That day, I had deliberately boasted about his background in front of Xiao Jue—just to show off. I had used Gao Hai Ming as a tool to inflate my pride. I didn’t love him. Now that he was gone, I had no right to hate him—after all, I was the one who had suggested we break up.
“Miss Qiu, are you leaving?” the maid asked me.
“If Mr. Gao comes back, please tell him to contact me,” I said.
But deep down, I had no confidence that he would return.
“He’ll come back,” Meng Meng tried to comfort me.
“No, he’s a stubborn man. I know he won’t,” I replied.
“Maybe he’s waiting for you to find him.”
“If he doesn’t show up, where am I supposed to look for him?” I asked helplessly.
“Think about it—”
“I’ve got it!” An idea struck me. “He might have gone there, if he’s still in Hong Kong.”
I went to the model shop in Mong Kok to see if Gao Hai Ming had been there.
“He hasn’t come by,” the shop owner said. “I’ve been looking for him too. I’ve got several model kits waiting for him to assemble.”
I scribbled a few words on a note, asking him to contact me.
“Boss, if you see him, please give this to him.” I handed the note in an envelope to the shop owner.
Two months passed. I missed him more with each passing day. It turned out he was more than just a lifeline to me, but I realized it too late. I had been so cruel that day.
In the second half of the year, Le Tao Group’s new president took office. His name was Gao Ran, a relative of their family. I met him once in his office. Previously, this office had belonged to Gao Hai Ming. It was here that we had first met. His modeling tools were still on the desk. I suddenly felt he was being cruel—he hadn’t even given me a chance to apologize. His disappearance reminded me of the day Le’er had vanished. He had helped me find Le’er, but who would help me find him?
In December, I took a week off to visit Le’er in Japan.
Le’er was still living with Mr. and Mrs. Kawase, Gao Hai Ming’s friends. They were very hospitable and invited me to stay. Le’er had grown up a lot and was now quite independent. She was in high school and worked part-time at Mr. Kawase’s company.
“Mr. Gao hasn’t visited me in a long time. We both miss him,” Mr. Kawase said.
“I don’t know where he’s gone either,” I replied.
“He used to call occasionally to check in, but it’s been a long time since we heard from him,” Mr. Kawase said.
Yes, it had been a year since I’d heard his voice.
“Big Sister, shall I take you to Mount Fuji tomorrow? It’s snowing there now—it’s beautiful,” Le’er said.
The next morning, we left Tokyo for Mount Fuji and stayed at a traditional Japanese inn.
“Brother Hai Ming always stayed at this inn when he came to Mount Fuji,” Le’er told me.
“Really?”
“He mentioned it the last time he visited me in Tokyo. Do you think he might be here now?”
“Here?” I was taken aback.
“We could ask the hotel staff.”
I inquired at the front desk about their guest records, and they found Gao Hai Ming’s name.
“Mr. Gao has stayed here before,” the staff member said.
Overjoyed, I asked, “When was the last time he stayed here?”
“The most recent time was December 24, three years ago.”
That was the day he had called me from Mount Fuji to wish me a Merry Christmas.
I folded an origami crane out of colored paper and wrote a few lines on its wings, asking him to contact me if he ever saw it.
“If Mr. Gao visits again, please give this to him,” I told the staff member.
“Of course.”
“Do you miss Brother Hai Ming a lot?” Le’er asked me.
“More with each passing day,” I said, gazing out at the snowy landscape.
“He’s been so good to you. If it weren’t for him, I might still be in Hong Kong, achieving nothing. It was only after coming to Japan that I learned the value of hard work and self-reliance.”
“When you ran away from home, did you ever think about going back?” I asked Le’er.
She shook her head.
“Why not?” I asked, surprised.
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