[I'll love you all summer. That sounds more convincing than "for the rest of my life."]
Xia Shu had a pen pal. They lived thousands of miles apart and had never met.
Her pen pal's replies were brief and precious, while Xia Shu wrote about every little thing.
Though most of all, she poured out her feelings for her crush, an upperclassman.
Then the college entrance exams ended, and Xia Shu went to Tainan for the summer.
Her pen pal messaged her: Let's meet.
Xia Shu was so startled she threw her phone a meter away.
What a ridiculous idea! She'd written about so many dark things in her letters. There was no way they'd ever meet in this lifetime!
One night, her stepfather crept into her room and threatened her. "Don't make a sound, or I'll tell your mother you were the one who seduced me."
At four in the morning, Xia Shu fled the house barefoot.
In an unfamiliar little town, beneath dim streetlights and along empty streets, the farther she walked, the more afraid she became.
A piercing screech of brakes shattered the silence.
The boy planted one foot on the ground. His white shirt whipped in the night wind.
There was a sea hidden in his eyes, with undercurrents surging beneath the surface.
After staring at her for a while, he suddenly chuckled. "Where's the upperclassman you have a crush on? Why isn't he coming to save you now?"
Theme: Face hardship with courage
