Taipei Academy Love Story (Innocent Family)

Author: Chen Jiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: For a long time, reading stories about youth and love has given me two completely opposite feelings. Most original mainland novels seem to be developing towards a gloomy and somber tone, the more I read, the more discouraged and even desperate I become, losing hope and dreams for love and even for young life. The world seems destined to be so cold and merciless; in contrast, Taiwan and Hong Kong novels on the same theme seem sunnier, as if I were in a paradise outside the world. The stories only feature handsome men and beautiful women, and only romantic and warm scenes, as if that cold world has been left in another hemisphere.
Content: The task of putting up spring couplets every year always falls on me—because I'm the tallest in the family. Unwillingly, I go to the fourth-floor Buddhist hall, but my sister hasn't come up to help me with the ladder yet. Lazily, I walk to the balcony to look around and notice that the luxurious villa across the alley also has someone putting up spring couplets at the entrance. It's a tall, slim boy wearing a white T-shirt. Slowly, I avert my gaze—the villa seems too far away to be reached. I don't want to see the boy's face clearly, but suddenly my sister taps me from behind: "Eva, come quickly and put up the spring couplets." "Okay!" Just as I'm about to go to the ladder, I hear my sister looking at the villa and saying, "Oh, it's Kevin—he's putting up spring couplets too." "Sister, do you really need my help?"