Ending at the Lips and Teeth [Reunion After Breaking the Mirror]

Originally titled Snow on the Letter ❄️☁️🌧️ An introverted, sensitive girl x the pride of heaven Bai Yi was the talk of the school. He came from a prominent family, had top grades, and had won so many competition trophies he could hardly carry them all. And to top it off, he was exceptionally handsome. Shu Wanning first saw Bai Yi up close in her second year of high school, during a half-month school trip to Australia. On their last day on the Gold Coast, everyone took a boat out to watch whales. As the sun sank toward the horizon, the sea shimmered with flecks of golden light. Shu Wanning gazed at the tall, straight figure at the bow. After hesitating again and again, she finally went to stand beside him. The waves churned. A loud splash rang out as a whale leapt from the water, sending spray into the air. Shu Wanning lifted her camera, pretending to photograph the whale. In a corner where no one would notice, she carefully tilted the lens and framed the boy’s profile. She held her breath, watching Bai Yi through the viewfinder. The next second, he suddenly turned, raised his eyes slightly, and met her lens without warning. His peach-blossom eyes were deep as pools, their corners faintly upturned. Through the camera, that deep gaze looked straight into her eyes. Their eyes met. Shu Wanning froze, her heart missing a beat. Her finger moved faster than her brain. The shutter clicked, so softly that it should have been lost amid the crashing waves and cheering. Yet it became the loudest echo of her youth. On the day the college entrance exams ended, Shu Wanning developed the photo and quietly slipped it into Bai Yi’s desk drawer. Anonymous, she left only two short lines on the back: Happy graduation, Bai Yi. May you go wherever your heart leads and soar to the clouds. She thought it was time for everything to end, that her unrequited love would finally come to a close. * Five years later, at their class reunion, Bai Yi was still the one everyone gathered around. The years had stripped away his boyishness, sharpening his features and giving him a more defined nose. He sat there at ease, radiating nonchalance. Shu Wanning sat in a corner. She stole one glance and didn’t dare look again. She knew she was a coward. Even though she was now a hugely popular international movie star, completely at ease in front of the camera, she was still at a loss around Bai Yi. Later in the reunion, everyone reminisced about their high school days. The conversation went around and eventually came back to Bai Yi. Someone seemed to remember something and played a video of the high school New Year’s party. On the screen, teenage Bai Yi stood onstage. His usual swagger was toned down as he sang an English song in a low, magnetic voice. “Peaches,” Justin Bieber’s song. It was Shu Wanning’s favorite. Everyone turned to look at Bai Yi at once. Someone laughed and teased, “Were you trying to confess through the song? Bai Yi, be honest. Did you have someone you liked back then?” Bai Yi said nothing. His eyelids lowered, his long lashes casting a faint shadow. He gazed at the wineglass in front of him, as if lost in a memory. Shu Wanning looked up at Bai Yi. Under the table, she nervously clasped her hands, afraid of hearing an answer she didn’t want. Suddenly, the man raised his eyes. His gaze passed over the crowd and landed squarely on Shu Wanning’s face. His dark eyes reflected only her. Bai Yi gave a quiet laugh and tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if mocking himself. “Yeah.” He paused, then continued in an unhurried voice, “Because someone once said that if anyone sang ‘Peaches’ in front of her, she’d accept his confession.” Shu Wanning’s mind went blank. His words sounded strangely familiar. A few seconds later, she suddenly remembered that she had said exactly that back then. She’d regretted saying it as soon as she said it in the classroom, thinking it was childish. She’d never imagined Bai Yi would hear her. Much less that he would take her seriously. “Shu Wanning.” At the reunion, Bai Yi called her name in front of everyone. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice husky. Under the lights, the corners of his eyes slowly reddened. Then he asked “Does what you said back then still count?” Years later, Shu Wanning returned to the house where she used to live and found her mailbox stuffed with letter after letter from Bai Yi. There were paintings he’d drawn himself, landscape photos he’d taken in the United States, and several thousand-word letters in his own handwriting. [It’s snowing in New York. I wish I could be there with you.] [I went whale-watching on the Gold Coast again today. I really wish you were here with me.] [I saw you on the big screen in Times Square. Congratulations, superstar. You’ve made your dream come true.] [Actually, I was nervous when you stood beside me that day whale-watching. So nervous I didn’t dare look at you.] Five years. Four hundred and seventy-two letters. All the longing he had nowhere to put was written into those letters, every single word sealed in an envelope, stamped, and dropped into a mailbox he knew would never answer. “Shu Wanning, you’re the only one in my youth.” So he wasn’t an unreachable moon after all. 🌙 You are the secret I kept for years, and I am the answer you waited years to find. ✨ 🍽️Reading Guide: 1. Happy ending, happy ending, happy ending. 2. Both leads are each other’s one and only, in body and soul. Read without worry!!! 3. A companion novel to Forbidden Relationship. The characters make guest appearances in each other’s stories for a crossover. Theme: Live toward the light