GREAT DOCTOR 16
66. The Yang Family Dinner
The sun gradually sank behind the ridges of Alishan, and the last golden rays of sunlight slanted through the wooden window frames into the Yang family’s old house. Dusk came earlier in the mountains than on the plains. Although the sky was not yet completely dark, the trees outside had already been covered in a faint gray-blue hue. The sounds from the Life Bean Festival in the distance could still be heard faintly, occasionally mixed with the singing and drumming of the tribespeople, like echoes coming from deep within the valley.
The fragrance of food was already drifting from the Yang family kitchen. Yang Wen-Ying placed the steamed hunter’s rice packets neatly into a bamboo steamer one by one. When she lifted the lid, steam rose in an instant, quickly fogging her glasses. She hurriedly wiped the lenses with the back of her hand, then turned to look at her younger sister, Yang Wen-Qing, who was slicing smoked mountain boar meat nearby.
Wen-Qing held a kitchen knife and sliced the smoked meat deftly into thin pieces, each slice almost exactly the same thickness. She looked up at her older sister, a faint smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
“Big Sis,” Wen-Qing suddenly said, slowing her hands, “I was really startled when I saw Xiuling at the festival today.”
Without stopping her slicing, Wen-Qing raised an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
“She suddenly showed up at the festival dragging such a huge suitcase. At first, I thought I was seeing things.” As she spoke, Wen-Qing could not help laughing. “But then I took a closer look, and it really was Xiuling. I immediately thought, could she have come all the way here just to see our brother?”
Wen-Qing placed the sliced smoked meat on a plate before looking up again, the smile on her face becoming even more pronounced.
“I think this is the kind of understanding that exists between our brother and Xiuling.”
“I think so too.” As she spoke, Wen-Qing picked up the towel beside the steamer and wiped her hands. “Especially when I saw her dragging that suitcase, I was even more certain. If she were just here to travel, why would she need to bring such a huge suitcase? My guess is that Xiuling and our brother had already planned to meet this time. They just never made it completely clear to each other.”
Wen-Ying gave a soft laugh.
“You little sister. You’re getting better and better at analyzing your brother’s love life.”
“Of course.” Wen-Qing proudly raised her eyebrows, then put away her smile and became serious. “Big Sis, think about it. Xiuling has been running her clinic in Shanghai for more than two years. Her career had only just gotten firmly established, and yet she deliberately chose this time to come back to Alishan. Just thinking about that makes me feel so touched.” She sighed softly. “She really hasn’t had it easy.”
Wen-Ying nodded.
“Yes. It must have been a huge sacrifice for her to do this.”
The two sisters looked at each other, both wearing knowing smiles. Wen-Qing suddenly moved closer to her sister and lowered her voice.
“Big Sis, this must be the power of love pulling her here, right?”
Wen-Ying laughed at her teasing.
“You!”
“I’m serious!” Wen-Qing said earnestly. “From the very first time I saw Xiuling, I had a feeling. I always felt that our brother would eventually end up with her. They really suit each other. One is cold on the outside but warm on the inside, while the other looks smart and capable but has a deeply emotional heart. The more I look at them, the more I think they really are a perfect match.”
Wen-Ying smiled and shook her head, then gently tapped her sister on the forehead.
“I know you and Xiuling hit it off!” She placed the last slice of smoked meat on the plate, her smile becoming gentler. “Actually, it’s not just you. I like Xiuling too.”
The soft clatter of pots, bowls, and utensils once again filled the kitchen, while the sisters’ laughter drifted out the window with the mountain breeze.
Meanwhile, another conversation was quietly taking place in the living room.
Lin Xiuling sat on a wooden chair, with Su Yu-Zhen beside her and Yang Ming-Da sitting across from them. Freshly brewed hot tea sat on the table. The fragrance of tea mingled with the scent of the mountain forest outside, gradually easing the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
Su Yu-Zhen lifted her teacup and took a sip. After setting it down, she turned to look at Lin Xiuling, a kind smile on her face.
“Xiuling, before Wen-Hua went to Shanghai, he told me that you had gone there to open a clinic. I thought you and Wen-Hua had had a falling-out!”
Lin Xiuling froze for a moment, then smiled and shook her head.
“Auntie, you misunderstood. Going to Shanghai to open a clinic really was a plan I had made from the beginning. Wen-Hua and I didn’t have a falling-out.”
As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously lowered, and her fingers gently rubbed the rim of her teacup.
“It’s just that... when I first came here more than two years ago, Wen-Hua told me that he and his first love, Xie Ci-En, had a ten-year promise.”
When she said the words “first love,” her voice became noticeably softer. That memory was not unfamiliar to her. More than two years earlier, she had stood on the same long bridge and listened as Yang Wen-Hua told her himself that there was already someone in his heart whom he could not let go of.
At that time, she clearly had feelings for Wen-Hua, yet she did not dare pressure him to choose her. Because she knew very well that if a man was willing to hold onto a ten-year promise, those feelings must have been so deep that no outsider could easily shake them.
“So, at the time, I really wasn’t sure.” Lin Xiuling pressed her lips together lightly, a trace of the uneasiness she had felt back then flashing in her eyes. “I didn’t know whether Wen-Hua would eventually be willing to accept me.”
As Su Yu-Zhen listened, the smile on her face gradually faded, and her eyes filled with surprise.
“But...” She frowned. “I knew that before Wen-Hua finished high school, he and Ci-En were often together, and I also heard that Ci-En later became seriously ill and was taken back to Canada by her pastor father for treatment. But I really never heard Wen-Hua mention any ten-year promise.”
Lin Xiuling raised her head and looked at Su Yu-Zhen.
“Maybe he didn’t want you to worry.” She paused before continuing. “Wen-Hua told me that he would return to the mountains for this year’s Life Bean Festival to wait for Xie Ci-En. I told him then that I would also come to the mountains to meet Ci-En.”
A slightly bitter smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
“He probably thought I was just saying it casually.”
“But you were serious?” Su Yu-Zhen asked.
Lin Xiuling nodded.
“Very serious.”
She raised her eyes and looked toward the other side of the living room.
“Because at that time, I had already thought that if she really came back, I at least wanted to see with my own eyes the girl Wen-Hua had waited for all these years.”
After saying this, her gaze dimmed slightly.
Now, she had finally seen Xie Ci-En. But what she had seen was only a photograph and an urn.
At the thought of this, Lin Xiuling’s fingers unconsciously tightened, and another wave of sadness rose in her heart. She had once thought her greatest rival in love was a woman she had never even met. It was not until today that she understood that what truly broke her heart was a girl who would never have another chance to reunite with Wen-Hua.
Su Yu-Zhen did not notice the change in Xiuling’s feelings. She simply reached out gently and patted the back of her hand.
“Actually, before Wen-Hua went to Shanghai last time, his two younger sisters kept telling him that he absolutely had to bring you back.”
Lin Xiuling froze slightly and raised her head.
“Really?”
Su Yu-Zhen smiled.
“Of course it’s true. Both of them really like you. Even your uncle and I think you and Wen-Hua are a very good match.”
The expression on Lin Xiuling’s face immediately softened, and a rare trace of happiness appeared in her eyes.
“Thank you, Wen-Qing and Wen-Ying.”
She remembered Wen-Qing’s enthusiastic smile when she saw her at the festival earlier that day and could not help smiling again.
“They even brought me gifts, especially that Tsou traditional outfit. I really love it.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Su Yu-Zhen smiled. “The two of them prepared it especially for you.”
Yang Ming-Da, who had been quietly listening beside them, finally smiled and spoke. There was a characteristic mountain man’s openness and sincerity on his face. His voice was not loud, but it carried a reassuring strength.
“Actually, Wen-Hua takes after me.”
Lin Xiuling turned to look at him.
Yang Ming-Da lifted his teacup and took a sip, a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corners of his mouth.
“He’s a very sentimental person. He just isn’t very good at expressing himself.”
He set down his teacup and deliberately frowned, as if considering a very difficult problem.
“Sometimes, he’s just like a piece of wood.”
Lin Xiuling could not help laughing.
Seeing her laugh, Yang Ming-Da laughed even more heartily.
“You know what? You have to give him a few good knocks before you can get any response out of him.”
The comparison amused Lin Xiuling so much that she covered her mouth as she laughed, and the heaviness that had originally filled her eyes also eased slightly.
“Uncle, that’s quite a funny comparison.”
Yang Ming-Da laughed heartily twice.
“So if you ever think something’s wrong with him, don’t be too polite. Give him a good knock when he needs it, so he doesn’t keep acting like a piece of wood.”
As Lin Xiuling listened, her cheeks gradually turned slightly red. She lowered her head and lifted her teacup to hide her embarrassment, but she could not help thinking of Yang Wen-Hua.
That man really was like a piece of wood. He clearly had so many feelings hidden inside him, yet he was always unwilling to say them easily. Even when everyone else could already see how much he cared, he still pretended that nothing was happening.
But at this moment, Lin Xiuling suddenly understood that Wen-Hua’s silence might not be because he had no feelings. It might be because there was a feeling in his heart that had been too deep and lasted too long, so deep that even he himself did not know how to explain it to someone else.
She thought of the man alone in his room, holding the urn, and her eyes softened unconsciously.
She knew that Wen-Hua probably would not easily walk out of that bedroom tonight.
And she had already made her decision.
She would stay.
Not to force him to accept her, and not to replace Xie Ci-En, but because she had finally understood that true love sometimes is not about rushing to get an answer. Sometimes it is about being willing to quietly stand beside the person you love when he is at his loneliest and most painful moment.
Outside the window, darkness had gradually settled over all of Dabang Village. The sounds of Wen-Qing and Wen-Ying preparing dinner came from the kitchen. The lights beneath the eaves came on one by one, while the drums of the Life Bean Festival continued to echo through the distant valleys.
Behind the closed bedroom door, Yang Wen-Hua remained sitting alone at the bedside, facing the urn.
Everyone in the Yang family knew that tonight’s dinner was not only to welcome Lin Xiuling. It was also to stay with Yang Wen-Hua as he slowly made his way through the most difficult night of his life.
67. The Yang Family in Dabang Village, Alishan
Night had completely settled over Dabang Village. The night in the mountains was much quieter than in the city. Outside the house, there was nothing left but the chirping of insects and the occasional barking of dogs from far away. The lights from the Life Bean Festival grounds, separated by a stretch of mountain road, flickered faintly in the darkness.
Inside the Yang family’s old house, warm lights were glowing. The aroma of hunter’s rice packets, smoked mountain boar meat, and various mountain vegetables drifted out from the kitchen. The dinner prepared by the family had already filled the table. Yet no one immediately picked up their chopsticks. Everyone was waiting for one person.
Lin Xiuling stood in front of Yang Wen-Hua’s bedroom door. She gently raised her hand and was just about to knock when a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from inside. Her hand stopped in midair.
The next second, the door slowly opened. Yang Wen-Hua stood in the doorway. Their eyes met beneath the dim yellow light.
Lin Xiuling looked at him, and her heart trembled slightly. In just a few hours, the man before her seemed to have become much more haggard. His eyes were still swollen and red from crying. Although the sadness on his face had not completely disappeared, it was no longer as heavy as it had been that afternoon.
Yang Wen-Hua also looked quietly at her. He remained silent for a moment before saying softly, “Xiuling, I’m sorry. I lost control of my emotions...”
His voice was somewhat hoarse. As he said this, he unconsciously lowered his head. A man who had always been strong had suddenly allowed someone else to see his most vulnerable side, and he felt a trace of guilt because of it.
Lin Xiuling looked at him, and a wave of heartache immediately rose inside her. She did not blame him. She did not ask whether he had already come to terms with everything. And she did not mention Ci-En again. She simply called his name softly.
“Wen-Hua...”
The next moment, she stepped forward, opened her arms, and hugged him tightly.
Yang Wen-Hua’s body stiffened slightly. His hands, which had been hanging at his sides, paused for a moment before slowly rising and gently wrapping around her shoulders.
There were no words in this embrace. Yet to Yang Wen-Hua, its warmth was like a light suddenly appearing in the darkness.
He knew that Xiuling was not unaware of what he had just gone through. She knew that Ci-En had been his first love. She knew about their ten-year promise. And she knew that what he had waited for today was not a reunion, but a farewell that would last forever.
Yet she had not been jealous. She had not questioned him. And she had not taken advantage of his most vulnerable moment to demand that he make a choice.
She simply held him.
At that moment, Yang Wen-Hua suddenly felt an indescribable sense of emotion.
Perhaps this was what truly touched him about Xiuling. She was willing to respect his past, and she was also willing to accompany him into the future.
Outside the door, Lin Xiuling slowly released him.
Yang Wen-Hua looked at her, and there was a little more tenderness in his eyes.
“Come on,” Xiuling said softly. “Everyone is waiting for us to eat.”
Yang Wen-Hua nodded.
When the two of them walked out of the room, the Yang family members sitting around the dining table in the living room had already seen what happened. Su Yu-Zhen and Yang Ming-Da exchanged a glance, and relieved smiles appeared on both their faces.
Yang Wen-Qing and Yang Wen-Ying could not help secretly exchanging a look as well. Their expressions seemed to say, “See? We knew it would turn out this way.”
Lin Xiuling noticed everyone looking at them, and her cheeks flushed slightly. She said nothing. She simply reached out naturally and took Yang Wen-Hua’s hand.
Yang Wen-Hua looked down at their joined hands. A faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. He did not pull his hand away. Instead, he held hers a little more tightly.
The two of them walked together to the dining table and sat down.
Lin Xiuling noticed that Wen-Hua’s bowl was empty, so she picked up a hunter’s rice packet nearby and peeled away the outer layer of shell ginger leaves for him. Steam immediately rose from the rice packet, and the aroma of rice mixed with mountain vegetables and meat filled the air.
She placed the rice packet into his bowl as naturally as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
“Eat a little.”
Yang Wen-Hua looked at the food in his bowl, then raised his head to look at her.
“You eat, too.”
“I will.” Lin Xiuling smiled. “But you haven’t eaten anything since this afternoon, have you?”
Yang Wen-Hua did not answer. His silence was already an answer.
Lin Xiuling gave him a gentle glare.
“Then eat a little more.”
Yang Wen-Hua finally smiled.
It was the first time that day he had truly smiled.
Lin Xiuling looked at his smiling face, and her heart quietly relaxed. She knew that Ci-En’s departure would leave a place in Wen-Hua’s heart forever. She could not, and should not, ask him to erase that place.
What she could truly do was let him know that there was still a long road ahead in life, and that on the road ahead, he did not have to walk alone.
Just as Yang Wen-Hua was about to pick up his chopsticks, Lin Xiuling suddenly raised her head and looked at him. Her tone was calm but extremely firm.
“Wen-Hua, I’m not going back to Shanghai.”
Yang Wen-Hua’s movement stopped. He raised his head and stared at her in astonishment.
“Xiuling, you...”
Lin Xiuling looked into his eyes. There was not the slightest trace of joking on her face.
“Wherever you go from now on, I’ll go with you.”
The atmosphere around the dining table instantly fell silent.
Yang Wen-Hua stared blankly at her. He seemed not to have expected her to say something like that at this moment.
“What about your clinic in Shanghai?” he asked.
“I can take care of it.” Lin Xiuling smiled slightly. “My career is certainly important, but there are some things more worth staying for than a career.”
Her gaze rested gently on his face.
“I’ve thought it through.”
Yang Wen-Hua did not answer immediately. A warm current slowly rose inside his heart.
This woman had traveled all the way from Shanghai to Alishan, originally only because of a ten-year promise. Now that she knew Ci-En could never appear again, she had not turned around and left. Instead, she had chosen to stay and accompany him.
Could he still pretend not to see these feelings?
Yang Wen-Qing, sitting nearby, could not hold herself back any longer. She leaned over with a grin and said, “Xiuling, let me tell you something. My brother has actually already agreed to the village chief.”
Lin Xiuling turned her head.
“Agreed to what?”
“He’s going back to the village health center to become the director!” Wen-Qing said proudly, as if her brother had just made the wisest decision of his life.
“Really?” Lin Xiuling’s eyes lit up.
Yang Wen-Qing quickly nodded.
“Of course it’s true. My brother said there aren’t enough doctors here, and he’s willing to come back.”
Lin Xiuling turned to look at Yang Wen-Hua.
“That’s wonderful!” Her smile was even brighter than before. “I like living here, and I like the simple, down-to-earth people here.”
Yang Wen-Hua looked at her, an unmistakable tenderness appearing in his eyes.
He had originally thought that the path of his life had already been clearly laid out: return to Alishan, serve the local people, and leave his medical skills where they were truly needed.
But now, he suddenly realized that the lonely road he had originally planned to walk seemed to have gained someone who was willing to walk beside him.
Yang Ming-Da, sitting at the head of the table, could not help revealing a meaningful smile. He turned his head and looked at Su Yu-Zhen beside him.
“Mother of the children.”
Su Yu-Zhen looked up at him. Yang Ming-Da was smiling so broadly that his eyes had nearly narrowed into slits.
“Once the Life Bean Festival is over, don’t you think we should go to the Lin family and formally ask for their daughter’s hand in marriage?”
Lin Xiuling froze when she heard this. Her face immediately turned bright red.
“Uncle...”
Yang Ming-Da burst into hearty laughter. Su Yu-Zhen, however, looked as though she had been prepared for this all along. She reached out and lightly slapped her husband.
“Father of the children, I already started preparing for this a long time ago.”
“You already started preparing?” Yang Ming-Da deliberately widened his eyes.
Su Yu-Zhen smiled proudly.
“Did you think you were the only one who would think of it?”
Yang Wen-Qing, sitting nearby, was beaming with delight. Even Yang Wen-Ying could not help laughing.
“Since we’re already going to ask for her hand in marriage,” Wen-Qing said, suddenly standing up, “I’ll go get that jar of osmanthus wine Dad has been keeping in his private collection.”
With that, she turned and headed toward the workshop behind the house.
The moment Yang Ming-Da heard this, the smile on his face froze.
“Wait!”
But Yang Wen-Qing had already taken several steps. Yang Ming-Da quickly turned his head and looked at his other daughter, Yang Wen-Ying.
“So you two sisters have been eyeing that jar of wine all along?”
Yang Wen-Qing put on an innocent expression and blinked.
“Dad, what are you talking about? We haven’t.”
Yang Ming-Da looked at her and deliberately put on a stern face.
“No? I’ve kept that jar of osmanthus wine for more than ten years. There’s almost a mountain of dust on the bottle, and the moment you hear we’re going to ask for her hand in marriage, the two of you immediately think of it.”
Yang Wen-Ying finally burst out laughing.
“Dad, this is a happy occasion. Of course we have to drink good wine!”
Yang Ming-Da shook his head, though his face was filled with laughter.
“You two girls. You always say you don’t drink, but it turns out you’ve been thinking about my private collection all along.”
A burst of laughter immediately filled the living room.
Sitting beside Yang Wen-Hua, Lin Xiuling looked at this lively family and suddenly felt a warmth she had never experienced before.
She had once had her own career and her own life in Shanghai, and she was accustomed to struggling on her own in the city.
But at this moment, sitting inside this modest old mountain village house, listening to the family discuss asking for her hand in marriage to Wen-Hua, osmanthus wine, and even beginning to make plans for their future, she suddenly felt as if she had stepped into a real home.
She secretly glanced at Yang Wen-Hua.
He was looking at her, too.
Their eyes met across the table.
Yang Wen-Hua said nothing. He simply reached down and gently held the hand she had placed beneath the table.
Lin Xiuling felt the warmth of his palm, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved upward.
Outside the window, the mountain breeze passed through the forest, carrying with it the faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers. Inside, the lights were warm, and the laughter of the family continued without pause.
Far away, the drums of the Life Bean Festival continued to sound, one beat after another, as if they were striking the opening notes of a brand-new chapter for a love that had endured ten years of waiting, passed through the separation of life and death, and finally found its way home.
68. The Yang Family Tea Garden in Dabang Village, Alishan
Early in the morning, Alishan was still shrouded in a thin veil of mist.
The dewdrops that had gathered on the tea leaves during the night sparkled with a crystalline glow after the morning sunlight pierced through the clouds. The mist in the valley slowly dispersed to both sides, and layer upon layer of mountains gradually emerged from the haze. In the distance, the sky changed from gray-blue to pale gold, and the morning light gently covered the entire village of Dabang like a soft veil.
In the Yang family’s tea garden, a narrow dirt path wound through rows of neatly planted tea bushes. Lin Xiuling and Yang Wen-Hua walked side by side among the tea bushes. Their hands were naturally clasped together.
The morning breeze passed through the tea bushes, making the leaves rustle softly. Dewdrops rolled along the veins of the leaves and occasionally fell beside their feet. Lin Xiuling wore simple, comfortable clothes, her long hair gently moving in the mountain breeze. From time to time, Yang Wen-Hua reached out to brush aside tea branches coming toward her. Their steps were unhurried, as if this mountain path could continue forever and there were no need to hurry toward any destination.
After walking for a while, Yang Wen-Hua stopped. He turned to look at Lin Xiuling beside him. After a moment of silence, he said softly, “Xiuling, the old me was always living inside a fairy tale I had woven when I was young.”
Lin Xiuling stopped as well. She did not answer immediately. She simply looked at him, a gentle smile slowly appearing at the corners of her mouth.
“That’s perfectly normal.” She gently squeezed his fingers. “Haven’t I also been living inside a fairy tale of my own?”
Yang Wen-Hua looked at her, a trace of guilt passing through his eyes. He knew that by “fairy tale,” she was actually referring to the waiting and hopes she had held for her feelings for him over the past two-plus years.
She had known that Ci-En was still hidden in his heart, yet she had chosen to remain by his side. She had not known whether she would ultimately receive his love, yet she had still been willing to leave Shanghai and return to Alishan.
He was silent for a while before asking, “That urn... you don’t mind me keeping it with me, do you?”
As he said this, his expression became noticeably cautious. He knew that sooner or later, he had to ask this question.
Ci-En was his first love, the deepest relationship of his youth. Even though she had already left this world, he could not simply pretend that those memories did not exist.
But now that he and Xiuling had come together, he did not want Ci-En to become an everlasting shadow between them.
Lin Xiuling looked at him and remained silent for a while. She did not immediately say that she did not mind. Because she knew that saying she did not mind at all would be lying to Wen-Hua, and lying to herself.
She had been jealous before. She had been insecure before. She had imagined countless times that if Ci-En really returned after ten years, Wen-Hua would walk toward her without hesitation, while she could only drag her suitcase away.
So she gently sighed and answered honestly.
“To say I don’t mind would be a lie.”
Yang Wen-Hua’s eyes dimmed slightly.
But Lin Xiuling quickly tightened her grip on his hand.
“But I’ve come to terms with it now.” She raised her head and looked at the mountains gradually emerging from the mist in the distance. Her voice was calm and gentle. “If spirits really exist in this world, I believe Ci-En would surely protect us.”
Yang Wen-Hua stared at her in a daze.
“Because the wish she was unable to fulfill can be fulfilled by me.”
Lin Xiuling turned around and looked directly at him.
“So I would rather change the way I look at the relationship between you and Ci-En.” There was no jealousy in her eyes, only a calmness that had come after a long struggle.
“Xie Ci-En had your first love, and I...” She paused, then slowly smiled. “I have all of you.”
As Yang Wen-Hua heard these words, his eyes reddened slightly. He looked at the woman before him and suddenly did not know what words could describe the emotion he felt.
Perhaps the rarest thing in this world was not meeting someone who loved you, but meeting someone who was willing to understand your entire past.
He reached out and gently held Xiuling by the shoulders.
“Thank you.” His voice was low and sincere. “Thank you for your understanding and acceptance.”
Lin Xiuling smiled slightly.
“You don’t have to thank me.” She looked at him, but there was a hint of deliberate teasing in her eyes. “Because there’s something I want to ask you, too.”
“What is it?”
Lin Xiuling was silent for several seconds, as if carefully considering how to phrase her question.
“Wen-Hua, if Xie Ci-En had really appeared in front of you yesterday...” Her fingers gently rubbed the back of his hand, and her tone gradually became more serious. “Would you still think of me from now on?”
Yang Wen-Hua froze. He clearly had not expected her to ask this question.
After a moment, he gave a bitter smile.
“I really never expected you to appear at the festival yesterday.”
He looked toward the mountain road ahead, as if recalling everything that had happened the day before.
“I had always thought that after ten years, I would finally be able to see Ci-En again. But when I saw you standing there, I was actually very surprised.”
Lin Xiuling sighed softly.
“Wen-Hua, you may never be able to imagine how much I struggled emotionally before yesterday before finally deciding to leave Shanghai and come back to find you.”
Yang Wen-Hua turned his head, curiosity in his eyes.
“I really never thought about that part.”
He paused, then suddenly seemed to think of something.
“Was it related to that doctor, Zhao Xiaodong?”
Hearing that name, Lin Xiuling could not help giving an exasperated smile.
“Zhao Xiaodong?” She shook her head. “He was only an external factor that prompted me to make my decision sooner.”
As she spoke, her smile slowly disappeared.
“Actually, before yesterday, I was constantly torn between hope and fear of loss.”
She looked toward the valley, a trace of memory in her eyes.
“At that time, I felt as if I were gambling against fate.”
Yang Wen-Hua frowned.
“Torn between hope and fear of loss?”
“Yes.” Lin Xiuling nodded. “Before I left yesterday, I was even thinking that if Xie Ci-En really appeared in front of me, I would probably walk up to her and say a few words.”
As she spoke, a bitter smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
“I would wish the two of you well, then drag my suitcase away from the festival grounds in sadness.”
Yang Wen-Hua was stunned.
Looking at her, he finally realized for the first time what the ten years of waiting he had always taken for granted actually meant to Xiuling.
He had always been immersed in his own fairy tale, yet he had never thought that on the other side of that fairy tale, there was a woman waiting every day for an answer.
Lin Xiuling looked at his expression and said softly, “So when I saw you holding Ci-En’s urn, that was when I realized... I had lost my bet.”
Yang Wen-Hua lowered his head with a bitter smile.
“Actually, I was completely stunned at that moment, too.”
He raised his head and looked at her.
“I really can’t put that feeling into words.”
His brows furrowed slightly, as if he were trying to find a word that could describe how he had felt at the time.
“I was somewhat embarrassed, somewhat awkward, and I didn’t know how to face you.”
He paused, and his voice gradually became heavier.
“All these years, I really had been living inside my own fairy tale.”
Lin Xiuling reached out and gently tapped him on the chest.
“You!” She deliberately put on a reproachful expression. “You never knew how painful and unsettling it was to wait for someone you loved to turn back to you, never knowing whether they would come back.”
Yang Wen-Hua looked at her and suddenly smiled.
He did not try to defend himself again. Instead, he opened his arms and pulled her around the waist.
Lin Xiuling was caught off guard by his sudden embrace and swayed slightly, then could not help laughing.
“I’m sorry!” Yang Wen-Hua rested his chin gently on her shoulder, like someone who had finally realized his mistake and knew he had to admit it.
Lin Xiuling had originally wanted to keep a stern expression, but when she felt his arms tightening around her, she eventually could not help laughing. She deliberately wrinkled her nose and made a face at him.
“Since you know you were wrong, how about we make a promise?”
Yang Wen-Hua loosened his embrace slightly and looked at her curiously.
“What kind of promise?”
Lin Xiuling’s eyes shifted, and a mischievous smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
“If there really is a next life, let’s switch places.”
Yang Wen-Hua froze for a moment.
“Switch places?”
“Yes.”
Lin Xiuling reached out and poked him in the chest with her finger.
“In our next life, you’ll be the one who waits for me. You’ll be the one who loves someone wholeheartedly without knowing whether she’ll ever come back. You’ll be the one who spends every day wondering whether she’ll turn back to you. Then you can truly experience how difficult and agonizing that kind of waiting is.”
Yang Wen-Hua looked at her. At first, he was stunned. Then his expression became extremely serious.
He did not laugh or brush her off.
“Okay.”
Lin Xiuling was stunned as well.
Yang Wen-Hua took her hand, his expression as serious as if he were making a very important promise.
“If we can meet again in our next life, I’m willing to experience all the hardship and anguish you just described.”
He paused, and a smile gradually appeared in his eyes.
“But starting today, there’s something even more important I have to do.”
“What?”
Yang Wen-Hua took her hand and turned toward the depths of the tea garden.
“I’m going to teach you, little by little, everything about tea making that my father passed down to me.”
Lin Xiuling blinked.
“Making tea?”
“Yes.” Yang Wen-Hua smiled and pointed toward the rows of lush green tea bushes before them. “Since you’ve decided to stay, you can’t just be a medical aesthetics doctor from the city. From now on, you’ll also have to learn how to judge tea leaves, how to pick them, how to wither them, how to roll them, and most importantly, how to make a cup of tea that truly belongs to the Yang family.”
Lin Xiuling could not help laughing.
“Are you teaching me how to be a good wife?”
Yang Wen-Hua laughed as well.
“Something like that.”
“What if I can’t learn?”
“Then I’ll keep teaching you.”
“What if I still can’t learn?”
Yang Wen-Hua stopped walking and turned to look at her.
“Then I’ll teach you for the rest of my life.”
Lin Xiuling stared at him in a daze.
At that very moment, the morning sunlight pierced through the last layer of thin mist and illuminated their faces.
She did not say anything else. She simply moved slowly closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Yang Wen-Hua held her tightly as well.
The two of them embraced each other in the tea garden, shoulder against shoulder, quietly gazing at the mountains gradually brightening in the distance.
Once, he had spent ten years waiting for a fairy tale.
Now, he finally understood that what was truly worth cherishing was not whether that fairy tale unfolded according to its original ending, but whether, after the fairy tale ended, there was still someone willing to continue walking beside him.
Lin Xiuling had also finally let go of the fear that had once kept her caught between hope and fear of loss.
She no longer needed to compare herself with a girl who had already passed away, nor did she need to gamble with fate for an answer.
Ci-En had Wen-Hua’s most beautiful first love, while she would accompany him through the rest of his life.
Just as the two of them stood embracing each other, a mountain breeze swept through the tea garden.
Two butterflies suddenly flew out from among the tea bushes. They chased one another through the morning light, fluttered past the two of them, and then flew toward the distant mountain forest.
Lin Xiuling raised her head and watched the butterflies disappear into the distance.
Yang Wen-Hua followed her gaze.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Neither said another word.
Because some promises do not need to be proven with words.
The morning mist in the valley finally dispersed completely. Sunlight spread across the entire tea garden and illuminated their joined hands.
From that moment on, they would no longer wait for a fairy tale.
They would write their own story together.
~ THE END ~
