My love doesn't want to be that handsome

Author: Ye Mi / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Prologue - A numb joke, a set of photos. Zhang, a dazzling forest of winter plums. A fourteen-year-old girl stands under the tree, her nose and cheeks frozen red, her pink coat contrasting with the pale yellow plum blossoms. Her eyes are full of shyness, flickering with unspoken words. Xie Yuqing's fingertips glide over the photo, over the girl's curly hair, clothes, and shoes, nally returning to her face. First love. It's clearly an extremely cold winter, yet why does this photo look so spring-like? The second photo, a cascading waterfall. The waterfall plunges into the pool, splashing endless water. A girl with a ponytail, her pants rolled up, stands on a bamboo raft, tilting her head with a smile, revealing straight, white teeth. So happy. So carefree, exuberant, and heartless in her happiness. The third photo, a dense and tranquil forest. On a path bathed in the gentle glow of the setting sun, a bicycle is quietly parked. The girl sits under a tree, gazing down, her expression infinitely gentle. Her knee rests on the head of a person, whose face is covered with a book, as if asleep. How peaceful and warm it is, radiating through the photo paper. Xie Yuqing flips the frame over. Three faces disappear from her sight, as if time cannot return. She finds herself in a large study. Sunlight streams in from the floor-to-ceiling window, dividing the room in half: where the sunlight falls, it's bright and clear; where it doesn't, it's dark and cold. And she, sits exactly at the boundary on the sofa, her body bathed in sunlight, her face lost in the shadows. Her form, like her personality, is divided in two. "Ding-dong-dong—" The phone rings loudly. She sits, reaching out to answer. "Xingxing, it's Mom." There's a pause on the other end of the line, then after a moment, she says, "Have you packed your things? It's time to leave." She nods somewhat blankly, murmuring, "Yes." "Remember to call your uncles and aunts before you go." "Okay." "Alright then, see you at the airport in three hours." A click, and the phone hangs up. She listens to the dial tone, slightly dazed, unsure of where she is. Her gaze falls on the last vertical photo frame on the table. The photo shows a melancholic face. The eyes are no longer shy, gentle, or happy. The background is a bustling hospital, and the girl stands at the hospital entrance, her eyes cool, indifferent to the world. Love and sorrow have always been inseparable Siamese twins. Youth is so cruel, completely overturning her world in an instant. Seventeen years have become a joke, and the others in the joke still play their roles diligently and numbly. Xie Yuqing covers her face with her hand, burying her head deeply. P001-P003