Chapter 3

I began clearing out everything connected to Wen Songyi.

The coat she’d left at my place. The cup she’d used. The lipstick she’d tossed into the gap between the sofa cushions.

And a drawer full of bills.

Five years. More than seventy million yuan. That didn’t include the gifts, the projects, or the partnerships I’d turned down to accommodate her.

I’d never dared add it up. I was afraid that once I did, even I would find myself ridiculous.

Now, leafing through the bills one by one, I felt lighter.

That afternoon, she called.

“Come to a reception with me tonight.”

I fed the bills into the shredder. “I’m not going.”

She sounded as though she hadn’t heard. “What did you say?”

“I’m not going.”

“Pei Yan, aren’t you done yet?”

“I have plans tonight.”

“What could possibly be more important than me?”

The shredder caught the last sheet with a dry little rustle. I watched it turn to strips.

“It’s the anniversary of my mother’s death.”

She fell silent. She knew the date.

Every year, I’d wanted her to come to the cemetery with me. She had never come once. The first year, her company was going public and she couldn’t get away. The second, there was an acquisition. The third, she forgot. The fourth, I hadn’t dared ask.

This was the fifth year.

After a moment, her tone softened. “I’ll go with you after the reception.”

“The cemetery closes at ten.”

“Then go ahead. I’ll meet you there later.”

I gave a small laugh. “Wen Songyi, visiting a grave isn’t something you clock in for.”

She said nothing. Then, as if conceding a point, she said, “Fine. I’ll cancel the reception.”

I hadn’t expected her to actually come. At seven that evening, I saw her car at the cemetery gates.

She wore a long black dress and carried white chrysanthemums. The wind lifted her hair. She was beautiful, aloof, and distant.

I walked over. “Thank you.”

She glanced at me. “Oh, spare me.”

We walked inside. Halfway there, her phone rang.

A special ringtone. Not work. I’d heard it once before—a childish little piano tune Xu Zhinan had set for himself on her phone.

She took it out, frowning. “Zhinan, what’s wrong?”

Whatever he said made her stop walking.

“Stay where you are. I’ll be right there.”

I watched her. She hung up and spoke quickly.

“Someone locked Zhinan in a storage room at the gallery. He’s claustrophobic.”

“Call building management.”

“He’s in a terrible state.”

“Call the police.”

“Pei Yan.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t start this now.”

I looked at the gravestone not far away. My mother smiled gently from her photograph.

She’d loved having people around. She was always asking when I’d bring my girlfriend home for her to meet.

I’d lied and said soon. I’d kept lying until the day she closed her eyes, and she’d never met Wen Songyi.

“Wen Songyi,” I said, “today is the anniversary of my mother’s death.”

Irritation flickered in her eyes. “I know. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

Was she? Her body was here. Her mind had been with someone else all along.

She shoved the flowers into my arms. “Go on ahead. I’ll be back as soon as I’ve sorted this out.”

I didn’t catch them properly. They fell, white petals catching in the mud. Wen Songyi had already turned away.

“What if I were the one locked in that storage room?” I asked suddenly.

She stopped.

“Would you be in such a hurry?”

She looked back, her expression cold. “Pei Yan, what’s the point of these hypotheticals?”

Then she left. Her headlights swept across the cemetery path and were gone.

I crouched and picked up the flowers one by one. Wet mud covered my palms.

The cemetery attendant couldn’t bear watching. He handed me a tissue.

“Young man, stop waiting. We’re closing soon.”

I nodded. “All right.”

That night, I knelt alone at my mother’s grave and talked for a long time.

I told her how stupid I’d been. How I’d always thought that if I loved a little more, spent a little more, waited a little longer, she would eventually turn back to me.

As I left the cemetery, Wen Songyi sent me a voice message. The background was noisy. Xu Zhinan was crying. She sounded tired.

“Pei Yan, Zhinan had a terrible scare today. Be a little more understanding and stop making things harder for me.”

I listened, then deleted it.

Then I called my lawyer.

“Are the agreements ready?”

“Mr. Pei, are you certain you want to end every joint project involving Ms. Wen’s businesses?”

“Certain.”

“Including the island?”

“Including the island.”

“You were going to propose there.”

I looked up at the sky. You rarely saw stars in Jingshi.

“I won’t be needing it.”