Ice skates forward, regardless of east or west.

1

The ice rink was in ruins after the explosion.

The dome shattered, exposing the night sky, and the ice surface was cratered with more than a dozen holes.

A steel frame was stuck diagonally into the largest pit.

One end is embedded in the ice, while the other end hangs in mid-air, like a twisted monument.

Gu Xidong helped Ling Wuwen stagger over.

Ling Wufeng lay on the ground, his upper body on the ice and his lower body pinned down by the end of the steel frame.

The left leg is completely invisible below the knee.

"elder brother--!"

Ling Wuwen rushed over and knelt down, trying to move the steel frame, but he knew it wouldn't work as soon as his fingers touched the metal—it weighed at least 200 pounds.

"Don't move." Ling Wufeng's voice was calm, unlike that of someone who was being pressed down. "You're stuck in the ice; forcibly moving you will cause it to collapse."

Gu Xidong squatted down to examine it.

Pressing down on the middle of the calf, the edge of the steel frame dug into the flesh, and blood seeped out, spreading a dark red stain.

But the bleeding wasn't heavy—it wasn't from an artery, which was the only saving grace.

"I'll go find the tools."

"It's too late." Ling Wufeng grabbed him, looked at his left leg, and his lips twitched. "This leg was useless to begin with."

Ling Wuwen burst into tears.

"I was injured five years ago. Nerve damage, muscle atrophy. I can walk, but I can't skate. What's the use of a figure skater who can't skate?"

Ling Wuwen shook his head desperately.

Ling Wufeng raised his hand to touch her face, leaving a red mark on her face from the bloody handprint:

"Don't cry. Compared to what you've done in the past five years, losing a leg is worth it."

2

The sirens grew closer. Raven was clearing out the surrounding killers; it would take time before they could enter the ice rink.

Ling Wufeng looked at the shattered dome above him, where a star shone particularly brightly in the night sky.

I owe you an explanation.

Ling Wuwen knelt beside him and held his hand: "No need, it's enough that you're alive—"

"I need an explanation. Five years. You've waited for me for five years. I at least need to tell you what I've been doing for these past five years."

He looked at Gu Xidong.

"The explosion five years ago was their doing. Behind the 'breeding poison' scheme is a transnational sports betting fraud syndicate. They control athletes, manipulate matches, and launder over a billion dollars annually. The 'breeding poison' scheme is just the 'research and development department'—producing obedient, winning, and controllable athletes."

Gu Xidong nodded.

"They came to me not to recruit me, but to kill me. Only a dead person can be without identity, without attachments, without a way out, and only then can they work for them."

"You agreed?"

"I didn't agree. But they have leverage." He looked at Ling Wuwen. "You. It's not a threat, it's a deal. I'll work for them, and they'll guarantee your treatment, ensure your safe departure, and ensure you never have to be a test subject again. I signed a five-year contract."

"So you were in 1955..."

"I started from the bottom and slowly climbed up. It took me three years to meet the first key person, four years to get my hands on the actual ledgers, and five years—last month, I finally got everything."

He reached up and touched his chest.

Gu Xidong helped him take out a hard drive from the inner pocket of the lining. It had a metal casing and was waterproof and shockproof.

"All the evidence. Seven years of ledgers, transaction records, lists of protectors. Twelve countries, thirty-seven officials, over two hundred athletes. It's all in there."

Gu Xidong took it; it was heavy.

"Is this what you made me wait for?"

"Yes. I've waited five years for this day."

Ling Wuwen's tears intensified: "Why didn't you tell me? Do you know what I've been through these past five years—"

"I know. I know about every treatment you have, every surgery you have, every time you get up and fall down again."

She was stunned.

"I had someone follow you the whole time. Not to monitor you, but to protect you. I gave you those skates, I took that photo, and I kept that video. I want you to know I'm still alive, but I can't let you know too soon—they'll find out."

He squeezed her hand: "But I'm sorry for making you wait five years. I'm so sorry."

Ling Wuwen threw herself on him, crying so hard she couldn't speak.

Ling Wufeng gently patted her back, just like when he was a child, to lull her to sleep.

3

The sound of sirens grew closer.

A cacophony of voices could be heard outside the ice rink; what were the ravens shouting?

Ling Wufeng pushed Ling Wuwen aside and looked at Gu Xidong: "Keep the hard drive safe. Raven knows what to do with it."

Gu Xidong stuffed the hard drive into his underwear pocket and zipped it up.

Ling Wufeng grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer:

"I engraved 'Forward' on those ice skates, not because of me. It's because of you. You taught Wuwen what 'forward' means. Not me."

Gu Xidong looked at him.

Five years ago, she told me something: she never knew she could dance for no one until she met you.

Ling Wuwen looked up through teary eyes.

Ling Wufeng pulled her hand over and placed it on top of Gu Xidong's hand, covering it with his own.

"I am not a sacrifice. I am the completion. You are the ones who continue."

He looked at Gu Xidong: "Skating forward on the ice isn't about making you forget the past. It's about carrying the past with you and continuing to skate."

He looked at Ling Wuwen: "Live for me. Not for Ling Wufeng, but for you and me, to live together."

Ling Wuwen shook his head desperately.

"I will live. I'm just saying, in case—"

"There's no 'what if'!"

Ling Wufeng didn't say anything more, but just held their hands tighter.

Then he looked at the night sky and whispered, "I was there when we were dancing."

The ice rink gates were kicked open.

Raven led a group of people in, the beams of flashlights sweeping around before finally settling on them.

The paramedics rushed over and, seeing the steel frame pinning Ling Wufeng's leg, their expressions changed: "We need hydraulic spreaders!"

Ling Wuwen knelt beside his brother, holding his hand tightly, never letting go.

Ling Wufeng looked up at the night sky; the star was still shining. He suddenly smiled: "A shooting star."

Ling Wuwen looked up. A shooting star streaked across the sky revealed after the dome shattered, disappearing into the east with a long tail.

"make a wish."

Ling Wuwen looked down at his face: "I agree."

"What is the promise?"

She didn't answer, but just gripped his hand tighter.

4

The lights in the hospital's emergency room stayed on for twelve hours straight.

Gu Xidong and Ling Wuwen sat on a bench in the corridor, their hands clasped together.

From dawn to morning, from morning to noon, from noon to dusk.

People brought them food, but they didn't touch it; people asked about the situation, but they didn't answer; people reported on the progress outside—evidence had been submitted, the list had been released, and twelve countries were simultaneously taking action—

They just nodded, their eyes never leaving the red light.

Ling Wuwen leaned on Gu Xidong's shoulder, her whole body trembling from time to time. She hadn't cried since leaving the ice rink, she was just trembling.

Gu Xidong patted her arm repeatedly, saying, "He'll be alright."

She did not respond.

As dusk fell, a ray of golden sunlight streamed through the window at the end of the corridor, bathing the entire corridor in a gentle hue.

Ling Wuwen looked at the light and suddenly spoke:

"When I was five years old, I learned to ice skate for the first time and fell more than a hundred times. Every time, he was the one who helped me up."

Gu Xidong listened.

"When I was ten, my parents divorced, and I went to live with him. He was only fifteen at the time. He trained for more than ten hours every day, and he also cooked for me, checked my homework, and took me to and from school. He told me, 'Wuwen, don't be afraid, I'm here for you.'"

"Later, he made it into the national team, and so did I. On the day we were both selected, he treated me to hot pot and said that my life had been worthwhile."

"Later, the Gu-raising scheme came to me. By the time he found out, it was too late—I had already been given the first injection."

"He knelt before those people, begging them to spare me. I've never seen him kneel before anyone before."

Ling Wuwen's voice grew softer and softer:

"Then he 'died.' I thought he was dead. I waited five years, and what I got was a pair of ice skates, a photo, a video—and today."

She stared at the red light in the emergency room: "How did he get through these past five years? A man, without status, with no way out, crawling through the dirtiest places for five years. For what? Just for today?"

Gu Xidong hugged her tighter: "For you. To make you truly free."

She didn't say anything, but leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

5

The moment the red light went out, Ling Wuwen suddenly opened his eyes.

The door to the emergency room opened. The doctor removed his mask, his face expressionless.

Ling Wuwen stood up, her legs so weak she could barely stand. Gu Xidong helped her to go to meet him.

"doctor--"

The doctor was silent for two seconds. Those two seconds felt like an eternity.

"His left leg is beyond saving. Below the knee, it will have to be amputated."

Ling Wuwen's legs went completely weak, and she slid down. Gu Xidong held her up tightly.

"But he survived."

The doctor's second sentence was like a ray of light:

"The surgery was successful. There was a lot of blood loss, but no organs were damaged. He is currently under observation in the ICU. If there are no complications within 24 hours, he will be out of danger."

Ling Wuwen leaned against Gu Xidong, trembling all over—not from fear, but from the relief he felt after finally letting out that sigh of relief.

Gu Xidong looked at the doctor: "Can we see him?"

"Tomorrow then." The doctor turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, by the way, he asked me to tell you something before he took the anesthesia."

"What did you say?"

The doctor's lips twitched, as if he wanted to smile: "He said, 'Tell them I did it.'"

Ling Wuwen's tears finally welled up.

It wasn't a loud, wailing cry, but quiet, relieved tears that slid down her cheeks, lingered on her chin for a moment, and then dripped down.

Gu Xidong raised his head and looked at the window at the end of the corridor.

Daylight broke. The sun had just risen, and golden light streamed through the glass, bathing the entire corridor in its glow.

The light was warm and bright, making one's eyes sting.

He looked at the light and whispered, "He did it."

Ling Wuwen leaned on his shoulder, tears streaming down her face, but a smile played on her lips.

Outside the window, the city awakens. The sounds of traffic, people, and radio broadcasts drift from afar, like the sounds of another world.

In this world, after the red light in the emergency room went out, after twelve hours of waiting, after five years and three months of separation—

They are still together.

three people.

Alive.