Taking Liu Yifei back to Northeast China for the Chinese New Year has sent the entire internet into

Grandma's gaze drifted out the window.

That gaze pierced through the snow-covered windowsill and drifted far, far away.

It drifted back several decades.

That springtime between spring and summer when half the sky was ablaze with firelight.

"Back then, your maternal grandfather was the team leader at the forest farm, while I worked at the supply and marketing cooperative in town."

"The weather that day was really strange. The wind was so strong that you couldn't open your eyes, and it was so dry."

"In the afternoon, someone shouted that smoke was coming from the western hilltop."

"At first, nobody took it seriously. There were fires in the forest every few days, and they were just put out."

"Who knew that the wind would change direction and the fire would go completely berserk."

Grandma's voice trembled slightly.

"It only took the blink of an eye for the fire to spread from the mountains to the town."

"I was taking inventory at the supply and marketing cooperative when I looked up and the sky outside the window was completely red."

"The rows of wooden houses could be ignited with a single lick of a flame, sending pillars of fire shooting up more than ten meters high."

"The smoke was so thick that I couldn't see anything, but I could hear crying, shouting, and the sound of houses collapsing."

Liu Yifei was terrified as she listened, even though she had never experienced it firsthand.

But just listening to her grandmother's description, a scene of hell on earth unfolded in her mind.

The number of comments in the live stream visibly slowed down.

Is this referring to... the fire in the Greater Khingan Mountains?

My grandfather retired from the forestry farm; the scar on his leg is from that year.

The May 6th catastrophic fire... I learned about it in textbooks, but hearing it from someone who experienced it firsthand was completely different.

A single line in their textbook became a lifelong nightmare for them.

Grandma continued her story.

"I followed the crowd and ran desperately towards the river."

"They plunged headfirst into the river; the water was so cold it hurt their bones, but no one dared to come ashore."

"The shore was on fire, and people survived only by being submerged in water."

"But my neighbor's young wife, Xiao Ran..."

Grandma's lips moved slightly.

"She didn't run away."

Liu Yifei's breath hitched.

"That girl is so pretty, with big eyes and a lovely smile."

"I've only been married for less than two years. My husband works on the railway and he only comes back a few times a year."

"She just stayed home all by herself and never complained."

"She had actually run to the door when the fire started."

Grandma's voice caught in her throat, pausing for a few seconds.

"...But she turned back."

"Her husband brought her a navy blue, double-breasted wool coat from out of town."

"Back then, that was a woman's most precious possession."

"She couldn't bear to part with it."

"So... I went back to get it."

"And then, he never came out again."

The house was so quiet that you could hear the firewood cracking in the stove.

Grandma lifted her sleeve and rubbed it against the corner of her eye.

"Later, her man came back."

"A tall man, over 1.8 meters, stood in front of those ruins."

"Everything was burned to the ground, leaving only black ash."

"He was kneeling there, crying so hard he was unrecognizable, and no matter how hard we tried to pull him up, we couldn't get him up."

"Later... the town was rebuilt, and a dance hall was built."

Grandma's speech slowed down.

"He went there every day."

"I don't find a dance partner, I just spin around on the dance floor by myself."

"Embrace the air and jump."

"One jump lasts for decades."

Upon hearing this...

In the live stream, the style of the comments section completely changed.

[He's been jumping around holding thin air for decades... what kind of trauma did he suffer?]

Trading a coat for a life, how foolish!

[It wasn't a coat; it was a gift from her husband. People in that era were just that stubborn and genuine.]

[I suddenly feel so depressed. Fang Yu, hurry up and do something! I can't stand this atmosphere.]

Fang Yu remained silent.

He sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), one leg dangling down, his toes lightly touching the ground.

He had heard this story before.

He had seen that old man dancing before.

"Grandma, do we still have our guitar?"

He spoke directly.

Grandma paused for a moment, then got up and took a dusty violin case from the top of the cabinet.

Open it, and inside is an old guitar.

Fang Yu has loved music since he was a child, and his maternal grandparents even provided him with a guitar.

Fang Yu took it.

Turn the tuning peg to adjust the pitch.

But it wasn't played immediately.

Instead, she started singing a cappella.

There is no prelude.

There was no build-up.

They sang the lyrics so cleanly and simply.

"If there's time."

"You'll come to see me, won't you?"

"Watch how the snow ages."

"How my eyes melted."

"If you see me."

"Turn around before you're surprised."

"Let it be sealed away at sea."

This passage is unaccompanied, yet it is exceptionally moving.

Liu Yifei had heard Fang Yu sing "The Sound of Snow Falling," and found it clear and pure.

I've heard him sing "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing You Prosperity), it's lively and festive.

I've heard him sing "Cotton Candy," and it's so sweet it warms my heart.

But this sound—she had never heard it before.

The next second, Fang Yu's fingers pressed firmly onto the strings.

The first chord begins.

Fang Yu closed his eyes.

"I have never seen the aurora borealis in a village."

"I've never seen anyone set off fireworks late at night."

"Evening Star is like your eyes, killing and setting fires."

"You didn't say anything, the wild wind startled me..."

As soon as the song started, Fang Yu, who was usually carefree and full of nonsense, disappeared.

It was a quality that had never appeared in him before.

Gone was his usual playfulness and laziness, replaced by a deep-seated loneliness and tenderness.

"Three thousand miles away, I happened to see you."

"In the garden, skirts flutter and dance."

"The lamplight shook off the dawn."

"In a Mohe dance hall in 1980—"

As Fang Yu sang the words "Mohe Dance Hall," the last syllable of his voice rose slightly.

Then, the force of the strumming increased.

Then, the chorus came.

"If you have time, you'll come and see me, won't you?"

"Watch as the snow ages, and my eyes melt away."

"If you see me, please turn around before you are surprised."

"I'm afraid my tears and my gray hair will become a shameful joke..."

Grandma leaned against the pile of quilts.

The image of my grandson playing the piano in my field of vision blurred.

The dimly lit old ballroom was illuminated again by its dappled lights.

A man wearing an old Zhongshan suit stood in the middle of the dance floor.

He raised his right hand and gently embraced the person in his arms.

step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

He was spinning in circles.

Doorway.

Fang Yu's maternal grandfather walked in at some point.

He didn't go inside.

He leaned against the door frame, one hand in his cotton-padded coat pocket and the other holding a cigarette.

The cigarette has gone out.

He didn't notice.

Just listen to it.

"But you angered the gods, who sent you back to be so young."

"It's all your fault for being so cold and aloof, alone in the Mohe dance hall..."

The song reached its climax.

Fang Yu's voice rose half a tone.

It wasn't a forceful roar, but a trembling that finally broke free after being restrained to the limit.

"What if one day my beliefs suddenly collapse?"

"The city's gardens have no flowers."

"The voice on the radio was hoarse."

"If that day ever comes."

"Will you run to me?"

"Let it be sealed away in the sea—"

"Let it be sealed away in the sea—"

When they sang the line, "Will you run to me?"

Liu Yifei burst into tears.

It slammed down on the back of my hand along my chin.

She didn't cry for the characters in the story, nor for the lyrics.

She was struck hard in the heart by this question mark that would never be answered.

nananananana……

After the final humming ended.

Fang Yu slowly lifted his fingers off the strings.

The last note slowly faded away.

No one spoke inside the room.

Before everyone's eyes was that old man, dancing alone in the void under the flashing lights.

His dance steps were clumsy, his world was silent.

His dance partner lives in his heart and has never left.