Six months had passed since the storm that nearly tore their lives apart.
The city was alive with spring again. Cherry blossoms lined the park paths, their petals dancing in the wind like fragments of forgotten dreams now reborn.
Meilin stood beneath one of the trees, holding Yanyan's hand. Her daughter's laughter rang out as she tried to catch the petals mid-air, her tiny fingers opening and closing in delight.
Rui stood a few steps away, watching them with quiet pride. He wasn't the man he used to be — the distant, wounded husband who buried himself in work to hide the pain. He smiled more now, not because life was perfect, but because he finally had something real to smile for.
Meilin looked back at him, and their eyes met. Even after all these months, that single glance could still steal her breath away.
When Rui walked over, he handed her a small, white envelope. "This came for you today," he said.
She opened it and gasped. It was a formal invitation — the Art Council Exhibition, her first solo showcase. Her artwork, "The Bloom After the Rain," had been chosen to represent healing and rebirth.
Her hands trembled slightly. "They… they accepted it?"
Rui nodded, his voice soft with pride. "Of course they did. You poured your soul into that painting."
Tears pricked her eyes. She remembered the long nights spent painting — the way her memories bled into every brushstroke, the way she'd painted Rui's eyes without realizing it. The piece was more than art; it was their story — broken, mended, and reborn.
Yanyan tugged at her mother's hand. "Mama, will I see your painting in the big building?"
Meilin smiled through her tears and bent down to kiss her daughter's forehead. "Yes, sweetheart. You'll see it shining under the lights."
That evening, the three of them attended the exhibition together. The gallery was full of elegant guests and bright lights, but for Meilin, the world narrowed to one thing — her painting on the far wall.
It showed a woman standing in the rain, face tilted to the sky, her eyes closed in peace. Behind her, faintly visible, stood the silhouette of a man and a child — watching her with love, not possession.
Rui placed his hand over hers. "That's us," he whispered.
Meilin nodded, her voice trembling. "Yes. It's everything we lost, and everything we found again."
Reporters and curators came to speak with her, but her focus stayed on Rui and Yanyan. For once, success didn't feel empty. It felt full — of love, forgiveness, and purpose.
Later, as the evening wound down, Rui pulled Meilin onto the balcony overlooking the city. "You did it," he said quietly.
She smiled. "No. We did it."
He leaned closer, brushing his lips gently against hers — not in passion, but in peace. "Then let's promise," he murmured, "no more running from the past. Only walking toward our future."
Meilin nodded, her heart light. "Together," she whispered.
Down below, the city shimmered, alive with light and laughter. And for Meilin,
the bloom after the rain had truly begun.