More popularly referred to (on twitter by me) as the Artist AU.

Each chapter title is a quote from an artist I admire. This first one (the story title) is from Pablo Picasso. The full quote reads:  “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."

You'll find each quote is tied to the chapter and reflects Jieqiong's thoughts or emotions throughout, or in reaction to, the events of the chapter.

So for this one, my reasoning was something along the lines of: Jieqiong's soul had been collecting the dust of monotony and loneliness until she found a crate, which gives her something meaningful to work for, essentially washing away the dust of her everyday life.

Unlike the rest of my fics, this is a cohesive story, told as a classic, chronological narrative.