Resilient, independent web novelist x aloof, gentle surgeon
Hoarding disorder x obsessive cleanliness | Reunion after a long separation | Saving each other
Mu Xianyan knew the bitterest days of life when she was still a child.
On New Year's Eve, her father came home half-drunk and made her stand outside as punishment.
On a snowy night in the north, with temperatures ten degrees below zero, even the stairwell was cold. Yet the dazzling fireworks outside the window filled her with longing.
At least she had a companion: the boy next door, Xiao Yan. Two years older than her, he was in the same boat, and they always helped and comforted each other.
That night, they stood side by side in the stairwell to watch the fireworks. Blue and purple light illuminated the sky screen, and the tips of their noses turned red from the cold.
So he brought her to his home, and they huddled around a little heater to keep warm.
Back then, she said, "I hope that one day, we'll be able to set off fireworks of our own."
But there was no happily ever after. Xiao Yan moved away, and a terrible upheaval struck her family.
-
As an adult, Mu Xianyan became a web novelist.
The residential complex where she rented an apartment was at No. 45 Xinxing Street. A new tenant had recently moved in. Rumor had it he had a severe cleanliness obsession, and as soon as he moved in, he disinfected the elevator and the entire hallway.
Mu Xianyan only found out a week later, because she spent all her time cooped up at home. The only time she ever went out was to take out the trash in the early hours of the morning.
The night they first met, she was wearing a flimsy nightdress, her hair was a mess, and she was so groggy she could barely open her eyes.
When she came back upstairs after taking out the trash, she ran into Fu Hongyan standing by the door on a call. He glanced at her in surprise. "So someone does live in this apartment?"
Mu Xianyan hadn't spoken to anyone in six months. For some reason, she wanted to roll her eyes. "What else? You think a female ghost lives here?"
"Sorry." The man smiled and held out his right hand warmly. "Then let's formally introduce ourselves. I'm Fu Hongyan. We'll be neighbors from now on."
Mu Xianyan spent a long time working up the courage, but still couldn't bring herself to take his hand. Keeping a step's distance, she simply nodded. "Mu Xianyan."
-
One night ten years ago, in Apartment 403 of a residential complex, only the daughter, Mu Xianyan, survived out of a family of four.
For ten years, Mu Xianyan struggled to live like a normal person. Yet every night, she still had the same dream, as if she would be trapped in the fire from that night for the rest of her life.
Then she reunited with Fu Hongyan, and a gentle voice joined her nightmares, soothing her as it stroked the scars on her back again and again. "Ayan, you saved me once. Can you save me one more time?"
"Don't leave me alone."
I have never forgotten our promise to set off fireworks together. And you, you shine brighter than the fireworks.
Fu Hongyan
Notes:
1. This will probably be a short story.
2. Each other's first love.
3. The female and male leads' names are taken from Li Bai's poem "Snow's Slander, Presented to a Friend" from the Tang dynasty:
Blazing flames scorch the mountain, rising from slender smoke.
Theme: Life is precious. Face the future with courage.
