GREAT DOCTOR 15
61. The Confrontation Outside the Clinic
By early evening, the street outside Qingxiu Jiaren Medical Aesthetics Clinic was already lit by rows of streetlights. The day’s outpatient work had ended, and office workers from the nearby buildings were gradually making their way out. Traffic on the street was becoming heavier, with motorcycles occasionally roaring past the clinic, mixed with the laughter and conversation of pedestrians, bringing the usual bustle of a city at dusk to the previously quiet entrance.
Lin Xiuling pushed open the clinic door and walked outside. She looked particularly exhausted today, her shoulders slightly slumped. She carried her purse in one hand while gently smoothing back the hair that had been tousled by the wind during work. All she wanted was to leave quickly, get back to her car, and have a good night’s rest.
But after walking down a few steps from the entrance, she suddenly stopped. Not far away, a familiar figure was standing by the roadside.
Zhao Xiaodong was holding a large bouquet of flowers, a deliberately ingratiating smile spread across his face. He had clearly been waiting for some time. The moment he saw Lin Xiuling appear, he immediately walked toward her.
“Xiuling! Xiuling!”
Lin Xiuling glanced at him. There was neither surprise nor happiness in that glance, only the coldness of someone who had experienced disappointment for a long time. She did not even answer. She simply looked away from his face and continued toward the parking lot as if she had seen nothing.
She knew very well that there was nothing left to say between her and Zhao Xiaodong.
What had happened six months ago had completely destroyed her trust in this man. She had once regarded him as a friend and had even been willing to believe in his character, but one disappointment after another had long since worn away whatever affection remained from the past.
She did not want to argue, nor did she want to hear any more explanations. She only wanted to leave. But Zhao Xiaodong clearly had no intention of letting her walk away so easily. He quickly caught up with her and stepped in front of her.
“Don’t be like this!” His smile remained on his face, but a trace of anxiety had already appeared in his eyes. “You’ve been punishing me for six months. No matter how huge the misunderstanding was, you should have gotten over your anger by now, right?”
Lin Xiuling stopped and looked at him coldly.
“Move.”
The simple two-word command left no room for negotiation.
Zhao Xiaodong’s smile froze for a moment. “Xiuling, I’ve already come here personally to see you. Are you still going to treat me like this?”
Lin Xiuling did not answer. She simply pushed away the hand he had held out in front of her.
“I said, move.”
Her voice was even colder than before.
Zhao Xiaodong’s expression began to darken. He had thought that bringing flowers and saying a few nice words would soften Lin Xiuling, but he had never expected her to be unwilling even to give him another look.
The humiliation of being rejected quickly turned into anger.
Just as Lin Xiuling was about to walk around him, Zhao Xiaodong suddenly grabbed her arm. Lin Xiuling was startled and instinctively pulled backward with all her strength.
“Let go of me!”
But Zhao Xiaodong did not release her. Instead, he pulled her back toward him and tried to wrap his arms around her.
“Xiuling, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Let go of me!” Lin Xiuling struggled desperately, pushing hard against his chest with both hands. Fear and anger were now clearly visible on her face. She had never imagined that Zhao Xiaodong would actually behave this way in the middle of the street.
“Let go! Zhao Xiaodong, did you hear me?”
Several pedestrians passing by began to notice their argument. Some slowed down and turned to look at them.
But Zhao Xiaodong seemed to have completely lost control. He continued holding on to her.
Lin Xiuling’s heart began beating faster and faster. She knew she could not allow him to keep controlling her like this.
At the instant Zhao Xiaodong relaxed his grip slightly, she suddenly thought of a way out. She abruptly raised her foot and stomped hard on the top of his foot.
“Ah!”
Zhao Xiaodong cried out in pain. He immediately released her and jumped backward, clutching his foot.
Lin Xiuling seized the opportunity to break free and quickly ran toward her car.
Zhao Xiaodong looked down at his throbbing foot. His expression instantly changed from pain to fury. He raised his head and glared at Lin Xiuling’s retreating figure. All the gentleness and ingratiating behavior he had pretended to show disappeared in an instant.
“You stepped on me?” His voice trembled with anger. “You damn woman!”
Lin Xiuling completely ignored his insults.
She hurried to her sedan, frantically opened the driver’s-side door, climbed inside, and immediately locked the doors. Her chest was heaving violently. Only after the door was closed did she finally feel a slight sense of safety.
But the next second, Zhao Xiaodong had already reached the car.
“Lin Xiuling! Get out!” He yanked hard on the driver’s-side door. When he discovered that it was locked, he became even more agitated and raised his hand to pound on the window.
“Listen to me! How long are you going to hide from me?”
Lin Xiuling sat in the driver’s seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands. Through the window, she looked at Zhao Xiaodong outside. There was no fear in her eyes. Instead, there was a cold determination that left no room for turning back.
She did not want to listen anymore, nor did she want to give this man another chance.
She inserted the car key and started the engine.
The engine roared to life on the street.
Zhao Xiaodong was still standing beside the car door, pounding hard on the window. Lin Xiuling gave him one last look.
There was no hatred in that look, not even anger. There was only the coldness of someone who had completely given up on a relationship.
She stepped on the accelerator.
The sedan suddenly surged forward.
Caught off guard, Zhao Xiaodong stumbled backward several steps as he watched the car quickly drive away. He chased after it for a few steps, but could only stop where he was and stare at the gradually disappearing taillights.
The flowers in his hands had already been crushed and disordered.
He stood by the roadside, his chest heaving violently, his expression twisted with anger and humiliation. He raised his hand, pointed toward the departing car, and cursed through clenched teeth.
But Lin Xiuling could no longer hear him.
The car passed through the intersection and gradually disappeared into the flow of traffic.
Lin Xiuling did not look back. She gripped the steering wheel tightly. Only after she was certain that Zhao Xiaodong could no longer see her did she slowly let out a breath.
She looked at the road ahead, and her eyes gradually returned to calm.
This time, she told herself that no matter what Zhao Xiaodong said, she would never turn back again.
Once trust in someone is lost, no matter how deep the bond between them once was, that person can ultimately become nothing more than a passerby in your life.
62. The Night Before Leaving Shanghai
Night had fallen over the outskirts of Shanghai. The courtyard outside the villa was so quiet that the noise of the city was almost inaudible. Only the occasional sound of passing cars could be heard in the distance. Several soft lights were on inside the house, and a silence filled the space between the living room and bedroom, carrying the feeling of an impending journey.
Lin Xiuling was packing her luggage in her room. Several pieces of seasonal clothing from the closet had been neatly folded on the bed, while her passport, plane ticket, and some personal belongings were spread across the table. She placed her clothes into the suitcase one piece at a time. Her movements seemed calm, but inside, she could not truly settle her mind.
Housekeeper Zhou Hong stood nearby helping her organize things, sorting some daily necessities into a travel bag. She had been with Lin Xiuling for many years. She was no longer merely a housekeeper, but more like family, understanding her joys and sorrows.
As Zhou Hong folded clothes, she could not help sighing. “That Zhao Xiaodong really has gone too far.”
Lin Xiuling’s hands paused for a moment, but she did not look up.
Zhou Hong placed the clothes into the suitcase, her voice filled with obvious displeasure.
“He keeps coming to the clinic to bother you every few days. You’ve already made yourself so clear. Why won’t he just let it go?”
Lin Xiuling was silent for a moment before gently folding the piece of clothing in her hands.
A tired and helpless smile appeared on her face. “Calling the police wouldn’t help.” She placed the clothing into the suitcase and said quietly, “The police said he hasn’t actually done anything illegal. He’s not caught in the act, either, so all they can do is tell him to leave.” As she said this, she gently shook her head.
“But they can make him leave once. They can’t stop him from coming back.”
Zhou Hong frowned deeply after hearing this. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“Forget it.” Lin Xiuling spoke lightly. She reached into the suitcase and straightened the slightly disordered clothes. Her tone sounded calm, but her eyes revealed a trace of exhaustion that she could not hide.
“I’m going back to Taiwan this time, so I’ll be leaving here for a while. As long as I don’t see him, at least I can have some peace and quiet.”
Zhou Hong looked at her without saying anything.
She suddenly realized that what Lin Xiuling truly wanted to escape from this time was not only Zhao Xiaodong. There was also someone else who had kept her heart troubled all these years, someone she had never been able to truly let go of.
Zhou Hong’s gaze fell on Lin Xiuling, and her eyes gradually softened. After a while, she suddenly asked quietly, “Boss...”
Lin Xiuling looked up.
Zhou Hong’s eyes were already slightly red. “When you go back to Taiwan this time... will you come back?”
The room suddenly became quiet.
Lin Xiuling’s hands, which had been organizing her luggage, stopped in midair. She did not answer immediately. Slowly, she sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at the half-packed suitcase in front of her. Her expression suddenly became somewhat lost.
She had actually asked herself this question many times.
When she returned to Taiwan this time, was she only staying there temporarily, or was she really preparing to leave Shanghai?
She did not know.
What she knew even less was what kind of result she would face after returning to Taiwan.
She remained silent for a long time before finally saying softly, “I don’t know.”
When those three words left her lips, a trace of confusion appeared in her eyes. She lowered her head and gently ran her fingers along the edge of the suitcase, as if the motion could slowly settle the turmoil in her heart.
“If... Wen-Hua’s first love really appears, maybe I’ll finally give up.”
Zhou Hong stared at her in a daze.
Lin Xiuling did not look up, and her voice became softer and softer.
“Actually, all these years, I’ve never truly figured out who that woman in his heart is.” She paused, then said with a bitter smile, “I’ve just kept telling myself that maybe there’s still a chance, that maybe one day he’ll accept my feelings.”
As she said this, her eyes grew slightly red.
“But last night, I suddenly understood. It’s not that he doesn’t know. It’s that his heart already belongs to someone else.”
Zhou Hong walked over and gently sat beside her.
“So that’s why you decided to go back and find him?”
Lin Xiuling raised her head, her eyes filled with a complicated mixture of anticipation and fear of being hurt.
“I want to see him in person.”
She took a deep breath, as if she had finally made up her mind.
“No matter what the result is, I want to hear him tell me himself.”
Zhou Hong looked at her, and a trace of sympathy slowly appeared in her eyes.
She knew that Lin Xiuling had always been a very proud woman. Whether at work or in her personal life, she was accustomed to making her own decisions and rarely showed weakness to others.
But when it came to love, she was ultimately just an ordinary woman.
She could be afraid.
She could have hope.
And she was even more afraid that after hoping for so many years, what she would ultimately receive would be an answer that had already been destined.
Zhou Hong reached out and gently held her hand.
“Boss, although I really hate to see you leave...” Her voice began to choke up, and her eyes grew increasingly red. “But I understand you.”
Lin Xiuling looked at her.
Zhou Hong forced a smile, but tears were already glistening at the corners of her eyes.
“No matter what the final result is, you should go back and see Dr. Yang.”
“At least, then you won’t have any regrets.”
Those words were like a key, gently opening the door to the part of Lin Xiuling’s heart she had always been afraid to face.
She remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.
“Mm.”
It was a simple answer, yet it was a decision she had made after a long period of inner struggle.
She stood up and walked back to the suitcase, placing the last few pieces of clothing inside.
Zhou Hong stood up and helped her as well.
Neither of them said anything more.
The room was filled only with the faint sound of clothing rubbing against clothing.
After a while, Lin Xiuling suddenly stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Zhou Hong.
“Sis Hong.”
“Mm?”
Lin Xiuling looked at her, sincere gratitude showing in her eyes.
“Thank you for staying by my side all these years.”
Zhou Hong froze for a moment.
The next second, she could no longer hold back her tears. They slowly rolled down her cheeks.
“Boss, don’t say that.”
She quickly raised her hand to wipe away her tears and tried hard to force a smile.
“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to do.”
Lin Xiuling smiled as well.
She walked over and gently hugged Zhou Hong.
At that moment, neither woman said anything.
But that embrace already contained the emotions they had accumulated through all the years they had spent together.
Zhou Hong gently patted her back and said through her tears, “Go.”
She pulled back slightly and looked at Lin Xiuling.
“No matter what happens in the end, I hope you can get an answer that truly belongs to you.”
She reached out and straightened Lin Xiuling’s collar. Her eyes were still red, but she forced herself to smile.
“I’ll be waiting for good news from you!”
Lin Xiuling looked at her, and a trace of hope returned to her eyes.
She nodded firmly.
“Sis Hong, I will.”
Outside the window, the night was deep, and the lights of Shanghai stretched into a sea of illumination in the distance.
Lin Xiuling stood by the window, looking at the familiar sea of city lights, but her heart had already flown thousands of miles away to Taiwan.
She did not know whether what awaited her would be happiness or disappointment.
But this time, she decided not to run away anymore.
She was going back to see Yang Wen-Hua.
Even if the answer she ultimately received broke her heart, she was willing to face it herself.
Because for someone who has truly loved another person, sometimes the most painful thing is not losing that person, but spending an entire lifetime never knowing whether you truly loved them, and never knowing whether that person ever truly loved you.
Lin Xiuling reached out and slowly pulled the curtains closed.
The plane ticket lay quietly on the table beneath the light.
Tomorrow, she would begin her journey back to Taiwan.
63. The Closed Iron Gate
Early in the morning on the outskirts of Shanghai, the streets had not yet fully awakened. The sky was covered in a faint grayish-white haze, and the moisture left behind by the previous night had condensed on the leaves along the roadside. Occasionally, a few cars passed through the intersection, their tires rolling over the damp asphalt and producing a low, muted sound.
The area in front of Qingxiu Jiaren Medical Aesthetics Clinic was unusually quiet.
Lin Xiuling walked out of the clinic, pulling her suitcase behind her.
Today, instead of her usual neat work clothes, she had changed into a simple outfit for going out. Her hair was merely tied back casually.
She turned and looked at the clinic behind her, her gaze lingering for a moment on the familiar sign.
She had invested countless hours and so much effort here.
From the initial preparations for opening the clinic to gradually building her own career, this clinic was more than just a workplace. It carried the years of her life in Shanghai.
But now, everything was coming to an end.
Lin Xiuling said nothing. She simply took a gentle breath and reached out to press the electric rolling-gate switch on the wall.
As the motor began to run, the iron gate slowly descended.
“Rumble...”
The heavy gate came down inch by inch, covering the space behind the glass doors, like a chapter of her life slowly closing.
When the gate had completely descended, Lin Xiuling stood in front of it and looked at it for a long time.
There was reluctance in her eyes, but there was also a sense of relief that came with finally making her decision.
At the center of the iron gate was a conspicuous advertisement:
Closed for Business and Available for Transfer.
Lin Xiuling looked at those words, and a sudden ache rose in her heart.
She knew that she was not simply closing a clinic.
She was saying goodbye to everything she had built in Shanghai over the years.
But she no longer had any reason to turn back.
She gently touched the handle of her suitcase and turned toward the road.
After walking a few steps, she still could not help stopping.
She turned around.
The Qingxiu Jiaren sign was still hanging above the entrance, but with the iron gate tightly closed, the entire clinic looked unfamiliar and cold.
Lin Xiuling looked at it, and her eyes slowly softened.
“Goodbye.”
She did not say the words aloud. She simply repeated them silently in her heart.
She knew that this farewell might be forever.
Just then, her phone suddenly rang.
The ringtone broke the silence of the early morning.
Lin Xiuling took out her phone. The screen displayed a name she knew very well—Zhao Xiaodong.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
The scene that had taken place outside the clinic yesterday quickly came back to her mind.
Zhao Xiaodong’s harassment, his grabbing and pulling at her, and finally his face twisted with anger caused disgust and exhaustion to rise in her heart once again.
She stared at the phone for several seconds.
The phone continued ringing without stopping.
If this had happened in the past, she might have hesitated, perhaps even tried to listen to what he had to say.
But now, she no longer wanted to leave any opening for this relationship.
Lin Xiuling extended a finger and rejected the call without hesitation.
The phone became quiet.
She looked down at the screen. Her finger paused for a moment.
Then she opened the contact information and found Zhao Xiaodong’s name.
She stared at the name for several seconds, a complicated expression flashing across her eyes.
He had once been someone familiar in her life.
But now, that name brought her nothing but exhaustion.
She finally pressed delete.
The moment she confirmed the deletion, she let out a long breath.
It was as if, together with that name, she had also completely erased a relationship that had entangled her for years from her life.
She put the phone back into her purse and pulled her suitcase to the roadside.
Before long, a taxi slowly approached.
Lin Xiuling raised her hand to hail it.
The taxi stopped. She placed her luggage in the trunk, then opened the door and sat in the back seat.
“Driver, the airport.”
“Okay.”
The driver answered and started the car again.
The taxi slowly moved forward.
Lin Xiuling leaned against the window and looked back.
Qingxiu Jiaren Medical Aesthetics Clinic gradually grew smaller in her field of vision.
She did not cry.
She simply watched the iron gate that had already been closed until it disappeared around the corner.
She knew that the place she truly wanted to go was Taiwan.
That was where someone she had never forgotten for all these years was waiting:
Yang Wen-Hua.
At the thought of his name, her fingers unconsciously tightened slightly.
She did not know what answer she would receive after returning.
But at least, she did not want her life to be left with regret.
The taxi disappeared into the morning mist.
Not long after Lin Xiuling left, a sedan came from the intersection.
The car stopped in front of Qingxiu Jiaren Medical Aesthetics Clinic.
The door opened, and Zhao Xiaodong stepped out.
He looked much more haggard than he had the day before, with obvious fatigue beneath his eyes.
He had originally thought that after a night to calm down, Lin Xiuling’s emotions might have softened somewhat, so he had hurried over first thing in the morning.
But when he looked up at the clinic, his entire body suddenly froze.
The iron gate was tightly closed.
The familiar clinic sign was still hanging there.
But the conspicuous advertisement on the iron gate struck his chest like a heavy blow.
Closed for Business and Available for Transfer.
Zhao Xiaodong stood there in a daze.
“This... how is this possible?”
He quickly walked to the iron gate and reached out to touch its cold surface. The color drained gradually from his face.
He turned and looked around.
There was no sign of Lin Xiuling on the street.
There was not the slightest sound from inside the clinic.
At that moment, he suddenly understood.
Lin Xiuling was gone.
And this time, she was not leaving temporarily.
She truly intended to leave Shanghai.
“Xiuling...”
He called her name softly.
No one answered.
Zhao Xiaodong’s hand slowly dropped to his side. The expression on his face changed from shock to disbelief, and finally to deep disappointment.
He suddenly realized that all this time, he had thought Lin Xiuling was merely angry with him.
He had thought that as long as he continued appearing in front of her, she would eventually soften.
But only now did he truly realize that he might have pushed her to the point where she would never turn back.
“You really left?”
His voice began to tremble.
He looked up again at the tightly closed iron gate, his eyes gradually reddening.
“Lin Xiuling, where are you going?”
No one answered him.
Only the early morning wind passed by him on the street.
Zhao Xiaodong suddenly seemed to lose his last support. He stumbled backward one step.
He raised his head and looked toward the direction in which Lin Xiuling had disappeared.
The emotions he had suppressed for so long finally exploded.
“Lin Xiuling!”
His voice echoed through the empty morning street.
“What do you mean by this?”
His tears finally fell.
Sadness and anger mixed across his face, and his voice became hoarse.
“What do you mean by this?”
He slammed one fist heavily into the palm of his other hand, as if questioning Lin Xiuling, or perhaps questioning himself.
But the only answer was the cold, tightly closed iron gate.
And the four glaring words posted on it:
Closed for Business and Available for Transfer.
At that moment, Zhao Xiaodong finally understood.
What had been closed this time was not merely the clinic’s entrance.
It was also the last door Lin Xiuling had left open to him.
64. The Life Bean Festival Grounds in Dabang Village, Alishan
In the afternoon, mountain mist drifted slowly along the layers of ridgelines in Alishan. Quite a few members of the tribe and visitors had already gathered in the square of Dabang Village. Although the festival had not officially begun, a solemn yet lively atmosphere already filled the area. Members of the Tsou tribe, dressed in traditional clothing, moved back and forth. Some were busy arranging the items needed for the ceremony, while others were welcoming visitors who had come from far away. Children ran and played around the adults, occasionally filling the air with their clear laughter. The chirping of insects and birds in the distant forest mingled with the drums that were gradually sounding in the square, making the entire mountain village seem to awaken early for an ancient and sacred ceremony.
Lin Xiuling dragged her suitcase and slowly followed several visitors into the festival grounds. Although her body was somewhat tired after rushing all the way from Shanghai to Alishan, her heart remained filled with an indescribable sense of anticipation. She had not told Yang Wen-Hua that she was coming. She had not even notified anyone in advance. She wanted to surprise him, and she also wanted to see with her own eyes the place where the man she had waited for so painfully in Shanghai, the man she had never been willing to forget, would welcome her.
After walking for a while, she finally felt some soreness in her feet. She pulled her suitcase to an old tree at the edge of the square. Its thick trunk resembled a silent old man, while its branches stretched outward, casting dappled shadows across the ground. Lin Xiuling placed her suitcase beside her and sat on a wooden bench near the tree roots. She raised a hand and gently smoothed her hair, which had been tousled by the mountain wind, while her eyes repeatedly glanced toward the entrance to the square.
Just then, a familiar figure passed through the crowd.
Yang Wen-Qing had been busy helping the tribe members carry festival supplies. She happened to glance toward the shade of the tree, and her footsteps suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened as she stared at the woman sitting beneath the tree for several seconds. A look of surprise gradually appeared on her face.
“Could that be Sister Xiuling? What is she doing here?”
Not sure whether she had seen correctly, she simply handed what she was carrying to a nearby tribe member and quickly walked toward Lin Xiuling.
When she got closer, she finally recognized that familiar face, and the surprise on her face immediately turned into a smile.
“Sis Ling, it really is you!” Yang Wen-Qing waved with a smile. “I thought I had mistaken you for someone else!”
Hearing the voice, Lin Xiuling quickly looked up.
When she saw Yang Wen-Qing standing in front of her, she smiled as well and then pushed herself up from the bench.
“Wen-Qing, how have you been?”
“Same old, same old.”
Yang Wen-Qing deliberately sighed as she spoke, then raised a hand and rubbed her shoulder, making an exhausted face.
“I work like a servant every day, from morning till night. I don’t even have time to sit down and drink a glass of water.”
Lin Xiuling could not help laughing.
Looking at the familiar young woman in front of her, however, her heart was still thinking about someone else, so her smile soon faded somewhat.
“Has your brother come back?”
Yang Wen-Qing glanced at her, as if she had already guessed what she really wanted to ask. A meaningful smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
“My brother called last night and said he would hurry back.”
She looked up toward the center of the festival grounds.
“The ceremony is about to begin. He should be here soon.”
Hearing this, Lin Xiuling’s heart seemed to be gently struck.
She unconsciously tightened her grip on the suitcase handle and looked toward the entrance again. Although she said nothing, the long-awaited anticipation in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Just then, the drums in the center of the square suddenly grew quieter.
The people who had been scattered around the area gradually fell silent as well, and the tribe members began gathering toward the center.
Several highly respected elders, dressed in traditional clothing, slowly walked to the center of the square and formed a circle.
As one of the elders began a low and solemn prayer, the other tribe members lowered their heads and listened with solemn expressions.
The ancient prayer spread with the mountain wind, passing through the dense forest and over the high mountains and clouds, carrying the tribe’s longing and prayers to their ancestors in the distance.
Lin Xiuling stood at the edge of the crowd and quietly watched everything before her.
Although she did not fully understand every ritual of the Tsou ceremony, she could feel the profound reverence behind it.
Her gaze moved away from the elders and once again, almost unconsciously, toward the entrance.
At that moment, she saw a middle-aged woman dressed in traditional Tsou clothing.
The woman stood beneath the ceremonial archway at the entrance to the festival grounds. She did not speak with the other tribe members. She simply held a wooden box in both hands, her expression quiet and solemn.
Her eyes repeatedly looked toward the end of the mountain road, as if she were waiting for someone with whom she had made an appointment.
Lin Xiuling frowned slightly.
For some reason, she suddenly felt that there was something unusual about the wooden box.
Minute after minute passed, but the woman remained standing in the same place.
Just as Lin Xiuling was wondering about it, a familiar figure finally appeared at the other end of the mountain road.
Yang Wen-Hua.
He was dressed simply, and his steps seemed much heavier than usual.
From a distance, he appeared to have already seen the woman, so he quickened his pace toward the entrance.
Lin Xiuling’s heart suddenly beat faster.
She instinctively straightened her body, and an expectant smile appeared on her face.
“Wen-Hua...”
She did not call out. She simply repeated his name silently in her heart.
Yang Wen-Hua walked up to the woman.
The two did not speak immediately.
The woman looked at him with an indescribable sadness in her eyes. After a long while, she slowly handed the wooden box in her hands to him.
Yang Wen-Hua reached out with both hands and accepted the box.
The woman quietly said a few words to him.
Yang Wen-Hua simply listened in silence, occasionally nodding gently.
His expression had initially been relatively calm, but as the woman continued speaking, that forced calm gradually began to break apart.
Lin Xiuling watched from a distance, and her anticipation began to turn into confusion.
“Where is that girl?”
She had originally thought that today she would see the woman Yang Wen-Hua had been waiting for all these years. She had also thought she had already prepared herself mentally to face reality.
But now, the person who should have appeared had never shown up.
Instead, an unfamiliar middle-aged woman had placed a wooden box into Yang Wen-Hua’s hands.
Her heart began to sink for no apparent reason.
What made her even more uneasy was that after Yang Wen-Hua received the wooden box, he slowly knelt down.
Both knees touched the ground. He held the wooden box tightly in his arms, and his head gradually lowered.
The woman stood beside him and gently patted his shoulder. Her own eyes were red as well.
She said nothing more. She simply looked deeply at Yang Wen-Hua, then turned around and slowly walked away in the direction from which she had come.
Yang Wen-Hua remained kneeling where he was.
Lin Xiuling’s heart tightened sharply.
At that moment, she finally realized that what was happening was probably completely different from what she had imagined.
Yang Wen-Qing, standing beside her, also noticed her brother.
The smile that had been on her face had now disappeared, and her expression became solemn as well. She looked at Yang Wen-Hua kneeling on the ground with deep concern in her eyes.
Lin Xiuling turned to look at her.
“Your brother is here. I’m going to see him.”
Without waiting for Yang Wen-Qing to answer, she released her grip on the suitcase handle and quickly walked toward the entrance.
However, when she went around the crowd and actually reached Yang Wen-Hua, her entire body suddenly froze.
She saw his face.
The familiar face she knew so well had now completely lost its usual composure and determination.
Two streams of tears slowly ran down his cheeks, sparkling faintly in the sunlight.
He lowered his head, and what he was holding in both hands was not an ordinary wooden box at all.
It was an urn.
A photograph was attached to the urn.
The girl in the photograph was smiling gently.
Lin Xiuling’s eyes fell on the photograph, and her chest felt as though she had been struck hard by something.
She finally understood.
The first love Yang Wen-Hua had kept in his heart for all these years, the woman he had never forgotten, had already left this world.
Her breathing unconsciously slowed.
“So... this is what happened.”
She said the words softly to herself in her heart, and her eyes gradually filled with a stinging ache.
The woman from earlier must have been the girl’s mother.
Perhaps many years ago, Wen-Hua and that girl had made an appointment to meet again in these mountains on a certain day at a certain time.
And now, the person who had truly come to keep that appointment was no longer the girl herself, but her mother, carrying the final trace of her daughter that remained in this world.
Lin Xiuling suddenly felt an indescribable pain in her heart.
She had once been jealous of this woman who did not exist before her. She had also felt disappointed because Yang Wen-Hua had always kept another person in his heart.
But at this moment, all her jealousy and resentment disappeared completely in an instant.
She finally understood that what she was truly facing was not a living romantic rival, but a love that had already been forever frozen in place by death.
That love had not lost to anyone.
It had simply lost to time.
Lin Xiuling lowered her head and looked at Yang Wen-Hua. She saw his shoulders trembling slightly, yet he was still forcing himself not to cry out loud.
At that moment, the softest part of her heart was deeply touched.
She slowly crouched down, took a handkerchief from her purse, reached out, and wanted to wipe the tears from his face.
But Yang Wen-Hua seemed to sense her movement.
He raised his head and looked at her with red-rimmed eyes.
Those eyes held sorrow, regret, and a kind of loneliness that did not want anyone to disturb him.
He did not blame Lin Xiuling, nor did he reject her concern.
He simply shook his head gently.
The movement was extremely slight, but Lin Xiuling immediately understood what he meant.
At this moment, he did not need comfort.
At least, not now.
Yang Wen-Hua slowly stood up, still holding the urn tightly in both hands.
He lowered his head and looked at the photograph on the urn. His eyes remained there for a moment.
Then he took a deep breath and tried to force his emotions back down into his heart.
He did not say another word.
He simply turned around and slowly walked out of the festival grounds with a loneliness that was painful to see.
Lin Xiuling remained crouched where she was, watching his back gradually disappear into the distance.
At that moment, she suddenly felt that the man before her was very close to her, yet also as far away as if an entire mountain stood between them.
She had rushed thousands of miles from Shanghai to Alishan because she wanted to surprise him, because she wanted to tell him that she was ready to face everything.
But now, she suddenly did not know what she should say.
She knew that Yang Wen-Hua was saying goodbye to a love that had been buried in his heart for many years.
And the only thing she could do, perhaps, was not question him, not comfort him, and certainly not take advantage of his vulnerability to demand an answer.
She simply wanted to stay beside him.
At least at this loneliest moment, she did not want him to leave alone.
With that thought, Lin Xiuling raised her head and waved to Yang Wen-Qing, who was still standing in the festival grounds.
Yang Wen-Qing immediately understood what she meant. She quickly ran over and picked up the suitcase Lin Xiuling had left beneath the tree.
“Sis Ling, let’s go.”
Lin Xiuling nodded.
She took one last look back at the lively festival grounds.
In the center of the square, the elders were still conducting the solemn ceremony. The deep sound of drums echoed through the valleys, while the tribe members and visitors remained immersed in the sacred atmosphere of the Life Bean Festival.
But to Lin Xiuling, the meaning of this festival had now become completely different.
She gathered up the hem of her clothes and quickly followed in the direction Yang Wen-Hua had gone.
Yang Wen-Qing dragged her suitcase and followed closely behind.
The mountain wind blew across their faces and stirred the leaves along both sides of the road.
Lin Xiuling did not look back again.
Her footsteps grew faster and faster, and there was only one thought in her heart:
No matter where Yang Wen-Hua was going next, she wanted to accompany him for part of the journey.
Even if she could only silently stay beside him, that would be enough.
65. The Yang Family Home in Dabang Village, Alishan
In the afternoon in Alishan, the mountain mist had quietly climbed up the mountainside. Several wooden chairs were scattered beneath the eaves of the old Yang family home. Beside the house were hunting gear and bamboo baskets that had just been brought back from the mountains.
The air carried the damp scent of wood.
In the distance, the drums from the Life Bean Festival grounds could still be heard faintly, one beat after another, like a heartbeat coming from somewhere far away.
Yang Wen-Hua walked into the courtyard carrying the urn.
His steps were heavy and slow. There was no expression on his face, as if he had become nothing more than an empty shell hollowed out by grief.
Yet his arms remained firmly wrapped around the urn in his embrace, as if he were afraid that if he loosened his hold even slightly, the person inside would leave him once again.
Lin Xiuling and Yang Wen-Qing silently followed behind him.
Lin Xiuling had not spoken again along the way. She simply watched Yang Wen-Hua’s back.
She had never seen a man grieve so quietly.
It was not loud sobbing or an emotional breakdown, but a pain that had sunk all the way into his bones, so deep that even his footsteps seemed to carry some indescribable weight.
Beneath the eaves, Su Yu-Zhen was sitting on a wooden chair with Yang Wen-Ying, wrapping and organizing hunters’ packs.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up.
Her face, which had still looked somewhat tired, suddenly brightened the instant she saw Lin Xiuling.
She did not even have time to put down what she was holding before hurriedly standing up.
“Xiuling!”
Su Yu-Zhen’s voice was filled with surprise and delight. She quickly walked over, her face covered in a broad smile.
“It really is you! I thought I was seeing things. What brings you all the way to Alishan all of a sudden?”
Lin Xiuling quickly smiled and nodded to her.
“Mom Su, it’s been a long time.”
She had originally wanted to exchange a few warm greetings with her, but halfway through her sentence, her eyes moved past Su Yu-Zhen’s shoulder and fell on Yang Wen-Hua.
At that moment, her smile quickly faded.
Yang Wen-Qing noticed that her mother had not yet seen what her brother was holding. She immediately stepped forward, gently took Su Yu-Zhen by the arm, and gave her a meaningful look.
“Mom...”
Her voice was very low.
Su Yu-Zhen froze for a moment. Following her daughter’s gaze, she finally realized that the wooden box Yang Wen-Hua was holding was not an ordinary wooden box. The smile on her face slowly disappeared. When she saw the photograph on the urn clearly, she stood there as if rooted to the spot. Xie Ci-En was smiling with the youthful, gentle expression in the photograph. Although many years had passed, Su Yu-Zhen recognized her at a glance.
“This is...” Her voice suddenly became hoarse, and her eyes instantly reddened.
Yang Wen-Qing held her mother’s arm tightly and said softly, “Mom, Ci-En’s mother personally brought Ci-En’s ashes back.”
Su Yu-Zhen stared blankly at the urn, her lips trembling slightly. After a long while, she let out a long sigh. “Oh... this child, Ci-En...” She did not continue. Some things simply did not need to be said to the end. She had watched Ci-En grow up in these mountains, and she had also watched the girl and her own son care deeply for each other. Back then, no one could have imagined that a ten-year promise would ultimately become a farewell between life and death.
Yang Wen-Qing looked at her brother’s numb back, then at her mother, and gently patted the back of her hand.
“Mom, let’s wait until my brother calms down.”
Su Yu-Zhen nodded through her tears.
At that moment, Yang Wen-Ying also saw Wen-Hua. She had been organizing the hunters’ packs, but her hands suddenly stopped. When she saw the urn in her younger brother’s arms and then the photograph of Ci-En on it, the expression on her face also slowly became solemn. She did not ask anything. She already knew the answer.
Yang Wen-Ying raised her head and saw Lin Xiuling standing nearby. She quietly walked over to her and said in a lowered voice, “Xiuling, you came at just the right time.”
Lin Xiuling turned to look at her, confusion in her eyes. Yang Wen-Ying did not explain immediately. She simply glanced toward Yang Wen-Hua. “What my brother needs most right now isn’t someone else’s comfort. He needs someone to stay with him.”
Lin Xiuling’s heart trembled slightly. She did not answer, only gave a gentle nod.
Yang Wen-Hua did not notice the reactions of the people around him. Holding the urn, he walked into the house one step at a time. The wooden door of the old house swayed gently behind him with a low sound. He walked through the living room and into his bedroom, then closed the door behind him.
“Click.” The lock fell into place. All the sounds outside seemed to be shut out in that instant. Yang Wen-Hua walked to the bed. His hands trembled slightly before he slowly placed the urn on the bed. He did not sit down immediately. Instead, he stood at the bedside and looked down at the photograph on the box. Ci-En was still smiling in the photograph. That smile was exactly the same as the one in his memories. Yang Wen-Hua finally sat on the edge of the bed, leaned back against the headboard, and stared at the urn without blinking. The room was so quiet it was almost suffocating. He reached out and gently ran his fingertips along the edge of the photograph, as if he wanted to touch that familiar person once again through the thin sheet of paper.
“Ci-En...” His lips moved slightly, his voice so low that it was almost inaudible.
Then a memory he had buried for ten years suddenly came vividly back to him...
Ten years earlier, the sky over Dabang Village had been just as blue. A large crowd of villagers had gathered outside the pastor’s residence to see the family off. Men and women, young and old, were all there. Some had brought fruit, some had brought local mountain products, and some simply stood among the crowd, silently watching the sedan that was about to leave. Pastor Divid and his family were about to leave Dabang Village. The young Yang Wen-Hua stood among the crowd, his eyes fixed on Xie Ci-En.
That day, Ci-En was dressed simply, her hair gently blowing in the mountain wind. Although her eyes held the sadness of parting, she still tried to keep a smile on her face. While everyone else was busy saying goodbye to the pastor’s family, Ci-En quietly walked up to Wen-Hua and reached out with both hands to hold his hands. Her palms were warm and soft.
“Wen-Hua...” She looked at him, a trace of reluctance in her eyes. “I will definitely come back.”
Wen-Hua said nothing. He simply held her hands tightly.
Ci-En took a breath, trying to make her voice sound a little more relaxed.
“At the Life Bean Festival ten years from now, will you wait for me?”
Wen-Hua looked at her, tears already glistening in his eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he nodded firmly.
“I’ll wait for you.”
A bitter smile appeared in Ci-En’s eyes as she looked at his expression. Deliberately joking, she reached up and touched her hair.
“But by then, maybe all my hair and teeth will have fallen out, and I’ll have become an old woman.”
Wen-Hua finally could not help laughing. But just as that smile appeared, the tears in his eyes could no longer be held back.
The next moment, he opened his arms and pulled Ci-En tightly into his embrace.
The two young people held each other tightly like that, neither saying a word.
The voices of the people around them, the sound of car engines, and the rustling of leaves stirred by the mountain wind all seemed to fade far away. Wen-Hua closed his eyes, trying to remember her scent and the warmth of that embrace. He did not know whether, after letting go this time, the two of them would really see each other again. Ci-En seemed to know as well that there were too many things in life that could not be guaranteed by simply saying, “I will definitely come back.”
She slowly released Wen-Hua, but her hands remained on his shoulders as she gazed deeply into his eyes.
“Wen-Hua, you have to work hard.” Her voice was gentle but firm. “Go make your dreams come true.” She paused, encouragement and a smile in her eyes. “Become Taiwan’s Jobs, someone like Steve Jobs.”
Wen-Hua looked at her and nodded firmly.
“I will.”
Ci-En smiled. Her smile looked especially bright in the sunlight. She rose onto her toes and gently kissed Wen-Hua on the cheek. The kiss was brief, but it left Wen-Hua completely frozen in place.
Ci-En turned around and walked toward the sedan. After taking a few steps, she could not help turning back. Wen-Hua was still standing there. Their eyes met across the space between them. Ci-En raised her hand and waved. Wen-Hua raised his hand as well, forcing a smile as he said goodbye to her.
The sedan slowly started and drove along the mountain road. It grew farther and farther away, finally disappearing around a bend in the road. Wen-Hua remained standing there. His hand slowly fell to his side, and the tears in his eyes finally fell.
That year, he believed ten years was not a long time. He believed he would definitely be able to wait for her. More than that, he believed that as long as the two of them both remembered their promise, time could never truly separate them.
But ten years later, what he received was an urn.
“Knock, knock, knock...”
A sudden knock came from outside the bedroom door. Yang Wen-Hua was jolted awake from his memories. He sat blankly against the headboard, and it took several seconds before he came back to himself. He raised his hand and forcefully wiped the tears from his face, only to discover that no matter how much he wiped, the tears would not stop.
Su Yu-Zhen’s voice came from outside the door.
“Wen-Hua, get some rest. Mom will call you when it’s time to eat.”
Yang Wen-Hua did not answer. Su Yu-Zhen stood outside the door without knocking again, simply standing there quietly for a while.
Behind her, Lin Xiuling also stood silently. She lowered her head, her hands clasped in front of her, her face filled with unmistakable concern. She knew that Yang Wen-Hua would not want anyone to see his vulnerability right now, so she did not ask Su Yu-Zhen to open the door, nor did she try to say words of comfort to him through the crack in the door.
Su Yu-Zhen turned around and looked at her. She gently took Lin Xiuling’s hand, comforting her like a mother consoling her own daughter.
“Xiuling, let him calm down first. It’s okay.”
Lin Xiuling raised her head and looked at the closed bedroom door. That door separated her from Yang Wen-Hua, and it also separated the present from the unforgettable love of ten years ago. She did not leave. She simply stood quietly outside the door. Because she knew that what Yang Wen-Hua needed right now was not someone saying, “Don’t be sad,” but someone who was willing to remain by his side when he was in the most painful moment of his life.
Inside the room, Yang Wen-Hua lowered his head again and looked at the urn on the bed. Ci-En still wore that familiar smile in the photograph. And outside the door, Lin Xiuling silently stayed there with him.
The drums of the Life Bean Festival sounded again in the distance, one beat after another echoing through the valleys of Alishan. Ten years earlier, those drums had sent a young girl away. Ten years later, the same drums had brought her final resting place home.
