Whispers Beneath the Wutong Tree

The story takes place in Linjiang, a warm, humid riverside city in southern China, with four distinct seasons. Linjiang No. 1 High School is the city's top high school. Its tree-lined avenues, gentle evening breezes, old classroom buildings, lights glowing during evening study sessions, breezes across the sports field, and stars above the track hold the purest memories of youth for a generation. The first stirrings of love among its students are neither showy nor melodramatic. They lie in the line down the middle of a desk, a borrowed pen, a sidelong glance while studying late into the night, sharing an umbrella in the rain, walking the track in silence, and quietly supporting each other before the college entrance exams.