Although the moon hidden behind the clouds appeared somewhat cold and distant, the bright city lights rendered the night unusually tender. I did not fall asleep in this gentle night, and neither did she.
I lifted the necklace resting on her chest and examined it carefully before asking, “Why does the pendant on your necklace take the form of a colorful butterfly? And it seems like there’s something liquid inside its wings.”
Mi Cai looked at the necklace resting in my hand, her expression filled with nostalgia. She replied, “This necklace was a birthday gift from my father when I turned twenty. He always loved colors, which is why he named me Mi Cai. Most of the things he gave me were colorful…” She picked up the pendant from my hand, gazing at it for a long time as she softly continued, “The liquid inside the butterfly’s wings is melted snow from the Eiger mountain. My father once climbed this mountain, collected the snow in a cup, and later had this necklace custom-made after returning home.”
I exclaimed, “It’s so true that a daughter is her father’s little sweetheart!”
“Why do you say that?”
Looking again at the necklace in Mi Cai’s hand, I admired its exquisite craftsmanship. The pendant was indeed very delicate, made from many expensive materials to create the colorful effect. Regardless of the necklace’s monetary value, Mi Zhongxin’s paternal love was as deep as a mountain, because the Eiger is truly not an easy mountain to climb.
Finally, I told Mi Cai, “Did you know? There’s a legend that for a long time, the Alpine people had this custom: when a young man proposes to a girl, to prove his devotion to love, he must overcome numerous difficulties and dangers, bravely climb a high mountain, and pick an ‘Alpine rose’ to present to his beloved… Your father didn’t manage to pick the ‘Alpine rose,’ so he used snow from there instead. I think the snow is even better—it can remain inside this necklace forever!”
Mi Zhongxin was the softest place in Mi Cai’s heart. Her voice choked with emotion as she said, “Dad never told me these things, he just said it was a birthday gift for me.”
I hugged her tighter, “He gave me the opportunity to tell you these words… So you must believe in fate. I’m not someone who knows much geography, yet I happen to know about the Eiger and its legends… And also, also, in such a big city like Xuzhou, you came looking for me, couldn’t get through on the phone, yet we still met by chance. This is truly extraordinary fate… Honestly, I’ve always believed there was fate between us!”
“Thinking carefully, it really is like that.”
“So, we’ve agreed, our entire lives are now bound together forever.”
Mi Cai didn’t reply with words. Instead, she took off the necklace and placed it in my hand…
“Are you giving this to me?”
Mi Cai nodded… I was both flattered and overjoyed. Although it was the first time I had ever seen this necklace, I knew it was undoubtedly her most precious possession. Now she had given it to me, symbolizing that she had entrusted her entire life to me, and I no longer needed to doubt anything.
I also took off my own necklace, removed the butterfly pendant, and attached it to my chain. Then I replaced it with my sail pendant on Mi Cai’s chain, saying, “By exchanging them like this, our entire lives have become one.”
I put the necklace with the sail pendant around Mi Cai’s neck, and she helped me put on the necklace with the butterfly pendant.
I suggested, “Let’s give these necklaces names, since they’ve now become the most precious things in our lives.”
Mi Cai thought for a moment and said, “Mine will be called Colorful Butterfly, and yours will be named Breaking Waves Sail.”
I immediately understood Mi Cai’s intention. Her unique way of naming them gave me an even stronger sense of integration. I liked these simple yet meaningful names, so I immediately said, “Then let your colorful butterfly land on my breaking waves sail, and together we’ll sail to that dock where across lies a home sheltered by grapevine leaves.”
“Mm.”
The night deepened, and Mi Cai had fallen asleep before me. But I didn’t want to sleep. I happily looked at the necklace she had named Breaking Waves Sail, then turned to look at the real Mi Cai beside me, overwhelmed with happiness. I imagined our future life all the way to its end. Yet even at that endpoint representing the end of life, I felt no fear, because my life now had no regrets. At the age when I needed love the most, I had fallen in love with the woman I loved the most, and she loved me too.
…
The next day, I woke up to the piercing sunlight. The first thing I did upon opening my eyes was to look for Mi Cai beside me, but she was already up, tidying my clothes. Seeing that I was awake, she said, “Hurry up and get up and get ready. We’ll go have breakfast together later…”
Even though I had just woken up, my mind was clear. I teased, “According to TV drama plots, shouldn’t you have already prepared breakfast for me?”
“I wanted to, but we’re in a hotel. Ordering breakfast too early would make it cold before you eat it!”
I sighed, then said, “Now there’s something more important than breakfast. You’d better book two train tickets back to Suzhou online. If we don’t go back for two more days, there’ll be a lot of work left undone at the company!”
Mi Cai put down the clothes she was folding, her expression serious as she said, “You should go home first… Uncle and Aunt must be very worried now!”
I was silent for a long time, then recalled the painful scenes from yesterday and my parents’ misunderstanding. Finally, I told her, “I think both my parents and I need some time to calm down. We can face them again when the time is right next time… Besides, your affairs at Zhuo Mei cannot be delayed any further. Let’s go back this afternoon.”
“You decide what feels most appropriate to do.”
“Mm… By the way, how is Zhuo Mei’s stock listing going? Right now there’s still no concrete news other than speculation.”
Mi Cai’s expression turned somewhat serious as she replied, “Everything that needed to be done has been done. The team I brought along is still there waiting for the results. We’ll know for sure in three days. If it’s successful, I’ll have to go to the U.S. again. If it fails, the remaining tasks can be handled by the team.”
I didn’t ask further questions because Mi Cai’s expression already revealed some information. In the future, I might need to fulfill the role of a good boyfriend, staying by her side to comfort her through setbacks in her career. Still, I hoped for a miracle.
Mi Cai continued packing our clothes, then booked two standing-room-only train tickets online for 2 p.m. that afternoon. We hadn’t prepared in advance and had booked too late, so I felt a bit worried that she might not be able to endure the fatigue of standing the whole way back. But she didn’t seem to care much about it.
At noon, Mi Cai and I dragged our suitcases through the bustling streets, looking for a place to eat, when I received a call from Li Xiaoyun. She said that she and her husband wanted to treat me to a meal… I already had a hunch in my heart—perhaps she had already learned about the conflict I had with my family last night and was coming to mediate and reconcile our relationship.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage