After a Spring Breeze with the White Moonlight

In the year she turned 27 and lost her job, Liang Siling, tormented by insomnia, decided to visit a traditional Chinese medicine clinic on a friend’s recommendation. The autumn air was crisp and clear, and fallen leaves rustled beneath her shoes at the entrance. As soon as she lifted her gaze, a faint scent of herbal medicine wafted from inside the clinic, reminiscent of the bitter fragrance that clung to the woman in the white coat standing behind the counter. Lu Qingdai, as her friend described her, was a straight woman straighter than a telephone pole. Cold and detached, her calm eyes resembled snow-capped mountains that never thawed. Having harbored a crush on Lu Qingdai throughout ...