Chapter Five: Promise Me You Won't Leave

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I looked up blankly. Watching Luo Qing, whose face was slightly pale yet still as beautiful as ever, I found it hard for a moment to tell whether this was reality or illusion.

"How can you still be so silly after all this time…" Luo Qing gazed into my eyes, which were nearly dull with disbelief, and forced a faint smile. After she spoke, the corners of her eyes grew moist.

I stared unblinkingly at Luo Qing, so close at hand, yet I couldn't find the words. All my previous anger and sorrow vanished in an instant with that single glistening tear of hers. If I had harbored any doubt before about whether my feelings for Luo Qing truly amounted to love, everything I was showing at this moment seemed to be the most perfect answer—for her, I could love with all the humility in the world.

Luo Qing's soft, warm little hand gently caressed my face, calming my restless, agitated heart into peace and serenity. Even though I had a thousand words swirling within me, I said none of them to her. At this moment, we seemed to share the longest-lasting tacit understanding. Watching her laugh through her tears, I gently raised my hand and wiped away the teardrops at the corners of her eyes.

I rose to my feet, no longer able to suppress the surging emotions inside me, and pulled her tightly into my arms in one swift motion. Breathing in the faint, delicate fragrance that emanated from her, feeling the softness of her slender, graceful figure, I wished I could hold her close like this for the rest of my life, let her feel my warmth, and let her know just how deeply I loved her.

"Honey…" Luo Qing hugged me gently, burying her head against my shoulder. Her voice was faint, yet exceptionally clear.

I stood there dazed, holding Luo Qing tight, listening to her voice as my mind went completely blank. It was a long while before I managed to ask, somewhat excitedly, "You… what did you just call me?"

"During these days of separation, your longing reached my heart without a single drop lost…" Luo Qing gently pushed me back, then lightly tapped my lips with her fair, smooth finger. "Whoever has bullied you, I'll make them pay back tenfold, a hundredfold."

"None of that matters to me… All I want is to be with you. It's that simple…" I gently pressed my forehead against hers and whispered, "This cold drink shop was opened for you. It's also where my dream began, and you are the one I've been searching for."

"Hehe…" Luo Qing laughed foolishly. Suddenly she reached her arms around my neck from behind, pulled down hard to lower my head, then rose on her tiptoes and kissed me on the lips.

I widened my eyes and looked at Luo Qing, who had already closed her eyes tightly, feeling the cool touch of her lips against mine, before slowly closing my eyes as well and returning her kiss with abandon.

At that moment, it was as though I forgot everything else. All I could feel was her tender yet overwhelming love. Time and space seemed to freeze into ice in that instant, and all my longing and concern seemed to find their fullest reward in that kiss…

It was who knows how long before we finally ended that kiss, which had nearly stolen our breath. Luo Qing's fair cheeks were tinged with adorable rosiness, and I too was gasping for air, all the weariness and pain in my body dissipating as if in an instant. Just as I was gazing at Luo Qing with deep affection, a burst of enthusiastic applause suddenly erupted around us, and I looked around in surprise.

"Wow, young man, you'd better treasure this girl. She's both beautiful and gentle—you can't just make her be the one to grab hold of you every time, you know," said a brother sitting nearby, waiting for his cold drink, with a lecherous grin on his face.

"That's right, that's right…" The other customers in their seats began to join in the teasing. Amid all this clamor, Luo Qing, who had already been blushing, grew even more bashful. She lowered her head in front of me, gently swaying her body without speaking.

"Is that so?" I crouched down slightly and looked up at Luo Qing, who had actually become shy, smiling at her.

Seeing me wearing such a smile, Luo Qing stomped her foot hard, muttered the words "you idiot," and then ran off, intending to dash out the door.

How could I ever let such a perfect opportunity slip away? I quickly got up to chase after her, and from behind, I scooped the delicate Luo Qing up by the waist, pushed open the door, and ran out of the cold drink shop.

And so, holding Luo Qing in my arms, I ran and ran amidst the dancing snowflakes. I don't know how long I ran, nor where I was headed. Aimless, yet filled with thrilling joy.

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After running for a long while, I finally set Luo Qing down, then pretended to be exhausted and said, "Lady Luo, you've gained some weight, haven't you? Looks like you've been living well these past six months—I was worrying over nothing."

Luo Qing had just left my embrace when she heard me say that, and she immediately got furious. With one hand on her hip and the other pointing at me, she shouted, "Say that again."

"I'm just teasing you." I pulled Luo Qing into my arms once more, gently inhaling her scent, and looked around at the beautiful snowy scenery around us. With a sigh, I remarked, "In this silver world, to have you by my side at this very moment—I could die without regret."

"Nonsense." Luo Qing pushed me away hard, clearly displeased with what I had said. She turned away from me in a sulk, yet followed my gaze toward the snow-covered street in the distance and the men and women hurrying along it. We fell into mutual silence.

The snow-white houses, the streets glittering with crystalline light, the children having snowball fights in the alleyways—everything before my eyes was so beautiful, drawing my gaze and brightening every ounce of joy in this frozen world.

After a long while, my body had grown stiff in the breeze, and only then did Luo Qing finally speak to me. But her voice suddenly turned so mournful in that instant: "Yang Chen, the truth is… I came here this time to say goodbye to you…"

"What?" I stared in shock at Luo Qing's turned back, standing frozen in place, not knowing what to do, wishing I hadn't heard what she just said.

"I can't let you be hurt any longer, do you understand?" Luo Qing shoved her hands into the pockets of her red down jacket and looked up at the grayish-white sky, watching the sparse, scattered snowflakes. "Originally, I had prepared a whole litany of heartless words. But the moment I walked into the cold drink shop and saw you, I forgot every one of those lines I had rehearsed…"

"What do you mean?" I placed my hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around, wanting to look into her eyes.

"This is my fate, and it is also our destiny. No matter how hard I struggle, it's all in vain… Perhaps this is heaven's arrangement." Though Luo Qing had turned her body toward me, she still looked up at the sky, her tone calm yet low. I could hear the helplessness in her words—that tranquil grief, which was all the more heart-wrenching.

"I don't believe in any damn heaven's arrangement, fate, or destiny. All I know is that as long as I'm with you, I'm afraid of nothing. Not of getting hurt, and not even of death." I shouted at Luo Qing. "What I'm most afraid of right now is you suddenly leaving again, suddenly vanishing from my life, leaving me with nowhere to find you."

At my anguished cry, Luo Qing finally deigned to look me in the eyes. She reached out and gently stroked my face, stiff from the cold, her eyes curving into two little crescents as she smiled happily.

Seeing Luo Qing's smile, I only grew more afraid. Trembling, I grabbed her arm and said to her in a tone that was almost pleading: "Don't leave me, okay? Even though I have nothing right now, I will fight for everything for your sake. I'll work myself to the bone so we can live happily together for the rest of our lives… I… I can give everything for you, even my life."

"Yang Chen…" Luo Qing lowered her head with a smile, but I could see a glistening line of tears drip onto the thin layer of snow on the ground, instantly melting the white flakes before freezing into ice.

"Why do you have to be so good to me? Why do you have to make me unable to let go of you?" Luo Qing suddenly burst into loud sobs, throwing herself into my arms and pounding my chest with her fists.

I held Luo Qing's body and whispered softly by her ear to soothe her: "There, there, don't cry… Because you're the woman I've chosen. Even if I gave up on myself, I would never give up on you."

Hearing my words, Luo Qing only cried even harder, murmuring over and over against my chest: "Don't be so good to me. I'm begging you, don't be so good to me anymore."

I held the tear-streaked Luo Qing tightly and said nothing more. Instead, like coaxing a little child, I gently swayed her body. Gradually, her sobs softened until they disappeared entirely. And I kept gently swaying her, while Luo Qing lay in my arms like an obedient child, lazily still and unmoving.

In this pure, transparent world of ice and snow, we were so peaceful at that moment, quietly savoring each other's warmth and feeling the world's sorrow.

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"Luo Qing… don't leave me, okay?" My voice was trembling now. I was terrified—afraid she might refuse, afraid she would never give me another chance.

"Mhm…"

"Really?" I hardly dared believe my ears. I was afraid I had misunderstood her meaning.

"Mhm." This time Luo Qing's voice was a little louder, and I excitedly scooped her up in my arms again, kissing her on the lips before she could even react.

"Mmph…" Luo Qing frowned slightly, but she didn't resist my advance. Before long, she too got into the swing of it, responding to me with abandon.

Holding Luo Qing in my arms, I poured out all my emotions in the snowy wilderness in this strange posture. I felt that my world could not exist without this girl who was sometimes domineering and sometimes sweetly obedient. She had stolen my heart without my even noticing. Without her, I would be nothing more than a soulless puppet, wandering aimlessly through this world.

Luo Qing gently patted my chest, and only then did I set her softly down on the ground. We exchanged a glance and burst into happy laughter at the same time.

"Yang Chen, I need to get back now." Luo Qing took out her phone and glanced at the time, speaking to me with a hint of disappointment.

"Alright. But no more disappearing on me." I pretended to be angry as I gently smoothed her long hair. "Did you change your phone number?"

"No." Luo Qing looked at my reluctant expression and playfully stuck out her tongue. "Don't worry. I won't just vanish all of a sudden."

Hearing her say that, my heart settled back into place. Only then did I tell her, "Let me walk you back."

"No." Luo Qing refused me outright. Then she waved at me and walked off toward the end of the street.

"Make sure you stay safe, you hear?" I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted in her direction. "Give me a call when you get back."

Luo Qing turned around, waved at me once more, and then disappeared into the vast falling snow.

(Nine-Headed Bird Bookstore)