Chapter 22: Final Goodbye in Snow

Meng Heping arrived early. He had a habit of waking up early. He processed a few emails and then called his secretary. Only after everything was settled did he drive over from the hotel.

The living room was quiet, except for Aunt Li, who was busy in the dining room. Seeing him, she smiled and said, "Dongzi and Xizi haven't gotten up yet." She asked him, "Have you had breakfast?"

The breakfast on the table was plentiful. He grabbed a sandwich and went out the back door to check on the orchids in the greenhouse. Unexpectedly, he ran into Jiaqi on the back porch.

She was squatting there, giving the dog, Oracle, a bath. The dog was unusually obedient, standing there motionless, but it was covered in foam, its wet fur plastered to its body. Usually, he was used to seeing this dog's majestic appearance, but now it was skin and bones, its ribs clearly visible—it was as comical as could be.

She was focused, showering the dog with the watering can, coaxing, "Little Oracle, almost done."

Water dripped through her soft, white fingers, sprinkling the dog's fur. She used a special comb to wash and brush it, but Oracle, with its brown eyes wide open, looked melancholy, baring its sharp white teeth as if afraid of water.

He stood there watching, unable to move.

Jiaqi heard footsteps and, thinking it was Ruan Zhengdong, said without turning around, "You lazybones, finally up! You don't even care about your own dog—give me the big towel."

He saw the large towel draped over the shelf and handed it to her.

She took it and wrapped it around Oracle. After a few seconds, she suddenly turned around, saw it was him, and hurriedly lowered her head, silently wiping the dog's fur.

She had lost a lot of weight, and perhaps because of the cold, her face looked pale, with faint dark circles under her eyes. She always got dark circles when she didn't sleep well. She used to be a heavy sleeper, falling asleep almost immediately after getting into bed, and never seeming to get enough sleep. Sometimes she would even doze off against him on the subway. He always called her "Little Pig." Every time he called her "Little Pig," she would tug at his ear, yelling, "Big Pighead! Big Pighead!"

Oracle barked softly at him twice, unaware that the sandwich in his hand had crumbled, crumbs scattering all over the floor.

He finally turned and walked away.

Jiaqi then realized her hands were trembling, her hand holding the hairdryer shaking uncontrollably, making Oracle's long fur stand on end, a fluffy, messy clump.

She turned off the hairdryer, then turned it back on after a while, continuing to dry Oracle's fur. The hairdryer hummed, a numb, monotonous sound, and she numbly combed the dog's long fur. She didn't know how much time had passed when the footsteps behind her returned.

She squatted there, motionless and silent.

He said, "I'm proposing to Jiangxi." After a long pause, he continued, "We might hold the wedding abroad, or maybe we shouldn't. That would be better for everyone."

The hairdryer hummed, and a little warm air blew on her face as she held Oracle, brushing its fur over and over, completely absorbed, as if only in this way could she be free from distractions.

He stood in the center of the stage, raising his voice so she could hear him: "I have many, many more good qualities."

She said, "I know, I know," and couldn't help but smile.

He raised his voice again and asked, "Jiaqi, will you marry me?"

She would never forget that small chapel, standing in the inky darkness below the stage, the beautiful melody of the piano still seeming to echo in her ears, while on the empty stage before her, he stood in the center of all the light, his eyebrows and eyes clearly defined, every contour of his face so distinct. Under the bright spotlight, everything was so clear it seemed unreal. Even his whole being seemed unreal, like a dream, so beautiful it was unreal.

He asked her, "Jiaqi, will you marry me?"

It all seemed like a dream, so beautiful it was unreal.

Oracle licked the back of her hand, its warm tongue tickling her. She lowered her head, hearing her own voice soft and almost inaudible: "I understand. Thank you."

He finally left.

She hugged Oracle, squatting there, her legs numb, unable to move. Oracle nestled against her, struggling to poke its head out from between her arms. Its nose, wet and cool, touched her face, and it licked her with its tongue.

She heard herself murmur, "Little Oracle, don't go away."

After a pause, she still said, "Don't go."

Oracle licked her face, nuzzling against her.

She buried her face in Oracle's soft fur. Its long, fluffy hair clung to her face, tickling and burning, gradually seeping in, a slow, silent, futile attempt to hold it.

It whimpered, its head peeking out from between her arms again, nuzzling her face.

Her voice was so soft she could barely hear it herself: "Don't go."

She didn't know how long she stayed there until Ruan Zhengdong came looking for her, seeing her from afar: "Jiaqi."

She stood up and smiled at him.

---

She walked with him in the garden, Oracle following closely behind. Usually, they would have so much to talk about, but today they were both silent.

Finally, he said, "I called Grandpa today and told him about us."

She looked at him.

"He doesn't agree to us being together, and I can't persuade him. Grandpa's health hasn't been good these past two years. He has too many things to worry about, and I don't want to upset him over this." He turned his face away, trying to deceive himself. "Jiaqi, you should go."

After a long while, she said, "Okay, I'll leave this afternoon."

He stood there, his body seemingly stiff. Oracle circled around his feet, its furry body nuzzling him, but he remained motionless.

"I'll go back and hand over all my work to the company, then resign, and come back to be with you wholeheartedly. No matter how long I can be with you, no matter who agrees to us being together. But don't keep making excuses to make me leave you."

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally smiled. "Sometimes, you really have a kind of reckless courage."

Or perhaps she was foolish.

But that's how foolish she was. Once she made up her mind, there was no turning back.

---

She called the company, proactively explaining that she couldn't return to work in the short term and requested to resign. The company is always short-staffed, with everyone in their assigned positions. Her absence these past few days had already caused her team a lot of headaches.

She took a flight back to handle the paperwork, telling Ruan Zhengdong before leaving, "I'll be back in two or three days at most. Take care of yourself."

He replied, "I'm not a child," seemingly dissatisfied.

She tiptoed and kissed him. "Be a good boy and wait for me to come back."

Beijing was certainly colder than Shanghai. Two weeks away felt like half a century.

Upon meeting her, Zhou Jing'an gave her a big bear hug and then scolded, "You wouldn't even call! I thought you'd really been kidnapped!"

She retorted, "Then why didn't you call me?"

Zhou Jing'an scoffed, "Would I dare? The whole company's talking about you eloping with someone's son. If it's an elopement, why would I be so tactless as to bother you?"

She laughed. "If I really were going to elope, I would have told you beforehand."

When Zhou Jing'an heard she wanted to resign, she was dismissive. "Why resign? I heard the boss and HR have already arranged for you to have a long vacation, and you won't lose a penny of your salary."

She said, "I don't want to take advantage of that. The company is already short-staffed, why bother?"

Zhou Jing'an said to her, "Stubborn! You've never taken a long vacation in all these years. Even if you haven't done anything particularly meritorious for the company, you've certainly worked hard! Besides, the boss has already spoken, so you just have to go with the flow."

Jiaqi said, "I hope to accompany him wholeheartedly."

Zhou Jing'an shook her head. "Idiot. I have never seen you so stupid. No wonder Xu Shifeng said you have a wooden head. You're more than just wooden—you're simply rotten wood that cannot be cured."

Jiaqi laughed at first, then suddenly came to her senses. "Hey, Xu Shifeng? Don't you hate him the most?"

Zhou Jing'an said as if nothing had happened, "Oh, I had a friend who wanted to file a lawsuit two days ago. I went with him for consultation, so I chatted with him a few words."

Jiaqi looked up at the ceiling. "Leniency for confession, severity for resistance. Just tell me. Take the initiative to explain the problem, and I'll let you go."

Zhou Jing'an sneered, "There's nothing to explain. Who would have anything to do with him?"

Jiaqi didn't believe it, but seeing her righteous face, she just smiled and stopped asking questions.

She carefully explained everything at hand to her colleagues, including the clients she'd worked with over the years, as well as all relevant information.

It took two days to get everything settled.

Her colleagues all assumed she was resigning to get married and clamored for candy. In the end, it was Vice President Xie Xiaohe who stepped in and invited her colleagues to a farewell dinner.

Xie Xiaohe was originally the manager of Jiaqi's department and later became Vice President. She was the one who recruited Jiaqi into the company, and Jiaqi had always been a capable worker. Vice President Xie was very reluctant to let her go.

The dinner was lively. There were so many people that two large tables were set up in a large private room. Xie Xiaohe raised her glass and said, "Our goal is..."

A colleague immediately interjected, "No cavities."

Everyone burst into laughter. Xie Xiaohe laughed too. "Actually, our goal tonight is to get Jiaqi drunk. We've never achieved this goal in all these years, so tonight we must make one last effort, otherwise we'll never have another chance."

Her colleagues roared with laughter and then took turns toasting Jiaqi.

Jiaqi was deeply moved. Although the years at the company had been extremely tough, there had been both hardships and joys. Her colleagues had not only spent every day with her but had also always been supportive partners. Leaving them was truly heartbreaking.

Her teammates came to toast her, saying, "Jiaqi, wishing you happiness forever. And don't forget us while you're happy!"

She repeatedly said, "I won't forget, I definitely won't forget."

She hadn't realized it before, but as she left, she discovered how sincere her colleagues were.

Even "Brother Jin" came to toast her, saying, "Jiaqi, I hope everything goes well for you in the future." Then, without any further words, he downed his drink in one gulp.

Jiaqi was flattered and quickly drank her own.

Guo Jin went back to his table, and Zhou Jing'an quietly told Jiaqi, "Brother Jin recently met a girlfriend. I heard she's very good to him and his son. He's completely focused on his relationship. Look, he's even more articulate now."

Jiaqi smiled. Love is the best medicine, capable of soothing even the most broken heart.

That night, Jiaqi drank a lot, but President Xie ultimately failed to achieve her goal. In the end, Xie Xiaohe and Zhou Jing'an both got quite drunk, and the two of them grabbed the microphone and sang "Peach Blossoms Bloom," making a huge fuss. Just then, Jiaqi received a call from Ruan Zhengdong.

He laughed and said, "It sounds really lively over there."

She went outside the private room to take the call and told him, "They all think I quit my job to get married, so they all say I should bring you to meet everyone, saying I can't let you just run off with me like that."

Ruan Zhengdong laughed and said, "Then when we get married, we'll invite them all over and have them give us big red envelopes."

Jiaqi said, "I'm going back tomorrow. Is there anything else I need to bring you?"

He just laughed. "Just bring yourself back."

They stayed out very late that day.

When they came out, they found it was snowing.

The snow was falling heavily, like flying catkins, and under the streetlights, countless snowflakes were flying wildly. The black asphalt road not far away, the median strip in the middle of the road, and the rooftops in the distance were all white.

---

It was difficult to hail a taxi on a snowy night. Although Xie Xiaohe was drunk, she still remembered to arrange for a colleague with a car to take Jiaqi home. Jiaqi had drunk quite a bit and was slightly tipsy. She got out of the car, said goodbye to her colleague, and walked toward the apartment building. The icy snowflakes hit her face, making her cheeks feel hot, but she didn't feel cold. As she walked, she thought about packing her luggage, her mind a jumble of thoughts. Suddenly, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her handbag, but then hesitated.

She opened the slider and saw the number.

A fluffy snowflake landed on the phone screen, then a second, a third... Her breath melted the snow, and water droplets slid down the screen. The string of Arabic numerals seemed indistinct. She hadn't saved this number in her phonebook.

But after he called the first time, she remembered it.

After hesitating for a long time, she dialed back.

The familiar ringtone suddenly sounded not far away, and she stood there, the snow falling incessantly, the world a vast expanse of white.

How did he get here?

When did he come back?

In the end, she turned around.

Meng Heping stood not far from her, separated by a dense curtain of snow. Both felt an unbridgeable distance between them.

Finally, he said, "Shall we go get some coffee?"

She knew he just wanted somewhere to talk, but what was there to say now?

He hadn't driven, so they walked to a nearby coffee shop.

The coffee shop was almost closed. They were the only customers. The lighting and music were dim and barely audible.

His coffee remained untouched, perhaps because he was only drinking water these days.

She, on the other hand, sipped her Blue Mountain coffee.

She used to not drink coffee. He looked at her with a touch of melancholy. Many things had changed, irreversible. The river of time swept them along, leaving them only to drift forward.

"My flight to New York is tomorrow morning."

She asked, "With Xizi?"

He said, "I'll go first. Xizi might go a little later." He seemed to be explaining. "There are some trivial matters I need to take care of."

She said, "I'm going back to Shanghai tomorrow afternoon. Should I see you off? What time is your flight?"

He told her his flight number, but said, "No need to see me off. I just came to say goodbye."

After a long pause, he said again, "Jiaqi, take care of Dongzi."

She said, "I will." Then she added, "Take care of yourself too."

He nodded.

---

He escorted her back to her apartment. The two walked back, keeping about half a meter apart, walking in silence. It was late at night, and snowing. Only occasional cars passed by. There were no other pedestrians on the road, only them.

Jiaqi lagged behind a few steps, and he slowed his pace to wait for her. Suddenly, she recalled the most classic and unforgettable scene from the TV series "Shanghai Bund" she'd watched as a child. Back then, she was obsessed with the dashing Xu Wenqiang, paying little attention to the delicate and beautiful Feng Chengcheng. But even at such a young age, she remembered that encounter in the snow. She was a woman who wholeheartedly admired him, and he was a man who wholeheartedly loved her. In the silent falling snow, they walked side by side. Xu Wenqiang, wearing a white scarf, was dashing, leaning forward with a smile, while his Chengcheng was bright-eyed, white-toothed, gentle, and charming—a perfect match. He once thought it would last forever, a lifetime of love, a lifelong commitment.

Who knew that family feuds and countless grudges would separate them?

He watched helplessly as she married someone else.

Only at the very end, with his last breath, could he say, "I'm going to France."

Simply because his Chengcheng was in France.

And the waves surged, the river flowed on, and everything changed.

She finally caught up, her footsteps light and soft, like snowflakes landing almost silently. A white snowflake landed on his eyelashes, soft and fluffy, blurring everything before his eyes, as if the whole world had blurred.

Even walking slowly, he could only see her to her building's entrance.

"Goodbye," she said, stopping.

"Goodbye," he replied, watching her go inside. Her figure blended into the warm light of the apartment building's lobby, gradually blurring her outline until she disappeared completely.

He stood there for a long, long time, until he looked up at the window above, where her light had gone out.

The streetlights shone sadly, and the snow fell heavier and heavier, landing on his face and body. His hands remained in his coat pockets, clutching something.

He pulled his hand out. The tortoiseshell hair clip gleamed dimly under the streetlight.

When she left him, she took almost nothing with her.

And now, as he left her, he had no way to take anything with him either.

He bent down and placed the tortoiseshell hairpin neatly on the pristine snow, stroking its smooth, curved surface with his fingers one last time.

He was reluctant, but had to part with it.

For so many years, he had kept this hairpin, but ultimately, he would never have the chance to return it to her.

He reached out and caught a snowflake. The exquisite hexagonal ice flower melted instantly in his palm, turning into tiny, cool water droplets.

The snow on the ground was growing thicker, the wind whipping it against his face. He crouched down and, with his finger, slowly traced three characters across the snow, one horizontal and one vertical stroke.

The snow continued to fall, swirling and fluttering. He stood up and stood there quietly, watching the three characters. Countless snowflakes fell, gradually obscuring the characters, blurring them, fading them until they were finally barely legible.

---

Thoughts on Chapter 22

This chapter is an elegy for lost love, chronicling Meng Heping's final goodbye to Jiaqi before leaving for New York and his new life with Jiangxi. Every scene pulses with quiet devastation and the weight of irrevocable choices.

The opening encounter while Jiaqi bathes Oracle is loaded with domestic intimacy and lost familiarity. She mistakes his footsteps for Ruan Zhengdong's, calling him "lazybones" in the casual way of long marriage. When she realizes it's Meng Heping, the sudden silence speaks volumes. His observation of her—pale, thin, dark circles under her eyes (she always got those when she couldn't sleep)—shows how intimately he still knows her body's responses. The memory of calling her "Little Pig" and her tugging his ear calling him "Big Pighead" is achingly tender, a glimpse of playful intimacy now impossible.

His announcement of the proposal to Jiangxi, delivered to her back while she dries the dog, is deliberately cruel in its casualness—or perhaps it's the only way he can say it. Her flashback to his actual proposal to her in the chapel—standing in the center of all the light, so beautiful it seemed unreal—provides devastating contrast. That was the dream. This is reality.

Her whispered "I understand. Thank you" and her clinging to Oracle, murmuring "Don't go" reveals she's transferring her plea from Meng Heping (who she cannot ask to stay) to the dog (a safe substitute for her grief).

Ruan Zhengdong's conversation about his grandfather's disapproval creates another layer of loss—she's potentially losing both men. But Jiaqi's response shows her growth and determination: she'll resign, come back, be with him "no matter who agrees." Her "reckless courage" (or foolishness) demonstrates she's learned from losing Meng Heping. She won't passively accept separation again.