Qingqing

Meng ZhiwanMar 2026

3.2

Word count: 125K words
Chapters: 31

Summary

In middle school, Xie Zeyang met Shen Bingqing. Contrary to their names, he was cold as ice, while she was fervent as the blazing sun.

He vaguely recalls every parting between them in their youth.

At thirteen, under the lamplight at the alley entrance.

She smiled brightly, waved, and said to him: "Class monitor, see you tomorrow!"

At seventeen, by the sea on a midsummer night.

She poked her head out of the tent, curved her eyes, and called to him: "Engineer Xie Yangyang, see you tomorrow!"

At eighteen, in the city library with snow drifting outside the window.

She carried her books home, a smile rippling on her lips: "Xie Yangyang, see you tomorrow! My goal tonight is still to study until twelve—I'm determined to out-grind you!"

And that line: "When we grow up, we must wear a real wedding dress and a real suit once."

She complained then: "You walk so fast every day, always making me chase after you, and you never look back at me! Can't you follow me just once?"

She didn't know that in the seven years since they parted, he had always been following her, accompanying her to the destinations of one flight after another, seeing the same scenery with her again and again.

But in the end, he still lost her—he could only dress in a suit and attend her wedding in full formal attire, fulfilling the promise they made as children.

May I, in the name of friendship, bless your love.

—You must be happy, Shen Bingqing.

Editor's review

Qingqing uses the everyday farewell "see you tomorrow" to string together the long entanglement between two people from age thirteen to adulthood. Xie Zeyang is cold, Shen Bingqing is fervent; the contrast between their names and personalities gives their interactions inherent tension, and the "see you tomorrow" she calls out with a wave at every parting is like a light yet unbreakable promise. The story is not driven by fierce conflict; instead it lays out the patience of secret love, the exhaustion of chasing, and the helplessness of missing each other in concrete scenes—the alley entrance, the seaside, the library. In the end he attends her wedding in a suit, blessing her love in the name of friendship; this landing is restrained and painful. It suits being read slowly on a quiet evening, and also suits readers who have experienced long secret loves or "always following behind someone." It is not a feel-good happy ending, so it is best to accept this gentle regret before reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who like delicate secret-love narratives and can accept a regretful ending
People who resonate with childhood-sweetheart, years-of-following-style emotions
Readers who prefer strong scene-setting and stories advanced by everyday details
Readers who want to slowly read a story of growth and missed chances in short, chapter-like sections

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting secret love to ultimately bear fruit and wanting a happy ending
Readers who prefer strong plot and fast-paced conflict
People easily depressed by regretful tropes like "attending a wedding in the name of friendship"

Reading tips

Read in chronological order, and notice how the tone of "see you tomorrow" changes at the partings at thirteen, seventeen, and eighteen.
When you reach the wedding part, you can look back at the earlier passage where she complains that he walks too fast and never looks back, to appreciate the echo of his later "following her."
No need to finish in one go; read one or two scenes at a time and let the emotion settle.
After reading, you can think: if Xie Zeyang had looked back earlier, what would the story be like—this hypothesis itself is part of the book.

版权信息
楔子 “慢冷”
第一章冰袋
第二章同桌
第三章谢阳阳
第四章晕血
第五章烦恼
第六章发烧
第七章礼物
第八章愿望
第九章酸涩
第十章离别
第十一章想念
第十二章重逢
第十三章道歉
第十四章原谅
第十五章腿伤
第十六章发绳
第十七章欢送会
第十八章球赛
第十九章心痛
第二十章雪天
第二十一章流星
第二十二章离别
第二十三章想念
第二十四章错过
第二十五章新婚快乐
沈冰清番外不可能的人
谢泽阳番外若我年少有为
丁峻明番外以友之名
作者后记

FAQ

Do Xie Zeyang and Shen Bingqing end up together?

No. At the end, Xie Zeyang attends Shen Bingqing's wedding in a suit, fulfilling their childhood promise to "wear a real wedding dress and a real suit once," and blesses her love in the name of friendship.

What does the title "Qingqing" refer to?

Qingqing comes from the heroine Shen Bingqing's name. She is fervent as the blazing sun, forming a contrast with the "ice-clear" in her name, and the title also carries a sense of what Xie Zeyang calls her.

How long does the story span?

It begins with a parting at an alley entrance at thirteen, passes through the seaside at seventeen and the library at eighteen, then covers the seven years after they part, and finally lands on her wedding—spanning a considerable stage from youth to adulthood.

Is this book very painful to read?

Emotionally it is restrained regret, not the pain of fierce conflict. Secret love, chasing, and missing each other run throughout, and the ending closes with a blessing; before reading, you can accept this gentle regret.

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About the author

Meng Zhiwan Author · Chinese

Meng Zhiwan is a Chinese writer of youth literature. Public information about her is limited, and her dates of birth and death and personal background are not recorded. Judging from her existing works, she mainly writes about emotions on the youth campus and is especially good at portraying the bittersweet and secret psychology of unrequited love. Her style is delicate, and she captures the hesitation, expectation, and disappointment of young people as their feelings first awaken. Her works appear frequently on the Fanqie Novel website and are published by Dook Culture. The library holds three of her works: Qingqing, The Tide Sees the Moon, and The Grand Pantomime of Unrequited Love, the last of which typifies her writing style. Overall, her work focuses on emotional experience in youth and growth, using everyday campus settings and restrained, subtle narration to present the melancholy and tenderness characteristic of the unrequited-love genre, giving her a recognizable presence among readers of youth literature.