Farewell Song 1

Rao XuemanJun 2024

3.6

Word count: 113K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Ma Zhuo, a girl born in Yucheng, Ya'an, lost her father to violence and her mother to unknown whereabouts when she was very young. Raised by her grandmother, she was nine when her long-missing mother, Lin Guoguo, suddenly reappeared and took her away from the damp, shadowed old family house to the bustling metropolis of Chengdu. The near-stranger mother had a personality as distinctive as her name, bringing young Ma Zhuo brief happiness—and then disaster: Lin Guoguo died suddenly and mysteriously, leaving not even a last word.

A man named A Nan, who had always followed her mother, sent Ma Zhuo back to her hometown, where she endured day after day the dying grandmother and a cruel uncle who abused her. A Nan rescued her and took her away from Ya'an once more, to a city in Jiangnan, where she began a new life. Years later, Ma Zhuo had grown into a slender, graceful girl who had inherited her mother's maverick nature; she was an outstanding student and spoke little.

Her unusual early experiences made her mature and perceptive beyond her years, yet the sharp pains of adolescent growth still came to her unavoidably. After testing into Tianzhong with the highest score in the county, she befriended Yan Shushu, the vice principal's niece, a girl who sold counterfeit branded goods. Then, by sheer chance upon chance, a troubled vocational-school boy nicknamed "Poison" burst into her life. The unruly "Poison" seemed to live outside every rule, yet Ma Zhuo was deeply drawn to the mysterious force in him. As if a thread of fate ran between the "good girl" and the "bad boy," hovering and winding, it finally pulled them together beyond any turning back.

Editor's review

As the opening volume of the *Li Ge* series, this book lays the foundation for the entire story: from the shadowed old house in Yucheng, Ya'an, to her mother Lin Guoguo's brief appearance and mysterious death, to A Nan's two rescues and his taking Ma Zhuo to a small Jiangnan city, Rao Xueman devotes considerable space to depicting the successive losses a young girl suffers around the age of nine. This almost cruel rendering of childhood gives Ma Zhuo's precocity, silence, and academic excellence a credible psychological origin, and makes her later adolescent emotional choices seem natural rather than abrupt. The language carries the author's signature lyricism, and the spatial shift from Ya'an to Jiangnan creates a striking contrast in atmosphere. For readers new to the series, this book is the entry point for understanding the characters' motives and emotional tone; while reading, pay attention to the restraint and weight of A Nan, one of the few steady forces at the turning points of Ma Zhuo's fate.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Young readers new to the *Li Ge* series who want to start from the beginning
Readers who enjoy themes of growth trauma and redemption in youth literature
Readers interested in Rao Xueman's style who wish to read her series systematically
Readers curious about how childhood experiences shape personality

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer fast pacing and strong plot twists
Readers sensitive to heavy subjects such as childhood misfortune and family upheaval
Younger readers looking for lighthearted campus slice-of-life stories

Reading tips

Read in chronological order and note how the three spatial shifts—Ya'an, Chengdu, and the Jiangnan city—affect Ma Zhuo's psychology
Highlight the sections where Lin Guoguo and A Nan appear, and trace the rhythm of 'brief happiness' and 'loss again' in Ma Zhuo's life
Begin *Li Ge 2* immediately after finishing this book to observe changes in Ma Zhuo's personality and relationships after she enters Tianzhong
Discuss Ma Zhuo's childhood experiences with peers of the same age to better understand the logic behind her later choices

版权信息
PART1 过去
序：
（1）
（2）
（3）
（4）
（5）
（6）
（7）
（8）
（9）
（10）
PART2 少年
（1）
（2）
（3）
（4）
（5）
（6）
（7）
（8）
（9）
（10）
（11）
（12）
（13）
（14）
（15）
（16）
（17）
（18）
（19）
（20）

FAQ

Is this the first book in the series? Do I need to read them in order?

It is the opening volume of the *Li Ge* series, and reading in order is recommended. This book concentrates on Ma Zhuo's early childhood, her mother Lin Guoguo's death, and A Nan's rescue; this backstory is essential for understanding later relationships and emotional developments, and skipping it can leave gaps in understanding motives.

Is the childhood section too heavy?

There are indeed heavier passages, including her father's violent death, her mother's mysterious death, and the abuse she suffers from her uncle while staying in her hometown. The author handles them with relative restraint and does not sensationalize violent details, but the emotional tone is rather somber. Readers sensitive to such material may wish to sample the first few chapters before deciding.

What role does A Nan play in the book?

A Nan is the man who has always followed Lin Guoguo. After Lin Guoguo's death, he sends Ma Zhuo back to her hometown, and when she is abused there, he rescues her again and takes her to a small Jiangnan city. He is not her father, yet he intervenes twice at key moments in Ma Zhuo's fate, and is one of the few steady, restrained adult figures in the book.

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About the author

Rao Xueman Author · China · 1972

Rao Xueman, born in 1972 in Zigong, Sichuan, is a Chinese writer, screenwriter and lyricist. She graduated from Sichuan University of Science and Engineering and once served as editor-in-chief of the magazine Man Nüsheng. She has long devoted herself to youth literature, focusing on young people's confusion and choices in growth, relationships and family life. Her writing is delicate and close to reality, and she is good at capturing the sensitive and stubborn feelings of adolescents. Her representative works include Left Ear, Hourglass, Li Ge and Secret Fruit, many of which have been adapted into films and television series. She has had a broad influence in the field of youth literature and is known as the "leading figure of youth literature." The library holds 35 of her works, including Yi Ai, Left Wing and Betta, commonly categorized as youth literature, social fiction and modern romance.