A Land Without Snow

[The next series story, Snowfall Tonight, is now open. Blurb below.]

|Rekindled romance, happy ending, cool and aloof x alluring

Xu Jiayu was with Jiang Boxue for three whole years.

Aside from being a little spoiled, she was practically the perfect lover.

Until Jiang Boxue decided to get married.

Of course, she wasn't the bride.

Their affair ended then and there. He coldly broke things off.

Xu Jiayu took the money he gave her and boarded a plane out of the country.

Just before boarding, she ran a hand through her hair, her alluring features captivating as ever.

With a raised eyebrow and a smile, she asked Jiang Boxue, "Are you going to forget me?"

The man before her wore a perfectly tailored suit from head to toe. His features were sharp, his expression cool and detached.

He glanced indifferently at the hem of her skirt, caught in the crook of her knees.

The cheap fabric and glaring red color irritated him.

Jiang Boxue frowned. "I don't think Miss Xu is any different from other women."

"Is that so?" Her red lips curved in an unchanged smile. "Then let's see. Mr. Jiang, I bet you won't be able to forget me."

With that, she turned and boarded the plane without a backward glance.

At the time, Jiang Boxue thought she was full of herself.

He remained secure in his lofty position, paying little mind to the words of an insignificant woman.

That year, the final snowfall came to Linhai.

Jiang Boxue brushed snowflakes from his sleeve, as if bidding Xu Jiayu farewell.

-

Several years later, she returned from overseas. They met again at his banquet at Haiting.

The rich and powerful were gathered there, and Xu Jiayu was still in a bewitching red dress, pouring drinks and smiling for guests.

Her eyes glimmered as she moved, but the man opposite her stared at the slender white wrist feeding him wine, fury blazing in his eyes.

It was the first time Jiang Boxue had ever lost his composure.

The usually cold and taciturn head of the Jiang family smashed his wineglass. Unable to restrain himself any longer, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her into a secluded room.

He gritted his teeth. "How dare you come back?"

Xu Jiayu lightly tapped his chest with a finger, smiling dreamily.

She remembered what he'd said years ago.

"I thought you really had forgotten me, Mr. Jiang."

She playfully curled her red lips, her warm breath brushing against his neck.

It was the scene that had played out in his dreams countless times.

"Looks like you haven't."

[Didn't we agree not to catch feelings?]

2024.4.12

■

[Series story: Snowfall Tonight]

|Happy ending

The night they broke up, heavy snow fell over the capital.

He stood before her with a cool expression. "I have to get married."

Those five words left her mind sluggish for a moment. She froze for several seconds before replying softly, "Okay."

She'd always known how to behave. In his circle, she could be his girlfriend for a while, then quietly leave when he was ready to marry. She knew this was the best their relationship could ever be.

She lowered her head. "Then I'll leave Beijing tomorrow."

He was silent for a long time.

The snow grew heavier. At last, he said quietly, "You can keep the house you lived in before, the three million in savings, the jewelry I bought you, the clothes, the car... Is there anything else you want?"

She knew he didn't want any entanglements outside his marriage, so she answered obediently, "No."

A week later, news of his engagement spread.

Three weeks later, she found out she was pregnant.

When she left the hospital, the snow still hadn't stopped. She remembered one winter when they were together, when the capital had been blanketed in snow too.

He'd come out of Fuyou Street and waited for her by the roadside for two whole hours, his uniform tucked beneath his coat.

She hurried over, out of breath, and looked up apologetically. "I thought you'd gone home."

He held an umbrella over her.

It was dark by then. The hazy streetlights shone down from behind his left side, leaving half his body wet with snow and the other half in shadow.

He parted his lips and said softly, "If you don't come, I won't go home."

Now...

He really was going to have a home, with another woman.

[That was the life you lived after leaving Beijing.]

2025.3.10 (Revised edition 6.28)

Theme: I got back what I lost, while you can't have what you long for