The late summer in Qixian County always carries a lingering sultry heat, like a heavy worry weighing on Shen Ruzhi's heart. Her father died of illness and left a huge debt, her house was sealed, and her mother went to work in a big city. At the age of seventeen, she became a helpless bird in this small town, struggling to find a place to stay amidst the whispers of others and the overt and covert bullying.
The rent-driving phone call from the agent was like an ultimatum, forcing her to go to the cylindrical building in the old city that was covered with ivy. The 40-square-meter old house was the only corner she could afford, but she didn't expect that her neighbor here was Xu Zhaoye, the "school bully" who no one dared to mess with in Qixian Middle School.
He is a troubled boy in the eyes of his teachers and a being that his classmates avoid. Under his cold and hard shell is an unknown past - the bullying caused by his hearing impairment when he was young, his father's early death, and his mother's decision to leave because of his shortcomings. Those pains tempered the ice in his eyes, making him accustomed to building high walls with fists and indifference.
When an orphan girl burdened with debt meets a young man who has armed himself with strength, two weeds struggling in the barren soil accidentally "share" a house in this drafty old house. The damp walls, creaky stairs, and hustle and bustle in the alleys became the background sounds of their interactions.
But the price of fate's gift has already been secretly marked, and the outcome of this bond born in a desperate situation is doomed from the beginning. They were once each other's glimmer of light, but finally in the storm of reality, they let go of their tightly held hands. The hottest encounter in youth ended up leaving only broken tiles on the ground and a regret that ended in vain.
Purpose: Mutual redemption