Summer in Lipu

Blurb:

[Updated daily, 6,000 characters] That day, Zhou You wanted to end it all.

A misdialed call stopped her: "Hello? Is that Nannan? Are you coming home for the holidays? Grandma made lots of dumplings for you. Come home and eat them."

A train roared past in front of her. She turned around, burst into tears, and bought a ticket back to her hometown, Lichun Village.

She hadn't been back since she grew up.

The old house leaked when it rained. Rats scurried around the garden, and the vegetable seedlings had toppled over.

Luckily, eighty percent of the village was made up of retirees with nothing to do. They still lived by the tides, planting in spring and growing crops in summer. Grandpa taught her how to scrape mold off the walls; Grandma brought her dried radish; and Auntie taught her how to grow sweet potatoes.

An old fan, ice-cold soda, a bamboo rocking chair, cicadas, the tide, and the island's ring road beneath long sunsets... She slowly settled in.

One day, a typhoon ripped the roof off her shabby house and left it open to the sky. A friendly mute uncle took her on his motorized tricycle to town to find someone who could fix it.

"Dashu, someone's here for you!"

A little town nearly melted by the summer heat.

A dim, narrow alley.

A tall, bare-chested man standing on a stepladder, covered in white paint, glancing down at her.

Dark skin, damp hair, muscles... and bright, puppy-like eyes.

That was the first time she met Chen Shu.

Zhou You froze on the spot because...

He... He looked just like her puppy.

This story is also called My Dog Replacement and Please Be My Puppy. Hehe.

"Zhou You, you don't have to chase after some meaning in life. Even waiting for a mushroom to slowly grow on rotting wood is an answer in itself."

"Don't rush. You can take your time."

Read before starting:

1. Fictional geography, a sweet romance about the slow life in a modern island town.

2. Everyday life in a small modern town, the changing seasons and daily meals, slow-paced and slice-of-life.

3. Seven-year age gap: an office worker with anxiety x a younger brother who's a sailing athlete.

4. The blurb was screenshotted on May 23, 2025.

Theme: Don't give up. Your life isn't over