Off to Somewhere Far Away [Road Trip]

County-Town Fiction | Road Trip

Pretends to be well-behaved x Actually well-behaved

Sometimes, Xia Shuang feels like the big city is close to her.

She has heard that her parents once made their way in a big city, where they started a major company that earned tens of millions every year.

If things had gone differently, maybe she would be like the rich young ladies in TV dramas, driven to school in a luxury car, going to fancy parties all the time, and never having to worry about money.

She envies that kind of life.

Sometimes, Xia Shuang feels like the big city is far away.

She has heard that her parents' company went bankrupt when she was just born. Unable to bear the blow, they sent her back to their hometown county and then both passed away.

Xia Shuang grew up with her grandparents and never got to experience a life of wealth.

A neighbor who had returned from the capital told her, "Life is stressful out there, and there are plenty of bad people. You're better off living a steady life in the county."

Her grandparents, who had experienced the pain of burying their own children, told her, "A peaceful, stable life is enough. The more you want, the more you stand to lose, just like your parents."

Xia Shuang didn't understand. All she knew was that her textbooks said,

You have to keep reaching for higher things.

But as they said, was life up high really better?

She felt like a little boat drifting with the current, ending up wherever it took her, without a single goal. She was utterly lost.

But that summer after the college entrance exams, the sweltering heat wouldn't let up, and the old electric fan rattled and squeaked, driving her crazy.

He Jiali's burning breath brushed her lips as he slipped her a train ticket.

"Let's run away."

#

You have to see the world first

before you can know where you want to go.

First-draft blurb dated January 12, 2025

Tips:

1. Both leads are average students. This is a story about ordinary people.

2. This may be a collection of loosely connected stories (that's the plan for now).

Theme: Explore a bigger world