A Borrowed Life

“Lu Huaijin, I miss you.” No matter how much Shen Nanyi cried and called out in anguish, he was gone.

“Lu Huaijin, I met someone today. He looks about fifty or sixty percent like you, and I lost my composure.”

“Lu Huaijin, he confessed his feelings for me. I couldn’t accept, because I keep thinking he’s your replacement. I told you, I hate stories about substitutes more than anything.”

“Lu Huaijin, I think I really have fallen for him. Now I can see clearly: he’s himself, Ji Jiangbei. He’s the one I love.”

“Lu Huaijin, he proposed to me, and I said yes. I’ll be happy and live well.”

“Lu Huaijin, the person I love is Ji Jiangbei. I’m sure of it. I love him.”

“Lu Huaijin, goodbye. You died in the year we loved each other most. Now I, too, have someone to share a long life with.”

“Ji Jiangbei, I love you. Let’s get married.”

Shen Nanyi loves Ji Jiangbei. The south wind knows what I feel, and carries my dream to the western isles.

Ji Jiangbei loves Shen Nanyi. Remembering the plum blossoms on the western isles, I pick one and send it to Jiangbei.