The breakdown of Zhou Wen and Zhao Qidong’s marriage was due to the husband’s infidelity—a storyline that holds no novelty, yet remains heartbreaking when it unfolds in real life. In the early years of their marriage, both were university lecturers who supported and respected each other. Their life wasn’t particularly affluent but was manageable.

Zhao Qidong, however, didn’t want to remain a mere educator for life. He worked relentlessly and eventually became a university president, basking in glory. Every year, people lined up to curry favor and shower him with gifts. They moved out of their previous allocated housing and purchased a duplex in the city, ushering in a life of prosperity. Afterward, Zhao Qidong stopped coming home on time, often socializing late into the night. The scholarly young man of the past had developed a beer belly. He often asked Zhou Wen for understanding, saying that in this world, ambition alone isn’t enough to climb the ladder—it’s not easy for him either. Zhou Wen understood him and eventually stopped holding him to task. They maintained a semblance of peace in their lives.

As time passed and their children went off to college, the house grew quiet, and the cracks in their relationship began to surface. Zhou Wen, who had been somewhat inattentive before, only realized the depth of the issue when a former university roommate invited her to attend her son’s wedding. At a five-star hotel, she unexpectedly encountered her husband.

What followed needed no explanation. Zhou Wen remained composed as she silently watched the man she had shared her bed with for decades, standing intimately with a woman in her thirties. Their affectionate demeanor left no room for misinterpretation about their relationship.

Even after returning home, Zhou Wen neither cried nor lost control. Perhaps decades of a mundane marriage had already eroded her youthful passion, along with the sensitivity of her girlhood. Quietly, she drafted a divorce agreement and placed it on Zhao Qidong’s desk. Zhao returned the next morning and, without denying his involvement with another woman, expressed that he had never considered divorce. Like many older men, he wanted both a lover and the intact facade of his original marriage. Outwardly, he sought to maintain the image of a faithful husband while secretly indulging in infidelity.

“When we married, you had nothing, yet I chose to become your wife. Now, I am no longer as beautiful as I once was, and you have grown tired of me. Over the years, you’ve treated me well enough materially, so I have no energy to resent you. But I want to end this marriage because I realize I need love. Living a life where we’re together in name but apart in heart is unbearable. You may laugh at me for being old and unlikely to find love after leaving you. But at the very least, I can live with dignity and age gracefully…”

Zhao Qidong remained silent for a moment and signed the divorce papers.

Decades of marriage came to an end. Is there any love in this world that doesn’t turn sour, or has it simply not lasted long enough yet?

The divorce was finalized two weeks later. Zhao Qidong packed his belongings and left the house. Before leaving, he said a quiet apology to their son, Zhao Nanzhuo. Deeply hurt, Zhao Nanzhuo kept his pain to himself, not wanting to worry his mother. He often sat alone in the small courtyard by the house, speaking little.

Hearing about Zhao Nanzhuo’s situation, Zhou Ran’s heart clenched. She cared deeply about him—about all his joys and sorrows. After her last exam of the semester, she packed her suitcase and immediately flew home to see him.

Seeing the visibly thinner Zhao Nanzhuo, Zhou Ran felt her heart ache as if it were being pierced. Yet since he didn’t speak, she refrained from asking. Every day, she sat beside him in the courtyard until nightfall, then quietly left. Rain or shine, she persisted. It was her choice to wait, regardless of whether he accepted her or not. All she wanted was to stay by his side, as long as he remained within her sight. She couldn’t bear the loneliness of reaching out only to touch emptiness.

Sitting in the courtyard, Zhao Nanzhuo spent his days watching the crowds walking at dusk. Most were elderly couples, their hair silver, supporting each other as they strolled down the path. A lifetime had passed, and the once-intense love and pain had long been forgiven. They would keep walking together, slowly, until the moment life came to an end.

In the end, love had transcended into companionship.

More than half of the winter break had passed, and the day of Zhou Ran’s return to school was drawing closer. That evening, just as she stood up to leave, Zhao Nanzhuo finally reached out and held her hand. He said to her, “Let’s be together.”

A magnolia-like smile blossomed on Zhou Ran’s face—serene, yet tinged with a sense of relief after surviving an ordeal. Indeed, for lives like ours that have never known the devastation of war, longing for something unattainable is the greatest disaster. Over the long years of youth, such longing had fermented into desolation.

At last, Zhou Ran held Zhao Nanzhuo’s hand. From the moment they first met in middle school, she had foolishly persisted, silently giving her all. In this moment, she was terrified it was all a dream, afraid that the slightest movement would shatter everything again.

Qianye watched this scene unfold and felt genuinely happy. After all the ups and downs since high school, everything—aside from Zhou Wen’s broken marriage—had reached a joyous conclusion. Qianye wanted to comfort Zhou Wen but felt her own life experience was still too shallow to know what to say. She simply told Zhou Wen not to send her living expenses anymore; she had grown up, and Zhou Wen had worked hard enough supporting two children alone.

Before leaving, Zhou Wen gently patted Qianye’s shoulder. Qianye smiled faintly back at her, conveying all her gratitude and understanding in that single expression. Around them, the sunset painted the sky like a dream.

After returning to school, Qianye asked Zhou Yuqin to help her find a tutoring job. From now on, she wanted to earn her own living expenses. Zhou Yuqin, efficient as always, secured a position for Qianye within three days. The student was a high school senior, primarily needing help with English.

“Thank you, Yuqin,” Qianye said sincerely, clasping Zhou Yuqin’s hand.