Late Coming and Going

Name: Late Coming and Going
ISBN: 9787559463319

织尔Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaMar 2023

3.5

Word count: 138K words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787559463319

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Summary

In a hazy moment, I saw the moon rise, as if I had returned to the New Year just after I married him, when he took me out of the palace and I covered his mouth, able to see only his bright eyes.

His eyes were so beautiful, so beautiful that I seemed to see in them the sun, moon, and stars, the mountains and rivers, the long river and the setting sun, the shallow grass hiding horses' hooves, and a small me in white, standing on tiptoe, covering his mouth.

I will not tell anyone, because of what he said—that his eyes had always held only me—my heart beat so fast it almost leaped out of my body.

That was the most beautiful words of love I had ever heard in my life.

Editor's review

《行止晚》opens with a hazy moment of gazing at the moon, carrying the reader back to the New Year just after she married him: leaving the palace, covering his mouth, his bright eyes. Author Zhi Er builds intense emotion on minimal scenes; the line "my eyes have always held only you" becomes the emotional fulcrum of the whole book, and the description of a heart beating as if about to leap out is direct without being cheap. The book's strength lies in revealing the large through the small: rather than laying out a grand backdrop, it uses one New Year's night, one trip out of the palace, one gesture of covering his mouth to write the thrill of being cherished. The image of the rising moon runs throughout, lending private memory a gentle sense of fate. It suits readers who love delicate emotion and are willing to savor a short piece again and again—especially at night, when the feeling of being struck by a single sentence comes through more clearly.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy delicate emotional writing and short-form narrative
Literary readers who prefer conveying emotion through scenes and dialogue rather than exposition
Those who want a tender, thrilling story to read at night

Not a good fit for

Readers who need a complete world and complex plot for support
Readers uninterested in direct declarations of love and sweet atmospheres
Readers expecting long-form development and a large cast of characters

Reading tips

Pay attention to the recurring moon imagery; notice how the emotion shifts each time it appears
Read the palace-excursion, mouth-covering passage twice slowly, and feel how the details of gesture carry emotion
After finishing, return to the hazy moon-gazing opening to feel the alignment of memory and reality

About the publisher

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.

版权信息
行止晚1
番外1 康宁
番外2 长姐
番外3 章景行
番外4 章景清
不念
尾声
不念番外1
不念番外2
年年岁岁无今朝
尾声
年年岁岁无今朝番外

FAQ

Is the story long, and is the plot complex?

It is not long, and the plot is not complex; the core is a single fragment from the New Year just after her marriage: leaving the palace, covering his mouth, gazing at the moon. The author focuses on emotion and detail rather than advancing events, which suits readers who like to savor small scenes.

Is that declaration of love important in the book?

It is the emotional fulcrum. When "my eyes have always held only you" appears, the narrator's heart beats as if about to leap out, and the whole book unfolds around the thrill of being cherished. As you read, notice the scenes that set up this line before and after; it is not an isolated confession but the landing point of the entire memory.

Is the style similar to the author's other book, 《长辞》?

Same author, similar temperament: both favor short sentences, white space, and a classical atmosphere. The difference is that 《行止晚》 focuses more on one specific sweet memory, with warmer, more direct emotion; 《长辞》 looks back on a whole life and returns to the first meeting, with a heavier sense of melancholy. You can choose based on whether you want warmth or melancholy.

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About the author

织尔 Author

Zhi Er is an author about whom limited public information is available. To date, nine works can be confirmed under this name, including Chang Ci, After the Cabbage Spirit Descends the Mountain, Xing Zhi Wan, Gu Meng, Wang Yue, Eighty Thousand Springs, My Emperor Setting Is That He Loves Her, and Xu Xu Tu Zhi. Judging from the categories in the database, her writing spans time-travel alternate worlds, otherworldly continents, youth literature, and modern romance, showing a range that moves between historical fantasy and realistic emotional themes. Her titles often carry a classical flavor and a light imaginative touch, as with "Chang Ci," "Wang Yue," and "Eighty Thousand Springs," suggesting a tendency toward emotional atmosphere and character relationships; titles such as "After the Cabbage Spirit Descends the Mountain" and "My Emperor Setting Is That He Loves Her" reveal a lighter, humorous side with playful genre premises. Because her dates of birth and death, nationality, and English name are not recorded, little can be said about her life, and readers must come to know her mainly through her works.