A Thousand Years of Waiting, Just to Spend a Lifetime with You

Su Xiyuan’s twentieth birthday arrived quietly. Mo Longxiao had counted the days, and early that morning he showed up at her door with two jin of fruit candy and a packet of malted milk powder. Looking at her with earnest eyes and an air that brooked no refusal, he said, “Xiyuan, marry me.” Su Xiyuan froze, then shyly shook her head and said it was too soon. Mo Longxiao switched to coaxing her, saying they could get more ration coupons after registering their marriage, he could protect her from being mistreated at the educated youth station, and she could have a real home in Long Village. His voice was gentle, but it concealed an obsession a thousand years old. Unable to resist his gaze and remembering how he had cared for her these past days, Su Xiyuan blushed and agreed. The two of them kept it from their relatives and secretly went to the brigade office to register their marriage. As Mo Longxiao clutched the red marriage certificate in his hand, a thousand years of suppressed joy surged in his eyes.

That night, as Su Xiyuan slept, Mo Longxiao gazed at her profile and gently traced her brows with his fingertips, murmuring a name only he could understand: the name she had been called in her previous life.

His appearance seemed never to have aged. Su Xiyuan was puzzled, but never asked. Only when they had both grown old did she lie in Mo Longxiao’s arms and softly ask, “Have you been waiting for me for a long time?” Mo Longxiao held her hand and finally revealed the secrets of his thousand-year past. Su Xiyuan wasn’t surprised. She only smiled and said, “I knew you weren’t an ordinary person.”