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On the fifth day of Wen Di’s stay in Yunshu Village, she finally encountered a morning without rain.
Just as dawn was breaking, the guesthouse owner’s wife woke her up, saying that the sea of clouds today would be beautiful and urged her to get up quickly so as not to miss it, as the sea of clouds would dissipate once the sun came out.
Wen Di pulled open the curtains and looked outside. The clouds were misty and humid; it didn’t look like a clear day at all.
The owner’s wife thoughtfully packed warm breakfast for all the guesthouse guests, telling them to hurry to the scenic area’s boarding point to buy tickets and queue up.
She also reminded them, “Bring your raincoats, too. It might be sunny this morning, but a heavy rain might come in the afternoon.”
Wen Di packed her raincoat and umbrella, took her breakfast, and left.
Walking through the mountains, the mist was like spring rain, finely and densely hitting her face, her eyelashes covered with a layer of moisture.
She stubbornly ate her warm bun until it was cold and still hadn’t finished it.
She had seen the sea of clouds many times, and each time it was incredibly stunning, but after seeing it, she couldn’t recall the exact feeling of awe she had experienced.
Wen Di stood in a long queue, waiting to view the sea of clouds from the best spot.
She took out her phone, ready to take pictures later.
Her father sent her a message, asking: [Are you two going to the same place?]
Wen Di: [I don’t know.]
Wen Changyun: [Your trip should end tomorrow, right?]
[Yes.] The time spent on the journey there and back, plus six days here, totals seven days.
Wen Changyun: [Have more fun.]
[I will. Dad, you don’t need to worry about me.]
Waves of tourists who had seen the sea of clouds and taken photos left, and it was soon Wen Di’s turn.
Entering the best viewing point, before her eyes was an endless expanse of churning clouds, with mountain peaks appearing and disappearing, like a fairyland on earth.
Wen Di recorded a few dozens of seconds of video, then went to other scenic spots to check in.
________________________________________
As the guesthouse owner’s wife said, a sudden downpour began in the afternoon.
The wind on the mountain was strong; holding an umbrella was almost useless, only able to shield her face from getting wet. The thin, disposable raincoat she wore barely helped a little. By the time she returned to the guesthouse, her pant legs and shoes were completely soaked.
Wen Di had never been so disheveled before, yet she also felt rather good about it.
Getting caught in the rain was something she loved to do as a child. Every time it rained, she’d take advantage of her grandparents’ inattention, not bother with an umbrella, and rush into the yard to stomp in puddles.
Before she could even enjoy herself fully, she would be dragged back indoors.
Wen Di showered, dried her hair, and drifted off for a few seconds before suddenly grabbing her phone from the bed and calling Zhou Mingqian’s assistant.
Zhou Mingqian was sitting in front of the monitor. After this scene was filmed, the assistant handed him his phone, saying, “It’s screenwriter Wen.”
Zhou Mingqian asked the person on the other end of the phone, “Why can’t you even focus on having fun?”
Wen Di answered indirectly, “In Yin Ziyu’s scene in the rain, there’s a detail that needs to be changed. She should be carrying her shoes. That would be her appropriate action at that moment.”
In front of the camera, Yin Ziyu wiped the rain from her face, high heels in hand.
The director called “Cut,” but she was still in character.
In the script, Yin Ziyu walked in the rain wearing her shoes for this scene, but Zhou Mingqian decided to change it to her carrying her shoes. For Yin Ziyu’s character at that time, no matter how sad she was, she couldn’t afford to ruin her most expensive, status-symbol shoes, because her economic situation wouldn’t allow her such a luxury again.
It was both clear-headed and sorrowful.
The most painful part was not even being able to feel sadness without restraint.
He said to Wen Di, “You can finally immerse yourself in the character you created. Now you’re empathizing with her pain. You should be close to empathizing with her falling in love. Take your time; you still have time to revise the later details.”
“Where are you now?” he asked Wen Di again.
“At the guesthouse.” Wen Di walked to the window of her room, opened it. The air in the rain was damp, yet fresh.
Zhou Mingqian lit a cigarette. He chatted with her a bit more today. “Why did you suddenly think of this detail?”
Wen Di confessed, “Ever since I broke up with Yan Heyu, I’ve been forcing myself to immerse myself in my writing, which is why the characters you’ve seen have been missing something. Today, as I was walking, I suddenly thought about how the female protagonist would feel walking in the rain. It’s definitely different from how I feel walking in the rain.”
But in her previous writing, she unconsciously gave her own pain to the female protagonist, thinking it was the female protagonist’s, but it wasn’t.
She wouldn’t feel bad about a pair of shoes, but the female protagonist would.
When the female protagonist and male protagonist should have sparks, her own state of mind couldn’t write it, which led to insufficient tension between the female protagonist and male protagonist.
Zhou Mingqian asked, “Did Yan Heyu find you?”
He could only think of this possibility; otherwise, how could she suddenly be in the mood to think of these details?
Wen Di: “No. We didn’t meet. He probably went to Provence. That’s my guess.”
No matter where he went, the past six years had been reconciled in this way.
________________________________________
The next day, the last day of the trip.
Wen Di had visited all the scenic spots these past few days. Today, she planned to visit the small shop her grandparents mentioned.
Her grandmother had mentioned the shop’s name before, but after so long, she couldn’t remember it.
After breakfast, she video-called her grandparents.
Her grandmother, seeing her in good spirits, sighed, “If I had known, you should have gone traveling earlier.”
Wen Di smiled, “This has nothing to do with traveling. Even if I came ten or eight times before, it wouldn’t have helped.”
After clarifying the shop’s address, she ended the call and headed there.
The shop was far from the guesthouse, but fortunately, it was still within the scenic area.
She took the scenic area’s electric car three times and walked a long way before arriving.
The owner’s wife’s grandson was playing with a miniature toy car outside the shop, looking about three or four years old.
The shop sold some instant food, and there were three tables set up outside. A couple was eating instant noodles. The air was filled with the smell of instant noodles.
Wen Di bought an instant milk tea and a grilled sausage, then found an empty seat.
By the time the couple at the next table finished eating and left, Wen Di hadn’t even eaten half of her grilled sausage.
The owner’s wife, seeing her unhurried demeanor, advised her to go to the mountain top as early as possible, as the weather forecast predicted more rain in the afternoon.
Wen Di thanked her. “I’m not going to any scenic spots; I’m just going to sit here.”
Seeing that the owner’s wife wasn’t busy, she chatted a bit, “I came here when I was little. I came back to see it again.”
Someone came to buy something, and the owner’s wife went to attend to them.
Wen Di finally finished her grilled sausage. She opened her phone and found the old photos of Yunshu Village that her grandparents had compiled for her earlier.
At a similar location, she took a few selfies for remembrance.
All the check-in spots were done, and the trip was completely over.
________________________________________
In the evening, rain began to fall again in Yunshu Village, drizzling steadily.
The older cousin held an umbrella, walking behind Yan Heyu. Tourists on the mountain were all heading down, but they were walking upwards.
“Mr. Yan, are you sure you still want to go up? The scenic area is about to close.”
It was almost dark too.
Yan Heyu was not reconciled; this was the last night of their agreement.
He turned around. “I’ll go up and take another look.”
The vast mountains spanning dozens of kilometers were all within the Yunshu Village scenic area, with attractions scattered everywhere.
Where to find her?
His older cousin followed him upwards as the rain grew heavier.
Passing a small shop, the owner’s wife was putting away the tables at the entrance. Seeing them walk up, she added, “Don’t go up anymore. The shuttle will stop in twenty minutes, and there’s nothing to see up there when it’s dark.”
Yan Heyu nodded. “Thank you.”
He went inside the shop and bought two bottles of water.
The shop wasn’t big. The owner’s wife’s grandson was playing with a pull-back toy car on the floor.
The toy car darted around, hit his shoe, and flipped over.
The blue miniature cartoon car lay overturned at his feet. Yan Heyu bent down, pulled the small toy car back, and it “whooshed” to the little boy’s feet.
He paid for the two bottles of water and came out of the shop.
Yan Heyu handed a bottle of water to his older cousin. “Let’s go back.”
His older cousin hesitated, then silently followed him down the mountain.
The trip to Yunshu Village had been too rushed. They only managed to book return flights for tomorrow afternoon. Even if his sister was in Yunshu Village, she would fly back in the morning or noon, so they had no chance of meeting even on the plane.
The agreed-upon time ended. While waiting at the airport, Yan Heyu borrowed his older cousin’s phone and called Kang Bo, asking if Kang Bo knew where Wen Di had gone.
Kang Bo: “Miss Wen went to Yunshu Village. She should be landing in Beijing soon.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Yan Heyu hung up the phone.
“Where did my sister choose to go?”
“Yunshu Village.”
His older cousin was not good at comforting people, so he remained silent.
If it hadn’t been National Day and there hadn’t been so many people queuing at the scenic area, would they have saved enough time to find his sister?
On the plane, Yan Heyu put on an eye mask to catch up on sleep.
He hadn’t had a single night of sound sleep during these seven days.
The day he arrived in Provence, he had a premonition that there was no hope with her. The inexplicable panic and unease in his heart at that time were indescribable.
He squinted for an hour but still couldn’t fall asleep.
Yan Heyu pulled up his eye mask and took out the novel with a Republic of China setting that he was almost finished with. Before the trip, he had specifically gone to Qin Xing’s office to get this book.
His older cousin asked, “Is that a book my sister likes to read?” Yan Heyu had been reading it whenever he had free time these past few days and even took notes.
Yan Heyu nodded. “This is the last novel I’ll read with her.”
He wouldn’t bother her again by finding books for her.
“Let me take a look when you’re done.”
“Okay.”
They arrived in Beijing at 9 PM. Yan Heyu’s driver picked them up, bringing him his phone.
His older cousin understood Yan Heyu’s mood at the moment and didn’t plan on letting him drive him home.
For these seven days, they had been constantly on the move, not daring to waste a single moment even in the scenic areas.
In the midst of the crowds, this young master of the Yan family would walk and then suddenly turn back to look, afraid that his sister might be behind him and he wouldn’t see her.
He hadn’t quite understood before how his sister, who couldn’t stand any slight and was stubborn, could have been with such an arrogant person for three years.
These past few days, he seemed to have understood a little.
“I’ll take a taxi back myself; it’s very convenient.”
Yan Heyu said, “I’ll take you to your sister’s place.”
During the National Day holiday, Beijing had a rainfall, and the temperature sharply dropped.
Wen Di came downstairs in a khaki trench coat. She waited for three minutes downstairs before they arrived.
Yan Heyu carried his older cousin’s suitcase down and patted his shoulder. “You’ve worked hard these past few days.”
“It’s nothing.”
His older cousin pushed his suitcase and pointed upstairs to Wen Di. He went up first.
Wen Di stood facing Yan Heyu, her hands in her trench coat pockets.
She didn’t know what to say, waiting for him to say his last words.
Yan Heyu stared at her face, looking and looking again.
He had said goodbye to her many times, but this time was different. “I’m sorry for having hurt you so much. I’ve always regretted not cherishing our three years together. My biggest regret is not being able to find you again and go back to Jiangcheng with you. And not being able to play with Wen Wen together.”
He wanted to hug her, but instead extended his hand. “I’ve pursued you for so long, and I’ve never regretted it. Knowing you for these six years has been incredibly worthwhile for me. Thank you for forgiving me and accompanying me on this last journey.”
Wen Di took her right hand from her pocket and offered it.
Yan Heyu held it very lightly, then released it.
Wen Di looked at him. “May everything be well from now on.”
She stepped back half a pace, turned, and walked towards the apartment building.
Yan Heyu also turned and walked towards the car. He didn’t look back at her, got into the car, and drove away.
He opened his phone contacts. She was the first one. He deleted her contact information.
He then opened WeChat. The chat with the remark “Wife” was still the only one pinned to the top.
His fingertip paused, then he deleted it.
________________________________________
At the Yan family’s old residence, Ye Minqiong and her daughter were home.
They learned from Kang Bo that Yan Heyu hadn’t found Wen Di, and that he had initially misjudged, flying to Provence and losing time.
Yan Heyan was filled with regret. How good it would have been if she had said more. She had wanted to choose Yunshu Village, but her brother said he didn’t need her help.
Ye Minqiong patted her shoulder. “It’s not your breakup; why are you crying?”
“Hey, what are you doing?” Yan Heyan shook off her mother’s hand from her shoulder. “Who’s crying?”
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, put in her earphones, “I’m just upset from listening to sad love songs; it has nothing to do with my brother.”
A car entered the yard. She got up from the sofa and shuffled upstairs in her slippers.
“Heyan!”
Yan Heyan didn’t look back.
Ye Minqiong took a deep breath, suddenly a little nervous, wondering how to face her son.
Yan Heyu’s first words upon entering were, “Mom, where’s Heyan?”
Logically, his sister should wait for him to return.
Ye Minqiong pointed upstairs. “Crying.”
Yan Heyu walked up to his mother and gently hugged her. “Mom, I’m sorry for making you worry for two years and eight months. I’m fine.”
Ye Minqiong shook her head, patting her son’s back.
She didn’t see her son’s suitcase. “Why didn’t you bring your suitcase down?”
Yan Heyu: “I won’t be living at home anymore. I’m moving to my own apartment.” He had arranged for someone to prepare an apartment closer to the company for convenient commuting.
It wasn’t very convenient to return to the old residence, taking over an hour on the road.
Ye Minqiong worried about her son. “If you really can’t let go, just do it slowly.”
“I’ve already come to terms with it.” Yan Heyu walked upstairs. “I’m going to check on Heyan.”
The door to Yan Heyan’s room was locked, and the light was off.
Yan Heyu knocked. “Heyan?”
No response.
Yan Heyu gripped the doorknob. “Open the door.”
He waited for a long time, but there was still no movement.
Yan Heyu said, “I’m not that fragile. This trip was worth it. You don’t need to be sad.”
Yan Heyan was not reconciled. They had gone to the same place in the end, and they were so close to meeting, yet they still missed each other.
He said he wasn’t sad.
But how could he not be sad?
“Don’t cry. Go to bed early. I still have a lot of work to deal with. I’m going back now.”
Outside the door, footsteps receded.
________________________________________
After seven days without checking his phone or handling group affairs, Yan Heyu sat at his desk, feeling as if a lifetime had passed.
This apartment was rarely lived in before, and everything inside was new, unrelated to Wen Di.
He had already arranged for the housekeeper to properly dispose of everything in this villa and the Jiangcheng villa: donating what should be donated, and giving away what should be given away.
Yan Heyu suddenly remembered and sent a message to Kang Bo: [From now on, do not bother Wen Di again.]
Kang Bo: [Understood.]
He then asked his boss: [So, should I still send flowers to Qin Xing’s office?]
For the past year, the flowers in the cup in Qin Xing’s office had all been ordered by his boss from the flower shop.
He wondered how many times Wen Di had seen them.
Yan Heyu: [No more.]
He read emails until 1:30 AM, having only read less than a third.
He rubbed his temples and turned off the computer.
Most of the things related to Wen Di had been dealt with, except for a sports car. Wen Di had said she liked that color back then, and he had asked Kang Bo to order a new model.
He sent a message in the group chat: [I’m going to the club tomorrow night. Whoever beats me will get that sports car.]
After sending the message, he set the group chat to do not disturb.
Qin Xing’s call came in. Yan Heyu hung up and replied to his message: [No need for comfort.]
Qin Xing wasn’t comforting him; he was asking if he would go easy on them during tomorrow’s card game. If he did, he would fly back from Shanghai, win the car, and then return to the set.
If not, he wouldn’t bother, as it would be a waste of round-trip airfare.
Yan Heyu: [Even if I go easy on you, you still won’t beat me.]
Qin Xing felt a strong blow, but out of consideration for his breakup, he didn’t hold it against him.
The next night, Yan Heyu worked overtime until 10 PM. The group chat was bombarded with messages asking where he was and why he wasn’t at the club yet. They were almost worn out from waiting, nearly staring a hole through the private room wall.
Yan Heyu: [Now you know why I have more money, right? I’m making money while you’re playing. That’s the difference.]
Below were a row of contemptuous emoji packs.
Only one person broke the formation: [Damn, you’re finally alive again!]
Yan Heyu picked up his trench coat and left the company.
The private room was livelier than ever tonight. They opened several bottles of good wine, comforting Yan Heyu for not finding Wen Di, and congratulating the Yan family’s young master on his return to form.
“We were just waiting for you.”
Yan Heyu took a glass of red wine from the tray, tasted it, and suddenly looked up at Fu Yanzhou. “Are you drinking the wine I kept in the cellar?”
Fu Yanzhou retorted, “What else would I do with it?”
These good wines were bought for Wen Di to drink, and now there was indeed no need to keep them.
Yan Heyu sat down at the card table and rolled up his sleeves a few times.
“Are you serious? You’re not going to go easy on us?”
“I’ll let you win the seventh hand.”
“Tsk, big talk. We don’t believe the three of us can’t beat you alone.”
Fu Yanzhou’s focus was, “Why not the sixth hand?”
“This year marks the sixth year since Wen Di and I met.” There would be no seventh year, so he would lose on that year.
Yan Heyu kept his word. After winning six hands, he went easy on the seventh.
Fu Yanzhou called Qin Xing, telling him not to come. The car was already his.
Qin Xing: “...Didn’t you say you’d play until after midnight? I just landed.”
Fu Yanzhou: “Then don’t leave the airport. Buy another ticket back, so you don’t delay your work tomorrow.”
He hung up the phone.
Qin Xing didn’t come back to win the car; he came to see Yan Heyu.
After losing, Yan Heyu gave his seat to someone else and sat aside to watch the game.
There was a cigarette on the table; he pulled one out.
Cigarettes, red wine, and losing her—all the lingering effects hit him at once.
________________________________________
On a Saturday in late October, Wen Di received a call from her older cousin asking where she was.
Wen Di’s voice was slightly hoarse. “Why are you in Shanghai?”
“To see you.” Her older cousin asked why her voice sounded nasal.
The temperature had dropped these past few days, and Wen Di had a slight cold. “It’s nothing. Just drink more hot water.” She sent her location to her older cousin.
They had transferred locations last week. The set wasn’t in an office building; they had been filming in an apartment building for the past two weeks.
There was a coffee shop near the apartment building, and she arranged to meet her cousin there.
Her older cousin ordered a coffee, and for Wen Di, he ordered a glass of milk and a cup of hot water.
Wen Di rested her chin on her hand. “Are you worried I’m upset? I’m really fine.”
“I’m not worried about you.”
Her older cousin had already thought about what to say on the way there. “Sister, I took two and a half weeks to calm down before coming here. I’m not being impulsive.”
Wen Di asked, “What do you want to tell me?”
Her older cousin wanted to talk about the seven-day agreement from last time. His sister’s complete break with Yan Heyu had become a regret for him.
He was still upset about it now.
“Sister, we ended up in the same place. We were so close to finding you. This blow, it might affect me for the rest of my life.”
Wen Di: “...I’m sorry.”
“It has nothing to do with you. Who would have thought he was so crazy and still found you in that place?”
Her older cousin opened his backpack. Inside was the book Yan Heyu had been reading on the plane, which he ultimately gave to him.
“You remember this book, right?”
He placed the book in front of Wen Di.
Wen Di sat up straight, surprised. “How did you get this?”
Her older cousin: “Yan Heyu bought this book and took it to Qin Xing’s office to read himself. He didn’t expect you to like this book too. Later, he learned you were reading it and even took notes. Those two lines of poetry about red beans and longing were left by him.”
As for why Yan Heyu eventually gave him the book, “Yan Heyu finished the ending on the plane and found it was tragic. He said you don’t like tragic novels and wouldn’t recover quickly after reading them. He heard from Qin Xing that you had read it once before, so Yan Heyu decided not to let you read it, not wanting you to relive a sad ending.”
Then he asked Yan Heyu if he could borrow it to read.
Yan Heyu simply gave it to him.
He had originally promised Yan Heyu not to tell his sister about the book. “This is the first time I’ve broken my word. I want you to know that these notes were made by him.”
“Sister, you once said that books and your other half are equally important in your heart.”
He wasn’t sure what he wanted to express by saying that.
Her older cousin picked up his coffee cup, blew on it gently, not in the mood to drink.
“I’m not good at giving advice. Anyway, I hope you can find someone who understands you.”
Her older cousin finished his coffee before speaking again. “Sister, let me be your bridge. If you meet him again in the future, give him another chance to communicate and get to know each other. Otherwise, even I won’t be reconciled.”
Wen Di turned to page 39, where her silent exchange with Yan Heyu was recorded.
Her older cousin placed the milk in front of Wen Di. Wen Di was still looking at the book.
Outside, the sky was clear and as blue as it had been when he and Yan Heyu landed in Provence.
That evening, Yan Heyu, who was still working overtime at the company, received a message from his older cousin.
[Mr. Yan, are you busy now?]
Yan Heyu’s heart skipped a beat when he saw the message, thinking something had happened to Wen Di.
He put down his work. [No, I’m not busy. Go ahead.]
Older cousin: [I’m on the high-speed rail back from Shanghai. I came to see my sister today and got you a chance that isn’t really a chance. Whether it works out in the end is up to you.]
[I don’t know if my visit this time was right or wrong, or if my sister will be happy in the future. But if I hadn’t come, I wouldn’t feel at ease. If you meet her again, treat her well.]
He asked: [Do you know why my sister refuses to turn back no matter what?]
Yan Heyu knew: [Not turning back is her only bit of self-respect and pride.] Her other pride and self-respect had been destroyed by him.
Older cousin: [Then you must cherish my sister’s last bit of pride. She really has nothing left.]
Yan Heyu pressed his hand against the bridge of his nose; his nasal passages and eyes were stinging.
He typed with one hand: [Thank you. I will love her well.]
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