At fifteen, he shattered her world with a lie. At twenty-five, he bound her to him for life with another lie.
He said, "A fair maiden is a gentleman's delight. What a lovely name."
He said, "The things you most want to protect are the very things you end up hurting, and the things you cherish most are the ones you end up losing. There's no greater pain in this world than wanting to protect the person you love most from all harm, only to realize that the protection itself is hurting them."
He said, "I know that even if I trampled the whole world underfoot, all I could do is gaze up at your back. I could give up the whole world for you, but you could give me up for the whole world."
He said, "Why can't you try to understand how I feel? I just like you. I like you so, so much. I want to be with you, to hold and kiss you. Is that so wrong?"
He said, "Don't even think about it! I'm telling you, if you die, I'll follow you to the grave. Even if you turn into a ghost, don't think you can leave me. I'll keep you by my side for the rest of your life!"
As tears slid down her cheeks, she finally understood: twenty-five-year-old Yao Yaozhi hadn't grown one bit since she was fifteen. She had been blinded by a single leaf, unable to see the mountain beyond. Fixating too much on one thing makes you overlook all the other beauty around you; clinging too tightly to one kind of warmth makes you miss all the other possibilities.
But when you are all that's left in my world, when I can see no other scenery, when I have no room for any other warmth, when I've become so humble that I want nothing else, how can you bear to let go of my hand and leave me drifting alone in the wind?
