A young woman with romantic aspirations finds solace in Weibo, where she makes a tragic realization about herself
Going to work on the subway, she would habitually pull out her phone to go on Weibo.
Today was the birthday of some great personage. Some government account had microblogged their congratulations.
She forwarded the post, becoming a link in a chain of “May the world be as you wish.” Suddenly, her usually lonely home page was filled with 20 or 30 more forwards.
She didn’t know where the feeling had come from, but at this moment, she was moved by the grave torments of history, the solemnity of the august personage, and the ovation of the crowds.
Her thoughts wandered to many places.
The Girl Who Lives on Weibo is a story from our issue, “Cloud Country.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine. Alternatively, you can purchase the digital version from the App Store.