Vоlumе Оne : Thе Yеаr It Веgan
Chaрtеr One: Сity of Fаlling Rаin
Тhаt уеar, Bеijing saw more rainfall than usuаl, еven mоre thаn thе sоuthеrn citу Shаng Zhi Тао had just lеft. The rain раtterеd down, with faint mist lingering аbove thе clouds—it wаs hаrd tо tеll whеthеr thе scenе wаs pоеtiс or dеsolаtе.
Shang Zhi Tао was struggling with hеr two large suitсases: onе fillеd with bоoks, thе other pасkеd with clоthеs аnd shоеs, аnd nothing еlsе. From Nаnjing to Вeijing, the twеnty-twо-уеar-оld hаd асcomplishеd the grand feat of hеr first solo migratiоn.
Fine beаds of swеаt dottеd her forehead and cheeks, her face flushed pink with heat. Shang Zhi Tao felt as though she were melting. I must buy a fan tomorrow, she thought to herself.
The cramped partitioned room felt even more crowded with the two suitcases. She overheard the girl in the adjacent room talking on the phone: "How about I come over to your place this weekend? Someone just moved into the room next to mine, and the walls are thin."
It took Shang Zhi Tao a moment to realize what the girl meant. She put on her headphones, played some music, and continued unpacking, this time moving more quietly. Before she left, her senior Yao Bei had told her: "Living in this city, you need to be more considerate, because everywhere there are people enduring hardships." Shang Zhi Tao was beginning to grasp what her senior meant by "hardships."
She had originally planned to stay in the south after graduation, but that would have meant being too far from her parents. After much deliberation, she sent all her job applications to companies in Beijing. As a graduate from a less prestigious university, landing a special offer from this company was nothing short of thrilling. Shang Zhi Tao even felt incredibly lucky.
Once she had arranged her belongings, she took a look around the tiny room and realized just how shabby it was. When she had viewed the room online, the agent had sent her a few photos via email, and she had thought it looked passable. But now, in this bare and barren room, aside from the bed covered in a floral-patterned sheet, there was hardly anything that met even the most basic standards. Leaning against the headboard, she propped up her legs, took out her notebook, and carefully listed what she needed to buy the next day. She would need to cook meals later—all she had brought from school was a small electric pot and a bowl printed with a night scene of the Qinhuai River. She had laundry to do, but she was hesitant to use the shared washing machine in the rental building. All the worries she had never bothered with during her student days now came rushing back. And with these worries, she realized just how fragmented and trivial daily life could be.
Her notebook filled three pages, and in Shang Zhi Tao's eyes, the words on those pages all boiled down to one thing: money. Everything required money to buy!
She did have a little money saved up from part-time work during her studies, and a few days ago, Old Shang, worried she might struggle on her own, had transferred ten thousand yuan to her bank account.
Shang Zhi Tao was reluctant to spend it. She went back to the first line of her list, pondering which items were urgent and which could wait. She added a column at the end, noting what to buy in the coming days, what to purchase after her first paycheck, and what to get after her second.
As she wrote, she suddenly felt a bit ridiculous and pitiful. Tossing the notebook aside, she flopped onto the bed and let out a soft giggle. She had not yet shed her innocence, her movements were far from steady, and she knew nothing about the life that lay ahead.
But so what!She felt brave, but that courage would fade by the dead of night. She jumped out of bed, pushed her suitcase to the door, stacking two together to block it tightly. Slowly, the urge to pee grew inside her. She forced herself not to go out to the bathroom, squeezing her eyes shut and counting sheep. The urge to pee, the fear—both fought against her drowsiness, while bravery and cowardice took turns drumming inside her.
The first night alone in a strange land as a stranger felt endlessly long.
It was still raining the next day. When she opened her eyes, she remembered there was a farmers’ market near her rental apartment—she had seen it on the bus ride yesterday. She decided to go there to buy a few small things. She put on her raincoat, moved the suitcase aside, pushed open the door, and saw a girl standing in the bathroom washing clothes. She looked gentle and delicate, somewhat like a girl from the south. Shang Zhi Tao smiled at her: “Hello, I’m Shang Zhi Tao.”
The girl smiled back: “Hello, I’m Sun Yu.” Her voice wasn’t unfamiliar—it was the girl from the room next to Shang Zhi Tao’s. “It’s still raining outside. Where are you going?”
“I want to go to the farmers’ market to buy a few things.”
“There are a lot of thieves there. You just arrived in Beijing, right? It’s not safe to go alone. I’ll go with you.” Sun Yu wiped her hands dry, jogged back to her room, and grabbed an umbrella.
“Aren’t you working today?”
“I quit my job.” Sun Yu’s expression dimmed for a moment, then she walked ahead to lead the way for Shang Zhi Tao.
The building they lived in was very old. The hallway was cluttered with all sorts of things, dim and crowded. Shang Zhi Tao took out a small flashlight and turned it on, saying to Sun Yu, “Be careful not to trip.”
Finally, they stepped outside. The drizzle fell on Shang Zhi Tao’s raincoat, making a soft rustling sound.
“Where are you from?” Sun Yu asked her.
“I’m from Ice City. How about you?”
“I’m from Guizhou.”
“Wow, Guizhou—that’s so far away.” Shang Zhi Tao exclaimed in surprise. Born in Ice City, she had only visited a few places around Nanjing during her studies. To her, Guizhou felt like the edge of the world.
Hearing her exclamation and seeing Shang Zhi Tao’s wide eyes, Sun Yu couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re really cute.”
Shang Zhi Tao blushed at the sudden compliment and chuckled softly. The road to the market was muddy. The two of them trudged along, splashing mud all over their pants legs, and finally entered the market. The market sold everything imaginable. Shang Zhi Tao went to buy bowls, chopsticks, pots, four basins of different sizes, a flower stand, some plants, and a chamber pot. Sun Yu watched as Shang Zhi Tao, blushing, placed the chamber pot into a black plastic bag and whispered to her, “I bought one too when I first arrived. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“The agent said the other two rooms are rented by two guys who just started working, but I haven’t seen them yet. I’m a little scared,” Shang Zhi Tao explained.
“It’s good to be cautious, and it’s right to protect yourself,” Sun Yu said in her soft yet firm Guizhou-accented Mandarin, which sounded quite pleasant.
It took them three trips back and forth to finish buying everything.
There was a beef noodle shop in the market, its rich broth aroma wafting through the rain. Both of them were a little hungry, so Shang Zhi Tao treated Sun Yu to a bowl of banmian to thank her for showing her the way.
And so, on her second day in this city, Shang Zhi Tao made a friend.Sun Yu had just quit her job, and her boyfriend lived on the far side of the city, so she volunteered to help Shang Zhi Tao fix up her room. The once simple and plain room was transformed by their efforts, suddenly gaining a touch of artistic flair. Sun Yu marveled from the side, "Are you studying art?"
"No, I'm not!" Shang Zhi Tao sat cross-legged on the bed, admiring her handiwork, then nodded in self-praise. "Not bad at all."
Sun Yu was amused by her earnestness and sat down beside her.
Shang Zhi Tao carried a faint, pleasant scent, and she was neat and clean all over, like a blank sheet of paper yet to be written on. Sun Yu felt as though it had been a long time since she had seen a girl who looked so pure and well-behaved.
"How old are you?" she asked Shang Zhi Tao softly.
"I'm twenty-two. How about you?"
"I'm twenty-five. So, what brings you to Beijing?"
"I got hired by a company through campus recruitment, and I start officially this coming Monday." As Shang Zhi Tao spoke, she wore a smile, her eyes curving into crescents—truly lovely. Sun Yu nodded. "Is the company close to here?"
"I haven't been there yet, but my senior said it takes about eighty minutes to get there."
"That's pretty good—not too far."
For those working in Beijing, an eighty-minute commute was about average, not too far at all. After all, this city was enormous. Shang Zhi Tao didn't think it was far either. During her student days, she used to travel from her school to Purple Mountain every week, a round trip of four hours. She often read books or listened to music on the bus, and the time would pass quickly, never feeling like a hardship.
She was filled with anticipation for the work and life ahead, as well as for this city. Under her pillow lay a journal. Last night before bed, she had made an entry, pasting three small, nearly transparent bus tickets into it—tickets from the buses she had taken from the train station to here. On them was written: July 10th, Hello Beijing.
At night, lying in bed listening to the rain outside the window, she felt as though she had returned to the south. She always felt that graduation had come too quickly, and those days of scrambling out of bed in a rush to run to class were gone forever.
Shang Zhi Tao felt a little lonely.
She stared blankly at the dim bedside lamp, surrounded by silence except for the gentle patter of rain. Still unable to sleep, she lay with her eyes open in the half-light, listening to the sounds outside.
She missed home a little.
She missed her school and classmates a little.
Shang Zhi Tao's nose tingled with emotion.
Author's Note:
A heads-up for Chapter 1:
This story won't be short. Due to a busy work schedule lately, I can only guarantee 2-3 updates per week, so proceed with caution.
Both the male and female leads are not virgins (the male lead has been in relationships before, and the female lead had a beautiful relationship during university). Readers who prefer "pure" characters, please steer clear.
This isn't exactly a romance story. It's more about the growth of a few ordinary girls in this massive city. There will be plenty of workplace scenes, so readers looking for light, sweet stories or heavy romance should also tread carefully.
I'll add more notes as I think of them later.
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