#mi lan

When the first spring rain comes, I will take you to wherever you want to go.

— "Maybe this ending isn't a bad thing for me after all."

Even after regaining her sight, she not only continues carrying her cane with her: it also becomes her weapon of choice, a part of herself she consciously makes into an instrument of protection. The unique abilities gained due to her blindness (such as her keen hearing) continue being her strengths going forward, despite how easily they could've been discarded. She can see again, but her blindness is never portrayed as a tragic defect to be left behind in favour of character development.

From the very start and despite her youth and inexperience, she bravely and brazenly chooses the role of a helper, a rescuer, a saviour. She takes responsibility for Shen Zhiheng's life and, in the process, becomes her own saviour and hero.

She's never―not once―shown as being weak, because her strength comes from within and can't be extinguished even in the most dire adversity.

She learns to care for others and, in doing so, to care for herself. She learns to live, and love, and love living. Her curiosity, wonder at the world and kindness propel her. With every new thing she learns and every mistake she makes, she becomes more mature, empathic, intelligent and beautiful in her imperfections.

She has a heart pure as the white moon and warm as the golden sun. Despite knowing so little about life because of all that she's been deprived of in childhood, she's driven by a loyalty, dedication and passion so poignant they eclipse everything else. She shines bright and casts her light all around her, to illuminate the path of the one she loves.

She and Shen Zhiheng are one. This is something Mi Lan actively chose and continues to choose every day, with absolute clarity, because her trust in Shen Zhiheng's warmth and kindness is unbreakable.

In the end, all that matters is that she lives on ― that she never loses the joy of living, and that her pure brightness never fades. Shen Zhiheng willingly gives up on the twilight of his own life so Mi Lan gets to see the next morning, clearly believing that sacrifice to be worth it.

OUYANG NANA (歐陽娜娜 / 欧阳娜娜) as Mi Lan