The staff member led the two of them to a small enclosure. Even before they entered, Su Hui caught the sound of the elephants and grew a little excited.

“Can I pet them in a bit? Can I feed them grass?” Su Hui became quite talkative. “Do you think they won’t like me?”

“They won’t.” Ning Yixiao reached around his shoulder and stroked his cheek. “They’ll definitely like you. Maybe they’ll even recognize you right away.”

“Really?” Su Hui didn’t quite believe it, thinking Ning Yixiao was just coaxing him.

“We’re here. These are the elephants you adopted. The youngest among them is already thirteen years old; that’s Si, whom we call Sisi.” As he spoke, the staff member looked at Ning Yixiao. “The last time you came, Sisi hadn’t reached adulthood yet.”

Ning Yixiao returned a smile, not expecting the other person to still remember him.

Walking through the circular corridor, Su Hui finally saw the seven elephants. Each of them was tall, large, and looked very healthy. For some reason, just looking at them made Su Hui’s nose feel sour.

The staff member explained from the side, “They were actually all baby elephants who got lost during hunting and lost their parents very early on. Elephants are very intelligent creatures; they have excellent memories and will mourn their deceased kind. When we found them, they refused to leave their parents’ bodies. Your sponsorship allowed them to grow up happily until now, developing into healthy adult elephants.”

Su Hui extended his hand. One of them actually approached him, extending its long trunk to gently touch Su Hui’s fingertips.

“Look, look! He’s touching me!” Su Hui squealed softly, turning his head back to look at Ning Yixiao.

“Mm.” Ning Yixiao recorded a video for him.

“This one is Lala, the second youngest. She is currently pregnant and will become a mother in four months.”

Su Hui’s eyes widened. “Really? Is this baby the first one among them?”

“Yes.”

Su Hui looked into her eyes, which were moist and bright. The miracle of life truly seemed to be unfolding between them.

“You can name her baby, if you’d like.”

“Of course!” Su Hui turned to ask Ning Yixiao, “Why don’t you name it? What do you think is a good name?”

Ning Yixiao fell silent for a moment, then wrote down a word in the staff member’s notebook.

“How about ‘Bless’?”

“Bless,” Su Hui repeated softly.

It meant “goodbye” or “farewell” in Icelandic.

“Mm, I like this name.” He looked toward Lala’s belly and spoke to the little elephant baby inside, “Bless, you must be born safely. We will meet again.”

Ning Yixiao took a harmonica out of his backpack and handed it to Su Hui. “Play for them. The seven-note scale we agreed on.”

Su Hui nodded and took a deep breath. Once Ning Yixiao confirmed he had started recording, Su Hui earnestly played the seven-note scale for them, repeating it twice.

“How was it?” Su Hui turned to look at Ning Yixiao.

“Wonderful.” Ning Yixiao put down the camera, walked over, and gave Su Hui a hug. The elephant named Mimi walked over toward Ning Yixiao, seemingly eager for him to feed it the carrots nearby.

Ning Yixiao read its intention and fed it one, only to find himself instantly surrounded by the others, turning into a mindless feeding machine.

Seeing this, the staff member called Su Hui aside and said in a low voice, “There is something we would like to hand over to you.”

Seeing that the staff member intended to give it to him privately, Su Hui called out to Ning Yixiao, “I’m going to take care of some paperwork. Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”

“Mm.”

Just like that, the staff member took him to a small office next to the enclosure, opened a drawer, and pulled out a book. Flipping the pages open, a postcard from the elephant sanctuary and a photograph were tucked inside.

The photograph showed a group picture of Ning Yixiao with the seven baby elephants.

“Actually, when Mr. Ning came last time, he also donated a significant amount of money to us. To express our gratitude back then, we gifted him a postcard service. These are baby elephant postcards we printed ourselves where you can write whatever you want, fill in an address, and we will help mail it out.”

“But at that time, Mr. Ning said he didn’t have an address he could mail it to.”

Su Hui’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, as if he could already picture Ning Yixiao standing here, looking a bit helpless.

“But he still wrote it. After writing, he seemed to feel it wasn’t right, so he folded it up and told us to just forget it and dispose of the postcard.”

The volunteer, who was also Chinese, had read the contents. “But I felt it would be a bit of a waste to just throw it away. Maybe one day, the person he was waiting for would come.”

With that, he handed the postcard to Su Hui with both hands.

It was indeed Ning Yixiao’s handwriting, written on a small card, looking a bit cramped—just like his state of mind at the time.

[Su Hui, I came to see the baby elephants you adopted. They are living very well and have grown up. The people here say that elephants have long lifespans and excellent memories, capable of remembering things for decades. So, I couldn’t help but show them some of your photos and videos. Their reactions seemed quite excited, though I don’t know if they recognized you clearly. Maybe when you come next time, they will remember you.

Just like these elephants, I also have a very good memory. When you left, you said you were no good and told me to forget you. I tried, but it seems a bit hard to do. It should be fine if I don’t forget, right?

I thought about it for a long time, but it seems I don’t have a definitive address to mail this to you, so I might as well leave it here. If you come, see this postcard, and still decide not to meet, you can mail it to the address written on the back. That way, I’ll know that at least you are still out there in some corner of the world and haven’t vanished. That is very important to me.

These seven baby elephants have already grown up, and I am continuing to climb upward. What about you? Have you grown up well?

Su Hui, thank you for leaving me those promises. They are like souvenirs after a breakup that I can occasionally collect one by one, keeping life from becoming too dull.

Farewell for now.]

The staff member had actually been quite worried about giving it to the wrong person, as it was a risky move. But this card, even without mentioning the word “love” once, seemed to have love written in every single character. If it were just thrown away, it would be far too much of a pity.

Perhaps the gentleman who wrote this back then was also worried that, on some day in the future, he might receive the card back completely untouched—which would mean the person he was waiting for still existed, but still chose not to meet.

If that were the case, throwing it away was better; an unknown wait was better than being handed a death sentence.

But when he saw the young man in front of him clutching the postcard and weeping uncontrollably, he knew he hadn’t made a mistake, nor had he found the wrong person.

It was him—the kind boy who had saved an entire sanctuary.

When they left, Su Hui’s eyes were still red. Ning Yixiao thought he was just reluctant to leave the elephants, so his fingers gently brushed against his eyelids. “Don’t be sad, we can come see them once every year.”

Su Hui kept his hand in his pocket, clutching the postcard that had almost been thrown away, trying his best to stop his tears.

The jeep drove along, and the end of the rugged, uneven path led to the savanna. The further forward they went, the smoother the road became. The sun shone broadly, painting the entire sky in a warm orange-red hue.

“Idiot,” Su Hui sniffled and said in a small voice.

Feeling a bit baffled, Ning Yixiao tilted his head. “What?”

“I said you’re an idiot,” Su Hui turned his face away, secretly wiping away a tear. “Idiot puppy.”

Though Ning Yixiao didn’t understand what had happened, he still flashed a smile. “Teacher Su is right about everything. Teacher Su is a smart little cat.”

The driver in front reminded them, “The sun is setting. Do you want to stop and take a look?”

“Yes, please.”

The golden sunset slowly sank, dyeing the horizon of the vast savanna red. Wild animals migrated and galloped, primitive and wild, charging freely into the distance under the fading glow.

Su Hui held Ning Yixiao’s hand, staring for a long time at the sunset suspended over the grassland, the silhouettes of the giant acacia trees, and the speeding zebras. With a shared understanding, he felt the wind, and felt the tranquility and fulfillment of life.

And so, they looked at each other with perfect synchronization, preserving this moment with a gentle kiss.

After drawing apart, Su Hui leaned half his body out of the vehicle and shouted loudly into the deepening twilight:

“Farewell for now!”

———— THE END ————

Author’s Note:

As I type out these final few lines, I actually still feel very reluctant to let go. This book is the most emotional, painful, and cherished book I have ever written. But I have to say, this plot point is actually very fitting as a full stop for the book Manhattanhenge (Xuán Rì). However, the story of Ning Yixiao and Su Hui will not end. In their world, there are still many, many things to accomplish together, and many miracles to realize together.

In fact, long before I actually started writing this book, I had already written down many, many snippets about Yi-Hui in my memos. They are a couple for whom I already had a 20,000-word memo before I even typed out the first paragraph; you could say they have lived in my mind for a very long time.

Some of the initial plot points were even darker than what is presented now, so back then, it was called Withdrawal (Jiè Duàn). Although the name was later changed due to forces beyond my control, during the writing process, I clearly felt that the name Withdrawal wasn’t entirely suitable for them. The further I went, the more I felt this story should be named Manhattanhenge. Whether from the overall color tone, the way the two interact, or the brightness of the prose, it is much more fitting.

This is actually my first time touching the “broken mirror mended” (reconciliation) trope, and I had many concerns. For example, whether it being too angsty would not fit current popular tastes, or whether the alternating narrative style would cause reading obstacles. But in the end, I chose to follow my initial imagination and finish this book. Because of many of the plots, everyone cried bitterly while reading. I am truly very sorry for making everyone shed so many tears! But sometimes our lives also have many worries; just treat this as an emotional release, we need to cry occasionally too.

Su Hui is a character my heart aches for deeply. He is a child tormented by mental illness. I actually deliberately softened this point; the reality of bipolar disorder patients is much more painful than his, but writing it that way would be too cruel, so I didn’t write too extensively on this aspect. At the same time, he is a very interesting, incredibly talented child—very kind, very good at weaving illusions, and trapped in illusions for a very long time. When he first appeared, he was very confident, but later, bit by bit, he was trapped by fate and became a stray little cat. He looks very fragile and brittle, but he is actually extremely strong. Being able to stubbornly survive for the sake of his grandmother and Ning Yixiao (even the Ning Yixiao in his hallucinations) after suffering so much hardship is something truly remarkable. This also corresponds to the meaning of his name—”Tracing the source against the current, the path is long and obstructed” (Sù huí cóng zhī, dào zǔ qiě cháng).

Although he is very idealistic, he is actually a true altruist. In things he deems important, such as Ning Yixiao’s future, he will think very rationally and realistically, and then give himself up without hesitation. It can be said that Ning Yixiao’s existence is the most realistic rib inside the body of Su Hui, this innocent and romantic idealist.

The character of Ning Yixiao is very complex. He is a realist who stands in stark contrast to Su Hui. But no matter how realistic a person is, they all have a small space to dream. This space is like a breathing valve, giving him a place to catch his breath. This space to dream was brought to him by Su Hui, which is why Su Hui is irreplaceable to him. Throughout the twenty-plus years of Ning Yixiao’s difficult climb upward, only Su Hui ever brought him beautiful dreams and taught him to fantasize. Whenever he felt life was difficult, he would open the breathing valve left by Su Hui, think about those six months of illusion, and be able to keep moving forward.

He has been losing things for over twenty years, being abandoned either actively or passively. Such a person can easily lose their self-will, not understanding why they exist, doubting their own value, and falling into nihilism. Ning Yixiao’s entire life has been a fight against this nihilism; his method was to attain success to prove that his existence is meaningful, and Su Hui is the most concrete form of that castle in the sky named success.

The two mothers in this book are actually two different forms of sacrifices under the oppression of a patriarchal society. Their setups actually echo each other (including echoing their two sons), but I won’t elaborate too much on the specifics, as I believe every reader will have different insights into their choices, conduct, and endings.

This book allowed me to try a new way of writing and brought me many valuable suggestions. I will also make timely modifications and adjustments during the writing process based on everyone’s feedback. I really like this creative process because writing is actually a very lonely thing. With everyone’s companionship, it feels like having many friends accompanying me to discuss, deliberate, swoon over the couple, cry, and lament together. I feel incredibly happy every time I open the comment section, so I am truly grateful. I think this is also a very wonderful fate, just like how this text had so many coincidences from the very beginning—coincidences are truly charming things.

Writing up to this point, I am still a bit reluctant to part ways. Perhaps because their relationship was too full of ups and downs, I really wished to show more of their happy appearances. This is also why most of the side stories are very sweet, because it truly hasn’t been easy for them to be able to walk together again. But all gatherings must come to an end; Yi-Hui will not separate, but Manhattanhenge must come to a temporary close.

Later on, I will update the complete character profiles of Su Hui and Ning Yixiao in the “Free Side Story Collection” on my column. If you are interested, you can go check it out, but those who haven’t finished the book shouldn’t look at it yet to avoid spoilers. I will also write some free side stories later and put them all in that collection; I quite like providing after-sales service hhh—it gives a feeling that they are always living their lives well.

Thank you once again for your companionship, every single reader. I am very grateful that you spent time and money to read this story. Reading up to this point, if you think it’s not bad, please trouble yourselves to light up five little stars for me, thank you very, very much! (Bows)

If fate allows, see you next book.

Bless.

—— Chu Chu, October 2, 2022