Cherry Blossoms in Their Prime

The mountain cherry blossoms sway in the wind, blooming in all their beauty.

At the instant Yiying closes her eyes, her brief, beautiful years come to an end, and she falls, drifting gently away…

However happy those brief years may have been, once they are gone, they become precious memories…

Yiying knows that she is leaving so that the man she loves can live the life she has longed for with the woman who loves him more than she does.

But she does not know that the tenderness shared by her and Zhiye over those few days already outweighs the more than ten years Yuqiong spent by Zhiye's side.

She loves him, and he loves her. But there is always someone who loves him more than Yiying does…

That is why, four years ago, she chose to let go and leave…

"Time reveals a person's true heart" did not win her affection, but earned only her pity. If we had understood that, would we still have chosen to stay by his side forever?

Perhaps this is love: giving everything to the person you love, even your life, just to win a single smile from him. Even if that smile isn't for you, at least he is happy, and that is enough…

In the end, he may not be by his side, walking with him into eternity. At least he and she are happy…

And the more than ten years of cherry-blossom days will drift away with the falling petals, leaving a perfect full stop in Yuqiong's life. Perhaps. Just perhaps…

And the love between Zhiye and Yiying made the eternity Yuqiong longed for come true.

They will never forget. The happiness they have now came from her brother and his closest friend.

Even if they had been separated from their family for more than twenty years, and their friendship had long since turned into love.

At least, that sorrowful yet brief "cherry-blossom season" can finally come to an end…

Yet the lingering warmth of sorrow will remain forever in the hearts of all three of them. Each year, when the cherry blossoms bloom, they will remember that season once again.

And the sadness left behind after the blossoms fall will stay with them forever…