Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

December 26th.

Switzerland. Third floor of the St. Moritz Clinic.

When Director Wang pushed open the door, he was holding the latest inspection report in his hand.

His face was expressionless, but Gu Xidong noticed that the vertical line between his eyebrows was deeper than usual.

"The targets are in." Director Wang placed the report on the bedside table.

"The immunosuppressant is working, and the rejection reaction is under control."

Ling Wuwen leaned against the headboard and looked at him.

"but?"

Director Wang remained silent for three seconds.

"However, the drug concentration has already reached a critical level. If we increase it any further, the liver and kidneys cannot withstand it. At this current dosage, we can only maintain the status quo and cannot reverse the damage that has already been caused."

Ling Wuwen nodded.

"That means my condition could worsen at any time."

Director Wang did not deny it.

"Medically, there is no such thing as a permanently stable rejection reaction. Today the indicators are normal, but tomorrow there may be a full rebound. There is a continuous war between your body and the transplanted brain tissue. There are no winners, only ceasefire periods."

Ling Wuwen looked out the window.

The snow has stopped. The sunlight is blindingly bright on the snow-covered ground.

How long will the ceasefire last?

Director Wang adjusted his glasses.

"If treatment continues with strict isolation, it could last six months. It could also last a year. Or it could end next month."

"What if we don't treat it?"

Director Wang did not answer.

He looked at Gu Xidong.

Gu Xidong stood by the bed, his hand resting on the bed rail.

When you strain your fingers, your knuckles turn white.

"This is a problem," Director Wang said. "I suggest you consider it carefully before discussing it further."

He turned and left.

The door closed.

The ward was quiet.

Ling Wuwen looked at Gu Xidong.

"You know what I'm going to say."

He didn't speak.

She reached out her hand.

He grasped it.

Her hands were cold. Colder than yesterday. Colder than this morning.

"I don't want to wait to die in a sterile ward," she said.

He held her hand tightly.

"Give me six months," she said. "Let me finish one last thing."

2

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Director Wang was called back to the ward.

He stood by the bed, looking at Ling Wuwen.

Are you sure?

She nodded.

"The disease will accelerate once immunosuppressant treatment is discontinued. The indicators fluctuate in the first month, rejection reactions begin in the second month, and by the third month..."

He paused.

"How was the third month?"

"He may only have three months left to be lucid."

Gu Xidong stood by the window, his back to them.

Ling Wuwen watched his retreating figure.

"Three months is enough."

Director Wang took off his glasses and wiped them with a glasses cloth. He wiped them very slowly, once, twice, three times.

"Think it through," he said.

"This isn't a movie. It's not about doing what you want and then leaving peacefully. The final stages will be difficult. Headaches, confusion, memory loss, you might not even know who you are."

Ling Wuwen listened.

"I know."

Director Wang put his glasses back on.

He looked at Gu Xidong.

"And you?"

Gu Xidong turned around.

He looked at Ling Wuwen.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

"I'll be with you," he said. "Wherever we go, whatever we do."

Ling Wuwen looked at him.

"No."

He froze for a moment.

"No?"

She shook her head.

"We need to split up and act separately."

3

She slowly sat up.

Gu Xidong went over and helped her up. She put a pillow behind her back and leaned against the headboard.

"You've seen the intelligence the raven sent," she said.

"Volkov is in Monaco, Ye Shen is in Malaysia. Two people, two lines."

He didn't speak.

"Your battlefield is in Malaysia," she said.

"Ye Shen is reorganizing the 'Gu Breeding Plan' there. Go find him and get the evidence. Ye Shen knows where Volkov's list is."

He looked at her.

"And you?"

"My battlefield is Monaco."

He held her hand tightly.

Are you alone?

"The raven will accompany me."

He shook his head.

"no."

She looked at him.

"Gu Xidong".

He stopped.

"Listen to me."

He didn't speak.

She reached out and touched his face.

"I don't have long to live. You know that, I know that. Three months, six months, a year. It doesn't make much difference."

He wanted to speak, so she pressed her fingertip to his lips.

"Let me use these three months to do something meaningful. Not to lie in a sterile ward waiting to die. To do what my brother didn't finish. To expose that collector. To give a voice to those who have been silenced."

He looked at her.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

"I'm worried about you going to Monaco alone," he said.

"The raven is here."

"Ravens are not doctors."

"Even the doctors can't save me."

He was silent.

She continued to touch his face.

"Gu Xidong".

"Um."

"Let me go."

Women's eyesight.

long time.

"Okay," he said.

4

7 PM.

Raven's video call came in.

On the screen, he was sitting in a dimly lit room, with a map and a surveillance screen behind him.

He was thinner than last week, with sunken eyes and long stubble.

"Director Wang told me," he began, "that you've decided to stop treatment."

Ling Wuwen nodded.

"Six months."

The ravens remained silent.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

"I've made arrangements in Monaco," he said.

"Safe house, contact person, evacuation route. We've also got Volkov's schedule. He'll be hosting a New Year's Eve dinner at his private villa, and the guest list includes the targets we need."

Ling Wuwen listened.

"When are we leaving?"

"The day after tomorrow. From Zurich to Nice, then from Nice I'll transfer to Monaco."

Gu Xidong stood off-camera.

The raven looked at him.

"In Malaysia, Chen Jinshui has agreed to see you one more time. The meeting is scheduled for four days from now at Tawau Port. Same as always, alone, without weapons."

Gu Xidong nodded.

Raven closed his notebook.

"That's settled then. See you at the airport the day after tomorrow."

The video call ended.

The ward was quiet.

Ling Wuwen looked out the window.

The snow-covered ground glowed with a pale blue light at night.

The outline of the Alps in the distance became clear under the starry sky.

"Gu Xidong".

"Um."

Are you scared?

He walked to the bedside and sat down.

Hold her hand.

"Afraid."

She turned to look at him.

"What are you afraid of?"

He thought about it.

"I'm afraid I won't be there when you leave."

She didn't say anything.

She gripped his hand tightly.

5

Two o'clock in the morning.

Ling Wuwen suddenly woke up.

She turned to look at the bedside. Gu Xidong was sitting in the plastic chair, not asleep. He was looking at her.

"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Not asleep?"

"without."

She reached out her hand.

He grasped it.

"Gu Xidong".

"Um."

"If I were in Monaco... and became someone else, I wouldn't remember you, I wouldn't remember any of this..."

He interrupted her.

Do you remember what I said?

She looked at him.

"Remember."

Say it again.

She paused.

"I love the one who dared to kiss me in the pouring rain. The soul that dared to stand up in front of a gun. Whatever its name is now, or whatever its name will be in the future."

He nodded.

"That's enough."

She looked into his eyes.

long time.

"When did you become so eloquent?"

He thought about it.

"After meeting you".

Her lips twitched slightly.

The snow started falling again outside the window. Flakes, one by one, clung to the glass, slowly melting.

6

Eight o'clock in the morning.

The nurse came to take my temperature one last time.

37.4℃. Normal.

Ling Wuwen signed the voluntary discharge consent form.

She held the pen and wrote her name in the signature column. The handwriting was a little shaky, but the three characters "Ling Wuwen" were still recognizable.

Director Wang stood at the door.

He looked at her.

"If there are any issues," he said, "please contact me immediately. I will coordinate with the hospital in Monaco to admit you."

Ling Wuwen nodded.

"Thanks."

Director Wang turned and left.

He stopped at the door.

"Ling Wuwen".

She looked up.

"Your brother," he said without turning around.

"I met him once in Beijing in 2017. He came to consult about the risks of transplant surgery. I asked him if he had thought it through. He said he had."

He paused.

He said, "If my sister needs this someday, tell her that I won't regret it."

He pushed open the door and left.

The ward was quiet.

Ling Wuwen looked towards the doorway.

Gu Xidong walked to the bedside and took her hand.

She didn't say anything.

Tears streamed down my face.

7

3 PM.

Gu Xidong packed his luggage.

A backpack containing his change of clothes, bandages, and a Swiss Army knife.

There was a black notebook on the bedside table. He picked it up and handed it to Ling Wuwen.

"Take it with you."

She took it.

"And you?"

He pointed to his forehead.

"They're all here."

She turned to the last page of her diary.

The Russian text was still there. She ran her fingers over the Cyrillic letters.

"He wrote it."

"Um."

She closed her diary and put it into her backpack.

Look up at him.

"Gu Xidong".

"Um."

"You must come back alive."

He looked at her.

"The same to you."

She stood up.

He helped her up.

The two stood facing each other.

The ward was quiet. The only sounds were the wind outside the window and the slight hissing of the radiator.

She stood on tiptoe.

He lowered his head.

Their lips touched.

Very light. Like snowflakes falling on ice. Like the first mark left by an ice skate.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

She let go.

Women's eyesight.

"wait for me."

she says.

8

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

Two cars were parked in front of the clinic.

A black Mercedes was heading towards the airport. Raven sat in the driver's seat, rolled down the window, and nodded to Gu Xidong.

A white minivan headed in another direction.

Ling Wuwen stood at the door, her down jacket pulled tight, her hat drawn low. She looked at Gu Xidong.

He stood in front of her.

"Let me know you've arrived safely."

"The same to you."

She reached out her hand.

He grasped it.

Fingers intertwined.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

She let go.

Turn around.

I walked toward the white minivan.

Raven got out of the black Mercedes, walked over, and helped her into the car. She stepped onto the running board and glanced back.

Gu Xidong stood still.

The snow has started falling again.

One by one, they fell among them.

She got into the car.

The car door slid shut.

The white van started up, drove away from the clinic, and disappeared into the snowy landscape.

Gu Xidong stood still.

long time.

Snowflakes fell on his shoulders, on the top of his head, and on the hand he was holding—the hand that had just been holding hers, now empty.

He turned around.

Walking towards the black Mercedes.

boarding.

The raven glanced at him but said nothing.

Start the engine.

The car headed towards the airport.

In the rearview mirror, the clinic's stone building grew smaller and smaller until it was finally swallowed up by the snow.

9

Nine o'clock in the evening.

Zurich Airport.

Two flights, two gates.

Flight 1 to Nice. Gate A.

Flight 1 to Kuala Lumpur. Gate D.

Gu Xidong stood at the entrance of Area A.

Ling Wuwen stood in front of the security checkpoint.

Fifty meters apart, separated by a crowd, and by a flight about to take off.

She raised her hand.

He waved.

He also raised his hand.

He waved.

She turned around.

Enter the security checkpoint.

After her backpack went through the X-ray machine, she bent down to put on her shoes, stood up, and walked toward the boarding gate.

He didn't move.

Stand still.

I watched her figure disappear into the crowd.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

My phone vibrated.

She sent me a message:

"wait for me."

He looked at those two words.

long time.

He put his phone back in his pocket.

Turn around.

Head towards Zone D.