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A few days later, Wu Aizhen needed to return to City A to help a friend with some matters, and a publisher wanted to meet with her about one of her own books, which was about to be released. When she told Mingchuan about it, he stayed silent. But Wu Aizhen said she had already … Read more

Keiko and Mayumi had returned. Keiko was jubilant, like a lark, chattering on endlessly about everything she had seen and heard, about the places she and Ren Qingfei had visited together… Yamaguchi Mingchuan and Wu Aizhen were absorbed in their own love; neither of them noticed the admiration and lingering fondness in Keiko’s voice when … Read more

Wu Aizhen’s birthday came a week later, and Yamaguchi Mingchuan remembered it clearly. He asked how she wanted to spend it. Wu Aizhen said the plainer the better—preferably just the two of them in the room drinking “Happiness Tea.” “We still have those two small packets we haven’t drunk, don’t we?” she added. Yamaguchi Mingchuan … Read more

When Wu Aizhen returned to City A, it happened to be New Year’s Day. Although holidays no longer stirred much excitement or enthusiasm in modern city-dwellers, a festive air still filled the city. From the sudden surge of cars and crowds on the streets during the long holiday to the red lanterns newly hung along … Read more

After leaving her parents, she went to Mount Wutai, since it was very close to their small city. She did not contact Ren Qingfei. She didn’t know which sacred Buddhist mountain he was on now, and she knew she hadn’t come for him, nor for anyone else. But when she knelt before the Buddha in … Read more

Her parents lived in a small northern city. In winter, everything in that small northern town seemed frozen hard. Carrying bulging bags of gifts she’d bought for them, she breathed on her hands, stamped her feet, and knocked on their door. Her mother, seeing her, was first startled, then so overjoyed she nearly wept, but … Read more

The next day, it was already four in the afternoon by the time they returned to City A. On the road, Yamaguchi Mingchuan told her that he had originally gone to her room the previous evening to tell her something. He had received a phone call—something had happened at the Japan headquarters, and he needed … Read more

The next day, after seeing off all his guests, it was already past ten when Yamaguchi Mingchuan came straight over to pick up Wu Aizhen. When Wu Aizhen came downstairs, she saw Yamaguchi Mingchuan standing not far from the car, waiting for her. He was dressed in a black tracksuit with short sleeves. The fabric … Read more

Yamaguchi Mingchuan barely slept that night; only around five in the morning did he drift off into a haze. But he had a strange dream: a golden dragon, gleaming with light, entered his room with an enormous white lotus in its jaws. Instantly, the room filled with fragrance. After the dragon dropped the flower before … Read more

After seeing Keiko off, Wu Aizhen and Yamaguchi Mingchuan returned to the parking lot. Yamaguchi Mingchuan drove a black, silver-trimmed Maybach 62, a stretch longer than the cars parked on either side, its freshly polished body gleaming conspicuously. On the way to the airport, Keiko had mentioned that her father had had it custom-built; it … Read more