Looking Out to Sea from the Bottom Lane

Xu Shuxian’s best years were spent in Hong Kong, on summer nights in 1995.

The night breeze swept over Victoria Harbour. Amid the roar of passing ships, summer drew to a close, and the burning passage of time, wrapped in the salty sea air, swept away the last shred of dignity this girl from the mainland had left.

At the rain-soaked summit of Victoria Peak, Zhou Jiaxing glanced at the shabbily dressed young woman. Sitting in the sports car that had been pulled over, he frowned impatiently, his handsome brows knitting together.

-

“Back then, I asked Zhou Jiaxing what it would take for him to look at me. Guess what he said?”

“He said that when it snowed in Hong Kong, he’d take me to see the fireworks over Victoria Harbour.”

But it never snowed in Hong Kong.

That was when I realized that even watching a fireworks show with someone was nothing but a dream.

So was love.

-

A completely tragic ending.

A story about two people who were ultimately driven apart by the barriers of their era and social class.