She Is a Bird [Older Woman]

"I love fine horses, I love mountains, and I love the barren, grassless northwest most of all."

Blunt and direct | A guiding lover | Sunny woman x reserved man

1.

When she first met Li Xi, she was galloping across a desolate desert on a spirited horse. She leapt down in the glow of the setting sun and held out her hand, open and easygoing.

"Mr. Duan, welcome to the great northwest!"

She was warm, fearless, and innocent,

like a blooming rose, like a bird soaring free.

Duan Yujing, on the other hand, was reserved, taciturn, and rational.

Even when he came out to clear his head, work was etched into his bones.

That is, until Li Xi's eyes reddened at the sight of a sapling crushed beneath a car wheel. She crouched down and looked up at him.

"Mr. Duan, do you have a saxaul tree here?"

He wasn't good at communicating,

and he had no patience for wasting time on things that served no purpose.

But, for the first time, he left his number with Li Xi as she sniffled through her tears.

"If you ever come to Bei'an, don't hesitate to look me up."

2.

When Li Xi was little, her family had her fortune told.

The fortune-teller said she was blessed and lucky, and that one day a benefactor would come to her aid.

Li Xi never believed in such things, but in that moment, she thought...

Perhaps Duan Yujing was the benefactor fate had chosen for her.

He never made promises lightly, yet he became Li Xi's personal teacher.

He opened her eyes to the idea of pursuing further education in the bustling city, told her that blindly working hard was pointless, and taught her how to navigate society and build connections.

But he also watched her grow quiet and despondent, watched the rose of the northwest wither into a fallen leaf.

From the respectful "Mr. Duan" at the beginning, to "Yujing" when their feelings ran deep, and finally the distant "Aron" when they parted.

She said:

"I belong to the northwest, not to you alone."

Only then did he understand that perhaps it wasn't Li Xi who needed to change, but himself.

3.

Li Xi returned to the northwest, carrying everything Duan Yujing had taught her and pouring her heart into this land of endless yellow sand.

But she never contacted him again.

Sometimes she saw news about him online, but only glanced at it in passing, until the day he appeared right before her.

"Hello, Mr. Duan."

Duan Yujing gently took the hand she held out.

It was as if everything had returned to where it began.

As if they had never loved each other.

Li Xi didn't know that while deliberately avoiding news about him, she had also missed the words he'd said.

"I want to go to the northwest to find someone."

"I want to tell her..."

"You belong to the northwest, and I belong only to you."

*

"I want her to be radiant and free. I don't want her to wither away or be bound."

Reading Guide

1. Both leads are each other's only partners, and the male lead is eight years older.

2. Neither lead is perfect.

3. Mostly sweet, with a little angst; a story about growth.

4. The professional details are researched online, with some fictional liberties. Please be understanding.

Theme: Love freedom