That first year after Shang Zhitao returned to Ice City was truly difficult.

She had to run back and forth, dealing with mortgage loans for her apartment purchase, while also coordinating renovation matters. One evening before the New Year, Da Zhai was in a good mood and prepared a table full of dishes. Da Zhai’s cooking was truly exceptional. Shang Zhitao ate with great enthusiasm, saying between mouthfuls, “Mom, I think the reason I can’t cook is because you didn’t pass down your cooking genes to me.”

“Cooking requires genes?” Da Zhai removed her reading glasses. “You just never bothered to learn properly! Who knows how you managed to eat all those years in Beijing? It’s a miracle you didn’t starve to death.”

Shang Zhitao stuffed another mouthful of rice in her mouth, suddenly remembering Sun Yu’s specialty Guizhou dishes and spicy sour noodles, as well as how even Luan Nian’s casual cooking always turned out delicious.

“My roommate cooks well. Sun Yu—you’ve spoken with her before!”

“Oh right, Sun Yu and Lu Mi both liked my pickled vegetables. I should send them some more later.”

Shang Zhitao thought for a moment. “Maybe in a while? I’m too busy right now.” She took a sip of sauerkraut soup and wiped the sweat from the tip of her nose. “Mom, how about opening a small restaurant for you and Dad? Nothing too big, just five or six tables. You shouldn’t waste your cooking skills.”

“I can’t handle all that stir-frying anymore. Too exhausting.”

“We can hire people!”

“That’s true. Your father and I have some savings. We could start a senior entrepreneurial venture.” Shang Zhitao chuckled. “After selling my stocks, I’ll have plenty of money left even after opening a restaurant. If you and dad agree, I’ll start thinking about how to set it up.”

“Sounds good to me.” Da Zhai kicked her husband’s good leg. “What do you think?”

“Let’s do it. But we don’t need our daughter’s money—we’ll cover it ourselves. Can’t take money to the grave anyway.”

“Alright!”

The family of three decided while eating dinner. The Shang family was like that—no grand dreams, but they didn’t overthink small matters either. After finishing dinner, Shang Zhitao put on her thick down jacket and headed out. Da Zhai asked from behind her, “Where are you going now?”

“I’m going to look for a suitable location for the restaurant.”

Since returning home, Shang Zhitao had been going out for walks every night without fail, regardless of wind or snow. Breaking up was like being killed with a dull knife—the actual separation was quick and decisive. During those first few days, she even felt proud of herself, thinking how impressive she was to break up so cleanly. But after a few more days, in some ordinary moment, her heart suddenly felt empty. That moment came for Shang Zhitao when she was organizing the books she had shipped back. She opened one of them and saw a photo of them together in Lhasa.

She jerked away as if accidentally touching an electric current, hurriedly closed the book, and tossed it aside, afraid to look at it again. From that day on, she always went out for walks at night. If she stayed home, she felt suffocated.

She walked aimlessly through the streets of Ice City. The winters were cold, and after walking for a long time, her nose and ears felt like they might fall off from the cold. So she bought the kind of hat that ice cream vendors wore, the type with two ear flaps that covered everything completely—it looked quite silly.

One day, outside a hotel, she saw a man walking whose back view looked exactly like Luan Nian—broad shoulders, wide back, firm buttocks, long legs, upright posture, and a distant demeanor. Shang Zhitao’s heart suddenly shattered.

Perhaps when she broke up with Xin Zhaozhou, she was too young. When you’re young, it’s easier to pick things up and put them down. Now, approaching 30, a breakup truly felt like it was killing her. She tried her best not to think about what had happened in Beijing. But people are people, not animals or beasts—it’s impossible not to think at all about someone you spent so much time with.

Her daily walks made her parents worry. The two would quietly whisper to each other: “Do you think something upset her?”

“Maybe she’s trying to lose weight.”

“But she’s not fat.”

She wandered the streets, getting to know every corner of Ice City like a true street wanderer. She found a place, on the ground floor of an old residential building facing the street. Peering through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows by moonlight, she saw it was about a hundred square meters, just enough for a few tables.

Shang Zhitao quickly formed a creative concept in her mind: an elderly couple running an ordinary restaurant serving home-style dishes, but every dish would be refined to perfection. That was it.

She immediately took out her phone and called the number posted. A young man answered: “Hello, I saw a commercial space for rent.”

“The one on Second Street, right?” the man asked.

“Yes, can I take a look inside?”

“Sure, but you’ll have to wait about twenty minutes.”

Shang Zhitao stood at the street corner eating candied haws on a stick. The sweet and sour taste dispersed the melancholy in her heart. When the man arrived, she was just biting into the last hawthorn.

“Here to see the place?”

“Yes.”

Shang Zhitao looked at the man and felt he seemed familiar, but couldn’t place him. She followed him in as he opened the door and turned on the lights. The interior was very clean; the previous tenant had run a spicy hot pot business that had failed.

“How much per year?”

“Sixty thousand. My family owns several properties, and everyone who’s tried this location has failed. Just rent it whatever.” The man seemed a bit absent-minded. After speaking, he glanced at Shang Zhitao and only then noticed the young woman’s face under the old man’s hat. Looking again, he thought she looked familiar.

“Is your surname Shang?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

The man smiled. “I’m Xing Yi. We were in adjacent classes in high school.”

Shang Zhitao pushed up the brim of her hat and looked at him carefully. It was him. “What a coincidence.”

They both laughed.

“What are you renting this place for?”

“I want to open a restaurant.”

“Several businesses have already failed here.”

“I don’t think mine will.”

“In that case, since we know each other, how about fifty thousand a year?” Xing Yi automatically lowered the price, eager to rent out this troublesome place.

“Thank you. Should we sign a contract?” Shang Zhitao asked.

“Let’s do it.”

They found a coffee shop. Xing Yi went home to get the contract while Shang Zhitao waited, drinking coffee. He returned quickly, placed the contract on the table, took off his coat, and as he sat down, noticed how Shang Zhitao’s hair was pressed flat against her head from the hat, her face flushed from the cold.

“You’re still the same as in high school!” Xing Yi said.

“Huh?”

“That same look in your eyes.”

“You remember me from high school?”

“Of course. Weren’t you always helping the teachers?”

“…”

Shang Zhitao hadn’t brought her ID card, but Xing Yi didn’t mind. His family owned seven or eight commercial properties that his parents had gradually purchased over the years when they had extra money. He wasn’t worried about the few thousand in rent, and Shang Zhitao didn’t seem like a bad person.

So they signed the contract. Shang Zhitao transferred the money to Xing Yi, and he gave her the keys. Before parting, he said, “Call me if you need anything. We’re classmates after all—it’s fate.”

Shang Zhitao returned home and showed the contract to her parents, who were wide-eyed with surprise. They hadn’t expected Shang Zhitao to be so decisive now. She hadn’t realized how the past six years had already transformed her, the changes merging into her bloodstream. Once she decided on something, she acted immediately, with extreme determination.

With the New Year approaching, having settled two major matters before the holiday, she began arranging renovations for both her new apartment and the storefront.

That New Year’s Eve, since Shang Zhitao was no longer traveling far away, the celebration felt especially relaxed. She and her father strolled to markets and supermarkets every day to buy New Year supplies. She loved the New Year atmosphere in Ice City, with New Year paintings, spring couplets, frozen pears, and frozen persimmons laid out on the ground for sale, a sea of red from a distance.

Leading Luke on his leash, squeezing onto public buses with her father, she suddenly thought perhaps she should buy a car to make future travel more convenient. The family used to have a car, but her father didn’t like driving, so it just sat there until it became due for retirement.

So she made another down payment, this time on an SUV costing over 200,000 yuan.

And so days passed.

On New Year’s Eve, she and Luke nestled on the sofa watching the Spring Festival Gala. The sound of firecrackers came from somewhere in the distance, but Luke didn’t fuss about going to see. It seemed that as dogs got older, they became more like people, losing interest in New Year celebrations.

Ling Mei’s final gift to Shang Zhitao came after the New Year.

After that New Year, at the beginning of 2017, Ling Mei’s stock rose the daily limit for five consecutive days, fell for three days, then rose the daily limit for another four days. The rise made Shang Zhitao a bit nervous. She took out her phone to check the news and saw reports about Ling Mei’s full expansion into online advertising. Industry insiders viewed this major transformation favorably. While reading this news, she also saw Luan Nian being interviewed at the American headquarters, still as stern-faced as ever.

Below the interview were comments praising him: “So handsome,” “I like him,” “Want to marry him.”

Shang Zhitao watched the interview twice. Luan Nian’s gaze was extremely determined, so this must be the right move. She didn’t rush to sell her stocks—if Luan Nian was confident, she wouldn’t hurry. She held on for nearly another month. By mid-to-late March, the stock price had risen by almost 40%. On a bright, sunny day, Shang Zhitao sold her shares.

She had completely severed her last connection with Ling Mei.

With this money, she used the profit to cover the renovation costs of both properties, and with the remainder, she planned to open an event planning company.

Starting a company wasn’t easy, and since the money had come through such a winding path, Shang Zhitao was especially careful with it. She did market research all by herself, visiting various hotels and scenic spots, meeting different people, and entering various establishments to understand Ice City’s event market. After completing the market research, she began budgeting. Her budget was precise, with clear allocations for company registration, rent, personnel, and miscellaneous items.

By June, she had rented a 200-square-meter office in a mixed commercial-residential complex in the New District, and her company set sail.

During recruitment, many people had little faith in this newly established company, seeing only the boss sitting alone in the office. Only one fresh graduate, a young man who had been the head of the sports department at university, with excellent physical fitness and a spirited appearance, came aboard. After chatting with Shang Zhitao for half an hour, he felt this boss was impressive, seemingly knowledgeable, much more sophisticated and reliable than the HR personnel at other companies.

He asked Shang Zhitao, “Can you pay a bit more?”

“Seven thousand.” Shang Zhitao offered a high salary—for a fresh graduate in Ice City, this was truly good pay. The young man smiled, showing a mouthful of white teeth. “Deal, boss. Let’s start work today! I have nothing to do at home anyway.”

The young man’s name was Fu Dong, from Qiqihar, who had studied at university in Ice City. Both his parents were teachers. He had no grand career aspirations. In his words: “As long as I’m happy.”

The two of them spent two days setting up office computers and phones, arranging plants and a snack cabinet, and another day thoroughly cleaning inside and out. Finally, it looked like a proper company.

Then the two sat in the office, and Fu Dong finally couldn’t help asking, “Boss, if I may ask, where are we going to find clients?”

Shang Zhitao laughed at his question, took out her phone, went to her office, and made a call. When the call connected, she said, “Sun Yu, it’s me.”

The past years swept over them. Shang Zhitao on one end of the phone, Sun Yu on the other, both suddenly speechless, feeling a bit emotional.

After a long while, Shang Zhitao heard Sun Yu sniffling, then asking, “Are you better now?”

“I’m better. This is my number.” Shang Zhitao sniffed and told Sun Yu, “I bought a house and finished renovating it. I installed a huge bookshelf wall and arranged all the books Sun Yuanzhu gave me on it. I opened a small restaurant that’s been operating for a month now, with many good reviews online. I also started an event planning company.”

“An event planning company, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll have our marketing department contact you. Our company is just looking to bring in new suppliers for offline events in your province.”

Perhaps all good friends are like this—they might not contact each other for a long time, but as soon as you reach out, they’re there for you. Shang Zhitao was incredibly grateful. “Sun Yu, would you like to come to Ice City for a drink with me?”

“I think I can. I’ll come tomorrow.”

Shang Zhitao invited Lu Mi and Sun Yu for drinks at her new home.

When Luke saw Sun Yu and Lu Mi, he went wild, running around them in circles, jumping up to hug first one then the other, beside himself with joy.

Lu Mi covered her bag: “Hey! You little thief! Be careful! Auntie Lu’s bag is very expensive—don’t scratch it!” She then took off her bag and tossed it aside, crouched down to pick up Luke, panting from the effort. “Good grief! Grandma must have been feeding you well! You’ll never find a mate if you get any fatter!”

Her new home was beautifully decorated, with an especially large balcony where Shang Zhitao had planted many flowers and placed a desk. The most beautiful feature was the bookshelf wall, filled with books.

Sun Yu stood in front of that bookshelf for a very long time, carefully pulling out one book, “Decisive Moments in History.” The book was clean, but Sun Yu knew that Sun Yuanzhu must have held it and read it carefully. Inside was his reading note: “Read.”

Sun Yu knew the circumstances under which he wrote “Read”—it must have been during those final days. Because in the past, his notes, though simple and concise, would extract thoughts. He would also mark the reading date.

Tears streamed down her face before she realized it. She wiped them away: I’m a strong woman in the eyes of the world; I can’t cry so easily anymore.

That day, they enjoyed Da Zhai’s specialty dishes, including their favorite pickled vegetables.

Shang Zhitao’s new home had just been renovated, and she hadn’t hosted anyone yet. After cleaning up, she thought, “I should invite Sun Yu and Lu Mi over.”

That day, they all drank too much.

With too much alcohol came too many words.

Lu Mi called Will and spoke nonsense on the phone, the gist being: if you keep pushing me, I’ll just pack up and leave. Don’t think I won’t do it—I’m that formidable! I’ll leave without telling you where I’m going, and you’ll never find me.

Will asked her, “Where are you now?”

“Ice City.”

Shang Zhitao and Sun Yu burst out laughing at Lu Mi.

The three drunken women laughed uncontrollably in Shang Zhitao’s new home. Their laughter was loud, leaving Luke sitting nearby, completely confused. He probably thought he would never hear such laughter again in his lifetime!

In this laughter, Shang Zhitao was reborn.

Everything was especially good.