It was midday, and the sun was blazing.

Over the past week, the drizzle had washed away the dust from the air. In the sunshine, the air of Changdao was unspeakably clean and fresh.

The sun was shining brightly in the deep, shaded courtyard. The wind blew across the hair and the leaves, making them shake.

It was a large yard, deep and quiet, surrounded almost entirely by trees and flowers. There was only one cobbled path for two people to walk side by ...