At twenty-three, Cheng Youwei was alone in a foreign city: young, smart, reckless, and insecure. But she refused to give up or bow her head. She was like wild grass, like drifting clouds.
That year, she met Shi Jiaxu. She loved him a little and pitied him a little.
Over time, she came to understand that in this city of steel and concrete, there were plenty of things she couldn't reach, even if she broke through Mount Wuzhi and rode the clouds somersaulting into the sky.
Later, at twenty-eight, she backpacked alone to the city closest to Antarctica. Holding a one-way ticket, she thought, she'd seen Antarctica already, so what the hell was love?
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Later still, in the height of summer in Beijing, Cheng Youwei met the person who had arrived in an air-conditioned conference room. Their eyes met, and they shook hands.
"Youwei." Shi Jiaxu looked into her eyes.
Cheng Youwei remembered the bright blue coastline, Christmas in summer. Someone had sat beside her by the bonfire that night, softly humming "Half a Heart."
*A ruthless city, a love between two people.
*A little sincerity is worth its weight in gold.
Theme: Though as tiny as moss flowers, they too bloom like peonies.
