Zhao Pingjin had already fastened his shirt cuffs and picked up his suit jacket. “Check Secretary He’s schedule and call me if anything comes up.”

The driver saw him coming downstairs. “Director Zhao, do you need the car?”

Zhao Pingjin said, “I’ll drive myself.”

The car drove out of the Zhongyuan Building, heading east from Chaoyangmen. The setting sun reflected off the glass of tall buildings, bouncing onto the car windows, slightly dazzling.

Zhao Pingjin gripped the steering wheel tightly, then unconsciously loosened his grip. He knew she was in Beijing, and had come in March. Shen Min hadn’t mentioned it directly—he’d vaguely heard it from Fang Langqian, who said she’d also visited Qingqing. But no one had mentioned it to him. More than a month had passed in an instant, and he hadn’t seen her once. Of course, there was no reason for them to meet now.

The car entered Beida Street Hutong, where the road narrowed. He slowed down and spotted her from afar. Huang Xitang was waiting at the doorway of an old courtyard house. She was small, wearing a floral long dress with a light brown cardigan and matching flat shoes. Still so thin, with that detached expression she wore in public—pale skin, red lips, black hair like clouds. They hadn’t seen each other for over a year, yet seeing her now, she seemed just like yesterday. She seemed to grow more beautiful.

Zhao Pingjin parked the car and got out. Xitang looked up at him, her face blank.

Zhao Pingjin handed her a document envelope. “Xiao Min asked me to give this to you.”

Xitang felt waves of tremors deep inside. Her heart was beating too fast, causing numbness in half her arm, but her face remained extraordinarily calm, her tone excessively polite: “Thank you. Why trouble yourself to come?”

Zhao Pingjin, unwilling to exchange pleasantries, asked directly, “What are you doing?”

Xitang answered honestly, “Waiting for my assistant’s car to return to the hotel.”

Zhao Pingjin opened the passenger door. “Get in.”

Xitang quickly said, “No need to trouble yourself.”

Zhao Pingjin turned, got into the driver’s seat, and started the car. He turned to look at Huang Xitang, who still stood outside his car door. He said, “I told you to get in.”

Xitang bit her lip, closed her eyes, and got into his car.

Zhao Pingjin turned the steering wheel while commenting, “Your hairstyle is too ugly.”

Xitang immediately reached for the door handle.

Zhao Pingjin, quick-handed, grabbed her and pressed the door lock.

“After not seeing each other for so long, couldn’t you say something nicer?” Xitang was so angry she rolled her eyes.

“After not seeing each other for so long, couldn’t you get a more attractive haircut?” He remained as flippant as ever.

“Who are you to care what haircut I get?”

Zhao Pingjin smiled mischievously. “With hair like that, how can your idol like you?”

Xitang widened her eyes. “Who likes me?”

Zhao Pingjin glanced at her sideways. “That male lead in your drama. Don’t you like him?”

Xitang’s face turned from white to red. Her crush on Qin Guohuai was something Zhao Pingjin had witnessed plenty. Whenever Qin Guohuai appeared on TV, she would watch with a face full of rapture. Once, Xitang was so engrossed in watching his movie that she refused to cook for a hungry Zhao Pingjin who had just returned from work. That night, Zhao Pingjin had to order takeout, though he remembered to order sweet and sour pork ribs that she loved. But he had harbored a grudge ever since. That was from years ago, yet he still remembered.

Xitang raised her head and grinned cheekily at him. “Yes, indeed. I’ve finally waited for this day—tonight I’ll sneak into his room and fulfill my long-cherished wish.”

Zhao Pingjin frowned, perfectly still and serious. “I heard he doesn’t bathe for a whole month while filming.”

Xitang kicked her legs and shouted, “Go to hell!”

Zhao Pingjin burst into laughter.

The car traveled along the East Second Ring Road toward Chaoyang North Road. Halfway there, Zhao Pingjin’s phone rang. He glanced at his phone placed beside the gear shift and said to Xitang, “It’s Xiao Min, help me answer.”

Xitang didn’t want to cooperate. “Answer it yourself.”

Zhao Pingjin replied angrily, “I’m a law-abiding good citizen. Do you want me to violate traffic regulations?”

The ringtone continued persistently.

Xitang looked at the long line of traffic ahead. The car was stuck halfway up an elevated bridge, with vehicles close behind and in front. Zhao Pingjin kept his eyes on the road while reaching for his phone. Xitang had no choice but to reach out, answer the call, press the speaker button, and say directly, “Shen Min, it’s me.”

Shen Min’s voice showed no surprise, speaking gently from the other end. “Xitang, has Zhou Zhou picked you up?”

Xitang said, “Yes, he has.”

Zhao Pingjin turned his head and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Hearing his voice, Shen Min began to report item by item: “The leaders are expected to finish their inspection of the company at six o’clock. I’ll organize the meeting report and pass it to Driver Liu, who will bring it to you shortly. Tonight’s appointment is at 8:30 at Beijing Hotel—please remember to attend.”

Zhao Pingjin answered, “Mm.”

Shen Min continued, “Also, Secretary He made an appointment for you this afternoon. Director Zhuang’s clinic ends at six—please remember to go for your follow-up before he finishes.”

Zhao Pingjin replied, “I know.”

After reporting his schedule, Shen Min said goodbye to Xitang and hung up.

Xitang asked, “What’s wrong with your health?”

Zhao Pingjin answered casually, “Stomach pain. An old problem.”

Xitang wanted to say, “Now that you’re married, doesn’t your wife take care of you?”

Thinking this question would sound strange, she remained silent.

Zhao Pingjin maintained his careless demeanor, smiling slightly. “You must curse me every day since we broke up.”

Xitang burst out laughing. “You’ve committed so many sins—surely I’m not the only one cursing you.”

Zhao Pingjin grinned. “There aren’t others. You’re the only woman I’ve wronged.”

Xitang quickly responded, “Oh wow, what an honor.”

Zhao Pingjin smiled but said nothing more.

After a while, Xitang couldn’t help saying, “Take care of yourself.”

Zhao Pingjin softly hummed in acknowledgment.

The car stopped in the driveway in front of the hotel. Her assistant was waiting at the lobby entrance. Xitang unfastened her seatbelt when Zhao Pingjin suddenly called her name: “Huang Xitang.”

Just then, Xitang’s phone rang. Xie Zhenbang had sent her a message. Ni Kailun was having a prenatal check-up at the hospital. Xie Zhenbang, touching her round belly, took a selfie of them making funny faces. Xitang smiled at the screen.

After a moment, she looked up from her phone. “What?”

“Nothing. Go on.”

Xitang waved at him. “Thanks.”

Xitang got out of the car and stood by the roadside, watching Zhao Pingjin skillfully turn the steering wheel, make a U-turn, and merge into the traffic lane. The man in the driver’s seat wore a white shirt and a light gray suit. Through the windshield, his handsome face flashed by.

Xitang slowly turned and walked into the hotel. It was an ordinary Thursday afternoon, with Beijing’s May sunset gently falling on the Drum Tower.

In her heart was boundless silence.

On the plane to Qinghai.

Huang Xitang fell asleep.

In her dream, she saw endless deep green. The pasture grass on the farm grew as tall as a person. A girl’s face slowly emerged—a young face wearing a patched dark green military uniform with a belt, sporting ear-length short hair. She knew this was the prototype for Ding Fangfei, an eighteen-year-old high school graduate who had spent two years and three months in the Qinghai Lake Agricultural Construction Twelfth Division Production and Construction Corps. After returning to the city in 1968, until her death, she never returned to Qinghai Lake.

Xitang wasn’t afraid at all. She gazed at her from a distance, silently greeting her in her heart: “Hi, have you come back to see us?”

The dream was fragmented. Two young people were entangled by the riverbank in a goji berry grove. Their clothes were removed and hanging on low branches. The sounds of intertwined bodies and passionate breathing seemed to be right in her ear. Xitang held her breath, feeling her hands and feet pinned down, unable to break free. At this moment, the man with his back to her suddenly turned his face.

The silhouette showed a slender young body, but the face that came into view was painfully familiar—handsome features with a touch of sharp grace, deep eyes looking at her, with a thin layer of amusement in his gaze.

Xitang suddenly woke up on the plane.

She gulped in a huge breath of air and began to breathe heavily. She took big, gasping breaths, then pulled up the blanket and covered her face.

She heard her assistant Akuan coming over to lean beside her seat. “Sis, what’s wrong? You’re drenched in sweat.”