Love across distances
Their meeting was purely by chance. Perhaps it was fate that brought them together, as they met, got to know each other, and fell in love in a city that wasn’t originally theirs.
He came from a small mountain village in Shaanxi Province, while she hailed from distant Northeast China. Neither of their families was wealthy; had they been, they wouldn’t have wandered far from home.
That year, he was 19 and she was 20. They both worked in a glass factory. He did the heavy lifting, unloading glass, while she had a relatively easier job, cutting glass with a glass cutter.
One day, while cutting glass, she accidentally slashed the artery in her wrist. Bright red blood gushed out like a tidal wave. He happened to be in the workshop at that moment, moving glass. Without thinking, he rushed over, tore off a sleeve from his shirt, and tightly wrapped it around her wrist. At that time, they didn’t know each other, only that they worked in the same factory.
Due to excessive blood loss, she fainted. To save her life, he carried her on his back and ran to the hospital, about three miles away. He didn’t stop the entire way, fearing for her life.
After emergency treatment, her life was saved. During the 24 hours she was unconscious, he stayed by her side without leaving. He even donated 600 milliliters of his own blood to help her. After the donation, he was almost too weak to stand but still held on until she was out of danger.
That’s how they met.
His name was Qingzhu, and she had a beautiful name, Lan Hua. Through this incident, they got to know each other.
He often told her about the loess plateau of Shaanxi, the cave dwellings, and his poor shepherd father. She would tell him about Beidahuang, the towering white birch forests, the snowflakes everywhere, and the customs of the Northeast frontier.
That’s how they fell in love.
He was a good man, knowing how to take care of and love his woman; she was a good woman, understanding how to care for and be considerate of her man.
They lived together for three years, even though they hadn’t gotten married during that time.
One day, he suggested they get married, but she always hesitated and never agreed. He couldn’t understand why she refused, even though he knew she loved him deeply, more deeply than the ocean.
That day, he was moving glass as usual when bad news arrived: she had fainted while cutting glass and was now in the hospital emergency room. Hearing this, he was stunned and let the glass fall, shattering on the ground.
When he stumbled into the hospital, she had already regained consciousness. Her face was pale without a trace of color. Looking at her lying on the hospital bed, he was speechless, letting silent tears fall.
She had leukemia, and it was in the late stages, the doctors told him. His heart shattered. He wished desperately that it was him who was sick instead.
He hated her for hiding it from him, but he also understood why she hadn’t agreed to marry him.
As her condition worsened day by day, even her eyes lost their sparkle. Knowing she didn’t have long to live, he organized a grand wedding in the hospital room. That day, she wore a white wedding dress, and he, with gentlemanly grace, placed a wedding ring on her finger. The ring had cost him all his savings, but he didn’t regret it at all. The room was filled with orchids.
At that moment, she seemed in high spirits, her face full of happiness, not like a sick person at all. The hospital director served as a witness for their wedding.
She still passed away, quietly, leaving nothing behind. But he clearly remembered her promise before she left: “In the next life, I will still be your bride.”
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