Plain Life (Revised Edition)

Author: Hai Yan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: When the provincial beauty Ding You was 14, she accidentally saw the youthful prowess of the teenage boxing champion Zhou Yue at the boxing gym where her sister worked and was instantly captivated. A secret crush began that lasted a lifetime. Ding You wrote letter after letter to Zhou Yue, but they all went unanswered. A chance encounter with Zhou Yue's coach led to the loss of a chance for the two lovers to be together, and even when Ding You was bullied by a gang leader, Zhou Yue's act of bravery did not bring them closer. Years later, unable to endure the torment of the gang, Ding You decided to move to Beijing after learning that Zhou Yue had been admitted to the Beijing Public Security College. Unbeknownst to her, upon arriving in Beijing, she went to great lengths to find Zhou Yue, only to find that he had been severely injured during an internship and had become a vegetable. When the public security department sought a nurse for Zhou Yue, Ding You volunteered to take on the responsibility. Over the following months, under Ding You's meticulous care, Zhou Yue gradually recovered and slowly regained his memories, while Ding You experienced one of the happiest periods of her life. As Zhou Yue recovered and returned to his duties, Ding You lost her secret crush once again. She began to drift in Beijing and found a well-paying job at a pharmaceutical company, but it came with a heavy moral burden as she had to spy on business secrets for others. During this process, Ding You met the wealthy Ling boss and his frail son Ling Xincheng, and in a business transaction, unwillingly gave her virginity to the powerful Hou Minister, who had intended it for Zhou Yue. Just when she had finally found her footing, her friend A Ju and her ailing sister and brother-in-law came to rely on her. Out of consideration for her friends, Ding You was unexpectedly drawn into a massacre, becoming an unintentional accomplice to the killers in an unexpected way. From then on, the novel enters an irresistible, prolonged climax, as Ding You is caught in the whirlwind of family, love, morality, and loyalty, unable to resist the tide of love and hate, life and death that unfolds before her.