The young woman next door, originally named Ding Zhaodi, gave herself a new name after coming to the city to work: Ding Fengchun. She loved spring and the idea that all living things could be renewed by it.
Of course, she wasn't particularly educated. She didn't know the famous line of poetry lamenting a missed opportunity: "The flowers of Luoyang are like a tapestry, yet I arrived when spring had passed!"
Ding Fengchun was a stubborn and strong-willed woman. She'd made many mistakes—she hated studying, got into a relationship with a classmate too young, and her life had been a chaotic mess. But she never regretted any of it. Every step she had taken, she had taken alone.
Maybe she couldn't see the vast universe, but she didn't care. This was how she had always lived. And if she died, so be it.
But as her mouth was covered and a hand choked her throat, her only thought was that if she was going to die, she was taking someone with her. Why should she be the only one to suffer?
