On Chinese New Year’s Eve, the streets were unusually quiet, as if everything in the world had vanished into silence.

The heavy snow stopped at dawn. Heavy clouds pressed low in the sky, layer upon layer, until they split open with a golden crack at sunrise, pouring down brilliant sunlight.

Xia Xia opened her bleary eyes to find daylight streaming in.

No longer bound, she supported herself against the wall and walked to the window to look outside.

Last night had been pitch black, making it impossible to see the surroundings. She vaguely remembered being led up several flights of stairs.

Below, the ground was a vast expanse of white, with snow weighing down the pine tree branches.

Standing at the fourth-floor window, she gazed down at the tall pine trees. Chocolate-colored pine cones fell softly, embedding themselves like black jewels in the snow. The pine needles gleamed a deep green, extending their sharp tips. As the wind passed through, they seemed to pierce through the snow above, swaying in the cold winter breeze.

This was the fourth floor.

Xia Xia felt troubled – the height made escape impossible.

Fatty had been on watch all night and was now replaced for sleep. Xia Xia cast a seemingly casual glance at the only main door.

Sun Feng sat yawning on a folding stool by the door, playing cards on his phone.

Sensing Xia Xia’s gaze, he looked back at her. As soon as their eyes met, she turned away with reddened eyes and trembling shoulders. Sun Feng sneered at her demeanor, “Compared to you, Chen Manxi at least had some backbone.”

Xia Xia trembled with fear, “…Chen, Chen Manxi? Who is that?”

“You don’t even know Chen Manxi?” Sun Feng asked incredulously, then mockingly continued, “You might not know her, but she sure knows you. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have known Xie Huai brought his girlfriend home for New Year.”

All day long, Xia Xia remained listless, huddled in a corner without eating or drinking.

Sun Feng played games all day. When Er Tiao woke up, he drank two cans of cold beer and sat chatting with him.

From their conversation, Xia Xia learned that she was in an abandoned house in the suburbs of Zhang City. Within a five-kilometer radius, there were only factories and unfinished construction sites from demolished villages. The area was deserted – even if she could escape from this building, it would be impossible to walk back to the city center.

Hu Shurong and his trusted men were hiding elsewhere, even these three didn’t know where. It was a more concealed and safer location. Even if the police found Sun Feng and the others’ hideout, Hu Shurong could still escape easily.

Hu Shurong wasn’t a simple-minded person; he understood the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket. Xia Xia wasn’t surprised that he could run such a large operation and dare to collect debts in Zhang City right under the police’s nose.

“Boss’s men just left Xie Huai’s uncle’s house,” Sun Feng suddenly said, looking at his phone. “His uncle advised him to report to the police, but he didn’t dare. He just borrowed money and left. He made over twenty calls to borrow money, but not one was to the police station.”

He continued with disappointment in his voice, “Is this the same Xie Huai from back then? What a coward.”

Er Tiao drooped his eyelids, “How much did he borrow?”

“One million,” Sun Feng glanced at the clock on his phone. “Seven hours left, three million more to go.”

He sneered and grabbed Xia Xia’s chin, “I can’t wait to see what position I’ll use to fuck you later. There are so many of us, I hope your stamina holds up.”

Xia Xia clutched her abdomen and retched, spitting acid onto his hand.

Sun Feng: “…”

“I’m sorry,” Xia Xia said weakly, “My morning sickness is severe, it wasn’t intentional.”

Sun Feng made a motion to hit her, but Fatty came in carrying bags of takeout rice and stir-fry dishes: “Let’s eat first.”

Er Tiao spat, “This is what we’re having for New Year’s Eve dinner?”

“What, you want a royal feast instead?” Fatty spread two newspapers on the ground and arranged the food. “Hurry up and eat, we’ve got work to do tonight.”

He bought fried rice separately for Xia Xia, not letting her join them at their meal.

After starving all day, the aromatic smell wafting from the food box made Xia Xia’s mouth water. While Fatty ordered heavily seasoned meat dishes for himself, he got Xia Xia vegetable fried rice topped with salt-seasoned boiled beef and braised eggs.

Xia Xia held the food but didn’t touch her chopsticks.

“It’s not poisoned,” Fatty said with his mouth full of meat. “Bad luck, this might be your last meal, eat it or not, it’s up to you.”

Xia Xia started eating slowly, pausing occasionally to clutch her chest in discomfort.

Fatty handed her a bottle of water. Xia Xia took it, glancing up at him.

The sun had long since set, with deep twilight hanging overhead. The endless night enveloped the boundless earth.

New Year’s Eve fireworks started sporadically from seven o’clock, painting the sky in brilliant colors that blended with the moonlight and starlight in a blurry spectacle.

Xia Xia sat against the wall, watching the fireworks display outside the window aimlessly.

Throughout the night, she thought about many things – Wu Li holding her while counting stars in the courtyard during her childhood, Ping Jiapeng taking her to the beach to splash in the waves during school days, but mostly and most clearly about Xie Huai, who occupied almost all of her thoughts and memories.

Xia Xia carefully savored every word Xie Huai had said to her, everything he had done, from their first meeting until now, not daring to miss even the smallest detail.

Beautiful and clear, it was the only and complete sweetness in her life.

Xia Xia rested her head against the wall, drawing coolness from the tiles to keep herself awake after being without sleep for a day and night.

A pink firework exploded in the distant sky, and perhaps due to extreme fatigue, a strange thought suddenly occurred to her.

— This isn’t so bad.

If she were to die like this, there might be regrets, it might hurt a little, but dying when Xie Huai loved her most wasn’t so bad.

Xie Huai would remember her as her most beautiful, perhaps for a lifetime.

When Xia Xia caught herself thinking this, she was startled by her thoughts, quickly shaking her head and sitting up straight to banish the idea from her mind.

She still needed to live on, she thought. She had only touched a tiny corner of the world she should experience, and there were still scenes she hadn’t seen with Xie Huai. If she died like this, she probably wouldn’t rest in peace.

Her thoughts returned to Xie Huai.

What would Xie Huai be doing now?

Using all her imagination, she pictured him desperately trying to raise money, his helpless and desperate eyes, and couldn’t help but feel her eyes stinging.

Countless homes glowed brilliantly with lights, and iron barrels for burning paper money blazed with roaring flames at intersections.

There were few pedestrians on the streets, shops were dark, only fireworks and firecracker stores doing brisk business.

The cold wind had turned Xie Huai’s nose tip red. He still wore that blood-stained hoodie, which clung to his thin frame when the bitter wind blew.

The untreated wound had scabbed over, and the bandage on his face had lost its adhesiveness, its edges curling upward.

Xie Huai bought a stack of paper money and a lighter from a roadside store.

He looked back; two men at the distant street corner stared at him intently, freshly lit cigarettes between their fingers.

Xie Huai stood by the burning barrel and threw in the paper money.

The flames burned fiercely, the wind blowing paper money over the barrel’s edge, sparks flying out and crumbling to ash across Xie Huai’s brow and eyes.

The despair in his eyes vanished at this moment, leaving only the clear, determined gaze of a young man.

“Dad.”

Xie Huai threw the remaining paper money into the barrel to suppress the flames. Dark clouds covered the starlight, and snow began to fall.

He said softly, “You must protect Xia Xia.”

Fatty was watching the Spring Festival Gala livestream when Sun Feng pushed open the door: “It’s time.”

At eleven at night, Hu Shurong sent the location for the money exchange, telling them to bring Xia Xia.

Fatty took the phone, frowning, but said nothing, just glanced at it before handing it back.

Sun Feng and Er Tiao went down to start the car, while Fatty took out a rope to bind Xia Xia’s hands.

“Brother,” Xia Xia stepped back, avoiding Fatty’s outstretched hand.

Her previous timid, trembling demeanor suddenly vanished as she met his eyes: “I know you’re different from them. You’re just a lockpick, why are you doing such dangerous things with them?”

Fatty remained impassive: “Just a lockpick? The police don’t think so.”

Xia Xia: “If tonight’s operation succeeds, whether I and Xie Huai live or die, you’ll be on the police’s blacklist, only able to hide for the rest of your life. And if it fails… you don’t want your daughter to have a father in prison, do you?”

“I can testify for you,” Xia Xia said. “Do you think you can make it big with Hu Shurong? He’s sending you to the meeting point while hiding himself. What if Xie Huai brings the police? He doesn’t care about your lives at all.”

Xia Xia’s voice softened: “If the police shoot at you, your daughter is only two months old.”

She looked down at her abdomen: “I don’t want my child to be born without a father, maybe not even having a chance to see this world. You feel the same, right?”

A moment of emotion flickered in Fatty’s eyes, but he quickly straightened his face: “Saying these things is useless. The underworld has its rules. If I let you go, I won’t need to wait for the police – Hu Shurong will kill me himself. Since the outcome’s the same either way, I might as well take my chances. Even if I die, I can at least earn some dowry for my daughter.”

“I’m not asking you to let me go,” Xia Xia said. “I just want to make a deal with you. It won’t put you in a difficult position.”

She put her hands behind her back, indicating him to tie them: “Even if you’ve made up your mind, you should leave yourself a way out, right? If you’re arrested, you wouldn’t want to end up in prison for over a decade without even seeing your daughter once, would you?”

After a moment of silence, Fatty asked: “What deal?”

“Tell me where Hu Shurong set the meeting place,” Xia Xia said. “And the rope – leave me a slip knot.”

Fatty’s hand paused as he tied her hands. He only hesitated for a moment before tightly binding Xia Xia’s wrists.

Xia Xia bit her lip, thinking her persuasion had failed.

During these twenty-four hours of interaction, though she seemed to be sleeping, she had been secretly observing the three men. Er Tiao was a typical street thug, working for Hu Shurong just to make a living. He was uneducated, his mind full of money and women, just a step away from becoming a desperado – impossible to reason with.

Sun Feng had been educated, and his family had been well-off during his school days, but he harbored deep resentment toward Xie Huai, eagerly wanting to see him in misery and despair, making him another person who couldn’t be persuaded.

Only Fatty.

Xia Xia hadn’t spoken these words to him without reason.

During their casual chat earlier that day, Xia Xia learned that Fatty used to be just a street key maker, who taught himself and through practice developed skilled lockpicking abilities.

His work for Hu Shurong was purely accidental, stemming from an incident when the lockers at Hu Shurong’s establishment broke down, leaving customers unable to retrieve their belongings. The manufacturer’s repair would take at least three days, but someone brought in Fatty, who opened all the cabinet doors in less than thirty minutes.

Hu Shurong found this skill useful and kept him at the dance hall in a casual security position. Among this group, he was the only one who hadn’t chosen this path willingly. Moreover, as a man who had just become a father, how could he truly want to continue down this dark road forever?

Fatty remained silent as he bound her wrists tightly.

–She didn’t know if it was a firm knot or a slip knot.

After a long while, when Xia Xia had already given up hope, Fatty adjusted his jacket: “Wolong River.”

“By the Wolong River.”

“Hu Shurong never intended to let you live. Once he gets the money, he’ll tie you to stones and throw you into the river.”

The Wolong River was the province’s longest freshwater river, originating in Chang City and winding its way down to meet the sea at Zhang City.

Hu Shurong chose a remote bridge upstream for the transaction. The water flow was rapid there, with layers of hidden rocks beneath, and few fishing boats passed through.

The car stopped at the bridge.

In the brilliant light of fireworks overhead, Xia Xia saw Xie Huai leaning against the bridge.

Two 24-inch suitcases sat at his feet. Hearing the car, he turned his gaze from the deep river waters.

He had a lollipop in his mouth, perhaps to calm his nerves.

Fatty, sitting in the passenger seat, got out first.

Hu Shurong wasn’t there, but his two trusted men drove up in another car, parking alongside theirs.

Xie Huai kicked the suitcase but didn’t approach.

His expression was cold: “I want to see Xia Xia.”

The man said: “I’ll check the money first, then you can see her if everything’s in order.”

“I see her first,” Xie Huai didn’t back down. “If you don’t agree, I’ll throw the suitcases off the bridge.”

Seeing his insistence, the man gestured to Er Tiao.

Er Tiao opened the window to let Xia Xia lookout.

Xie Huai’s eyelashes trembled: “Let her go, the money’s right here.”

The man smiled contemptuously: “That’s not how we do things. Once we verify the money, we’ll release her. You can keep insisting, but let me tell you – a suitcase might not break from this height, but a person falling probably won’t be so lucky.”

“Try me if you don’t believe it.”

Xie Huai calmed himself and kicked the suitcase over.

Fatty called out: “Er Tiao, come count the money.”

Er Tiao, who had been watching Xia Xia from the backseat, opened the door to get out, but looked back at Sun Feng: “You’ll be okay by yourself?”

Sun Feng sneered: “What could happen? She’s just a woman. Even if she weren’t tied up, she’s such a coward, I don’t believe she’d dare do anything to me.”

“Don’t forget to get the stuff from the trunk,” Sun Feng licked his teeth.

Er Tiao took out a burlap sack from the trunk containing rope and stones.

Xia Xia’s bound hands moved slightly behind her.

Across the distance, she saw Xie Huai’s gaze.

–Though eyes couldn’t speak, Xia Xia instantly understood the message he wanted to convey.

Sun Feng watched her in the rearview mirror, and the girl fearlessly stared back.

Sun Feng: “What are you looking at?”

Xia Xia countered: “What are you looking at?”

Sun Feng glanced sideways, reaching for his cigarettes: “I’m looking at you, you look like you won’t survive the night–“

He lowered his head to light the cigarette when suddenly the car violently shook. The girl in the backseat sprung up with dizzying speed he couldn’t react to, wrapping around the driver’s seat headrest, pressing a razor blade still warm from her pocket against his carotid artery.

Her wrist rope had fallen onto the seat at some unknown time, and Sun Feng had no chance to wonder where she got the blade from.

“Drive.”

The girl who had been tearful just hours ago, who would redden and tremble at his slightest approach, now spoke in the coldest voice he’d ever heard.

Sun Feng snapped back to reality, realizing it wasn’t her voice that was cold.

The girl’s voice was soft, carrying a unique sweetness, and when she leaned close, a faint fragrance wafted to his nose.

But Sun Feng had no mind to carefully smell that scent. He had found the source of the coldness.

–Xia Xia pressed one hand against his head while holding the blade with the other, using all her strength with fierce determination.

The blade had already cut a sharp line as soon as it touched his neck.

“Drive,” Xia Xia repeated, “Otherwise you’ll be the one who won’t survive the night.”

When Sun Feng raised his hand to the steering wheel, Xia Xia’s blade tightened, ruthlessly cutting his neck’s surface: “If you dare touch the horn, I guarantee the next cut will be across your throat.”

Sun Feng’s mouth twitched in pain as he saw Xia Xia’s cold eyes in the mirror.

–Those weren’t the eyes of someone weak and timid.

Sun Feng started the car, and Xia Xia calmly said: “Turn on the high beams, drive next to Xie Huai.”

Sun Feng knew she understood the car’s mechanics and didn’t dare try using the horn or hazard lights to warn his companions, driving straight toward the bridge.

The man opened the suitcase, finding neat stacks of 10,000 yuan bundles, but when he reached in to grab them, he pulled out a handful of light yellow joss paper.

His sinister eyes turned to Xie Huai, about to explode, when he heard wheels on the road behind him. They turned around, immediately blinded by high beams.

The moment the car stopped beside him, Xie Huai yanked open the back door and jumped in.

His expression calm and cold, he took the blade from Xia Xia’s hand and pressed it against Sun Feng’s artery.

Sun Feng gritted his teeth, not daring to make a sound.

The car sped across the bridge but hadn’t gone far when it suddenly braked to a stop.

Xia Xia looked up to see road construction ahead, a scene of scattered bricks and tiles, with a warning sign standing tall, black text on a yellow background reading “No Entry.”

The road was covered in stones mixed with tiles, impossible for the car to pass.

Xie Huai pulled the car key, got Xia Xia out, and locked Sun Feng inside.

The man’s car caught up from behind, stopping at the road entrance as several people got out and surrounded them.

“Run,” the man sneered. “Why aren’t you running anymore?”

He held a handful of yellow joss paper taken from Xie Huai’s suitcase: “Xie Huai, you’re the first person who dared trick our boss. You didn’t follow the rules, so you’ll probably leave your life here today.”

But Xie Huai remained composed, laughing mockingly: “Hu Shurong broke the rules first.”

“I said if I agreed, I would repay the money, but he dared touch my person. This isn’t over.”

“My life is right here, take it if you dare.”

He gripped Xia Xia’s hand tightly and ran madly toward the river downstream, with the men chasing.

Though Xia Xia’s stamina was decent among girls, this run nearly exhausted her.

The midnight bell rang, and on New Year’s Eve, thousands of fireworks burst simultaneously in the sky, weaving five colors across the boundless heavens.

Xia Xia’s first New Year with Xie Huai – she never imagined it would be a scene of being chased by gangsters.

There was none of the excitement and heart-pounding thrill of movies, only the pain of cold wind cutting their faces and the sweet metallic taste of blood in their throats.

The river flow was slightly calmer along the bank. Xie Huai finally stopped, with their pursuers getting closer.

Xie Huai stripped off Xia Xia’s cumbersome down jacket: “You must hold your breath later, understand?”

Xia Xia was panting from running, the fireworks’ explosions too loud to hear Xie Huai clearly, but she instinctively understood his meaning. She shook her head in fear: “No, Brother Huai, I can’t swim.”

“Don’t be afraid,” Xie Huai embraced her gently. “I won’t let go of you.”

Xie Huai held her waist tightly as he jumped with her into the rushing water.

The winter water was bone-chilling. The moment Xia Xia entered, she felt numb with cold. Her limbs stiffened, she choked on several mouthfuls of water, and her vision blurred, unable to see anything underwater. Her mind was foggy, only feeling hands firmly holding her waist, bringing her to the surface.

The rapid river water rushed past.

Xia Xia was submerged, barely conscious. In the moments she surfaced, she heard police sirens in the distance.

The sound seemed both far and near, and she heard the men’s panicked shouts.

“Impossible! We’ve been following him the whole time, how could he have called the police?!”

After that shout, Xia Xia couldn’t hear anything else.

She was drowning, her lungs about to burst, having forgotten Xie Huai’s warning not to breathe.

Her fingers numbed by cold, the downstream current suddenly intensified, breaking Xie Huai’s hold on her.

As she slowly sank to the bottom, Xia Xia’s mind went blank, her last thought being regret.

Last night in bed with Xie Huai, she shouldn’t have playfully suggested he marry Zhao Shanqi.

At this moment, only sadness and sorrow remained in Xia Xia’s heart.

–If Xie Huai married Zhao Shanqi, she probably wouldn’t rest in peace, even as a ghost.

She was supposed to make Xie Huai remember her for life.

…

Xia Xia coughed up water as she slowly regained consciousness.

She opened her eyes to see Xie Huai’s dripping wet face. The water had reopened all his wounds, which were oozing pale red blood, a horrifying sight.

His expression was one Xia Xia had never seen before – helpless – as his hands performed CPR on her chest.

Seeing Xia Xia open her eyes, he froze, then bent down to hold her tightly.

Xia Xia coughed several times. Xie Huai released her, his hands cupping her face to check her, then examining her entire body: “Are you okay? Are you alright? Did they do anything to you?”

Xia Xia weakly shook her head. The police sirens grew louder, and she realized the sounds she’d heard before drowning weren’t hallucinations.

Xie Huai’s face was covered in water – at first, Xia Xia thought it was river water, but up close she realized he was crying.

She had never seen Xie Huai cry. He made no sound, but his eyes were frighteningly red.

He held her tightly, his body trembling uncontrollably. Xia Xia’s already wet shoulder became wetter from his falling tears, and she couldn’t control the surge of sadness in her heart.

She wrapped her arms around Xie Huai’s waist, gently nuzzling his chin with her hair: “Brother Huai, I’m fine.”

A car stopped by the river, and a handsome young man got out.

“Xie Huai,” Qi Da’s expression was grave, “The police only caught three people. Hu Shurong escaped. You brought the police to arrest his men – he definitely won’t let you off.”

Xie Huai was silent for a long time as the winter night’s cold rose from the ground.

It took him a long time to control his trembling. When he released Xia Xia, his face was terrifyingly dark.

He stood up, his voice ice-cold: “Help me send her back to Chang City.”

Xia Xia froze: “Brother Huai?”

Xie Huai said nothing and didn’t get into Qi Da’s car.

Xia Xia grabbed him: “If I go back to Chang City, where are you going?”

Xie Huai shook off her hand, remaining silent as he walked alone into the night against the fiercest cold wind.

Xia Xia caught up and blocked his path, both of them soaking wet like two pitiful drowned puppies.

“I can go back to Chang City, and I can avoid causing you trouble, but at least tell me where you’re going and what you’re doing?” Xia Xia felt a flash of anger at his attitude, but as she spoke, her words naturally softened. Looking at the blood stains on him, she said, “Your wounds haven’t been treated. Let’s go to the hospital first.”

She said: “I’ll go with you.”

“What right do you have to go with me?” Xie Huai asked coldly, unmoved by her words.

Xia Xia was frightened by the coldness in his voice – Xie Huai had never spoken to her this way.

She hesitated, saying softly: “Of course, I should go with you, I’m your girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Xie Huai raised an eyebrow.

His bloodshot eyes stared at her: “Someone like me, do I deserve a girlfriend?”

“Just last night I said I could protect you, give you a future, keep you safe, prevent you from getting hurt at all.”

“And what happened?” Xie Huai roared like an angry young lion in the winter wind, “When they hurt you, I was helpless, I couldn’t do anything!”

“–I couldn’t even protect my own woman!”

Xie Huai’s emotions were nearly out of control. Xia Xia didn’t dare say a word.

She stood quietly, listening to Xie Huai’s roars, waiting for him to vent all his emotions before opening her arms to embrace him.

Xie Huai blocked her outstretched arms, his tone distant and cold: “From now on, you and I have no relationship.”