Sleepless in Qilixiang

“Chen Siyi, the Jiangnan autumn rain has passed again. Why haven’t you come back yet?”

Spring returned to Jiangnan. Pear blossoms fell like snow, and sweet osmanthus vines climbed over the wall, leaving the courtyard steeped in loneliness. The tears Cheng Zhen had held back five years ago finally fell, five years too late.

They had been together for three years, yet remained trapped by each other for five.

Chen Siyi, it took me five years to realize that I’d already been missing you when I left you five years ago.

“I don’t want to look at your legs anymore. When are you coming back?”

Chen Siyi sat in the courtyard, just as he had at the beginning of their story. Only this time, Cheng Zhen was watching him from the doorway.

The old door creaked. At last, the rusty saw stopped its back-and-forth motion. In that moment, thousands of days and nights of longing washed away the last of the pain between them.

“Cheng Zhen, I said I’d get your legs treated. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“Cheng Zhen, why are you so slow? I’ve been waiting for you for years.”