■ The drive from Beijing to Tianjin
takes an hour and a half.
Just like crossing Beijing,
from the People's Public Security University of China
to the Communication University of China,
also takes an hour and a half by subway.
That was the journey Cheng Shijin made as a student
to see Ren Luobei.
Through wind and snow, with a passion that never waned.
To Youth
[The aloof, icy police chief who loves deeply x the resilient, broken little ray of sunshine who hosts a radio show] Rekindled love / winning her back at any cost / mutual healing
*A 6'3" assertive daddy type x a woman with a sweet face and a mature figure
*Warm winter atmosphere / mature adults / reliving first love / both leads are each other's first and only
[Blurb]
My ten years with Cheng Shijin ended when he said over the phone,
"Do you really need to know?"
That was the end of my last lingering hope for us.
There was no cheating, no melodrama. I just... suddenly realized he didn't love me.
I packed my things and left Cheng Shijin's home alone.
Even though, just as I was about to board a plane and leave the city where I'd lived for over twenty years, he asked me about my plans.
All I said was,
"Do I really need to tell you?"
And with that, I brought our ten years to an end, along with the youth we'd spent by each other's side.
[The main story is told in third person]
That night, as Ren Luobei took calls on her radio show, one caller came through with a low, magnetic voice. She recognized it immediately: it belonged to Cheng Shijin, a man she knew better than anyone.
"Ms. Ren, how long do you think it takes to forget someone you've loved for ten years?"
Ren Luobei almost lost her composure. She suppressed the emotions surging inside her and forced herself to think clearly. "If you love each other, how could you drift apart after ten years? That's a paradox, sir."
"Since you've broken up, you'd better forget her."
Cheng Shijin was sitting in his car below the radio station. He casually flicked away his cigarette butt. "Too bad my girlfriend never told me how to forget."
"Since she seems to have moved on, I suppose I'll have to ask her myself once her shift is over. What do you think, Ms. Ren?"
[The hero's point of view]
Ren Luobei and I met in high school.
She was the first girl I met after transferring to this unfamiliar city.
I'd lost my parents, and when she confessed her feelings, I started dating her to fill the emptiness inside me.
I never expected it to last ten years.
In all that time, I never promised her anything.
I did what I wanted, and she just had to go along with it. For example:
In high school, I told her which school to apply to. She studied day and night to prepare for the entrance exams and worked herself into the hospital.
Later, I asked her to move in with me. In just one afternoon, she left her adoptive parents' home and came to live with me.
I also told her to cut off all contact with her best friend. After telling her friend, she hid in her room and cried all day. But she never complained to me. She simply stopped making new friends.
After that, I was the only person in her world.
Along with her other great love: her radio job.
She was the kind of girl who didn't like telling other people when she was unhappy, even when I treated her coldly and calmly most of the time.
But I'm like that with everyone.
With her, I was different, at least to some extent.
I knew her dream school mattered to her. She was young and lacked motivation and confidence, so I could be the bad guy for her.
I could tell her adoptive parents had never treated her well. Living with me meant she could spend all her time on herself, instead of washing clothes and cooking for her family.
As for her best friend, that person kept sending me messages in private that were hard to interpret. In my eyes, they didn't deserve to be her friend.
Through her, I gradually grew to like her city. I had no family here, but I had her, and that was good enough.
[Reading Guide]
1. The hero's background: His parents are both deceased. He is solitary, domineering, and stubborn, with a paternal streak. But most of the time, he acts with the heroine's interests in mind, and he is more mature than others his age.
Theme: How do you say 'I love you'?
