“Liu Tong portrays, with restrained yet sincere prose, how a man crushed by the system escapes to an island without check-in times or performance reviews—and there, begins to hear his own voice again. This is not a story about success, but about the answer that ‘stopping is also okay.’”
— Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

“If you are trapped by internal conflict, exhausted in body and mind, and no longer want to confine yourself to the mold of others—you must read this book. It will tell you that allowing yourself to stop and love yourself is the best way to heal.”
— Reader

“The narrative flows smoothly, transitioning seamlessly between present and past. Every character is vivid and fully realized, each carrying a story of their own.”
— Reader

★ The long-awaited return of Liu Tong, one of China‘s most beloved authors, following his million-copy bestseller “See You in the Future” after 9 years. Debuted at #1 on Dangdang‘s fiction chart.
★ “When the world no longer needs you, where else can you go?” A young corporate professional, crushed by the system, quits his job and escapes to an island without KPI or deadlines. This is not a story about success—it’s an answer to the question: “It‘s okay to stop.”
★ “I don’t want to die. I‘m just tired.” These words have become the voice of a generation trapped in burnout. If you’ve ever felt drained by the grind, this book is your island.
★ It captures the exhaustion of modern work life: an elite graduate, a corporate career, endless KPIs—only to realize he‘s just another piece of fuel in the furnace, burned until nothing is left.
★ “Morning comes no matter what. Whether you walk fast or slow, the sun will rise.” Written for everyone pushed forward by society’s clock, unsure where they‘re even going.

Zhang Xingxing was the kind of person society calls “elite”—a top university graduate, a rising star in a major tech company. He thought he was building a ship that would sail far. Until one day, he realized he was nothing more than a piece of fuel, burning in the ship‘s furnace until there was nothing left.

A misunderstanding—one that cost him everything—broke his spirit and erased three years of effort. His value was denied. His life had hit a dead end.

Then came the words: “I don’t want to die. I‘m just tired.”

Quitting his job, Zhang follows his grandmother’s old letters to a place no one else knows—a remote island called Wuming Island, hidden off the coast of Hainan. There are no meetings, no deadlines, no managers. Just simple islanders: the warm-hearted Hai Ge, the innkeeper, and a child named Xiao Man.

The islanders mistake Zhang‘s quiet despair for suicidal intent. But rather than pushing him away, they launch a quiet “rescue plan” of their own—awkward acts of kindness that slowly wrap around him. And as they try to save him, he begins to help them in return. Each person has their own quiet pain, and Zhang—once the one being rescued—finds himself listening, mending, and caring.

Together, they collect the “sounds of the island”—the crystals cracking in the salt flats, the breath of the reefs, the hermit crabs changing shells. When Zhang tries to capture the sound of waves hitting the rocks but can‘t get it right, his friend A-Jie stops him. That moment, he understands: being alive isn’t about searching relentlessly. It‘s about sitting still, and letting meaning fill your lungs like air.

This is not a success story. It’s about the answer that says, “It‘s okay to stop.” The island is not an escape. It’s a place to peel off the barnacles—anxiety, expectations, and chains—and find who you are without them. In the end, Zhang realizes that your worth is not defined by the world‘s standards.

Liu Tong (born 1981 in Chenzhou, Hunan) graduated from Hunan Normal University’s Chinese Literature department. He is a writer and Vice President of Enlight Pictures, producing multiple Chinese films including “Big Fish & Begonia” and serving as co-producer of “The Lost Tomb.”
His published works include: “Wait Until the Wind Calms Down,” “Whose Youth Isn‘t Confused?,” “Your Loneliness, Though Defeated, Is Still Honorable,” “Toward the Light,” “See You in the Future,” “Don’t Be That Lost Migratory Bird,” “One Person Is Enough,” and “I Want to Set Off a Firework for Your Late Night.”
“Whose Youth Isn‘t Confused?” won the China Writers List Award for Best Inspirational Book of the Year, with sales exceeding 2 million copies. “Your Loneliness, Though Defeated, Is Still Honorable” was selected as one of the Four Major Books of the 2014 National Reading Campaign. “See You in the Future” was selected for the NRTA’s 2019 Outstanding Online Audiovisual Works, and its television adaptation won the Top 10 Online Drama Series at the 2020 Shanghai International Film and Television Festival.