Farewell Song 2

Rao XuemanJun 2024

3.5

Word count: 115K words
Chapters: 30

Summary

Ma Zhuo, a girl born in Yucheng, Ya'an, lost her father to violence and her mother to unknown whereabouts at an early age. She was raised by her grandmother. At nine, her long-missing mother, Lin Guoguo, suddenly reappeared and took her away from the damp, shadowy old courtyard to the bustling city of Chengdu. The nearly unfamiliar mother had a personality as distinctive as her name, bringing young Ma Zhuo brief happiness—and disaster: Lin Guoguo died mysteriously, without even leaving a last word.

Ma Zhuo was sent back to her hometown by A Nan, a man who had followed her mother. There she endured days of hardship, facing a dying grandmother and an uncle who cruelly abused her. A Nan rescued her and took her away from Ya'an again, to a city in the Jiangnan region, where they began a new life. Years later, Ma Zhuo had grown into a graceful young woman who inherited her mother's maverick nature, excelling academically and speaking little.

Her unusual childhood made her precocious and perceptive. Yet the growing pains of adolescence came upon her unavoidably. After entering Tianzhong High School with the top score in the county, she befriended Yan Shushu, the vice principal's niece, a girl who sold counterfeit goods. Then, by pure coincidence, a troubled vocational-school boy known as "Poison" burst into her life. The unruly "Poison" seemed to live beyond all rules, yet Ma Zhuo was deeply drawn to the mysterious force in him. As if by an invisible thread of fate, a line ran between the "good girl" and the "bad boy," hovering, until finally it pulled them together without hesitation.

Editor's review

As the second volume of the Lige series, this book continues Ma Zhuo's growth trajectory from Ya'an to Chengdu, then to a small town in Jiangnan, and finally into Tianzhong, though the narrative重心 shifts noticeably toward adolescent romance and campus relationships. With delicate, restrained strokes, Rao Xueman sets Ma Zhuo's底色 of being precocious and taciturn alongside peers with a distinct marginal edge such as Yan Shushu and "Duyao," tracing the tension-filled line of fate between the "good girl" and the "bad boy." The work's value lies not in plot eccentricity but in its honest writing of a young girl's growing pains: the experience of losing her mother young, living under others' roofs, being rescued and then cast back into solitude gives each of Ma Zhuo's choices a fate-like weight. The depiction of Tianzhong's campus atmosphere and the survival conditions of technical-school youths preserves the author's signature texture of youth literature, suitable for continuous reading in a relatively uninterrupted stretch of time. As the second volume of a series, reading the first volume before entering this book is recommended to fully understand the origins and backstory of the character relationships.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Teen readers who have read Lige 1 and want to follow Ma Zhuo's growth line
Readers who prefer youth literature and enjoy the emotional tension between "good girls" and "bad boys"
Students interested in depictions of young girls' growth trauma and precocious psychology
Readers hoping to understand the character lineage of Rao Xueman's youth series

Not a good fit for

Readers who have not read the first volume and know nothing of the characters' backstory
Adult readers who prefer strong-plot mystery or grand narrative
Young children with little interest in campus romance themes

Reading tips

Read Lige 1 before this book to fully understand Ma Zhuo's growth backstory and character relationships
Use Ma Zhuo's interactions with Yan Shushu and "Duyao" as clues to observe adolescent interpersonal choices, annotating character motivations as you read
After finishing, organize the timeline of Ma Zhuo's journey from Ya'an to Tianzhong to help understand the key nodes in the formation of her personality
If used for a book club, discuss how the labels of "good" and "bad" are broken down

版权信息
PART1 青春（上）
（1）
（2）
（3）
（4）
（5）
（6）
（7）
（8）
（9）
（10）
（11）
（12）
（13）
（14）
PART2 青春（下）
（1）
（2）
（3）
（4）
（5）
（6）
（7）
（8）
（9）
（10）
（11）
（12）
（13）

FAQ

Can I read this directly without having read Lige 1?

You can read it, but there will be obvious gaps in information. This book continues the growth line of the first volume; Ma Zhuo's childhood experiences, the death of her mother Lin Guoguo, and A Nan's rescue are only briefly reviewed in the second volume, so without the first, the character relationships may feel abrupt. Reading in order is recommended.

Is this book suitable for middle school students' extracurricular reading?

It is more suitable for readers at the high school level and above who are interested in youth growth themes. The book involves marginalized campus youths and budding romance; the depiction is restrained but the themes lean heavy, and younger readers may find the characters' choices hard to understand. Parents may skim it first before deciding.

Is the relationship between Ma Zhuo and "Duyao" the main line of the book?

The emotional line is an important part of the second volume, but not the only main line. The work also lays out Ma Zhuo's friendship with Yan Shushu, her process of adapting to Tianzhong, and the continuing influence of early trauma on her personality. "Duyao"'s appearance is more like a mirror, reflecting Ma Zhuo's secret yearning for a world beyond the rules.

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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.