Essence [Forwarded] Whoever dies at 97 will wait for three years on the Naihe Bridge

Ye Qiqi had just turned 10 years old, and her intelligence and beauty were already famous throughout Jiangnan. From the age of 15, the threshold of her home had been worn down by the constant stream of matchmakers. If one day you saw many talented scholars covering every street and alley in Jiangnan, it was definitely a day when Ye Qiqi went out. Ye Qiqi was like the lotus flowers on the small green lakes of Jiangnan in the morning, covered with dew, delicate and shy, carrying a clear beauty.

Ye Qiqi married Feng at the age of 18, a year when her blossom seemed ready to bloom. There was no need to describe all of Feng's virtues, because he had married the most beautiful, talented, and skillful Ye Qiqi of Jiangnan.

After marrying Feng, Ye Qiqi truly became a fully bloomed flower; they were the most loving couple of their time.

"Lian Jiulian, we promised to be together for a hundred years. If one of us dies at 97, the other will wait for three years on the Naihe Bridge." Feng wrote this down, drawing a portrait of Ye Qiqi. Ye Qiqi often sang Jiangnan folk tunes to accompany it and added Feng's likeness next to her own portrait.

"Throughout history, beauty often brings a short life." She did not wait for a hundred years, nor even until 97; Ye Qiqi fell ill, and from then on, she never recovered. Feng traveled across the country seeking doctors and medicines for her, but he still could not save Ye Qiqi.

The day Ye Qiqi passed away, her face was pale. She called, "Feng." Feng, with tears, said, "Lian Jiulian, we promised to be together for a hundred years." Ye Qiqi continued, "If one of us dies at 97, we will wait three years on the Naihe Bridge. Feng, I will wait for you." Feng shouted, "Qiqi!" Ye Qiqi passed away with a smile, her face instantly radiant and delicate. Content from Qin Xinwu Touching Stories http://www.qinxinwu.com

At that time, society favored remarriage, but Feng refused to accept any other woman. Feng quickly grew thin, and within three years, he became seriously ill and refused any treatment. Before he passed, he told his family beside his bed: "Qiqi has probably waited too long for me. Do not be sad for me; I am extremely happy." When Feng passed away, his face was indescribably happy.

This was a story told in Jiangnan for a long time.

Beside the Naihe Bridge, the wind blew in gusts. The beautiful woman Ye Qiqi waited alone. She only wished to see him, with nothing to fear from any danger.

The day Feng came, Ye Qiqi's frail, paper-thin body suddenly became full and vibrant. On the Naihe Bridge, it rained with the deep affection of Jiangnan, the joyful tears of the lotus flowers on the lake.

The day Feng and Ye Qiqi were reborn, the two promised each other: "We will never drink the Meng Po soup!" They wanted to be lovers for all eternity.But at that time, they could never have imagined that the arduous wait on the Naihe Bridge had completely worn away Ye Qiqi's spiritual aura from her past life. They still believed that in their next lives, they would be a perfect match of talent and beauty.

They came to the human world in the year 1981. Ye Qiqi was born on a winter day in the Central Plains, and Feng was born on an autumn day in the Northeast.

On the day Ye Qiqi was born, she gazed around with her round eyes and finally discovered a large group of strangers. She knew she had arrived in this life. 'I am finally going to be with Feng again.' She couldn't help but smile.

Everyone by the delivery bed was startled. She heard an elderly woman with gray hair say, 'A girl who looks like an ugly monster, yet doesn't cry but laughs—is she some kind of demon?' Ye Qiqi remembered that newborns were supposed to cry, so she opened her mouth to let out a tearless wail. But then she also heard the old woman say, 'Crying makes her look even uglier.'

The peerless beauty of Jiangnan from her past life did not receive any welcome upon entering this life.

In this life, Ye Qiqi had a strange name: Sang Shang. Everyone thought this name was odd, and she didn't understand either. At first, she had no particular feeling about her name, but when she attended elementary school, mischievous boys would call her: 'Sang Shang, Sang Shang, Japanese devil! Boohoo~' and everyone laughed. Sang Shang returned home feeling sad and asked her mother who had named her: 'Why am I called Sang Shang?' Her mother answered, 'Just picked it randomly, it has no meaning but is special. For an ordinary girl to stand out, the name must be clever.'

Sang Shang, for the first time, sadly looked at her face in the mirror. There was no trace of the astonishing beauty she remembered; just an ordinary appearance, with big eyes but lacking the former spiritual aura, plain features, and a simple temperament. Only at that moment did she truly see herself as Sang Shang rather than Ye Qiqi. 'She was an extraordinary lotus of Jiangnan, I am just ordinary grass of the Central Plains. But Feng, you can still recognize me, right?'

Sang Shang was extremely ordinary in talent. She studied very hard, but her grades were not remarkable. At first, she couldn't adapt and often thought about destroying everything in her life. Yet, in her loneliest moments, she often thought of Feng, remembering all the happiness from her past life. 'I will strive to do my best, I want to be Feng's Ye Qiqi.'"She was a diligent and well-behaved girl. She read and read and read again; her life seemed to consist of nothing but this. During this time, she also wanted to learn some other skills, but after a few days of trying, she encountered opposition from her whole family. It was clear that Sangshang had no talent for anything. In the face of too many setbacks, Sangshang learned to protect herself with a smile. She began to think about nothing, and only the wind was a dream with just a hint of color in her monotonous dreams. Her growth had nothing worth boasting about, nor anything absurd; she grew up quietly, merely a faint shadow to others.

After graduating from high school, her grades were neither good nor bad, so she applied to a medical school that was neither good nor bad. Sangshang liked this school surrounded by trees and enjoyed the feeling of wearing a white coat. She was still an inconspicuous girl here, until near the end of university, her diligence earned her solid medical knowledge. Sangshang often thought of the wind, wanting very much to know whether that boy was doing well now, or if he was, like herself, painstakingly searching for the other.

Adjacent to the medical school was a prestigious university, and its students liked to come to the medical school because of its excellent sports facilities. Those boys, drenched in sweat, sometimes shouted to the quietly dressed girls in white coats, 'Miss, I'm hurt, give me some medicine,' and then laughed loudly at the girls whose faces turned red. Sangshang never encountered such situations because when she passed by, she left an utterly blank impression.

However, by chance, Sangshang met a girl from that university.

She was a girl with short hair, wearing boyish clothes, and had bright, daring eyes. She injured herself while jumping over a very high fence. Tilting her head back, she looked at the tall fence and cursed, 'Damn it,' gritting her teeth. Sangshang walked over, helped her up, and led her to her dormitory, quickly treating her injury. While Sangshang quietly did these things, the girl just looked at her with curiosity. Then she said, 'You're really skilled at this.' Sangshang smiled. When the girl was leaving, she extended her hand and said, 'I'm Lan.' 'I'm Sangshang.' Just that simply, Sangshang met the girl named Lan."Lan often went to the medical school to visit Sangsang, and she always liked to link arms with Sangsang's small, thin shoulders and walk around proudly. When she introduced Sangsang to her classmates, she was ecstatic: 'This is my tenth wife, Sangsang.' While others exclaimed, 'Lan, you're so fickle,' Sangsang quietly smiled, calmly smiled, leaving no special impression on anyone. Many years later, when Sangsang recalled the bright friendship between her and Lan, she still couldn't help being moved.

During Christmas of Sangsang's senior year, Lan came to ask her to attend their school's Christmas dance. Sangsang was not keen on such events, but for Lan, she reluctantly went. She originally intended to find a corner where no one would notice her and drink a bitter cup of tea, but Lan wouldn't allow her to do that. Holding her hand, Lan introduced her everywhere: 'This is my main wife, this is my tenth wife.' Sangsang met Lan's first nine wives, all very beautiful. Sangsang kept smiling, exhausted to death, yet Lan proudly pulled her around, introducing her: 'With Sangsang, I won't take any other concubines.' When Sangsang finally couldn't bear it and protested to Lan, 'Lan, I'm tired,' Lan squeezed her hand through the crowd with determination: 'No problem, no problem, let me introduce you to the last person.' Sangsang could only shake her head helplessly. 'Haha, Sangsang, this is the last person I'm introducing to you.'

Sangsang's gaze suddenly went blank, and past memories vividly appeared in her mind. She seemed to see the gentle look of the wind the moment the red veil was lifted.

Sangsang looked straight at the handsome boy. 'Sangsang, this is our most skilled mm killer, Yu.'

Lan's voice came from a distant place, as if traversing lives upon lives. 'Yu, this is my good wife, Sangsang.'

Yu softly exclaimed and extended his hand lightly: 'Hello.'

Sangsang's throat was dry. She heard her own low but passionate voice: 'I know you. Do you still remember me?'

Both Lan and Yu were surprised. Yu turned his head and teased Lan, and Lan asked: 'Sangsang, what's wrong?'

Sangsang still stubbornly looked at Yu: 'I've known you for a long time. Did you really forget?'

A girl ran over from a distance, 'Yu, let's go dance.'"Yu looked at Sang Shang: 'Sorry, I think you've mistaken me for someone else.'

Sang Shang stared straight at the boy resembling the wind, holding the hand of the beautiful girl who resembled Ye Qiqi from a previous life.

Lan whispered in her ear: 'She is Jie, the most beautiful and talented girl in our school. She and Yu are widely recognized as a perfect match.' Sang Shang remained silent. Lan asked: 'Sang Shang, what's wrong? You've been acting strange today.'

Sang Shang shook her head: 'No, that's not right. They are not a perfect match. It should be me beside Yu.' Lan was shocked to see her walk away with tears streaming down her face.

From then on, Sang Shang seemed like a changed person. She often went alone to places Yu frequented, watching him play ball, while Jie was just his spectator. Many times, Sang Shang bravely approached Yu to talk. 'Yu.' At first, Yu would glance at her patiently, but eventually, with repeated attempts, he grew impatient. He always called Jie before Sang Shang could speak: 'Jie, let's go,' leaving Sang Shang behind. But Sang Shang was exceptionally stubborn. She followed behind Yu and Jie like a shadow, enduring their insults. Every night, Sang Shang would tell herself: 'Hold on, think of the hardships of waiting for the wind on the Naihe Bridge.' Sang Shang began to stand out, but it was drawing attention in a humiliating way. Many times Lan scolded Sang Shang: 'How could you become such a person with no self-respect?' Sang Shang remained silent. After Lan repeatedly flew into a rage at Sang Shang, she completely lost faith in her. The last time she found Sang Shang, she said: 'Sang Shang, I don't know what reason you have, but you're no longer the person you were. Sang Shang, take care of yourself.' Sang Shang smiled the whole time as Lan said these things, but when Lan finally disappeared from her sight, she couldn't help but cry.

Later, Sang Shang, Yu, Jie, and Lan all graduated. Not long after graduation, Yu and Jie got married.

That day, Sang Shang drank alcohol for the first time, getting herself completely drunk. In the final moment before losing consciousness, she heard herself solemnly saying with Feng on the Naihe Bridge: 'I will resolutely not drink Meng Po's soup.'

Sang Shang never became part of Yu's life again. She joined a very good hospital, diligently doing her own work as before.

It is said that many outstanding achievements are made by people with excellent innate conditions.Gradually, Sang Shang understood this principle. Because of her diligence and her indifference to worldly matters, she began to slowly stand out in her work, and by the time she was in her thirties, she had become a very well-known doctor. Sang Shang was still not beautiful and had nothing particularly attractive about her; the only difference was that when she wore her white coat, her humility was strongly evident. Sang Shang no longer thought about matters of the heart; her heart was like a desert. When Sang Shang was 28, she once met a 25-year-old man. From the first time he saw her, he asked her out for tea and brought her heaps and heaps of roses. Sang Shang liked her tea very bitter, and the way she drank it was sorrowfully stagnant. She did not like those bright red, dripping roses, but she did not know how to refuse that man's persistence. When he was 28, the man wanted Sang Shang to marry him. While drinking tea, Sang Shang said, “Impossible,” and turned to leave. That night, Sang Shang stared at the moonlight outside the window and couldn't sleep all night. She thought of another moonlit night, also cold and clear, when the wind gently draped over her.