Watch after watch of wind and snow; splendor stripped away reveals a mulberry heart, and the willows are green again

The entire Mulberry Garden was transformed into a vibrant green overnight, which is nothing short of a miracle.

Bi Shenghua made a decisive change and revised the final plan to prevent the construction team from damaging the newly grown saplings in the garden during the final stages of the project.

Hu Xing, as the main investor in the Mulberry Garden, received the news immediately. When she saw the garden full of new greenery, she was so surprised that she couldn't stop smiling and kept asking Bi Shenghua how he had done it.

Bi Shenghua didn't know what was going on, only vaguely feeling that these trees were related to that person. But she didn't want to mention that person's name, didn't want to stir up that stone that had sunk to the bottom of her heart again. She stood by the lake, the water was clear but the bottom was not visible, only the blue sky and white clouds were reflected, deep and far away.

Hu Xing saw through her thoughts and guessed that the changes here were related to some mysterious person. She couldn't bear to mention his name, lest she disrupt the superficial peace.

Over the years, she has met with Bi Shenghua more and more, witnessed her changes day by Tiantian, and come to understand this woman more and more.

Since the bar closed, the fierce tomboy from back then is gone. Although she still dresses in a neutral style, she no longer exudes that fierce energy. Like a thorn softening its thorns, she blooms proudly in the cold wind like a plum blossom.

Every morning, she would clean that person's room; every evening, she would stand under the willow tree, gazing into the distance; every night, she would stand on the rooftop, staring longingly at the starry sky... Day after day, the light in her eyes gradually dimmed; her back gradually hunched; her short hair gradually turned gray; her face gradually showed signs of hardship... Her heart finally returned to calm, as calm as a frozen lake.

This ice is not cold, nor does it make one shiver. It only brings a sense of peace, a peace that lasts until death, as if it will never melt.

Hu Xing knew that beneath the ice, warmth still lurked, but this warmth needed a person and an opportunity to rekindle it. Once rekindled, it could ignite a raging fire. Unfortunately, that person never returned, and the warmth sank deeper and deeper, gradually becoming imperceptible.

Hu Xing felt a pang of heartache looking at Bi Shenghua's appearance.

It's only been a little over five years, but it feels like fifty!

A person's aging is not solely determined by the years. The human heart is like paper; once burned, it turns to ashes along with the body. But can those ashes be rekindled?!

She thought of herself, how she had once been infatuated with that man, how she had been deeply worried about his disappearance, but that wasn't her whole life. As time passed, her life continued... inheriting the family business, managing the industry, gradually becoming corrupted in the circles of wealth accumulation... she had her edges smoothed out by the millstone of society, and the image of that man gradually became blurred in her mind.

Compared to the woman before her, a sense of shame rose from the bottom of her heart.

" Sister Hua..." Hu Xing hesitated for a moment, then took out an invitation from her handbag. "I'm getting married."

Bi Shenghua accepted the invitation, her fingers trembling almost imperceptibly. She smiled and said, "Congratulations!"

During the National Day holiday, Hu Xing and Shi Dazhuang's wedding was held at the most luxurious resort in Wuzhong. At that time, the Mulberry Garden grove had already grown to a considerable size.

When the trees were still saplings, Bi Shenghua wasn't sure what kind of tree they were. After consulting forestry experts, they all said they were mulberry trees, and an ancient species, different from the improved mulberry varieties commonly planted in the Jiangnan region. The Forestry Bureau requested that one be taken back for seedling research, but they discovered that the root systems of these dozens of acres of mulberry groves were all connected, as if they all originated from the same tree.

Bi Shenghua immediately thought of the roots of that old willow tree. Long before the demolition of Liuying Lane, people from the Parks and Culture Bureau had come to inspect it and said that the ground here was full of old tree roots.

She knew that there used to be a mulberry tree here, but after it burned down, willow trees from the lakeside were transplanted, and that's how it became what it is now. It seemed that the mulberry tree hadn't died out; its roots were still alive, and for some reason, they had all sprouted up at this moment.

However, the old willow tree didn't look to be in good condition.

Since many trees have grown around us, it seems as if they have absorbed all the nutrients from the soil. The bark has begun to crack and peel, the leaves have turned yellow and withered, and the branches have started to fall off in whole pieces.

Bi Shenghua tried many methods—watering, fertilizing, pest control—but with little success. She knew it was getting old and finally gave up. No one can withstand the passage of time, nor the ravages of time.

The old willow tree grew old, but the new willow by the lake grew very quickly, much faster than the mulberry seedlings. In just a few months, it grew to be as thick as a bowl and more than three meters tall, standing gracefully with its slender, supple branches hanging down, swaying in the wind and reflecting its graceful form in the water.

In winter, the old willow tree's condition worsened. Large chunks of bark fell off, and the branches almost all fell off, leaving it bare except for some thick twigs that forked out in all directions, casting black silhouettes against the sky.

For the first time in hundreds of years, it has lost its lush greenery and the green that symbolizes life.

Standing before the tree, Bi Shenghua seemed to have aged several years in an instant.

At the end of the year, she attended another wedding.

Yao Jingjing and Hou Biao got married.

Hou Biao still can't remember his past, but his brain damage has been repaired. After confirmation by doctors, apart from amnesia, he is now a normal person.

Compared to the lavishness of Hu Xing's wedding banquet, their wedding could only be described as simple, but the newlyweds' happiness was more readily conveyed to the guests.

Hou Biao, dressed in a suit, had his shiny bald head shining like a light bulb, illuminating himself and Yao Jingjing beside him. He had a childlike shyness on his face, while the bride appeared poised and elegant, her smile brighter than the flowers decorating the archway as she took his arm and walked through it.

Bi Shenghua calmly attended the wedding. After listening to the emcee's rambling opening remarks and watching the newlyweds exchange rings, she uttered a blessing that only she could hear, and then silently left the banquet hall.

She did not attend the subsequent dinner party and returned to the Mulberry Garden. The setting sun shone on the winter mulberry forest, painting it with a hazy golden hue.

She discovered that the old willow tree had completely shed its bark, but the trunk inside did not appear to be dead; instead, it was covered with a layer of transparent, resinous liquid. Some new buds were sprouting from the trunk and gnarled branches, defying the winter wind and displaying the colors of life.

She was certain this wasn't a hallucination.

By the twelfth lunar month, the transparent liquid that had condensed on the trees had completely dried, turning into yellowish-black bark. More buds sprouted, more branches stretched out, and more leaves turned green in the wind.

Bi Shenghua was certain that it wasn't willow bark or willow leaves. After repeated observation, she confirmed that after the old willow shed its old bark and branches, it had become a mulberry tree. It turned out that beneath its willow bark, there had always been the heart of a mulberry tree.

The new willow tree by the lake has grown even taller. Perhaps the old willow has fulfilled its mission, and its soul has returned to the lakeside to grow anew.

On Lunar New Year's Eve, it snowed heavily.

Worried that the old mulberry tree's new bark wouldn't withstand the cold, Bi Shenghua picked up two straw mats, held up an umbrella, and went to the mulberry tree. She put the umbrella aside, stood the straw mats upright, wrapped them around the thick trunk, and then tied them tightly with straw rope. She dared not tie them too tightly, fearing that the new bark wouldn't be able to withstand the friction, nor dared she tie them too loosely, fearing that a strong northwest wind might blow the mats away one day.

The wind and snow were so thick that she could barely open her eyes. Large snowflakes fell on her already graying hair and her slightly hunched back, piling up into a thin layer of white snow.

Suddenly, she felt as if the snow had stopped.

She brushed the snow off her arms, rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, and looked up to see a black umbrella held overhead.

She turned around abruptly and saw the man standing opposite her—wearing an old gray trench coat, his left hand in his pocket, holding an umbrella in his right, his slippers deeply embedded in the snow, and a black bird perched on his messy head.

All around was the tranquility of snow.

Bi Shenghua's body froze instantly, like a frozen ice statue, but something buried deep in her heart stirred with the warmth of her blood, finally surging and surging, causing two streams of clear tears to flow, melting the frost on her face...

You're back?

"I'm back."

Firecrackers sounded in the distance, signaling the imminent start of the new year.