Chapter 11
His dark phoenix eyes lit up with joy. Without waiting for me to finish speaking, he nodded solemnly.
“As long as you like it, I’ll definitely bring it back.”
Before leaving, he slipped a letter into my hand and hurried away.
The northern mountain was far, but for him, it wasn’t a difficult task.
I hurriedly packed and made arrangements with Peter to head south.
No one knew where we were going.
The train rattled southward.
The scenery outside the window gradually changed.
Until we were surrounded by warm spring breezes.
Only then did I let out a sigh of relief.
12:18 PM
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As promised, I bought a small house by the sea, and Sophia and I moved in to set up our new home.
The view of the sea from the window, along with the coconut trees, was refreshing.
All the past events seemed like a fleeting cloud, dissipating easily.
Life became very peaceful.
Except for the occasional mischievous child getting their kite stuck in the tree in our yard.
Or when the owner of my favorite seafood stall didn’t open due to the fishing off–season.
To avoid depleting our savings, I occasionally wrote articles for magazines.
Gradually, I gained some recognition.
Sophia, with her basic knowledge of medicine, helped out at a traditional Chinese medicine shop.
As spring turned to winter, she became friendly with the doctor’s son, and her smiles became more frequent.
I noticed but said nothing.
Sophia got married.
That day, there were many guests, enough to fill the entire courtyard.
But after everyone left, the yard seemed a bit empty.
Sophia, worried about my loneliness, often came to visit.
I just smiled and told her I wanted to focus on my writing.
A few months later, Sophia had her own little one.
When I congratulated her, I said, “I’m going away for a while. When I come back, I might be able to attend the baby’s one–month celebration.”
She was puzzled, “Where are you going?”
I told her, “I want to write my own collection of essays. Naturally, I need to travel and see more of the world.”
I set off the next day.
I traveled quickly.
I saw the raging yellow sand of vast deserts, and the boundless, perfectly round setting sun.
I witnessed the unpredictable moods of snowy mountains, and the beauty of golden light gilding silver landscapes.
I meticulously recorded with my pen all these landscapes I had once dreamed of seeing.
Until I passed by the foot of Mount Qingcheng.
There, I encountered Peter again.
It turned out he had become the mayor of the local town.
He was delighted to see me and invited me to have a drink with him and his wife.
He had aged and matured.
Only that air of naivety hadn’t completely dissipated.
He told me that after we left years ago, Luke had turned the city upside down looking for me.
12:18
<
a
He even found Peter and beat him up.
It wasn’t until Peter revealed the truth about our contract marriage that Luke let go, looking devastated.
Peter apologized to me.
I just laughed it off, “It’s all in the past, it doesn’t matter.”
He lowered his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
“But, he’s been helping me these past few years, so I feel guilty.”
He looked at me, hesitantly asking, “Back then, he kept asking if you had read the letter.”
“I didn’t know what it was about, so I just brushed it off.”
Letter?
An image flashed in my mind of that letter I hadn’t known how to deal with and had ended up burying at the bottom of a chest.
I shook my head, “I didn’t read it, but once you’ve let go, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
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