The Warm Chord

The Warm Chord is the breakthrough novel by the author An Ning. It was first serialized on Jinjiang Literature City in 2007, published in book form for the first time by Baihuazhou Literature and Art Publishing House in 2008, and has since been reissued many times and adapted into a television series of the same name. The story is set in the fictional city of Yilushen and centers on the decade-long emotional entanglement between the heroine, Wen Nuan, and the hero, Zhan Nanxian, which began in their youth. As teenagers they were each other's deepest support, but because of a secret too shameful to speak of, Wen Nuan left without a word, leaving Zhan Nanxian alone to guard a world that had been betrayed. Ten years later, Wen Nuan returns. Zhan Nanxian has already founded the Qianshi Group with his classmates, relying on his keen business instincts, and has become an unavoidable presence in her life. He quietly lays his plans and draws her back to his side; every test and clash in the workplace is like a war without gunfire. But when he suddenly announces that he will marry another woman, Wen Nuan realizes that she may have been a pawn all along. Which weighs more, love or hate? How can revenge be distinguished from the desire to hold on? In this long standoff, the two repeatedly draw close and repeatedly retreat. With delicate psychological description and a restrained yet dense style, the book portrays a love rekindled after reunion, in which each tests and ultimately fulfills the other, and it also depicts the interweaving of human feeling and interest in the urban workplace.