Epilogue
On the day I signed with the new agency, Chen Heng attended as a special guest for me.
Some people were curious what relationship the renowned head of the Chen Group really had with me.
Chen Heng only smiled and answered, "She is my benefactor.
"From now on, please look after her."
After the signing ceremony ended, Chen Heng invited me to watch the sunrise.
We set out late at night and hiked all the way along the mountain path. When we reached the summit, the sky still held a layer of misty blue-gray.
"Why help me?"
In the entertainment industry, having a background to lean on could make the road a little smoother.
But the Chen Group's main fields were finance and energy—almost completely unrelated to entertainment.
And in the years Chen Heng had run the Chen Group, he had never been linked to any woman in the slightest.
He really had no need to put his reputation on the line just to stand up for me.
Chen Heng only smiled, twisted open a can of beer, and handed it to me. "Probably because the piece you wrote is called Xiao Yan—that's my sister's name.
"And maybe because I just wanted to help a mother who had lost a child.
"Or maybe... I simply wanted to help you."
When he finished, he opened another can for himself and took a sip.
I tapped my can against his.
A few sips later, the alcohol went to my head.
Under the influence of alcohol, people always end up revealing something.
"Do you know? When my sister drowned, I was right there."
Chen Heng kept looking into the distance as he spoke. "But back then I couldn't swim, and I was so young—scared and helpless. I didn't know how to save her. The branch I picked up couldn't reach her. All I could do was stand on the bank and shout as loud as I could...
"But later I understood that shouting was useless. She still left right before my eyes. I lost her forever. I... couldn't save her."
As he finished those words, orange began to bloom across the distant sky.
But his eyes started to darken with a heavy sadness.
"Later, after my father passed away, I gradually took over the company.
"My mother, though, began to grow unstable. She became obsessed with going to the Nursing Home."
I sat quietly beside him, sipping beer, listening as he said:
"Actually I know—even if she never says it—I know... she blames me. She blames me for not saving Xiao Yan.
"Otherwise why would she refuse to go home, refuse to be alone with me, refuse to face me, and only want to stay at the Nursing Home in Yuncheng, waiting for a dream that can never come true?"
I still couldn't help but pat his shoulder.
"But back then, if you had jumped into the water on impulse, your mother might have lost both her children.
"Then she would have suffered twice the pain, and after your father died, she might have lost every last reason to hold on and never made it this far.
"That was already the most you could do at that time, at that age.
"The dead are gone. The living are still alive."
He listened and fell silent for a moment.
"Actually, a long time ago, I heard Aunt Zhan say with my own ears that she missed you very much."
I wasn't lying to him.
That was when I was writing Xiao Yan. After several days of intense work in a row, I came down with a high fever.
Aunt Zhan came to my room herself, fed me medicine, and cooked porridge for me.
Fate between people really is strange.
The motherly love I had missed, the kind I had never received—I somehow found it in an aunt I had only met by chance.
That day I saw the yam in the bowl and told her, "Sorry, Aunt Zhan, I'm allergic to yam."
Aunt Zhan froze for a second, then patted my head. "You're just like that child Chen Heng—both of you allergic to yam.
"Speaking of which, that kid has been so busy lately he hasn't had time to come over. I really miss him."
She grew more wistful as she went on. "Last time I saw him, he seemed thinner again. I wonder if he's been eating properly..."
Remembering Aunt Zhan's face and voice, I turned my head and looked at Chen Heng. "Once this busy stretch is over, I'll go with you to bring Aunt Zhan home."
He froze first, looked at me, and something surged in his eyes.
In the end he still smiled.
"Okay."
In the distance, the orange glow had slowly widened, washing over a vast stretch of sky.
"Look, the sun is out."
I followed Chen Heng's gaze.
"Yeah. The sun is out.
"A new day has begun."