The city was hit by its second major snowstorm of the year—stronger and fiercer than the first. The meteorological department issued warnings as highways, railways, and airports came to a halt. The city felt eerily isolated.
He Su Ye, too, felt cut off. Apart from Qiu Tian and Li Jie, no one reached out to him.
Even Shen Xi Fan had vanished. The sometimes chatty, sometimes quiet girl seemed to have evaporated like a snowflake, leaving no trace. He wondered if texting her would feel intrusive. Was it even necessary?
This winter was unbearably cold. A single cup of tea wasn’t enough to warm him.
* * *
The past few days, he had been immersed in pharmacological research, assisting with his boss’s new drug formulation. He also focused on learning to operate the 1.5-million-yuan liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer and the 650,000-yuan gas chromatography-mass spectrometer.
His desk, usually tidy, was now a chaotic mess of books, manuals, papers, and reports. He lacked the energy to clean it up.
Reaching for the Complete Chinese Pharmacopoeia at the bottom of the pile, he accidentally toppled everything. Amid the scattered books, a blue letter fell out, tucked among Li Jie’s documents.
The handwriting was Shen Xi Fan’s—elegant, graceful, and lively.
* * *
The letter read:
“Above the city, vast clouds move swiftly, their shadows broken by pigeons slicing through the sky. Their silhouettes are framed by the steel wires hanging from the neighboring balcony, frozen in time like sorrowful notes plucking the strings of a heart that has lost its love.This scene feels so familiar. There must have been a day like this before—when you and I walked hand in hand down a rain-drenched street. I asked you, ‘What is happiness?’You said, ‘Happiness is spending a lifetime bickering with the person you love.’”
A second passage followed:
“I’ve grown used to being alone. Walking alone, smiling alone, braving the rain alone.So this rainy afternoon, I wandered the flower market from east to west, then west to east again, until hunger finally drove me into a Hong Kong-style diner.I ordered your favorite seafood noodles. Bit by bit, I ate the meal as if I were devouring the memories of us.Silently watching, lost in thought, I stood there until sunset faded into dusk.Without me in your life, are you doing well?”
A wave of sourness rose in He Su Ye’s chest. He sighed softly, recalling the last time he saw Shen Xi Fan’s tear-streaked face and her strange question about “love regained.” He should have realized something was wrong.
Shen Xi Fan must have deeply loved the person she wrote about in the letter, giving her all like a moth to a flame—only to burn to ashes. Now, had that person returned to find her?
Such a good girl, simple yet playful, diligent and sincere, deserved to be cherished and protected—not hurt, abandoned, and then begged for forgiveness.
Her sudden disappearance worried him. Had she encountered some difficulty? Or was she grappling with something she couldn’t resolve?
Though he couldn’t explain it, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.
In the end, he still sent her a message, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea—no reply came. He waited all night. When he finally called, the cold automated voice answered: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently switched off.”
He picked up his cup of tea, for the first time tasting the faint bitterness on his tongue. A mischievous thought crossed his mind: maybe he should try adding a little sugar.
But, of course, this wasn’t Shen Xi Fan’s fault. That evening, she had attended her cousin’s wedding banquet. Her four-year-old nephew had been crying and fussing, demanding to go home. To distract him, she carried him to the staircase landing, pulled out her phone, and played music for him.
The moment she turned away, the little boy grew restless. Holding the phone in both hands, he lost his grip, and the device fell from the second floor, shattering into pieces on the marble ground below.
She thought to herself, This end-of-year season is truly awful—lonely, dull, and now costly.
She had no idea someone had spent an entire evening worrying about her.
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