"No, once you open the bottle, you can just use the straw."
"I'll pour it into your cup, it'll taste better." With that, she turned and went into the kitchen to prepare it.
He was still shouting, "I want you to come every day, and I'll drink with you every day." The brown liquid bubbled in the glass, bubbles as fine as dust, bubbles heavy with unspoken thoughts.
He reached out and took it: "Drinking something this cold in this freezing weather is going to be tough! Why don't you try a sip first?"
"Me?" Dandan gave him a sly look. "I've already secretly tried it. It's not good. It's spicy and bitter. I can't stand it!" Then Zizi flattered him again.
"Here's some for you to eat. — I've learned a few new recipes."
Before long, it was served piping hot and attentively.
Winter of the 22nd year of the Republic of China, Hangzhou
Hangzhou has countless bridges.
In the area around Su Causeway, Bai Causeway, Gushan Island, and Geling Island alone, there are about ten or twenty such islands.
However, no one can remember their names except for the Broken Bridge, which is known to every household. Every traveler who comes to Hangzhou will step onto this Broken Bridge, which was originally called "Duanjia Bridge".
Duan Pingting was only setting foot here for the first time, yet she felt an immediate sense of intimacy. This was the "Duan family," her home. — She suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, as if, in the darkness, thousands of years ago, a destiny had truly been arranged for her.
The Broken Bridge is neither architecturally unique nor adorned with gilded carvings; in fact, it has never actually been broken. This rather ordinary bridge is not as beautiful as the Six Bridges of Su Causeway.
It is just a single archway with bluestone railings on both sides. Duan Pingting thought that its struggle was because the White Snake would never get Xu Xian in the end.
Christmas has passed, New Year's Day has passed, and it's another new year.
Winter passed, and only remnants of snow remained on the bridge, which was covered in a blanket of white. After the snow fell, he recovered.
Duan Pingting was so touched. Today was her wedding day. Huaiyu couldn't see her beautifully dressed up, but that didn't matter; he could touch her. He could touch a bright red marriage certificate, where he could sign his name in the appropriate place.
There was no witness, but that doesn't matter. The entire Duanjiaqiao Bridge is proof enough, as is the snow-covered West Lake—and perhaps even Bai Suzhen, who was imprisoned at the bottom of Leifeng Pagoda.
She guided him.
"here it is……"
He dipped his brush in ink and wrote with great flourish.
"Tang, we're here, and nobody knew. It's really absurd; two of the most popular stars have retired from the film industry, and nobody knew."
"—Perhaps future history will record it?"
"How could that be? I don't want it anymore either."
Tang Huaiyu thought of youthful glory, fleeting and ephemeral. The advent of sound cinema had ushered in a new era, but it had no place for him. He wanted to say something, but Duan covered his mouth with one hand:
"I won't let you say anything. The one thing you can't say is the truth."
Then it was her turn to sign. When she got to the character "停" (stop), she made a sharp upward hook. Not quite finished with that hook, she added parentheses, enclosing "秋萍" (Qiu Ping).
The case is irrefutable.
Duan Pingting is so sweet.
Most love affairs don't end well, so it's been passed down that women's love stories are rarely happy endings, but she was satisfied. She achieved ultimate victory. The reason her love didn't end well was probably because she didn't love enough—she did a really good job, and couldn't help but praise herself.
Some passersby on West Lake saw a woman leaning against a man wearing sunglasses. The man looked somewhat familiar, but because they were far away, separated by the screen and their own private world, they couldn't recognize him. And in the future, no one will recognize anyone else.
Duan Pingting's mind was empty, but her heart was full, truly, until the end of time.
She felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.
Tang Huaiyu is in her hands, by her side, and no one can take him away. Though things are not as they were before, let us strive to surpass them and spend this vast life together.
"Tang, do you remember? I said I didn't have any children, but maybe I'll have some soon. How many do you want?"
She began the life she had always longed for. Best of all, he would never know how she aged, but he would always remember her beauty, her grace, her smile. An indelible memory.
His voice and appearance are still vivid in my mind.
Even if she too fell into corruption and depravity, in his memories she would always be an eternal confidante. Knowing herself and her enemy, that's why she prevailed.
It's a truly grueling long-distance race, not a jump race, but a marathon. It's all about winning and losing; let's see who reaches the finish line first.
Some pupae, overconfident, never transform into butterflies. They either freeze to death in the cold, suffer a violent accident, or are accidentally knocked down and crushed into a pulp by a mischievous child. No preparation is ever foolproof.
—She transformed into a colorful butterfly, wandering atop West Lake in Hangzhou, a cold, lonely butterfly. Of course, there's always someone stronger, and within her soul lay a ruthlessness and cunning unlike any other woman. This was her last foray into the world of martial arts. Who knows if she orchestrated a calamity, but that calamity, however, shaped her.
Huaiyu sighed softly and then remained silent.
His misfortune turned out to be a stroke of good fortune. From then on, he was trapped in a life of luxury and comfort, his heart as still as water, filled with boundless desolation. In just one year, he aged prematurely; he awoke and fell asleep without even realizing it, only knowing that his sleep was like death. And, as if defying fate, he lived again.
The top martial arts performer at Guanghe Tower in Beiping.
The number one martial arts performer at the Shanghai Lingxiao Grand Stage.
The male lead in "The Peach Blossom Spring," China's first sound film. His wife, Duan Pingting, was the first female star of silent films.
He also witnessed the downfall of Jin Xiaofeng, the most prominent figure in Shanghai.
These are the "firsts".
He lived his entire life at the young age of twenty-two.