Main Characters:

Jolene (Jiang Liqing)

Xavier (Xie Jingyu)

Chloe (Tong Chuqing)

Chapter 1

Jolene never imagined that her long-distance relationship, finally nearing its end, would result in such a wretched conclusion. After all, Xavier’s love for her had always been unrivaled. As the busy director of a prestigious hospital, he had taken no fewer than nine hundred cross-continental flights, spending nearly ten thousand hours in transit just to see her. Even if it was only for a fleeting moment, he would pull her into his arms amidst the season's first snowfall, whispering in a low voice that every second was worth it.

The gifts he sent were countless—ranging from handwritten, thousand-word love letters to a multi-million dollar necklace won at a high-profile auction. He would have plucked the stars from the sky if he thought it would make her smile. His love, etched into his very soul, had remained unchanged for three years.

That was why, as Jolene leaned against the window of her overnight flight back home, hearing her childhood friends praise Xavier's unwavering devotion while he himself denied it in a raspy voice, her heart felt as if it were being sliced into a thousand pieces.

The man’s voice wasn't loud, yet it plunged the private lounge into a deathly silence.

Finally, someone broke the ice. "Xavier, you're joking, right?"

"You and Jolene were the legendary campus couple. When you sent her off, you cried like a child behind her back. For three years, you flew across the world through wind and rain just to see her..." The friend gave a strained laugh, asking in an exaggerated tone, "How could you possibly stop loving her?"

"I don't know," Xavier said, his voice flat. Usually unflappable, he now seemed lost. "It just feels like... these three years have been exhausting."

"Every time I made time to see her, I was happy, yes, but more than that, I felt the loneliness and fatigue of those twenty-hour round trips."

"I had to constantly come up with new ways to gift her things. I’d worry if she’d like them, or if they’d make her happy." Xavier, whose hands were seasoned by years of holding scalpels, gripped his glass. Looking at the vibrant light refracting through the liquid, he murmured, "I still love her, but it feels like that love is running dry."

The friends looked at each other and awkwardly changed the subject. Jolene’s mind went blank, her ears ringing.

Though it was supposed to be a night of surprises, Jolene couldn't remember how she managed to sneak away. She even wondered if things would have been better if she hadn't returned early. Perhaps then she could have lived in denial, pretending their relationship was still perfect.

But the world has no room for "what ifs."

In her daze, her silenced phone suddenly vibrated. Jolene looked up to see Xavier had stepped out into an open area, frowning as he looked around. Her heart tightened, and she quickly retreated into the dark shadows of the trees. She stared at the screen for a long time before answering, her throat tight.

Xavier’s breathing was slightly hurried. "Babe, I just saw your message. You're back early? Where are you? Did you come to the lounge to find me?"

The familiar voice, mixed with the static of the call, hit her eardrums and made her nose sting with salt. She wanted to ask him so many things, but in the end, all she could do was choke back a sob and say, "I changed my mind at the last minute and went home first... When are you coming back?"

Hearing this, the anxiety in Xavier’s eyes vanished. He said softly, "I’m coming home now—"

Before he could finish, a girl in a red scarf ran into his arms. Jolene watched as Xavier reflexively covered the phone’s microphone. A smile touched his eyes as he affectionately ruffled the girl’s hair.

Then, he abruptly changed his answer. "I’m tied up with work right now. Wait for me."

The flush on the girl’s pale cheeks seared Jolene’s eyes. Suddenly, the world spun; it was as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

The girl was Chloe, an intern working under Xavier. Initially, when Xavier mentioned her to Jolene, it was with frustration—saying she was clumsy and timid, often giving patients the wrong medication. Later, when Xavier flew abroad for Jolene’s birthday, he spent the entire night discussing medical cases with Chloe instead. By the end of that call, Xavier was smiling as he praised the girl’s progress and her cute, interesting personality.

Jolene, looking at her burnt-out birthday candles, had quietly asked him to stop talking about her. Xavier’s smile vanished instantly. After a moment of silence, he simply said, "Fine."

Later still, when Jolene casually asked about her, Xavier claimed they were no longer in contact. But clearly, he had lied.

A light snow was falling when Jolene reached home, her clothes damp and clinging to her skin. She entered the passcode she knew by heart—the anniversary of the day they started dating. Xavier hadn't changed it; the door clicked open.

The floor heating made the house warm. Jolene stared at the glass display case in the center of the living room. She gazed at it for a long time until her heart cramped into a ball, and she suddenly burst into tears.

Under the warm yellow light of the display case sat a thick stack of round-trip boarding passes. Each was numbered—nine hundred and eighty-eight in total. Xavier had once proudly taken a photo of them, calling them the proof of his love. He told her that once he collected a thousand, she would surely be back for good. He said he would propose immediately so they could spend the rest of their lives together, never to be parted again.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as she painfully recalled every day and night spent in a foreign land. To finish her studies early, she lived in the library. She had no time for friends and didn't care when classmates mocked her for being boring; her only focus was returning to Xavier’s side.

While writing her thesis, she had once collapsed with a fever from exhaustion. She hid it from him, swallowing fever reducers like they were candy while smiling through the webcam, telling Xavier she missed him too—so very much.

But now that she had finally returned to her homeland, reality told her it was already too late. Xavier’s love had soured.

When Xavier returned home, he found Jolene trembling and sobbing on the floor. His brow furrowed immediately. He rushed over to hold her, asking frantically what was wrong.

Jolene pushed him away. She closed her eyes, her nails digging into her palms as she fought for composure. "On the phone earlier... I think I heard Chloe’s voice."

Those few words seemed to take all her strength. She took several shaky breaths before continuing, "Why were you seeing her so late?"

She looked into Xavier’s dark eyes. There, she saw a coldness and indifference she had never seen before, along with a deep, profound exhaustion.

"Do you really have to do this right now?" Xavier stood up straight, maintaining a distance between them. His voice was cold. "It was just a chance encounter. She and I are just colleagues. It’s not the 'filthy' relationship you’re imagining."

If you’re just colleagues, why were you holding her so intimately?

Before Jolene could speak, Xavier stepped aside, revealing a jewelry box and an exquisite cake wrapped in velvet that he had gone out into the snow to retrieve. Jolene was momentarily silenced; her heart felt battered by waves of sorrow and joy.

Until the man’s voice rang out again, hard and cold.

"Chloe is a good girl. You shouldn't think of her with such malice."

"She’s self-reliant. She stays in the lab all day. Unlike you—whenever your studies got hard, you’d complain to me."

"She’s rational and never lets personal emotions interfere. Unlike you—your first words are always a distrustful interrogation."

"She and I have a perfect understanding. In the operating room, she understands and coordinates with me perfectly."

Finally, Xavier set his jaw. "Jolene, I still love you. But if you keep making these unreasonable scenes... I’m only human. I’ll get fed up."

He threw the gifts into the trash together. The fairytale-like white cream cake became a smeared mess. It was exactly like their relationship—a pathetic, ruined disaster.

Jolene didn't like being driven by emotion; she was usually rational and calm. But in her dreams that night, she broke character, screaming at Xavier in a hysterical argument.

"You say you’re tired, but I told you I could fly back to see you! You’re the one who got angry and refused, saying I shouldn't doubt your eternal love!"

"You blame me for going abroad, but that was a decision we made together! You said my life shouldn't just be about romance, and I promised I’d return to you after graduation!"