Whoa, what the heck? Who’s there? You scared the daylights outta me!"

He Mingfeng heard him bellow at full volume and was so startled he forgot to cry.

Frost clung to He Mingfeng’s eyelashes as he breathed white clouds into the snowy night and blinked at the man. The young man had snow piled all over his head, with a bewildered, comical face beneath it.

Three seconds later, the young man said, "Look at you, you little goof. You’re a real looker, so why’re you acting like such a dummy? Don’t sit on the ground. You’ll get filthy."

*

His former fiancé braved a heavy snowstorm to come to the Northeast and find He Mingfeng, trying to manipulate him into going back and marrying him.

In this bitterly cold place,

A row of burly men, each taller than a leek, stood outside the little repair shop.

The young man put an arm around He Mingfeng and laughed wildly.

"Brothers, grab your weapons! This blind bastard’s here to steal my wife. We’re beating him up today."

"You got it!"

"You’re in the Northeast now. You think you can bully our Mingfeng? We’ll pull your wig right off!"

*

"He Mingfeng, why’re you so damn lovable? You’ve got me completely smitten."

"What does 'smitten' mean?"

"It’s how we say 'I like you, I love you' around here. I can’t sit still if I don’t see you for a day. You know, the Northeast is where the danmei world gets all its tops."

[Bonus scene]

In a tiny Northeastern county where you bump into the same people everywhere, He Mingfeng went out one day and turned a corner to find his fiancé kissing the mistress he kept.

Zhao Kai stood with his hands in his pockets, grinning with schadenfreude. "Whoa, did you see that? They’re making out right in the middle of the street, like they’re gnawing on a pork knuckle. Good thing it isn’t snowing. If it got any colder, their lips would freeze together. You believe me?"

He Mingfeng turned and stared at him. "You kiss me too."

"Huh?" Zhao Kai laughed. "What are you playing at? What are we to each other that we should be kissing? Mingfeng, you should use your head."

He Mingfeng raised his sharp chin slightly, the corners of his eyes red. "Just tell me, are you going to kiss me or not?"

Zhao Kai stopped laughing. Guiltily, he froze for a moment, then closed his eyes. "If... if you really want a kiss, fine."

*

Born in the frigid north beneath the red flag and raised on black soil, people are always full of heat and passion.

It was only in the Northeast that He Mingfeng learned that as long as someone was there for you, there was no obstacle you couldn’t get past.

Northeasterners are tougher than icicles in the dead of winter. They never back down.

A story set in a Northeastern county. Northern scenery, a dusty backdrop, and two devoted first loves.

"The Northeast is an aging mother, who raised a new world beneath the red flag with steam, steel, black soil, and the countless pines of the Greater Khingan Mountains. Now she has grown old and faded, watching in despair as her children follow the mighty Songhua River away, never to return. Those left behind see nothing but desolation after the vast snows have passed."

Theme: Happiness comes from hard work.