“Now I feel that every time I saw her in the dance hall, under that light, it was a sort of goodbye.”

“It’s all over,” Jiaqi says. “Did I already say that?”

“Yes.”

They reach the front door. Jiaqi reaches for the umbrella leaning against the wall.

“You don’t need to walk me out,” says Cheng Gong.

“I could do with some fresh air, I’ve been indoors too long.”

The snow is ankle-deep. Ahead of them is a blur of white.

“I was thinking, you could actually stay at the white mansion for a while,” says Jiaqi. “No one will know you’re here.”

“What about you? Will you stay too?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll go when I’ve dealt with everything.”

“Where to?”

“The south.” She smiles. “Somewhere warm, where I won’t have to think of anything.”

They keep walking till they reach the crossroads.

“Let’s toss for it.” Jiaqi pulls a coin from her pocket and hands it to him. “Heads you go to the train station, tails you stay in the white mansion with me. I’ll bring you food. I’ve learned how to make egg fried rice.”

“Can I have noodles?”

“No, I don’t like noodles.”

“Zhajiang noodles. Learn how to make them. It’s really easy.”

“Deal? Flip the coin, then.”

Cheng Gong runs his finger over the coin and sends it spinning into the air. It lands in the snow without making a sound. They stare at each other. When they look down, the falling snow has completely covered the coin. He and Jiaqi stand there, listening to distant noises: a car engine starting, a dog barking, children shrieking with laughter. Sounds of early morning. Cheng Gong smells the aroma of frying meat. Thick sweet sauce bubbling in a wok. Wait, then wait a moment longer. Scoop it from the wok, mix with shredded cucumber, ladle it into a pure white bowl.

END.

About the Author and Translator

Zhang Yueran is one of China’s most influential young writers. Her novel Cocoon sold more than 120,000 copies in China and has been translated into several languages. In France it was nominated for the Best Foreign Book Prize 2019 and won the Best Asian Novel of the Prix Transfuge 2019. Zhang has been chief editor of Newwriting since 2008 and teaches literature and creative writing at Renmin University in China. She was chosen by Asymptote as one of 20 Sinophone writers under 40 to look out for.

Jeremy Tiang has translated over twenty books from Chinese, including novels by Shuang Xuetao, Lo Yi-Chin, Yan Ge, Yeng Pway Ngon, Chan Ho-Kei, and Geling Yan. His novel State of Emergency won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018. He also writes and translates plays. Originally from Singapore, he now lives in New York City.

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