After Divorcing in the 1980S, the Rough Ex-Soldier Climbs the Wall to Beg for Forgiveness

[A real divorce + rekindled love + no angst] Five years after divorcing, Shen Mingyue gives in to her mother’s relentless pressure to marry, all because her mother is “afraid people will laugh.” She rides her old bicycle to a state-run restaurant for a blind date. The date doesn’t work out, and to top it off, she unexpectedly runs into her ex-husband, Xie Weidong, whom she divorced five years ago. Their chance encounter brings no dramatic confrontation, just a silent exchange of glances. They were childhood sweethearts. When they played house as children, they always played Mommy and Daddy. Everyone thought they’d get married, and they did. They married joyfully at eighteen and divorced at twenty-one. Five years later, one pretends not to see the other, while the other strides out the door. Shen Mingyue thinks the county is so big that they’ll never run into each other again. Riding the wave of the 1980s, she focuses on making money by setting up a street stall. But wherever she goes, whether she’s selling goods on the street, buying a shop, getting a business license, acquiring a factory and holding a meeting, or traveling to inspect ingredients, she runs into Xie Weidong. Most outrageous of all, somehow this man has become her neighbor! When it’s cold, he brings her a coat. When it rains, he brings her an umbrella. When a thug shows up, he beats him up first. He does everything, but never says a word. Shen Mingyue finds Xie Weidong and asks, “What exactly do you want?” Xie Weidong: “I want you back.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Shen Mingyue says, “Not a chance. Give it up.” Shen Mingyue refuses to let herself fall into the same predicament she faced five years ago. Xie Weidong’s eyes turn red as he pleads, “Yuebao, give me one more chance. Just one. Please.”