Winter's End

It was a long winter. Snowflakes drifted down from the sky, settling on everyone in Wuxi, falling between you and me, and into this story of joy, brilliance, sorrow, bitterness, light, and darkness intertwined.

Lin Mu and Lu Dongheng first met, then reunited, in a winter just like this.

Six years later, Lin Mu returned to Wuxi, the hometown she had wanted to escape countless times.

Snowflakes drifted down. Through the hazy, yellow lamplight, she saw Lu Dongheng again.

He stood beneath a streetlamp, snow on his shoulders. His manner was as cool and distant as ever, just like back then, but he had also become more mature and steady.

After all these years apart, she could almost no longer remember how that boy had once stayed by her side, beneath the stars and night sky, and accompanied her through countless fragile, painful moments.

They had promised never to leave each other.

But after the college entrance exams, she vanished without a trace, leaving Lu Dongheng to wait alone, month after month and year after year.

*

Running into a friend, he glanced at the tall man beside Lin Mu. "Is this your boyfriend?"

Lin Mu smiled faintly. "You've got it wrong. We're just ordinary friends."

Lu Dongheng said nothing beside her, his gaze lowered and unreadable.

After the friend left, he pulled Lin Mu into a corner, gripping her wrist hard. "What did you just tell him our relationship was?"

Lin Mu looked up and met his eyes, a chill spreading through her. "Was I wrong?"

His scorching breath brushed her cheek. The man before her spoke in a low voice. "Six years ago, you left without a word."

Lin Mu cut him off. "We were too young back then. Of course, you can't hold me to what I said."

Lu Dongheng stopped himself from kissing her, gave a self-mocking smile, released her, and retreated several steps in defeat.

*

Drunk, Lin Mu wrapped her arms around Lu Dongheng's neck. "Lu Dongheng, I'm a coward. The moment happiness comes, I start counting down in my heart to when it will leave."

Better to leave of your own accord than be abandoned.

Seeing her tearful eyes, Lu Dongheng could no longer hold back. The longing buried in his heart surged forth, and he drew her tenderly into his arms, brow furrowed. "Is that why you left without saying goodbye back then?"

"True, everlasting love is rare in this world, but I'll prove to you that it exists. Lin Mu, please don't leave me again."

No matter how many times you retreat, I will keep coming toward you, unwavering.

[Reader's Guide]

1. The story uses flashbacks. Memories make up 30% of it. For plot reasons, most of them appear in the earlier chapters, so there are more at the beginning and fewer later on. This is not told in reverse chronological order.

2. The characters aren't perfect. The heroine comes from a troubled family.

3. The romance is intense, especially later on.

Theme: Salvation and self-redemption