Regret That We Met Too Late

秦黎明Apr 2017

3.0

Word count: 41K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Outside the window it is spring. The peach trees have just put forth pink blossoms, scattered here and there among branches black as ink in a painting, fresh and natural. The weeping willows, shaped like old men, have long since budded; their slender branches cross and strike one another, stirred by the gentle breeze, and from afar look hazy as mist, with a charm all their own.

Editor's review

Meeting Too Late is a work that depicts spring scenery and personal reflections with delicate strokes. Its depictions of natural images such as peach trees and weeping willows are fresh and natural, and its language is rich in visual imagery; it is skilled at entrusting deep feeling to ordinary seasonal phenomena, reading like a slowly unfolding ink-wash scroll. The author Qin Liming's prose has a gentle rhythm and pays attention to atmosphere, making the book suitable for careful reading in a quiet setting. Its value lies in guiding readers to reexamine the overlooked beauty around them and to find a moment of poetic dwelling amid a fast-paced life. It does not pursue dramatic plot but wins through mood and artistic conception; it is suitable as a bedside book or for casual reading while traveling, allowing readers to feel the turning of the seasons and the flavor of life between the lines and to experience that resonance of "meeting too late."

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers who enjoy lyrical prose and care about verbal atmosphere
Urban readers seeking a moment of quiet amid a busy life
Readers who resonate with descriptions of nature and seasonal reflection
General readers looking for a bedside book or short reading material

Not a good fit for

Readers of genre fiction who prefer strong plot and fast-paced narrative
Readers expecting systematic knowledge or practical skills
Readers with little patience for descriptive and lyrical writing

Reading tips

Choose a quiet time in the early morning or before bed, read one or two pieces each time, and leave room for reflection.
While reading, pay attention to the natural imagery in the book and compare it with seasonal changes outside the window.
Keep a pen at hand to mark sentences that move you for easy rereading later.
Do not rush; read favorite passages aloud repeatedly.

一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十
十一
十二
十三

FAQ

Is this book suitable for reading in one sitting?

Not really. The book is mainly lyrical and descriptive, with a gentle rhythm, and is better read slowly in several sessions. Reading one or two pieces at a time and leaving time to savor the mood and emotion makes it easier to feel a connection than reading straight through.

Can readers without a literary background read it?

Yes. The language is fresh and natural and does not rely on complex allusions; it moves readers mainly through scenery and emotional atmosphere, so ordinary readers can enter it smoothly.

Is this book consistent in style with the author's other works?

The available information shows only that this book centers on spring scenery and reflection, with delicate and fresh writing. The materials do not describe the style of the author's other works, so no comparison can be made.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

秦黎明 Author

Qin Liming is an author about whom limited public information is available; ten works are currently held in the collection, spanning social fiction, modern romance, youth literature, prose and miscellaneous writings, and classical poetry. Representative works include Passing Waters and Swift Currents, The Woman Beside Me, Bright Colors, Defining Love, Pretending to Be Refined, Late Spring Romance, Old Stories of the Splendid Pavilion, and A Wheel-Rutted Life. Judging from these titles and their common categories, Qin Liming's writing covers a fairly broad range of subjects, depicting realistic social life and urban emotions while also touching on youthful growth and memories of things past, with forays into prose essays and classical verse. This cross-genre approach gives the works a certain diversity, poised between popular narrative and literati taste. As the author's dates, nationality, and detailed biography are not clearly recorded, further information remains to be verified; this note offers only a brief sketch based on the existing works.