The stairwell lights were dim as they stared at each other in silence, neither knowing who was the prey and who was the hunter.
“Xi Ai, play a part with me,” one suggested. The response was cold: “A merchant values profit. What do I stand to gain?”
On New Year’s Eve, as snow fell over the water town, Chu Yiqi held a handful of fresh snow and whispered, “Let’s break up, okay?” After a long silence, the only reply was, “Happy New Year.”
Following the split, both became reckless. One fled abroad, nearly losing her life racing through a torrential storm. The other sought solace in deep-sea diving, surfacing only at the final moment of suffocation. “I told you before,” one remarked, “neither of us is normal.”
“Xi Ai, I want to see you.” In a moment where time and space seemed to overlap, Xi Ai left the banquet without a second thought. Standing in the snow, she found Chu Yiqi. Tilting the umbrella to cover her, she said, “Let’s go. Let’s go home together.”
“Xi Ai, do you really hate me?”
“No.” She never had; she had always loved her.
“What was the question you wanted to ask during that game of Truth or Dare?”
“What I wanted to ask has never changed.”
“Then you see, why bring up a question that makes everyone unhappy?”
“No, Xi Ai. I’m sorry. I love you.”
In the glass conservatory, not a single flower withered in the presence of the butterfly. The twenty years they had lost were finally made whole.
“Is this my birthday gift?”
“The other one is.”
“Xi Ai, I want to know the person you used to be.”
“Alright. You’ll see on your birthday.”
“If my answer had been different today, wouldn’t your necklace have gone to waste?”
“It wouldn’t have.”
Raw Novel Name: 蝴蝶飛過冬天
Popular Reviews