Winter Prologue

In December, Shanming saw a snowfall mixed with rain.

Cold air from north of Tianming Mountain swept southward, drawing back the curtain on winter.

On the early morning streets, sanitation workers kept exhaling white mist through their knitted scarves, cold raindrops clinging to their eyelashes.

Their bulky cotton coats hindered their work sweeping the streets, so progress was slow.

One worker braced himself against a wall with one hand, pulled off his glove and scarf, and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

In the freezing air, his one-yuan lighter took several tries before it lit the cigarette.

He took a deep drag, tilted his head back in satisfaction, and exhaled a cloud of white mist mixed with frost.

A few withered leaves drifted from the bare branches, struck by rain and snow before falling to their deaths on the wet pavement.

The worker sighed, cigarette dangling from his mouth, and picked up his tools to sweep them aside for later cleanup.

But at that moment, a pretty girl suddenly appeared on the road, landing atop those fallen leaves as though she had descended from the sky.

The flashing headlights on the street were mottled and dim through the rain and snow. The worker stumbled back in panic, threw down his tools, and fled.

The girl slowly opened her eyes. Rain and snow fell into them, turning into a misty sheen that made them clear and beautiful.

Her white tracksuit had been stained by the wet pavement, no longer as pristine as before.

She lay there, letting cars slowly pass beside her as she quietly watched the sky.

In the rainy snow, the gloomy sky hung low, as though it were about to collapse.

Warm tears slowly streamed down the girl's face.

A young man with tousled hair