The Search for Relatives

余耕Nov 2018

3.4

Word count: 30K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Guo Jing enters society at the age of three. After being trafficked, he tastes the warmth and coldness of the world and longs to find his biological parents, but he only vaguely remembers that his home was on the eighteenth floor. After graduating from junior high school, in order to knock on every eighteenth-floor door in the city, Guo Jing becomes a courier—yet his biological father has long since sold the house and used the proceeds to block his own son's road home. From then on, Guo Jing begins his own life.

Editor's review

Set around Guo Jing's obsession with finding his family after being trafficked at age three, with only the memory of an eighteenth-floor home, The Search for Family turns a search for relatives into a long inquiry into identity. Yu Geng does not turn suffering into melodrama; instead, he lets the protagonist's path unfold naturally from trafficked child to courier, knocking on eighteenth-floor doors one by one through his deliveries. This setup carries the irony of fate while tightly binding urban space to personal memory. What moves readers most is that the novel does not evade the cruelty of the biological father selling the house and blocking his son's way home, nor does it reduce the search to a reunion narrative; instead, it lets Guo Jing rebuild his life through repeated disappointment. It suits reading in one sitting on a commute or over a weekend, as readers follow Guo Jing's perspective to look again at stairwells, door numbers, and strangers in the city, and to feel the more universal longing for belonging that lies behind the search for family.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in trafficking and family-search themes
Novel readers who enjoy narratives of growth among ordinary people
Those interested in writing about urban space and memory
Readers who want to explore family bonds and belonging through story

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting lighthearted romance or comedic pacing
Those unwilling to face heavy themes such as trafficking and family rupture
Genre-fiction readers who prefer strongly plotted mystery or detective structures

Reading tips

Read in chapter order first, and notice how Guo Jing's memory of the eighteenth floor recurs and changes.
When you reach the courier section, slow down and feel the contrast between urban space and the obsession with finding family.
After finishing, trace the relationship line between Guo Jing and his biological father to understand how the author handles the road home.

版权信息
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十六
十七

FAQ

Why does Guo Jing choose to become a courier?

According to the material, after graduating from junior high school Guo Jing becomes a courier in order to knock on every eighteenth-floor door in the city. This choice stems from his vague memory that his original home was on the eighteenth floor; delivering packages becomes a practical way for him to search for his biological parents and brings him closer to his memory within the city.

Does this book have a reunion ending?

The material mentions that Guo Jing's biological father has long since sold the house and used the money to block his son's way home, and that Guo Jing begins his own life from then on. The work therefore does not reduce the search to a reunion; it focuses on how Guo Jing rebuilds his life after the rupture, and readers must experience the ending for themselves.

Is it suitable for readers without a family-search experience?

Yes. Although the novel's main line is a search for family, its core is identity and belonging, and Guo Jing's experience of moving through the city's stairwells can resonate with ordinary readers. As long as they are not averse to heavy themes, they can read it for its broader reflection on family bonds and life choices.

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About the author

余耕 Author

Yu Geng is a Chinese author about whom limited public information is available; his confirmed body of work consists of the eight titles held in the library. His writing spans social fiction, mystery and detective fiction, and classic works. His representative titles include If There Is No Tomorrow: I Am Yu Huanshui, Golden Branches and Jade Leaves, Asking the Cauldron 1939, The Last Horizon, The Search for Kin, Laughing at Cangshan, The Setter, and I Am Xia Shizhi. Judging from the titles and categories, he favors realistic subjects and plot-driven storytelling, often using the circumstances of ordinary people as an entry point and exploring social relationships and turns of fate within a framework of mystery and detection. Among these works, If There Is No Tomorrow: I Am Yu Huanshui has gained wider reader recognition through its screen adaptation. Overall, Yu Geng's works combine popular readability with a degree of social observation, and are suited to readers interested in social fiction and mystery narratives.