Seaside Watermelon Soda

[1]

That early summer, just after the college entrance exams, Fu Han was sent off by her mother to stay with her grandmother in the countryside.

She was thoroughly against it, but she never expected that:

The countryside had sweet watermelons cooled in clear well water, saltwater ice pops for one yuan each, clams on the beach, and salty sea breezes in the evening.

And

The basketball-playing boy next door, who had broken his leg.

[2]

At the end of summer, Fu Han sat in the school stadium wearing camouflage fatigues, holding a cold watermelon soda.

Condensation slid slowly from the cold plastic cup into Fu Han's sleeve.

She looked up and gazed into the distance:

The boy next door was running toward her with a basketball in his arms.

Summer was still going on.

[3]

He Lingyu thought that Heaven had given him a chance to be reborn for a reason. There must be something he was meant to change.

It seemed his only regret was the love he had left unspoken that summer.

A fresh, summery, pseudo-slice-of-life story with the atmosphere of Call Me by Your Name: a cool breeze in the heat, and first love in one's youth.

Theme: Country living