In June 2022, Zha Shiyire, 32, walked into Puyu Bookstore in Kunming, Yunnan province, for a literary event. With her extremely short hair, she had only just begun to write seriously.

Sitting in the audience, she set herself a single goal: to ask guest writer Zhang Qiuzi a question: "Should people write to attract traffic, or should they write what they truly want to write, even if it might not interest many people?"

For Zha, this was far from a simple act of curiosity. Since January 2021, she had been battling panic disorder, an anxiety condition marked by sudden, recurrent episodes of intense fear, with symptoms such as a racing heartbeat, sweating and dizziness. At its worst, she could not even step outside her front door. Exhausted, unable to muster the strength to wash her hair, she eventually shaved it all off.

That day at the bookstore started better than she'd dared hope: she had managed to arrive alone. But before she could finish her question, something felt wrong. Her voice began to tremble, and her hands shook uncontrollably. She wanted to flee, but found herself frozen in place. Noticing her distress, the bookstore staff quietly led her to a break room to rest and called her husband.

More than three years later, in September 2025, Zha returned to the bookstore under very different circumstances. This time, she came as an invited author, appearing for an event dedicated to her new nonfiction book Woshi Zhaizili Zhangda De Nyuhai (I am a girl who grew up in a tribe).

After recording a promotional video, she turned to a bookstore clerk and asked: "You were also at the event on the book by Zhang Qiuzi in 2022, right?" Surprised, he replied: "You were here, too?" Zha told him that she was the woman with extremely short hair.