33 Chapter 24

Xie Anqing first met Chen Li at the level crossing outside the village. One of them was turning sideways to slip on a high heel, glowing white; the other stood barefoot on the ridge between the fields, covered in mud.

They had nothing in common. They shouldn’t even have crossed paths.

And yet, through one encounter after another—some deliberate, some accidental—Xie Anqing fell in love with Chen Li. Just as she’d cut off every possible way back, Chen Li left her with a casual remark: "Novelty, fun, or just a temporary bout of lust."

Then, half a month later, Chen Li found an injured Xie Anqing in a desolate suburb, took her home, fed her medicine, held her while she slept—and covered the walls of her studio with photographs of her.

***

Xie Anqing thought there might still be a chance.

Taking advantage of her feverish confusion and weakness, she let go of what little dignity she had left and made one last humiliating plea. "Chen Li, should I get down on my knees for you?"

Chen Li replied without a flicker of emotion. "Do you have money, power, or fame? What about you makes you think you’re good enough for me? Tell me. If you can come up with something, I’ll reconsider."

Xie Anqing had no answer. Chen Li kept closing in.

With nowhere left to retreat, Xie Anqing said, "Chen Li, next time I die on the road, don’t come looking for me. Whatever you do, don’t come. I’m begging you."

Not long afterward, Xie Anqing really did die. Chen Li saw it with her own eyes. ***

Two years later, they met again at an island hotel.

Chen Li clutched Xie Anqing’s wrist, eyes bloodshot. "You were dead!"

Xie Anqing said, "I lied."

"Why?"

Xie Anqing borrowed a line Chen Li had once used herself. "Revenge, forgetting, or starting over with someone new."