Where Winter is Warm Where Summer is Cool

When I returned to my aunt’s residence that afternoon, I unexpectedly found my mother. We hadn’t seen each other for about two years.

“I’m back.”

My mother, Lin Yujuan, put down the tea cup in her hand and stood up, ever decent and thoughtful.

“What brings you here?” I asked, pausing in the doorway for a moment before walking in.

My mother looked at me without much enthusiasm or obvious detachment.

“Anjie, I want you to come back to China with me.”

“Why?” This time I wanted to ask more clearly before making a decision.

She came up to me and smoothed my hair.

“Your mother wants you to stay with her for a while. It’s been a year or two since I’ve seen you, hasn’t it? You seem to have gotten a little prettier again.”

“……I know.” I bowed my head in silence for a moment, before asking, “When are you leaving? I’ll go back with you.”

“Sister, are you staying here tonight?” My Aunty had come to stand at the kitchen door at some point.

“No, I’m going back to the hotel, I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Mother turned back to me, “Anjie, get ready. If tomorrow is too soon, we can postpone it for another day.”

“No, it’s not too soon,” I said.

“Good girl,” Mother said with a smile.

After my mother left, my Aunty came over to me and said, “Anjie, don’t let others sway your mind, even if it’s someone you want to hold dear. You keep pushing yourself like this, and it’s really hard for your Aunty to watch.”

I hugged my Aunty lightly.

“What should I do? I want to call you mommy so much.”

“Silly child.”

“No, I’m a good girl,” I laughed bitterly. “Since I’m going back, I’m sure I’ll be able to go over and meet Piao Zheng. That’s probably my only consolation.”

Afterwards, while eating lunch with my Aunty, Xi Xichen called.

“You’ve been there for a while, right? What are you doing?”

“Eating.”

He paused for a moment.

“I have to go back on the afternoon flight.”

What a coincidence, he’s going back to China too?

My Aunty looked at me. “What? He hasn’t seen you for half a day, and he’s already checking in?”

“Hmm.” I returned to Xi Xichen.

“You’re not gonna ask me when I’m coming back?” He didn’t get the expected reply and sighed. “Anjie, whether you will miss me while I’m away or not, I am destined to miss you to the point of not being able to sleep.”

Here, my undeniable bad mood began to brighten up.

“Are these just sweet words?”

“No, they couldn’t be more true.”

I laughed.

“What time is the flight? Why don’t you go get something to eat now, the food on the plane is not good.”

He guffawed.

“I’m not that picky. I can more or less settle on everything except my feelings.”

“You are like a fox,” I laughed.

When I hung up the phone I heard my Aunty mutter, “Does he know you’re going back?”

I shook my head, “I don’t think so.”

“You’re not telling him?”

“Not yet.”

I’m sure I’ll run into him there anyway. I think my mother will want me with her for a few days, so it will only be a matter of time before I run into him.

The next day, my mother and I flew back to Shanghai from Helsinki.

On the afternoon of my first day in Shanghai, my mother told me the truth.

“You should go to your father’s place. He called me again and asked me to pick you up. Anjie, the last time you saw each other you had a bad argument. We should all sit down together and talk.”

My father had been paying my mother’s alimony and she needed to live, so I couldn’t say anything, except that my disappointment and sadness were a given.

After two flights in one day, I sat wearily in a chair at the airport in Guangqing City and called Piao Zheng, whom I wanted to see first.

“Aunty said you’ve arrived in Shanghai?” he said when he answered the phone.

“I’m in Guangqing. Why don’t we have dinner together? I haven’t eaten yet,” I said, rubbing my eyes.

“What’s going on? Why did you come here? Didn’t you go back to Shanghai with your mom?”

“Brother, I’m fine, don’t make such a fuss. I’ll take a taxi to the city later, so let’s have dinner together?”

“Alright. I have a lot of work on my hands today, so if you arrive first, go ahead and order.”

I took a taxi to the restaurant, enjoying the good weather and the shining sun. Once I got there, I noticed an open-air stage in the middle of the square, surrounded by a crowd of people. There were actually models taking pictures, and the majority of the onlookers were girls, all holding up their cell phones.

Their life is mostly leisure and happiness, right? 

I smiled and was about to walk into the restaurant when I saw someone jump off the stage and run towards me.