Free-spirited heroine vs. truly devoted hero
When Xu Mingruo was little, she was an exuberant, spirited child. She loved everything that flew in the sky, walked on the ground, or swam in the water. And so she grew into a free bird, delighting in every moment of it.
Xu Wei received the elite education his parents believed in from an early age. When he was trapped in a cage of love, Xu Mingruo rescued him like a little sun. From that moment on, he knew at a glance that he would love her for a lifetime, until death.
*
One bright afternoon, he invited her over to watch a movie. They watched My Salinger Year, nestled close to each other in silence.
The heroine in the film pursued her dream. Her green eyes seemed to brim with tears, and the tip of her nose was red, yet she stared ahead and declared with conviction, "I refuse to settle for an ordinary life. I'm going to make something of myself."
That scene stayed with Xu Mingruo. But as the movie drew to a close, the person beside her slowly spoke, his English heavily accented: "Ivy, what do you think love is?"
Xu Mingruo didn't answer. She looked at him in confusion, as if to say, You shouldn't be talking to me about love right now.
Meeting her startled gaze, Xu Wei continued, "Salinger wrote a story where he said, 'Some people think that love is sex is marriage is a 6 am kiss and a pile of children. Maybe love is like that.' What do you think?"
Xu Mingruo looked at him but remained silent.
He gently coaxed her to speak, hoping she would give him the right answer. "What do you think, Ivy?"
"I think love is not a strongbox."
I think love is not a safe.
*
They did many things together that they would remember for the rest of their lives. Xu Mingruo pursued the things she loved, while Xu Wei clung to his devotion for ten years.
"Brother Xiaoshan, I've decided to study in Italy."
She announced the news out of the blue, but Xu Wei seemed to have known it was coming.
Xu Wei looked up into her smiling eyes. Her amber irises brimmed with longing. He thought, If only we could make those daydreams come true together, dancing slowly to a guitarist's music in Piazzale Michelangelo. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
Later, he watched her walk away without looking back and shed tears.
Later, Xu Wei stayed in Rongcheng, holding on to her dreams and playing their favorite song beneath that banyan tree.
Later still, Brother Xiaoshan never saw his sun again.
"We simply loved so deeply that we wept."
The film My Salinger Year is mentioned here. The English excerpt comes from Salinger's A Perfect Day for Bananafish. There is another passage after this excerpt that you can look up yourself.
The two leads differ in their inner worlds and values, and their plans for the future never align.
Everyone has two sides. Neither lead is perfect. No moral blackmail, please!
Theme: Freedom comes first, love comes second.
Plucking the Stars
The Wind Clears the Spring, Yet Autumn Leaves Fall
I Saved That One Fated Bond Just for You
Sleeping Forever in the Snowy Mountains
Who Told You Not to Like Me?
No Man's Island
Longing on the Ferris Wheel
Blazing Sun in the Vast Sky
The Bustle of the World
A Special Someone
The First Day Without the Moon
About My Platycodon
In front of sensitive topics, do not dodge or dodge, use courage to convey value, and let what you say speak loudly.
Taotao is getting cuter and cuter!
The star that will definitely come true, you are a bird flying freely [Spreading Flowers]
Bai Jinqing's education on Taotao really exceeded my expectations. Although he is competitive with Mingruo, he is still positive about his son's education.
It's Sunday, you can go buy some delicious snacks! 🌈
Oh my god, I actually cried a little while watching the Huo Shaoyun episode. It was obviously a beautiful scene, but I actually felt a little bit sad. Of course, when I saw them fighting hard for Lao Chen later, I felt like watching a hot-blooded comic. Youth is like this, fighting hard, refusing to admit defeat, and growing enthusiastically.
My life is a track, but I built the track 🐶
What a great star, you can travel alone when you are still a high school student🐂🍺
I saw the words! Okay, the stars are always free 💪
This chapter feels like a foreshadowing. To be honest, I may not be able to abuse them for anything. My biggest wish now is that Xingxing will create a career of his own in their world in the future.