“Michael, can you tell me how you feel about me?” After a slight pause, she continued, “You are a very contradictory person, so I’m afraid I’ll misunderstand the signals you’re sending.”

"I like you."

...

The wind stirred up the waves, which brought the sound of the tide. The tide soaked the rocks, which supported Ye Zhi. Beside Ye Zhi was me, my heart pounding...

After a long silence, she replied, "I should believe you... I sensed it from the moment you went to Shanghai for me. I know what Shanghai means to you, but it's precisely because I understand that I'm even more conflicted... because you, too, are unwilling to face this city for the sake of another woman..." Ye Zhi smiled sadly, "Like the cycle of seasons, the ebb and flow of the tide, can I, this flower that has bloomed anew in your heart, truly make you forget the pain before dawn?... And that woman named Lu Jia!"

I looked at her, but she shifted her gaze to the distance where it blended into the darkness... I don't know if her heart had flown away with the wind, or if it still lingered for me, or perhaps she never intended to leave at all; all she cared about was what kind of answer I would give her.

I finally said to her, "Women are really sensitive, and you're no exception."

"That must be tiring, right?"

"I can't understand how you feel right now. If I could, maybe things wouldn't be so difficult to choose... But I really like you!"

Ye Zhi was silent for a long time, then she whispered to me, "Michael, I'm cold..."

I gently pulled her into my arms, her body trembling slightly. The next moment, I trembled even more violently than she did... How I wished time could stop here. I didn't need to make love to her, I didn't need to have a child with her. I just wanted to be like the water of Erhai Lake and the stones of Cangshan Mountain, standing here forever!

In the wind, Ye Zhi leaned closer to me and whispered, "Before I met you, I never missed a city this much. Dali, in my eyes, was no different from any other city... Later, I understood that falling in love with a city is because you fall in love with the people in it... Love is truly wondrous. It gives you motivation, makes you do many things you didn't like before, and subtly changes you... You know, being born into a family like mine means that many of my life choices were predetermined long ago... As for marriage, it was simply a matter of choosing someone I didn't dislike from a group of men who had business dealings with my family, or in other words, men of similar social standing; before, I didn't object to doing so because it was the pre-set procedure, it was fate... until I met you... Although there will definitely be all sorts of troubles in the future, you are... anything but ordinary in my heart!"

After Ye Zhi finished speaking, she looked at my injured hand, and without any disgust, gently placed it on her face...

Feeling her warmth, my eyes welled up with tears.

I didn't let her see it.