The series of experiences is, in fact, a journey of spiritual analysis for Xiaolin himself. With the passing of his father and the complete suspension of his father’s role, Xiaolin is forced to confront adulthood amidst his grandmother’s urging. On one hand, he desperately seeks another father figure to fulfill the responsibilities in his life; on the other hand, he is eager to trace the source of his inner trauma.Amidst this, Xiaolin’s experiences constantly circle back to childhood memories and the intimate moments shared with his father. These memories, strikingly vivid, leave traces like shadows on objects and life itself. The lingering rain, like an illness, remains in Xiaolin’s body, while reality and imagination, perception and memory, the present and the past, the manifest and the latent all coexist. Thus, he attempts to escape the pain in the city, still yearning to recover the shadow of his father—whether in Abao or in the urban village. However, the village will eventually be replaced by new buildings, and Abao, onto whom Xiaolin projects his father’s image, is just as helpless as Xiaolin in the face of a loved one’s passing. The pain, much like the mold of the south, can only dissolve with time.