Throughout her life, Fu Xueli saw Fu Chenglin, as the eldest son of the Fu family, as a very shrewd and formidable person who never let himself be taken advantage of. However, being from a prestigious family and the heir, he did feel lonely at the top. He couldn’t make his own decisions about marriage – it was all arranged by the family.
Suddenly feeling a bit sad, though unsure where this feeling came from, she turned to leave. But Fu Chenglin called after her, “Fu Xueli.”
“What?”
Fu Chenglin sighed unusually, “What about you and that guy, Xu Xingchun – are you two serious?”
“Of course, I’m not like you.” Hearing this, Fu Xueli felt irritated. Though she knew it was inappropriate, she added, “Brother, what I wanted to say but didn’t earlier… Though I don’t know why you let yourself fall to this state, I think you’re neither persistent nor mature. Sister Yun couldn’t see any hope in you, so her leaving was inevitable. Zhang Ailing said you only need two things to give up someone: new love and time. You should move on too. Life must go on, after all, you were the one who wronged her first.”
Fu Chenglin wanted to laugh, his melancholy dispersing a bit. He dramatically put his hand to his ear, “What? Fu Xueli, say that again – what did Zhang Ailing say? Since when did my sister become such a literary youth?”
Fu Xueli shouted, “Just because you don’t read much doesn’t mean others can’t be cultured! Get lost!”
Fu Chenglin shed his previous dejection and looked at her like she was an idiot, “What gives you the right? We’re both guilty – if I’m a scumbag, what are you?”
She wanted to argue but thought of Xu Xingchun and immediately lost her momentum.
Actually, Fu Chenglin wasn’t wrong. The siblings’ behavior patterns were quite similar. The only difference was that Fu Xueli was luckier.
Turning to climb the steps inside, Auntie Qi came to answer the door. Seeing her, she was pleasantly surprised, “Lili, why didn’t you say you were coming home?”
“Mm…”
“Where’s your brother? Didn’t he come back with you?” Auntie Qi peered behind her.
Fu Xueli replied listlessly, “He’s outside.” She changed into slippers. The TV was playing Beijing opera. Before heading upstairs, Auntie Qi called out to her, “Oh right, I was cleaning the storage room this morning and found a yellow cardboard box of yours. I looked inside – seems to be all your things.”
Fu Xueli paused with her hand on the railing, “Where’s that box?”
“Still there, I put it on the shelf.”
Hearing this, she vaguely guessed what it was.
She moved the box from the storage room to her bedroom. It was quite heavy, making her break a sweat. She first removed the tape and opened it. On top were some colorful books – she picked them up and recognized them as magazines she loved reading during high school classes.
Looking further, there were many photos – graduation photos, yearly birthday pictures.
She could barely remember who some of the people were.
Picking up another photo randomly, the lighting was dim. Looking closer, she realized it was Xu Xingchun.
It must have been one she secretly took and developed – the edges were blurry.
He stood alone by the river, his silhouette barely visible. Away from the crowd, he had a maturity and loneliness beyond his years.
Memories of the past inevitably surfaced.
Fu Xueli came back to herself and continued looking through other items in the box.
Suddenly, a small black box in the corner caught her attention.
Fu Xueli’s thoughts stirred as she picked it up to examine it. Was this what Xu Xingchun had someone give her after they broke up? She only had a vague memory…
But back then, she couldn’t be bothered to look at it. After Xu Xingchun left, seeing these things irritated her, so she packed away everything related to him. She meant to throw them away but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Once set aside, years passed.
Opening the small drawer in the box, she found a letter inside. The envelope was plain white. Feeling it… it was thin.
Opening it, she discovered it was a simple sketch. It showed a hand drawn in marker, with a date written on it, nothing else.
This date, calculating back… should be from middle school. Lost in thought, Fu Xueli’s mind wandered, and a certain scene gradually emerged in her memory. She finally remembered the origin of this sketch.
Once during class, she was bored and asked Xu Xingchun to reach his hand over.
She quickly drew a ring on his ring finger.
Then on his clean hand, she wrote the English word she had just learned: marry …..
Did Xu Xingchun remember everything? Why did he take everything so seriously… What a big fool… He was probably heartbroken but wouldn’t say a word to make her stay.
Fu Xueli felt like boiling copper and iron water had been poured over her heart, burning her insides with pain. She suddenly felt her nose tingle.
At 1 AM on the streets of Dali.
As Xu Xingchun got out of the car, A-Si also immediately stepped out. It wasn’t time for the arrest yet. They first walked to the convenience store across the street.
“The supplier left, telling us to deal outside. This time’s target is from Red Mountain. His street name is Brother Ka. He likes to go out between 2 and 3 AM. He’s very cunning. His house is near the national highway, quite remote, with a river nearby – probably for escaping.”
Tonight they were going undercover as customers at Brother Ka’s regular bar.
Old Wu had just stared at Xu Xingchun in the car before saying, “This won’t work. You look too proper and decent, obviously a straight arrow. Can’t infiltrate like that. Need to look more alternative.”
They stood at the entrance of “A-Fu Gets Rich” convenience store. A-Si called out to the owner, “Hey! Do you sell hair gel?”
Their contact was in the barbershop next door. After a while, the transformation was complete. When Xu Xingchun pushed open the door, everyone was stunned.
In the dim light, his tall figure and long legs were accentuated. His bangs were slicked back with gel, adding a touch of glamour. His features were really outstanding – except for slightly heavy dark circles under his eyes, his exposed forehead was smooth, his jade-like jaw flawless.
Several buttons of his black and gold shirt were undone, and the slightly tight clothes emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist. He removed his silver watch and replaced it with a silver ring on his middle finger. He even held a cigarette, looking every bit the unruly rich kid.
The only woman present couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter.
After a moment, A-Si stroked his chin, as if remembering something, “Brother Chun is still so handsome. Remember when we were in the same unit? Every time we had a mission, we relied on his looks as bait – worked really well.”
A-Si spoke lightly, but everyone present knew how dangerous these missions were – one small mistake meant countless ways to die. His calmness was telling. Admiring gazes fell on Xu Xingchun again.
Completely unaware of others’ stares, his eyes remained fixed on the distance.
Probably another hour to wait.
For some reason, he took out his phone and held it.
Only A-Si and Xu Xingchun stayed to wait, while others returned to their cars to monitor the surrounding streets. The two chatted casually. A-Si was a bit tired, yawning as he took out a cigarette to smoke.
Two young girls came down from upstairs to throw out garbage, walking leisurely past them. Their eyes glanced this way subtly.
On their way back, one was about to approach them to chat. Suddenly, the handsome guy’s phone rang, and she stopped two or three meters away.
The phone suddenly vibrated. Seeing the caller ID, Xu Xingchun’s heart jumped. This was the new number he had given Fu Xueli a few days ago via text. Calling so late, something must have happened.
Though he knew it was inappropriate, he answered without hesitation.
He quickly walked to the side, hearing A-Si call after him. He paused, turning back to indicate he needed to take a call.
“Hello, Xu Xingchun?”
“I’m here.”
“Mm…” Fu Xueli seemed to be crying, sounding extremely sad, “Xu Xingchun, just now in my dream, a strong wind came and blew you away. I couldn’t find you anywhere, then I woke up.”
So she had a nightmare…
“I’m fine,” his voice was inexplicably hoarse but pleasant, “I’ll be back in a few days.”
“Really…” Outside, heavy rain started falling. Hearing his reassurance on such a night, she relaxed considerably.
Fighting sleepiness, Fu Xueli said, “Then promise me you’ll be okay. I’ll wait for you to come back.”
“Alright, I promise.”
A-Si smoked, watching Xu Xingchun finish his call, guessing something, and kept smiling. Then he suddenly sighed, “Fate is unpredictable, fortune and misfortune are intertwined – we must cherish the present.”
Xu Xingchun made no response.
His thoughts were on Fu Xueli, making him somewhat distracted.
Recently, he could clearly feel the change in Fu Xueli’s attitude toward him, but couldn’t quite explain it.
Taking a deep drag of his cigarette, A-Si looked up at the Dali night sky thoughtfully and said, “Brother Chun, I remember you once told me there’s no such thing as suffering leading to sweetness.”
He paused, then smiled faintly, “There won’t be sweetness after suffering, because suffering never ends.”
Turning his head, A-Si shifted his gaze slightly toward Xu Xingchun. After that phone call, his features had softened, his lowered eyes dispelling much of his coldness.
“What about now? Brother Chun, will sweetness come after suffering?”
Xu Xingchun gripped his phone tightly. He nodded slightly, with a smile tugging at his lips, and said softly, “It will come.”
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