Sin and Atonement Trapped in the Pages

The used bookstore on the old street on the outskirts of the city is Chen Juan's prison and his refuge. A drunk driving accident ten years ago made the life of a close friend forever frozen on the way to a new bookstore. A former lecturer in the philosophy department, he has since resigned from his teaching position and hid among the dusty pages of books, numbing his nerves with alcohol and weaving shackles with philosophical terminology. He believes that he is not worthy of forgiveness, equates "atonement" with self-exile, and repeats the meaningless cycle like Sisyphus pushing a stone day after day. Until Lin Xiaoman, a seventeen-year-old dropout girl, broke in. This girl who lives on the street cannot read, but she holds a copy of "The Myth of Sisyphus" and asks "Is pushing the stone a waste of effort?" She has nothing, but she can solemnly place the crumpled orange candy on the dusty counter, and use her astonishingly bright eyes to illuminate Chen Juan's world that is overwhelmed by guilt. The frequent visits of retired professor Lao Zhou and the sudden appearance of a man in a suit brought out the hidden pain of Lin Xiaoman's life experience and forced Chen Juan to face the unspoken truth of the year. He finally tore off the disguise of philosophy through the girl's ignorant questioning and repeated self-questioning - redemption is never the forgiveness of others, nor is it self-punishment for holding on to the past. Just like the significance of Sisyphus pushing the stone is not at the top of the mountain, but in the persistence of every step of climbing; Chen Juan's salvation is hidden in the moment when he explains the words on the page to Lin Xiaoman, and in the morning when he finally walks out of the bookstore and faces the sunshine. This is a long journey about crime and punishment, loss and awakening. In the slow flow of time, everyone is looking for the answer to reconcile with themselves.