Chapter 144 (The Grand Finale) ...

September 2026, autumn in Yunnan. A riot of colors; in a sense, Ren Xiyao knew this place well. She chose it as the second stop on her post-retirement trip. Because there was still someone she hadn't seen, and some things she hadn't been able to say.

Ren Xiyao took a deep breath in front of the luggage carousel. Quan Zhilong poked her lower back: "Are you short of breath?"

“It’s a habitual action.” She took the suitcase: “When I came here for training before, the first thing I did was check my blood oxygen level.”

The first thing they did after getting out was find a car rental shop. The car climbed the winding mountain road, and outside the window, clay courts and the rusty iron sign for the "Highland Sports Training Base" flashed by. Kwon Ji-yong scrolled through his phone: "Your coach is now coaching a youth team?"

Ren Xiyao hummed in agreement. She had been silent the entire way, staring at the approaching gray buildings. Quan Zhilong could sense her silence and unease. He held her hand tightly. When Ren Xiyao finally spoke, her voice trembled slightly, a tremor she herself didn't even notice: "The year he resigned, none of the adult teams wanted him."

What Ren Xiyao didn't say was that with each gold medal she won over the years, her guilt seemed to lessen. She dared not relax for even a moment. A crucial reason she chose to return to competition without hesitation after receiving the call from the General Administration of Sport was that she understood that Coach Wang and the others were risking their careers to protect not only Ren Xiyao, but also the athlete who could win gold and silver medals for the country. As Ren Xiyao herself said, her career carried the hard work of so many people; Ren Xiyao had long since ceased to belong entirely to herself.

Upon seeing Ren Xiyao, Coach Wang visibly paused for a moment, then glanced at the boy next to her. He eventually led them to the cafeteria. They sat down in a secluded corner.

"Hey, the world champion still remembers the way?" He pushed the braised pork in front of her: "Eat! Make up for all the portions you secretly threw away over the years while trying to control your body fat."

Kwon Ji-yong's shoulders trembled as he tried to suppress his laughter, and Ren Xiyao kicked him under the table.

"Is this Xiao Quan?" Coach Wang squinted. "They're both very talented young men. I hope they both do well in the future."

In the afternoon, Coach Wang led them on a tour of the new venue. A group of teenagers were practicing the curves. A little girl with a ponytail fell, and tears welled up in her eyes as she got up. But she quickly wiped away her tears, got back into position, and started again.

Kwon Ji-yong took the cup and noticed that the bottom of the jar was printed with "National Advanced Worker of 1992".

"Coach Wang," Ren Xiyao said nervously, stroking the jar, "about what happened in 2017, I..."

“It’s all in the past.” The old man waved his hand. “Actually, I went to see you the day you handed in your resignation, but I didn’t say hello because I didn’t want you to feel guilty. Back then, the Lanhai Club was determined to cause trouble. It happened so many times that I was almost numb to it. You don’t know the pain until you’re whipped yourself. Every time an athlete like that appears, I hate my powerlessness even more. I wish I could do something for you, so don’t apologize. Apologizing is just adding bricks to my wounds.”

The sound of a training whistle came from outside the window. He looked at the playground and said, "I'm over sixty. I can't lead the adult team in their backstabbing and infighting. It's good for me to teach the kids."

The steam from the Pu'er tea blurred Ren Xiyao's vision.

Coach Wang blew on the hot water in his cup: "Do you know why I'm staying here?"

She shook her head.

The old man pointed to the newly built speed skating rink in the distance: "Ten years ago, there wasn't even an ice rink here. Now there are six youth teams. Only when you win medals at the Winter Olympics can the kids have ice skates to wear."

"Do you still feel guilty?"

She remained silent for a long time before finally shaking her head.

"That's right." The old man took down the group photo of the children from the base hanging on the wall and handed it to Ren Xiyao: "The horse breeder's happiness comes from seeing the horses run far."

"Do you know the difference between a horse breeder and a horse connoisseur?" Instructor Wang suddenly asked, looking at them.

Kwon Ji-yong shook his head.

"A discerning eye recognizes a fine horse, but a horse breeder only needs to feed each horse to be strong and healthy." He pointed at Ren Xiyao and said, "You are a fine horse, but if I hadn't been watching you take calcium supplements every day, you would have died at the age of sixteen."

Ren Xiyao laughed out loud, tears falling into the teacup.

As the sun set, Coach Wang escorted them to the main gate of the base.

"Remember to send an invitation to the wedding." He pulled out a brown paper bag: "Here's your dowry back."

The bag contained a stack of apology letters, the top one with a big red cross drawn on it, and a note next to it that read: "I forgive you."

Kwon Ji-yong suddenly bowed: "Thank you for taking care of her and for believing in her."

"Don't give me that." The old man kicked his shin: "Be nicer to her, or I'll have the students scold you."

Kwon Ji-yong leaned over to look: "Doesn't your coach look like Bodhi Patriarch from 'Journey to the West'? He teaches Sun Wukong and then kicks him out."

Ren Xiyao smiled, this time with a sense of relief and certainty: "Yes, so I think I haven't let down those who have believed in me so firmly."

Kwon Ji-yong looked at her; time seemed to have left no mark on her. She seemed to still look the same as when he first met her. Looking closely, one could sense her composure even more. As Ren Xiyao stared blankly at the photo, he took out his phone and wrote a line from a song in his notes app: "Horse breeders, don't count the rust on the saddles, count the hoofbeats from beyond the mountains."

People always say that a thoroughbred horse needs a discerning eye, but it also needs a good groom. Coach Wang is like an epitome of all those who silently dedicate themselves to basic training. They are pure and stubborn, and their love for the ice is no less than anyone else's. Their professional careers may not have left behind any glorious history, but without them, there would be no way to cultivate one champion after another.

In the distance, on the crimson mountain ridge, the first star lit up.

They spent two days resting in Shangri-La, and then Kwon Ji-yong, armed with his prepared travel guide, eagerly wanted to go to Western Sichuan with Ren Xiyao. Ren Xiyao was initially taken aback by the suggestion, but then nodded in agreement as if she had thought of something.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated when Ren Xiyao stood beside the SUV, watching Quan Zhilong stuff the last piece of luggage into the trunk.

Are you sure you want to drive yourself the whole time?

Kwon Ji-yong patted the steering wheel: "You were driving 11 years ago, this time it's my turn."

The sound of the engine starting startled a flock of sparrows from the roadside. Ren Xiyao fastened her seatbelt, and outside the car window, the golden roof of Songzanlin Monastery shimmered in the morning light.

"route?"

"As planned." Kwon Ji-yong handed her two slips of paper, one of which was yellowed from when they first drove through western Sichuan in 2015. He hadn't expected Kwon Ji-yong to still have it. The edges were worn and frayed. He had added Shangri-La and Daocheng at the very beginning with an additive symbol: "Shangri-La—Daocheng—Litang—Xinduqiao".

She folded it gently and put it back in the storage compartment: "Let's go."

When Kwon Ji-yong brought it up, she agreed without hesitation. The reason she was coming back to western Sichuan was because, the moment he mentioned it, she remembered his words in Xinduqiao: "Come again in autumn." The last time she thought of those words was at their old house in Harbin. Back then, there was still endless regret.

And look at what a perfect time it is! It's right at the cusp of summer and autumn. The weather isn't cold, and the sweltering heat has passed. Everything seems just right.

In western Sichuan, they made their first wish about the future, albeit somewhat casually. This place was different for them. It was the first time they had come close to each other's souls.

For Ren Xiyao, the true peak of her career came after she overcame all her fears in western Sichuan and became invincible.

This place has changed a lot.

The gravel road of twelve years ago has been transformed into a smooth asphalt road. What used to be a bumpy four-hour journey through the mountains can now be completed in just two hours.

"Do you remember?" Kwon Ji-yong pointed to a viewing platform with prayer flags fluttering outside the window: "Back then, this was a dirt slope, and we almost had a flat tire."

“Back then, you were afraid of altitude sickness,” she said with a slight smile, “and you wouldn’t let go of the oxygen tank.”

Kwon Ji-yong shook his head with a smile: "And a certain world champion walked like the wind at an altitude of 4,700 meters, which almost made my heart stop."

The car drove past a pasture, with yaks slowly crossing the road. Ren Xiyao rolled down the window, and the wind blew in, carrying the scent of barley and earth.

“It’s quite commercialized,” she said softly.

Kwon Ji-yong glanced at her: "But the mountains are still the same mountains."

The snow-capped mountains in the distance still stand tall, shrouded in mist, just as they were twelve years ago.

They made a special detour to Seda, hoping to find the Tibetan-style guesthouse where they had spent Tibetan New Year together years ago.

The streets have been widened, and the former low-rise houses have been replaced by neat shops. Kwon Ji-yong stopped his car and asked an elderly man selling butter tea.

"That place?" The old man waved his hand: "They stopped operating a long time ago!"

Kwon Ji-yong walked over and handed her a hot latte: "Try it, they say it's the highest altitude coffee in Seda."

She took a sip and frowned: "Too sweet."

You didn't like sweets before.

"I don't love it now either."

They smiled at each other, and a tacit understanding, unspoken, spread through the air.

It was already evening when we arrived in Xinduqiao.

The guesthouse they stayed at twelve years ago is long gone, replaced by a boutique hotel with a stylish design and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the snow-capped mountains.

“It’s completely different from before.” Ren Xiyao stood on the balcony, looking at the tourists taking pictures on the meadow in the distance.

Kwon Ji-yong wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder: "But the starry sky should remain unchanged."

After dinner, they avoided the crowds and drove to a nearby unnamed hillside. Kwon Ji-yong took a blanket and a thermos from the trunk and poured two cups of hot cocoa.

"Your equipment has been upgraded," Ren Xiyao teased.

"After all, I'm not a young man in my twenties anymore." He pretended to be serious: "Now I need to be careful to keep warm."

The Milky Way is like a waterfall, and the stars are like diamonds, exactly the same as twelve years ago.

Kwon Ji-yong suddenly stood up and took a small velvet box out of his pocket.

Ren Xiyao raised an eyebrow: "Not again?"

The blue diamond ring from Las Vegas in 2017 is still on Ren Xiyao's middle finger.

“Ren Xiyao.” His voice was soft, but every word was clear: “Twelve years ago in western Sichuan, I first felt that perhaps there really is such a thing as ‘destiny’.”

The night wind stirred her hair, while the distant snow-capped mountains remained silent and enigmatic.

Will you marry me?

Ren Xiyao looked at the ring, then at him.

“You know I don’t like sweet talk,” she said.

"I know."

"I also know I won't say 'I do'."

"Um."

She held out her hand: "Put it on."

Kwon Ji-yong laughed and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

She looked down, then suddenly grabbed his collar and kissed him.

On the way back to the hotel, Kwon Ji-yong gripped the steering wheel, glancing at Ren Xiyao in the passenger seat from time to time.

"Watch where you're going," she said without looking up, her fingers stroking her new ring.

"You mean..." he hesitated for a moment, "when will we come to western Sichuan next time?"

Ren Xiyao looked at the mountain shadows rushing past the window: "When this road changes again."

The car headlights illuminated the road ahead, winding into the distant darkness.

The starry sky above has remained unchanged for millions of years.

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Author's Note: So, let's officially conclude the story here. But I hope it doesn't end here, and neither will mine. May we all get better and better! [Dog head with rose in hand]

Thank you everyone for your support! [Heart emoji]