Flowing Light, Dancing Shadows

Flowing Light, Dancing Shadows is the 11th volume in the "Huayu" short story collection series launched by Inner Mongolia Press in November 2007. It is jointly written by several authors including Yu Lan, Mujihua Xiao, Xiaxue Wuqing, Yi Linlu, Xiaodi and Transparent Despair. The book is led by the title story "Flowing Light, Dancing Shadows" and gathers into a slim collection of romantic short stories. The title story tells of feelings delayed by time: a girl carries a certain him in her heart but believes there is plenty of time, never rushing to speak her mind; a sudden car accident takes away the chance to confess and pushes her toward another fork in fate. Afterwards a strange yet familiar figure re-enters her life; someone tells her she is not as strong as she thinks, and someone else tells her that if she truly wants to atone, she should live well. In a daze, the boy in the white shirt walks toward her in tears. Besides the title piece, the book also includes stories of varied styles such as "Love Needs Care," "You Are Sincere About Happiness," "The Little Prince's Fairy Tale," "Love Without Schemes" and "Sand Scorpion," mostly about boys' and girls' crushes, misunderstandings, missed chances and letting go, written in a light and slightly melancholy tone with a distinct flavor of youth campus and urban romance. The book is short and brisk, suitable for light reading in fragmented time, and lets readers encounter the styles of several authors of the "Huayu" series at once.