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"Eat only when you're hungry, and don't lie when you're in love."
—Gabriel García Márquez, *Love in the Time of Cholera*
Late spring, as spring ends and summer approaches.
Everything, under the guise of spring, has quietly made its way into summer.
The season of melting ice has already passed. The magnificent, frozen expanse of ice is now beyond our reach.
Do you still remember that red ribbon that had been imprisoned in the ice for countless days and nights when the spring water was gurgling?
It flowed quietly along the first trickle of revival, its color, now submerged in water, even more striking. The intense, dazzling hue, combined with its soft texture, only added a touch of resilience.
What about the countless days it lay silently in the cold? It too has been lonely and desolate, willingly dying before the arrival of spring.
To exchange night for eternal sleep.
Having survived the death of winter, they display boundless beauty in the season when spring is just beginning to grow.
Yes, it was the sweet flow of blood. A silent endurance, a rebirth from the cocoon.
"Ah Xu, you're going to be late. Sister Hai Mei is going to punish you again."
"Coming soon, just buy me some time."
Winter came too early. The leaves had just fallen from the branches, looking wilted, while a thick layer of snow covered the ground.
She hurriedly washed her face, looked at her reflection in the mirror, and straightened her black robe. Then she quickly jumped down the steps and ran straight ahead. Her steps crunched loudly in the snow. She ran until she reached a white three-story building. Her breathing was erratic, her face flushed, and her thick clothes were covered in a layer of sweat that clung to her body. A cold wind blew, and she couldn't help but shiver.
I crouched down and slipped into the back of the classroom through the usual path, finding an empty seat. The moment I sat down, my eyes met Sister Jaime's.
“Relena, why do you never pay attention to the teaching rules”
Unaware of her own embarrassment, she humbly lowered her head, feigning repentance to gain a moment of peace.
The strange looks from the crowd no longer moved her.
In this school founded by nuns, everyone is expected to cultivate purity with sincere devotion. No one will pull you ashore if you choose to degenerate. There is one boat, but there is nowhere for those desperately trying to survive.
During my midday rest, I leaned silently against the wall, feeling no different from a floating dust or a dead body.
"Ah Xu, you haven't eaten again, have you?"
Chen Xiaorong walked over from the other end, holding a porcelain bowl she had brought from the dining room, and silently handed it to her.
"You don't even know how to take care of yourself."
"To live in this world without parents is nothing but a mistake. What difference does it make whether we take care of them or not?"
She was used to hearing her discouraging words, so she just frowned and smiled, saying nothing more.
"There will be a speech in the auditorium this afternoon, don't forget to come."
She didn't reply, but lowered her eyes to look at the white rice grains, her thick black eyelashes falling down.
Chen Xiaorong stared blankly for a moment.
morbid, endlessly decaying
But undeniably beautiful
A reversal of life force occurred in her.
Tie a red ribbon on it.
For you.
The hall was already full. In her usual quiet, unnoticed corner, she settled herself. Her gaze fell upon the spot where the lights were concentrated, and there she saw it.
Amidst applause, he gracefully entered the stage.
Was it delivered with great emotion? Was it passionate and stirring?
"The famous Staunch school of philosophy emphasizes the importance of morality to human beings. It also advocates freedom and examining one's own inner capacity for peace."
The core idea of Staunch philosophy is "predestination," which means believing that everything is created by the forces of the universe. Humans cannot change their predetermined fate.
Therefore, it is emphasized that one should calmly accept and face one's life.
She bit her lip hard, her whole body trembled, and her fists clenched tightly against her forehead.
In the midst of a surge of intense thoughts, she was suddenly pushed and abruptly stood up.
"Is this how people are born, that no matter how hard they try, they can't change anything?"
The noise subsided, and she stood facing him amidst the dense crowd, looking directly into his eyes.
He paused, then laughed. The laugh was as gentle as honey, on his kind face.
That smile made her exceptionally calm.
"Well done, Miss Elpis"
The bright sunlight broke through the layers of snow, bringing warmth to the deep, dark corners.
The sunken hope still exists, and it willingly grows.
He took her to a nearby Western restaurant for dinner.
The rare steak was still bloody, seeping through the grain of the meat. He dipped a little in and licked it clean.
Seeing her helpless and embarrassed as she faced the knife and fork, he said, "How about we use chopsticks instead?"
She stubbornly buried her head in fiddling with the two cold cutlery pieces in her hands.
One side of her hair fell down, covering half of her delicate eyebrows.
He remained silent, waiting for her to lose heart.
She doesn't seek fame or fortune, but persistently pursues success.
As a result, he didn't touch a thing during the entire meal.
The first time, her steak flew off her plate. He pushed his plate in front of her without saying a word.
He ignored the strange looks he received from all around him and just smiled.
The second time, another piece was squeezed off the plate, and he ordered it for her again. Still, he remained silent.
A faint laugh drifted out, and she looked at him blankly, while he continued to laugh resolutely.
On the fifth time, she made three cuts on her hand and slowly put the bloody steak from her fork into her mouth.
Her lips were stained bright red with juice.
What color should a withered flower be?
Blood oozed from the wound, and he wiped it clean with a towel.
On the way back, I sat in his car, watching the last vibrant colors of the white, silent night.
"How beautiful this snow-white stuff is, it's a pity it will still melt away," she said.
“You are all red. Pure white is too silent, forever obscuring your radiance and life force,” he replied.
On New Year's Eve, he gave her a red ribbon.
A simple red ribbon. It was worlds apart from the extravagant gifts he had given her before.
He gathered her hair and tied it up.
Then he embraced her and kissed her gently. To the strains of the record player, they danced solemnly until late into the night.
Her hair was a deep, glossy black, with a bright red accent running across it—a striking contrast that created a beautiful effect.
In early spring, Minkou, frozen all winter, had not yet thawed, and he wanted to leave.
"Ah Xu, come with me."
She shook her head slightly, without saying a word, and smiled gently.
He understood her stubbornness and supported all her decisions.
"Let me leave something for you, okay?"
He withdrew all the money he had left in Minkou's account and bought her a house.
The five-story building was the same height as the number of steaks she had wasted on her first visit to a Western restaurant.
I understand perfectly.
In the misty morning, she stood calmly on the dock watching him leave.
The restaurant opened in late spring.
So she named the restaurant Muchun Restaurant, and changed the name to Muchun.
In her letter to him, she wrote: "What you gave me is now complete, and its name is inscribed in the late spring."
Signed, Elpis
She did not receive a reply from him.
Perhaps he had already married and started a family, and he would eventually return there, becoming anyone else, but no longer having anything to do with her. She never asked about his life.
However, a young woman living in a vast and overwhelming world often lacks substantial certainty. She tends to repeatedly ask her lover if he still loves her.
When the soul is floating, it is an instinctive act to suppress it with a stone.
But she never asked. Perhaps winter came too early; in the snowy, icy days, they only had time to cling tightly to each other. If they were to dissect each other too much, would they freeze to death in that dizzying, helpless world?
Tears fell silently to the floor; I will always remember the path you led me along.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Looking up towards the source of the voice, a bright red ribbon lay quietly in the stranger's hand.
She didn't take it, but instead asked with a smile, "What is your surname, sir?"
"My surname is Yao, and my name is Yao Yimei." He also had such a gentle and infinitely warm smile.
It was the tail end of spring, and the intense colors made the temperature around us rise even higher. The ribbon was slightly warm in my palm.
Profound memories represent past glories.
In the nunnery I once attended, the Bible, which devout Christians cherish as their life, says, "Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
By this time, the ice and snow had long since melted away, and having survived the bitter winter, Elpis, a symbol of hope, returned to the world. Wild grasses sprouted from the mire left by love.
Do you know? There's no way to get rid of this feeling.
Next winter, next late spring, love and people will remain together.
Before locking the box, she kissed the ribbon repeatedly.
Like flowing water, what has passed has lost its narrative charm.
The ribbons haven't faded yet, and the thoughts of love are still heavy.
However, there is still hope, enough to wait for the arrival of more late spring.
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