Chapter 67 Is it cold? [VIP]

Chapter Summary: So many people, it's not cold at all.

The corridor was dimly lit, and Cheng Zhaozhao and Lin Anxu had long since disappeared, playfully fighting.

The shadows of the two were lengthened by the dim light. Fu Xianyin turned her body to the side, and her shadow also tilted towards Gu Linzhao.

She muttered, "It's clearly you who's ignoring me, so why are you blaming me first and turning the tables on me?"

A soft laugh came from beside her. Fu Xianyin looked annoyed, but the subtle curve of her lips betrayed her.

She turned her head away, hiding her smile in the darkness on the other side.

Gu Linzhao said, "You didn't spend the New Year in Beichuan before, did you?"

Fu Xianyin said, "No."

Gu Linzhao said, "Beichuan has a tradition of setting off fireworks at People's Square every New Year's Eve."

Fu Xianyin pouted: "Where don't people set off fireworks for New Year's Eve?"

“Beichuan is different,” Gu Linzhao said. “You can wish for whatever kind of fireworks you want to set off.”

He turned his head, raised an eyebrow at Fu Xianyin, and said with a touch of youthful arrogance, "Can I make a wish anywhere else?"

Fu Xianyin had never heard of any other place where one could make a wish or set off fireworks, and she was momentarily stunned by Gu Linzhao.

She said, "Can I make a wish and play something with words like 'May Fu Xianyin live a long and healthy life'?"

Gu Linzhao nodded and said seriously, "Okay."

Fu Xianyin stopped, took a step forward, stood in front of Gu Linzhao, looked up at him, and tried to find a hint of a joke on his face.

However, it was not found.

Gu Linzhao looked at her with a relaxed expression, as if to say, "That's how it is, why don't you believe me?"

After about ten seconds, Fu Xianyin was the first to give in.

She moved closer to Lin Zhao's side and muttered softly, "Is it true?"

Gu Linzhao suppressed a laugh and coaxed her gently, "Of course it's true."

He said, "How about I grant you a wish to live to be a hundred?"

Fu Xianyin shook her head: "I don't want to. It would be too embarrassing for everyone to see my name appear in the sky."

She said, "But I think many people go back and make wishes like that, so it's not my turn."

“It’s your turn,” Gu Linzhao said.

Fu Xianyin said, "I don't believe it."

Gu Linzhao didn't argue with her, but simply said, "Then make a promise, and we'll see if they'll let you go later."

She thought about it.

Perhaps it was because the boy's expression was too serious, but Fu Xianyin actually began to think about it.

After a moment, she said, half-seriously and half-casually, "Then I want to see purple fireworks."

Gu Linzhao asked, "Is that all?"

Fu Xianyin said, "Then I want all the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple."

Gu Linzhao let out a low laugh, then said, "Okay."

Fu Xianyin slept until late morning on Saturday, and when she opened her eyes it was already noon.

She picked up her phone, intending to see if anyone had spoken in the group chat, but when she opened WeChat, she found that Fu Yeyang had sent her several messages.

Fu Yeyang: [Sis, what happened to you?]

Fu Yeyang: [Are you alright?]

Fu Xianyin knew what was going on at a glance.

The news that Fu Dongyuan was preparing to divorce Chen Huimei must have already reached Li Chan's ears. Fu Yeyang was worried that something might happen to her, so he specifically asked her about it.

She replied: "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."

Fu Yeyang replied instantly: [Really? I heard from Li Chan that Fu Dongyuan wants a divorce, so you...]

Fu Xianyin: [I was the one who made them get divorced.]

Fu Xianyin: [It's because I can't stand Chen Huimei.]

The chat window displayed "typing" for a long time before Fu Yeyang finally replied: "[Sis, you need to talk to me about something.]"

Fu Xianyin smiled.

Fu Yeyang is also in a precarious situation, barely able to take care of himself, and is not much better off than her.

Fu Dongyuan may have shown more care and expectations for his son, but he certainly doesn't meet the standards of a qualified father.

She replied: [Okay, stop worrying about it.]

After putting down her phone, Fu Xianyin suddenly felt a little lost.

She was somewhat at a loss for what to do.

She inwardly berated herself, thinking, "I've only been in Beijing for a month, how come I'm already so out of sorts?"

But then she thought about it again and realized that she had only been at Beichuan No. 1 Middle School for a total of two months.

Fu Xianyin sat on the bed in a daze, when the crisp ringtone of her cell phone pulled her back from her wandering thoughts.

It is Cheng Zhaozhao.

Fu Xianyin answered.

Cheng Zhaozhao seemed to have just gotten up as well; her voice was still languid. She said, "Yinyin, are you up yet?"

Fu Xianyin laughed: "You woke me up even though I wasn't up yet."

Cheng Zhaozhao chuckled: "I was thinking, since I'm up, there's no reason you shouldn't be up too. Wait here, I'm coming up to find you now."

Five minutes later, Cheng Zhaozhao appeared at the door of Fu Xianyin's dormitory.

Still in her pajamas, she casually lay down on Fu Xianyin's bed and said, "That lazy pig Chen Nianke hasn't replied to me yet, she's probably still sleeping. Perfect, let's think about how to celebrate her birthday."

Fu Xianyin nudged her with her arm and said, "Lie down a bit more, make some space for me."

Cheng Zhaozhao rolled half a circle inside, and Fu Xianyin lay down next to her. She said, "I've already bought Nian Ke's birthday present. Her birthday is on the weekend. I'll see and discuss it with the teacher when I get back, and then we'll celebrate her birthday together."

She asked curiously, "How did she spend her birthday last year?"

Cheng Zhaozhao said, "It's just a one-stop shop for eating, watching movies, and shopping. It doesn't feel very original."

Fu Xianyin said, "But Lin Anxu's birthday is coming up soon, have you prepared a birthday present for him?"

Cheng Zhaozhao curled her lip in disdain: "Who cares about preparing a birthday present for him? He can celebrate it or not, it's up to him."

She said, "Lin Anxu told me yesterday that he wants to invite the high school students to play basketball, probably around the weekend of Nianke's birthday."

Fu Xianyin: "That works too. Let's ask Nianke what she thinks."

Cheng Zhaozhao said, "I asked her, and she said she was fine with anything. I don't think she cares about celebrating her birthday at all."

As soon as she finished speaking, the dormitory door was pushed open, and Chen Nianke walked in yawning: "Sisters, we're in our final year of high school. Celebrating birthdays is a luxury that doesn't belong to us commoners."

Cheng Zhaozhao was startled and threw a pillow at her: "Ahhh, you scared me to death!"

Chen Nianke was speechless: "Didn't you tell me to come to Yinyin's place after I got up?"

She nudged Fu Xianyin with her bottom without any politeness: "You two, make room for my bottom, let me sit for a while."

Cheng Zhaozhao shouted from the very back, "Hey, don't push! You've pushed me into the wall!"

Chen Nianke said, "Stop talking nonsense. I'm looking at it. It's a huge empty space."

...

The three of them joked and played around, and that's how Saturday passed by.

On Sunday, Fu Xianyin got up early.

She picked up her phone and made a group voice call to Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao.

About fifteen minutes later, the two people appeared in Fu Xianyin's dormitory.

Cheng Zhaozhao brought all her cosmetics upstairs. Chen Nianke was still asleep, wearing pajamas, and pounced on Fu Xianyin's bed as soon as she entered the room.

Cheng Zhaozhao was so excited: "Yinyin, whether you wear makeup or not, you should wear makeup too, just to keep me company."

Fu Xianyin said, "Transform."

They were just high school students after all, and hadn't worn makeup much. Their makeup skills weren't very good either. The two of them spent the whole morning trying to do it, looking for makeup tutorial videos and studying various tools. The makeup they finished only covered up some blemishes like dark circles and added some color to their faces.

But girls of this age are beautiful even without makeup.

Their faces were radiant, and their eyes were bright—an effect that no cosmetic could achieve.

After finishing their makeup, Cheng Zhaozhao and Chen Nianke went to change their clothes, while Fu Xianyin stood in front of the wardrobe, looking troubled.

She tried desperately to convince herself that she only dressed up nicely because it was New Year's Eve.

It has nothing to do with anything else.

But when Fu Xianyin saw Gu Linzhao downstairs in the dormitory, she couldn't convince herself that she had dressed up so carefully just for New Year's Eve.

Gu Linzhao and Lin Anxu were waiting at the entrance of the dormitory building.

Lin Anxu didn't understand why Cheng Zhaozhao had said in the group chat so early that she was already awake and hadn't finished getting ready yet.

He called Cheng Zhaozhao, and the moment the call connected, Cheng Zhaozhao impatiently berated him: "Ugh, stop rushing me, I'll be down soon, you're so annoying."

With a beep, the call was disconnected.

Lin Anxu stared in disbelief. He pointed at his phone and said, "No, bro, did I just say anything? Did I urge you even once?"

Gu Linzhao chuckled, and just as he was about to say something, he looked up and saw Fu Xianyin.

The girl wore a light yellow coat, light blue straight-leg jeans, carried a small checkered bag, and held a fluffy blue scarf in her hand.

Her long hair was loose, with a small pearl hair clip tucked behind her ear. When she ran over, her dark hair bounced up on her shoulders like a flower in bloom.

Lin Anxu praised her without reservation: "Sister, you look beautiful today."

Fu Xianyin accepted the praise without hesitation: "Of course, I'm beautiful every day."

As she spoke, she looked up at Gu Linzhao and said, "You should also say a few words of praise for your sister."

The girl's eyes sparkled as she stared intently at him.

Gu Linzhao's Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "Isn't your neck cold with it bare?"

Fu Xianyin: ...

She glared at Gu Linzhao, touching the pearl necklace she wore as a decoration, and felt a surge of anger.

Chen Nianke and Cheng Zhaozhao came out a while later.

When Chen Nianke saw Fu Xianyin and Gu Linzhao, she exclaimed, "You two are dressed quite well today!"

Gu Linzhao glanced in the direction Chen Nianke was pointing.

Fu Xianyin wore a white sweater under her pale yellow coat.

Fu Xianyin looked at herself, then at Gu Linzhao, and looked up to see Chen Nianke winking at her:

"You two are so in sync!"

As usual, Chen Nian could choose where to eat. After the meal, someone suggested going to the arcade. By the time Fu Xianyin realized what was happening, she was already standing in front of the claw machine.

Chen Nianke, Cheng Zhaozhao, and Lin Anxu were playing some game, and Fu Xianyin looked around and only saw Gu Linzhao.

The boy had a stack of game tokens in his handsome hand. He held them up to Fu Xianyin's eyes and asked, "Want to play?"

“Go ahead and play,” Fu Xianyin said.

As you insert game coins one by one, the doll always falls down just before it's about to be completed.

Fu Xianyin was puzzled: "No, did you see that? I've already picked it up, it's all the way here, how could it still fall?"

She pointed indignantly at the exit of the claw machine, then turned to see Gu Linzhao's face as he suppressed a laugh.

She was furious and slapped him on the shoulder: "What are you laughing at?"

Gu Linzhao shrugged: "I'm not laughing anymore."

Fu Xianyin thought he was talking nonsense.

The smile on his face was still clearly there!

Noticing Fu Xianyin's annoyed gaze, Gu Linzhao seemed even more pleased. He raised an eyebrow and beckoned to Fu Xianyin:

"come over."

Fu Xianyin followed along, not understanding why.

Gu Linzhao led her to a larger claw machine, whose toys were superior in both variety and size to the previous one.

Fu Xianyin found it absurd: "No, I can't even pick up that, and you want me to pick up this?"

Gu Linzhao said, "Who said you could pinch it?"

He bent his fingers and tapped the machine lightly with his knuckles, saying lazily, "Pick one, I'll pick it out for you."

Fu Xianyin didn't believe him: "I can't even pick it up with a clip, how can you specify a style?"

Gu Linzhao sighed, "Why don't you believe me? When have I ever lied to you?"

Fu Xianyin truly did not believe it.

Playing claw machines is actually a matter of probability; to put it bluntly, there's an element of randomness involved.

But now that things have come to this point, she's genuinely curious whether Gu Linzhao can catch him.

So she said, "Then you can grab whatever you want, and whoever you grab wins."

Gu Linzhao turned his head to look at her and said, "What benefits will I get if I win?"

benefit.

Fu Xianyin pondered for a moment, but still couldn't think of any substantial benefits she could offer Gu Linzhao.

She said, "If you catch him, I'll grant you one wish."

Gu Linzhao asked, "Anything is fine?"

Fu Xianyin nodded and said earnestly, "Anything is fine with me. I'll do anything for you, even be your slave."

Gu Linzhao scoffed, "I don't need you to be my slave."

He inserted two coins, the machine started playing music, Gu Linzhao shook the handle, and pressed the button the instant the claw was thrown out.

Its claws hooked onto a neck pillow and slowly moved towards the exit.

Fu Xianyin held her breath.

She got stuck here several times. She could grab it, but her claws would suddenly open when she was still some distance from the exit.

However, this time is different.

With her claws firmly gripping the neck pillow, Fu Xianyin watched as a pink object fell into the hole in the inlet/outlet. With a thud, the barrier shook.

Gu Linzhao bent down and took out the neck pillow.

Fu Xianyin asked incredulously, "No, you can really catch it?"

Gu Linzhao put the neck pillow around Fu Xianyin's neck and casually poked at the little ears on the neck pillow with his fingertips.

He said, "Who told you not to believe me?"

A bet is a bet, and Fu Xianyin had no intention of reneging on the debt.

She really wanted to hear what Gu Linzhao's wishes were.

She said, "Then tell me your wish, and I'll grant it."

Gu Linzhao said, "I haven't decided yet, let's owe it to him for now."

"Alright," Fu Xianyin nodded. The ancestor had won, so whatever the ancestor said went.

The arcade had many arcade machines, and Fu Xianyin, who hadn't been to such a place for many years, found it novel.

She dragged Gu Linzhao around to play games here and there, including shooting, racing, obstacle courses, and even basketball.

The indoor heating was on high, and Fu Xianyin's thick coat soon became too heavy for her to wear.

She took off her coat and hung it on her arm. Before she had taken two steps, her arm felt light.

Gu Linzhao picked up her coat and the fluffy light blue scarf with remarkable ease.

Fu Xianyin lowered her head and gently curled the corners of her lips.

With their game coins running low, Fu Xianyin pulled Gu Linzhao to the service desk to exchange them for more.

Because of the New Year's Eve celebrations, the arcade was packed with people, and a long queue formed in front of the service counter. Gu Linzhao, holding a prize voucher, pointed to the gifts on the wall and was asking Fu Xuanyin what she wanted when a female voice suddenly came from behind him:

"Gu Linzhao?"

The two turned around at the same time and saw Song Yaoge and Ji Zhumiao in the group behind them.

Song Yaoge was wearing a red sweater, and her hair appeared to be permed, styled in delicate waves.

Fu Xianyin reached out and greeted Song Yaoge, who smiled back at her.

Song Yaoge looked at Gu Linzhao and said, "It really is you, class monitor. What a coincidence."

Gu Linzhao said, "It is quite a coincidence."

Song Yaoge's gaze swept over the two of them.

It was hot indoors, so Gu Linzhao took off his down jacket and held it in his hand.

The two were wearing matching white sweaters and light blue jeans, making them look like a couple at first glance.

Not to mention that Gu Linzhao was also holding Fu Xianyin's coat and scarf.

She asked Ji Zhumiao in a low voice, "Are they... together?"

Ji Zhumiao's eyes were dark as she said, "Fu Xianyin took a long leave after her midterm exams last month and only came back this week. I heard she's leaving again soon."

Song Yaoge was somewhat surprised: "Take a long leave? Why take a long leave?"

Ji Zhumiao said, "I heard she was planning to go abroad, but some people say it's because her family issues have become too big of a fuss."

Ji Zhumiao lowered her voice: "Last month, during the midterm exams, her mother came to the school and went crazy, saying that Fu Xianyin was in a relationship too early, that it was affecting her studies and that the teachers weren't doing anything about it, and that she was going to take it to the education bureau. Fu Xianyin just skipped the exam, and everyone knows about it. Since then, Fu Xianyin has been on leave."

Song Yaoge glanced at Fu Xianyin with a complicated expression.

She had no idea that Fu Xianyin's family was like this.

She suddenly remembered telling Fu Xianyin during the sports meet that she envied her. She envied her for being beautiful, intelligent, and born with everything.

What did Fu Xianyin say back then?

Fu Xianyin seemed to say nothing, she just remained silent.

Song Yaoge suddenly felt a little uneasy.

Fu Xianyin greeted Song Yaoge and then turned around. Aside from the time they confessed their feelings at the sports meet, the two were not really close; they were just nodding acquaintances among classmates.

The line ahead gradually shortened, and it looked like it was almost time to get to Fu Xianyin.

Gu Linzhao asked her, "Have you decided which prize you want to claim?"

Fu Xianyin pointed to a pink thermos cup with a bear's head painted on it on the wall and said, "That cup is kind of cute."

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff at the service desk smiled and said, "That's a couple's set. There's also a black one that's not on display. You two can exchange them for a pair."

Fu Xianyin opened her mouth, wanting to explain that the two were not actually a couple, but the words just wouldn't come out.

The two were wearing the same clothes, and Gu Linzhao was holding her coat and scarf. If he were to say something, it would probably make things even more awkward, so he might as well just admit it and go with the flow. After all, Gu Linzhao wasn't an outsider.

Moreover, deep down, she didn't really want to deny the misunderstanding.

Before she could react, Gu Linzhao spoke up first. He handed her the lottery ticket and said, "Okay, let's redeem a pair of couple mugs."

He did not deny their relationship, and even specifically mentioned the phrase "couple cups".

Fu Xianyin glanced at her discreetly, then looked at the black thermos cup that the staff member had brought out.

Gu Linzhao bought some more game tokens. Holding the clothes and game tokens in his hand, he said to Fu Xianyin, "You take the cup."

Fu Xianyin said "Oh" and hugged the pair of couple's thermos cups to her chest.

She felt the staff members' eyes on her with fond, aunt-like smiles, and even after she walked away, she could still hear them saying:

"Oh my, you've only been together a short time, and you're still shy."

"I just heard them talking about taking the college entrance exam. They're still high school students. No wonder they're so innocent."

Fu Xianyin felt her face start to burn.

She could no longer convince herself that the air conditioning was too hot.

With her newly redeemed game tokens, Fu Xianyin played almost every game in the arcade.

Fu Xianyin played until dinner time before reluctantly leaving the arcade.

Lin Anxu redeemed a toy gun, Cheng Zhaozhao redeemed a teddy bear doll, and Chen Nianke redeemed a small crystal ball.

Fu Xianyin still had a neck pillow around her neck. Cheng Zhaozhao curiously pinched the little bear ears on the neck pillow and said, "Yinyin, did you buy this?"

Fu Xianyin said, "Gu Linzhao won this from the claw machine." She held up two cups and shook them, "This is what we bought together."

Lin Anxu, standing to the side, didn't see the picture on the packaging box and asked, "What did you two buy together? A toy?"

Gu Linzhao said, "Couple's thermos cups."

Upon hearing this, Fu Xianyin's ears turned red.

How could he... say the words "couple's thermos cups" so frankly?

Lin Anxu still had some game tokens left, so he pulled Gu Linzhao to the service desk to exchange them for prizes. Having spent the afternoon in the arcade, Fu Xianyin's eardrums were constantly assaulted by the loud music. She stood a little further away, so Chen Nianke got her a cup so she could rub her ears.

"Hello, hello," a female voice came from beside her. Fu Xianyin turned her head and saw a girl dressed as a staff member holding up her phone, saying, "These are the photos I just took of you and your boyfriend. Do you mind if we use them for publicity?"

It was a photo of two people standing in front of a claw machine.

In the photo, Fu Xianyin looked excited, as if she was saying something, while Gu Linzhao lowered his eyes, his face full of indulgence. He reached out and casually pinched the little ear on the neck pillow hanging around her neck.

The photo was taken from another angle, making it look as if Gu Linzhao was gently touching her face.

Fu Xianyin felt as if a small part of her heart had collapsed.

Cheng Zhaozhao exclaimed, "This photo is beautiful!"

The staff member said, "Yes, we also think this photo is beautiful, so we were wondering if we could use it for promotion?"

Fu Xianyin pursed her lips and said, "He's queuing at the service desk. Why don't you go ask him?"

The staff member smiled broadly and turned to leave, but was suddenly stopped by Fu Xianyin: "Wait a minute."

She was a little embarrassed, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.

She said, "Could I have a copy of the original photo?"

At the service desk, the staff held up the same photo and asked the same questions.

Ignoring the shifty-eyed Lin Anxu beside him, Gu Linzhao pointed to Fu Xianyin standing at the door and said, "Ask her."

The staff member just smiled and said, "I already asked, and she said she'd ask you."

At the entrance, Fu Xianyin watched the two people who had just redeemed their prizes and curiously went over to see what Lin Anxu had redeemed this time.

It's a small keychain.

Chen Nianke said, "I just did some research and found a Hunan restaurant that's supposed to be pretty good. I called and made a reservation. Let's go, I'm starving!"

The mall had air conditioning on, but Fu Xianyin felt a slight chill, whether it was because she hadn't moved much while standing or because the adrenaline she had released while playing the game had subsided.

She didn't need to wear a coat, she nudged Gu Linzhao with her elbow and said, "Give me my scarf."

Gu Linzhao asked, "Cold?"

Fu Xianyin nodded: "A little, but not enough to warrant wearing a coat. I'll just wear a scarf."

As soon as she finished speaking, Fu Xianyin felt a chill on her neck, followed by a soft covering.

Gu Linzhao removed the neck pillow from her neck and then wrapped the scarf around her neck.

With the neck pillow draped over Gu Linzhao's arm, Fu Xianyin's gaze fell on those small ears, and she suddenly asked, "Did you agree?"

Her words seemed disjointed, but Gu Linzhao understood them nonetheless.

He said, "I agree."

A strange feeling welled up inside her. Fu Xianyin tucked her chin into her scarf and said in a muffled voice, "So you agreed?"

Gu Linzhao chuckled and said, "Didn't you ask her to come and ask me?"

The scarf covered the mouth.

Fu Xianyin smiled secretly.

The fireworks were set off close to midnight, and Cheng Zhaozhao was worried about not being able to get a good spot, so she dragged them to the park around 11:30 to find a good viewing spot.

People's Park was already crowded with people, and it took Cheng Zhaozhao a long time to find a small open space in a corner.

Fu Xianyin had a scarf around her neck and was holding two couple's thermos cups in her hands. She shrugged her shoulders slightly and moved closer to Gu Linzhao.

The two were already standing close together, and when she moved, she almost fell directly into his arms.

Fu Xianyin stiffened for a moment.

Perhaps it was because the winter clothes were too thick, even though the two of them weren't actually very close, the thick clothes pressed against each other, giving her the illusion that she had fallen into his arms; or perhaps she had no concept of distance and didn't expect the two of them to be standing so close.

She could almost feel Gu Linzhao's presence lingering around her ear.

She instinctively wanted to stand a step further away, but her heart remained in place. Her feet moved, but her body only swayed slightly.

Gu Linzhao thought she had lost her balance, so he reached out and steadied her waist.

"Don't move around," he said. "There are a lot of people, don't get pushed away."

Fu Xianyin stopped moving.

Cheng Zhaozhao and Chen Nianke found a good angle for taking pictures and called out, "Yinyin, come take a picture!"

Fu Xianyin moved over and stood next to Chen Nianke.

Lin Anxu held his phone, and Cheng Zhaozhao threatened him, "Take a good picture, or you'll be sorry!"

Lin Anxu grinned: "It'll definitely look good. Come on, come on, check it out for yourself."

To be honest, Lin Anxu's photography skills are actually not that great.

But girls this age look great with just a little dressing up, and with a smiling face, their vitality almost overflows the screen.

After Cheng Zhaozhao finished filming herself, she still had to film Fu Xianyin separately.

Not satisfied with shooting alone, they also wanted to bring Gu Linzhao over to shoot together.

The square was crowded, and the biting winter felt less cold. Cheng Zhaozhao shouted, "You two, unzip your jackets and show us your white sweaters."

Fu Xianyin's ear felt hot.

The coat wasn't buttoned up to begin with, but she gently tugged at it, revealing a white undershirt underneath.

A zipper was being pulled open from the side. Fu Xianyin glanced at it out of the corner of her eye and saw Gu Linzhao unzip his coat, revealing a white sweater underneath.

Cheng Zhaozhao was satisfied.

She shouted, "Three, two, one, look at the camera!"

Almost simultaneously, a huge explosion rang out overhead.

Fireworks burst into bloom.

The shutter is pressed.

Screams erupted from the crowd, and Cheng Zhaozhao raised her voice, almost shouting:

"Look, look! How well I took this picture!"

Fu Xianyin took the phone.

A young boy and girl stood in the center of the screen, and a dazzling purple firework bloomed against the night sky behind them.

Fu Xianyin suddenly turned around.

Gu Linzhao smiled and said, "So, did your wish come true?"

One explosion after another echoed through the sky. Fu Xianyin looked up at the dark night sky, where dazzling flowers bloomed one after another.

Colorful flowers bloomed layer upon layer. Cheng Zhaozhao exclaimed from the side, "My God, this year's fireworks are so beautiful! There are so many colors! It feels like they have all the colors of the rainbow!"

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.

It was a wish she made offhand.

It actually came true.

A surge of heat welled up in Fu Xianyin's chest. Amidst the cacophony of voices, she heard Gu Linzhao say, "Do you like it?"

Fu Xianyin nodded firmly.

This is the peace of mind that comes from having one's wish fulfilled.

This was a sense of peace she hadn't experienced in many years.

The wind blew through her hair. Gu Linzhao moved closer to her. After a moment, she heard him raise his arm seemingly casually and ask:

Are you cold?

She noticed the section of his hand with distinct knuckles that extended from his sleeve.

Memories were pulled back to Lin Zhao's birthday.

Fu Xianyin smiled and said, "There are so many people, it's not cold at all."

Gu Linzhao lowered his gaze and let his arms hang down.

However, the next second, a warm mass was squeezed into his hand.

He looked up and saw Fu Xianyin wink at him. His palm was gently scratched, and then his fingers were parted, and slender fingers squeezed through the middle to interlock with his.

[Author's Note]

There are so many people, and so many chapters today!!