Tragic romance story: Winter Love in Qinghai Lake Is Like Ice
Spring Peng and I grew up together. Ten years ago, driven by a dream, he ventured alone to Qinghai. Since then, he married, had children, and faced many ups and downs in the business world.
One day, we were chatting on QQ with our headsets on. When he learned that I had recently gotten divorced, he fell silent for a moment before saying, “I’ve been divorced for over three years now, but I never told you. Come visit me, and I’ll take you to see Qinghai Lake in winter.”
This wasn’t the first time Spring Peng had invited me to see Qinghai Lake, but for various reasons, I had never made the trip. He told me that the sky over Qinghai Lake is incredibly blue, so clear it’s almost like looking at the ocean, instantly lifting your spirits. Perhaps to entice me further, Spring Peng added, “Every winter, many heartbroken girls come to Qinghai Lake to commit suicide.”
Curious, I asked, “Is it because Qinghai Lake is a saltwater lake and doesn’t freeze in winter?” Spring Peng laughed and said, “Qinghai Lake does freeze in winter, and the ice is quite thick. As for why so many girls choose to end their lives here in winter, I’ve never figured it out. Why don’t you come, and we can solve the mystery together? Who knows, you might even have a surprising romantic encounter!” After some thought, I decided to go. It wasn’t for the possibility of romance, but to clear my mind, which had become somewhat gloomy after the divorce.
When I walked out of Xining Caojiabao Airport, Spring Peng was already waiting for me outside. Pointing to a brand-new BMW, he said, “I just bought this for over a million yuan, a BMW 740. We’ll reach Qinghai Lake in just over an hour after leaving Xining.” The airport is only about 30 kilometers from downtown Xining.
After not seeing each other for so long, drinks were inevitable. That night, Spring Peng and I drank until our tongues were tied before stumbling back to his home. His place was over 200 square meters, luxuriously decorated. With a bitter smile, he said, “I live here alone in this big house. Now that you’re here, I finally have some company.” I, squinting through my drunkenness, replied, “I’m not here to keep you company; I’m here to see how girls kill themselves. I want to know how they die on the frozen lake… do they smash their heads against the ice? Take sleeping pills? Or strip naked and freeze to death lying on the ice?”
Spring Peng burst out laughing. “They die in all sorts of ways. Don’t worry, this time you’ll get to see plenty.”
Part Two
When I woke up the next day, it was already past ten in the morning. We grabbed a simple meal at a restaurant downstairs before heading straight to Qinghai Lake.
I spent the drive taking photos with my camera. The sky was blue, and the ground was covered with yellowish-brown dead grass. From time to time, large flocks of sheep and Tibetans in traditional robes passed by. The sheep were white, as were the clouds, making it hard to tell where the clouds ended and the sheep began.
After an hour, a castle made of ice sculptures appeared before us. “We’re here. This is Qinghai Lake,” said Spring Peng. Because of the cold weather, there were few tourists playing on the ice sculpture castle and the frozen lake. Soon, I noticed a girl in a pink down jacket sitting alone on the icy steps, staring at the frozen lake. Spring Peng noticed her too. Nudging me, he said, “That girl might be here to commit suicide.” I shivered at his words. Leaning in close, he whispered, “The girl’s quite pretty. Should we play heroes and save her, or record her suicide and sell the footage online?” I was stunned, then turned to scold him, “Damn! Is this how you made all your money?” Spring Peng just grinned wickedly.
Spring Peng rented two sleds from a Tibetan by the lake. Like two kids who hadn’t grown up, we raced, argued, and laughed on the lake’s surface. All our worries and gloom vanished in an instant.
Before we knew it, dusk had arrived. When I checked my phone, it was already past five in the evening. Glancing around, I noticed that the only people still skating on the lake were Spring Peng and me. Pointing to a beautiful house with a pointed roof not far away, he said, “That’s a restaurant run by Tibetans. They make excellent roasted meat and blood sausages. After dinner, Tibetan girls will present Hada to the guests.” I nodded, “Alright, let’s go eat at the Tibetan place tonight.”
As we left the frozen lake, we passed the ice sculpture castle. I suddenly noticed a pink figure sitting like a statue on the steps. “Why hasn’t that girl left yet!” I exclaimed. Spring Peng said, “Oh no! She might really be here to commit suicide!”
We quickly approached the girl. “Why are you still here? It’s almost dark,” Spring Peng asked with concern. The girl glanced coldly at us, then turned her gaze back to the frozen Qinghai Lake. Spring Peng continued, “Wolves come out at night in Qinghai Lake. You’d better leave before you become their midnight snack.” The girl didn’t even look at us, her lips curling into a cold smile as she said, “Get lost!” The atmosphere turned awkward. Seeing her face reddened by the cold, I said, “How about joining us for a drink? You can offer yourself to the wolves after warming up.” The girl shot me a disdainful look, “And after drinking, you two wolves want me to sleep with you?” Clearly, she had been deeply hurt. Spring Peng, standing nearby, said calmly, “After drinking, I can drive you back to the city. Or you can come back here to continue your thoughts.” He then nudged me and said, “Since the lady doesn’t appreciate our kindness, let’s not insist. Let’s go drink.”
I sighed and turned to leave with Spring Peng. Suddenly, the girl called out from behind us, “I can drink two bottles of baijiu by myself.” Two bottles of baijiu? That’s not drinking; that’s suicide! Spring Peng had already turned around, smiling at the girl, “Then come along. We’re both heavy drinkers too.”
The girl got up and followed us. As I had suspected, at the dinner table, the girl downed the baijiu in silver bowls as if it were water, without even a frown. Since Spring Peng had to drive, he only drank a little symbolically. I, however, picked up my bowl and kept drinking with the girl, hoping to get her drunk so I could carry her to the car and take her back to Xining. To my surprise, the girl could really hold her liquor. After several bowls of baijiu, I muttered, “Let’s… let’s have another bowl!” Then I collapsed onto the table.
Part Three
When I woke up, my head was pounding.
I found myself not in Spring Peng’s home but in a luxurious hotel room.
Lifting the covers, I realized someone had changed me into pajamas. I immediately felt uneasy. I quickly checked under my pajamas—thank goodness, my underwear was still on. Just then, I heard water running in the bathroom. “Spring Peng, is that you? Why did you bring me to this place? What happened to the girl? Did you save her, or did she go off to feed the wolves?” I called out, but the sound of running water continued without any response.
I got out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom door. The door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open. Inside, a woman with a perfect figure, completely naked, was showering under the rain shower. I was so startled I quickly shut the door, “Sorry, I thought it was my friend in there!” The woman’s laughter rang out like a bell. “You really are silly. You wanted to get me drunk and take me back to the city, but instead, you drank yourself under the table.”
My head still throbbed as I stammered, “You… you keep showering! I’ll go make some tea… By the way, where are my clothes?” The girl laughed again, “Your friend’s car got so dirty from your vomiting. As soon as we got to the hotel, he took off your dirty clothes, put them in a plastic bag, and threw them away. He wanted to book me a separate room, but I stayed to keep you company in case you got thirsty during the night.” Damn! Spring Peng threw away all my clothes. That bastard, did he expect me to go out and buy clothes in my pajamas? I quickly searched the room. Sure enough, my wallet, phone, keys, and other belongings had been taken out of my pockets and neatly placed on the coffee table, but there was no sign of my clothes.
A few minutes later, the girl, wrapped in a towel, came out of the bathroom. Her long hair flowed down, and a few pearl-like water droplets danced on her exposed shoulders. She was stunning, so beautiful that it felt inappropriate to have any improper thoughts. Sitting on the sofa, she dried her hair with a towel and said, “You can call me Xixi. Thank you for yesterday. You drank so much just to save a stranger.”
I didn’t know what to say, fumbling with my pajamas, trying to find a cigarette. Seeing this,
Xixi smiled, got up, and took out a pack of soft-pack Zhonghua from her bag, tossing it to me. “The cigarettes are from your friend. He said you’d definitely be looking for them when you woke up this morning.” After all, Spring Peng knew me well.
I smoked two cigarettes in a row before I calmed down. “Xixi, were you really going to Qinghai Lake to commit suicide yesterday?” Xixi didn’t answer. Instead, she took out a few large bottles of sleeping pills from her bag and let them roll onto the red carpet. “If I hadn’t run into a fool like you, I would already be a frozen corpse.”
I didn’t dare ask why Xixi wanted to commit suicide, afraid of upsetting her. But she willingly began to tell me her story.
Part Four
Last winter, Xixi met a boy named Jiezi at the ice sculpture castle by Qinghai Lake. Jiezi claimed to be a bartender working at a bar. He was straightforward and witty, making Xixi feel that he was a genuine and reliable person.
That night, also at the pointed-roof house by Qinghai Lake, Xixi and Jiezi drank a lot. Later, they stayed at a small inn behind the restaurant. Xixi said that she slept with Jiezi that night. In fact, Jiezi didn’t even tell her he liked her before they ended up in bed together. I couldn’t help but admire how open-minded young people are these days.
I cautiously asked, “Did you try to commit suicide yesterday because of Jiezi?” Xixi smiled faintly and said, “I survived because of Jiezi!” Could something tragic have happened to Jiezi? While I was speculating, Xixi undid the towel wrapped around her chest with two fingers.
As the white towel fell onto the bright red carpet, the naked, pale-skinned Xixi leapt into my arms… My rational mind knew I should refuse this mysterious girl, but I couldn’t physically resist such a temptation.
As I moved on top of Xixi, the phone by the bed rang. Breathing heavily, I picked it up. Before I could speak, Spring Peng’s mischievous laughter came through the receiver. “A good dish needs good rice, and a good woman wears out a good man! I’ve already bought you some new clothes. I’m staying in the room next door. Remember to come over and change after you’re done.”
Spring Peng hung up before I could curse him.
Spring Peng really knew me well; he had picked out clothes that perfectly matched my taste in brand, style, and color. Watching me change, he joked, “How many versions of a story can happen between a man in pajamas and a beautiful girl wrapped in a towel after a night of drinking?” Spring Peng grinned wickedly at me. I forced a smile and retorted, “You really are a bad guy!”
During lunch, Xixi and I didn’t drink, but Spring Peng ordered a bottle of red wine and started drinking by himself. He said to Xixi, “How do you like my friend? If you like him, why not marry him?” Xixi tossed a cherry tomato into the teacup in front of her and replied, “You rich boys only see women as playthings to amuse yourselves after drinking. I’m not worthy!” Her words were sharp, and Spring Peng’s face visibly reddened.
I quickly changed the subject, asking, “Xixi, you’re such a cheerful person! I can’t understand why you would try to commit suicide.” Xixi playfully winked at me and said, “For you!” Although I knew she wasn’t being serious, since she didn’t want to talk about it, I didn’t press the issue.
Part Five
After lunch, Spring Peng had to attend to business, so he asked Xixi to take me to some local tourist spots to experience Xining’s history, culture, and folk customs. Spring Peng smiled at me and said, “Now that you have a beautiful companion, I won’t hold back anymore.”
Xixi took me to Kumbum Monastery, Qutan Temple, Riyue Mountain… We even revisited the frozen Qinghai Lake. I must admit that during the days Xixi was with me, I was extremely happy. My feelings for her grew rapidly, and I found myself falling in love with her.
On the fifth night after meeting Xixi, after a wild time on the large double bed in the hotel, I got up and took a rose-petal-shaped jewelry box out of the pocket of my jacket hanging on the coat rack. I opened the box to reveal a sparkling platinum diamond ring. When I presented the ring to Xixi, she was stunned. I took her hand, intending to slip the ring onto her finger, but she recoiled. She clenched her fist and stared at me with a strange look, as if the ring was a lock that would trap her for life.
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen in love with me,” Xixi said. I nodded seriously and said, “Yes, I have.” She didn’t respond. Instead, she casually picked up the soft-pack Zhonghua cigarettes from the nightstand, pulled one out, and lit it. After exhaling a puff of smoke, Xixi said, “You know, a little over a year ago, I really did come to Qinghai Lake to commit suicide because of a breakup. Fortunately, I met Jiezi that day. Jiezi looked a lot like my ex-boyfriend, but he was even more masculine…” I didn’t know what to say and, feeling dejected, closed the jewelry box.
Without even looking at me, Xixi began to tell her story. She said that Jiezi had saved her from the pain of heartbreak. If it weren’t for meeting Jiezi that day, she might have already been dead. It wasn’t until two months ago that Xixi discovered Jiezi was a drug addict. To support his habit, Jiezi even became a companion for lonely older women. But by then, Xixi was hopelessly in love with him. Tears rolled down Xixi’s cheeks, and I sighed deeply, gently pulling her into my arms.
The next morning, when I woke up, Xixi was gone. On the glass coffee table stood a paper crane folded from white paper, poised as if ready to take flight. I immediately sensed something was wrong and jumped out of bed. I carefully unfolded the crane. Inside, a line of black words was written on the white paper: “The temperature in Qinghai Lake’s winter is below freezing, the air is thin, and it’s not suitable for love.”
I rushed out of the room. All day long, I ran back and forth across Qinghai Lake, hoping to catch a glimpse of Xixi. But there was no sign of her on the lake, in the ice sculpture castle, or even in the pointed-roof house. She had just left. Over the past few days, I hadn’t even learned her real name, nor had I asked for her phone number.
When I returned to the hotel, I felt cold inside. I picked up the phone on the table and asked the front desk to book me a return flight.
After leaving the hotel, I called Spring Peng to thank him for taking care of me these past few days. On the other end of the line, there was a lot of noise, as if many people were arguing. I told Spring Peng, “You go ahead and take care of your business. I’m leaving. Next time we meet, let’s drink again.”
Part Six
The day after I returned to Xingtai, I received a call from Spring Peng. He asked me if I had really fallen in love with Xixi. I sighed and said, “Yes.” Spring Peng didn’t say anything else and hung up the phone. Shortly after, he sent me a long text message. It turned out that Xixi was actually a hostess that Spring Peng had hired from a bar. His intention was to arrange this “suicide romance” to help me forget my troubles and sadness, but instead, it only left me feeling even more desolate. Xixi really had tried to “commit suicide” for me. Staring at the message from Spring Peng, I sat there in a daze, my mind completely blank.
Just then, another text message came through from an unknown number. The message read: “When I found out that Jiezi was sleeping with those older women to fund his drug habit, my heart completely broke. I’ve been earning money to send Jiezi to rehab, and then I’ll leave him. Please forgive me for rejecting your love, because my heart is already dead, and my love is as cold as ice.” I quickly dialed the number back, but it had already been turned off.
Sometimes people are strange; even when you no longer love someone, you still instinctively care about them and their future. Suddenly, I realized that I hadn’t called my son in over a month.
I hurriedly dialed my son’s number. To my surprise, he excitedly told me that he and his mother were on a train and that she was taking him to see Qinghai Lake in the winter. My heart skipped a beat. Why would she choose this time of year to visit Qinghai Lake? And why take our ten-year-old son with her? I asked my son to hand the phone to his mother, but she refused to take my call.
I rushed out of the house like a madman. I had to find them before they reached Qinghai Lake, no matter if they were just going to enjoy the winter scenery.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
