Chapter 489: Staying Together Year After Year, Yan Yan Never Separates

Xiyan let him hook her arm and they drank up the wine in each other's glasses again.

The wine slid down his throat, warming his heart to the point of shivering.

He lowered his head, his lips brushed the corner of her lips, his voice low and solemn:

"Yanyan, I've been deeply in love with you for a long time, so much so that I didn't even realize it. When I came to my senses, my heart was already filled with you."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly took out a scroll from his sleeve and slowly unfolded it - the paper showed him as a teenager, with his eyebrows and eyes still green, it was the painting that Xiyan had secretly painted for him that year.

Xiyan's face flushed red, as if on fire, and she reached out to grab it:

"How did you find it? Give it to me now!"

Xiao Nanyan raised his hand to avoid it, and the smile in his eyes deepened:

"So you liked me so early, but I was completely unaware."

He stroked the drawing paper gently, his tone cherishing:

"This portrait will be treasured forever by me. I will show it to my children and tell them how much their mother loved their father."

Without waiting for Xiyan to refute, he leaned over and kissed her, with the sweet scent of lychee wine between his lips and teeth.

After a while of lingering, he leaned against her forehead, breathing slightly:

"Yanyan, I have a big gift for you."

"A big gift?" Xiyan was slightly stunned. She didn't know what Xiao Nanyue was up to tonight because of his mysterious behavior.

Xiao Nanyan smiled without saying anything, raised his hand and pointed, Xiyan turned her head to look, only to see that the lake in the distance was suddenly lit up with warm light.

I saw dozens of river lanterns floating along the water. The lanterns were wrapped in fresh bamboo leaves. The candlelight shone through the green leaves, casting a hazy halo on the water.

On each lamp was a piece of writing in cinnabar, which gradually gathered into a row as the water rippled gently.

"It is better to drink wine and grow old with you; the zither and the qin are in the palace, and everything is peaceful and good." The sixteen words shine brightly in the lamplight.

Xiyan looked at the lotus lanterns slowly drifting towards her, tears welling up in her eyes, and her heart seemed to be filled with something, sour and soft.

At this moment, a melodious piano sound suddenly rang in her ears, like moonlight flowing through a clear spring, like a spring breeze blowing through willow branches. The melody was gentle and lingering, with a familiar warmth.

Xiyan was slightly startled and subconsciously turned her head to look - she saw that Xiao Nanyan had sat down in front of the zither table in the corner of the pavilion without her knowing when. The sharp edge of the Regent had faded away, and the dark robe made the lines of his profile soften. His fingertips gently plucked the strings of the zither, but his eyes were always on her, filled with unbreakable tenderness.

The melody was sometimes like a spring flowing over rocks, sometimes like the sound of pine waves floating over the mountains. It was clearly the song he had played for her two years ago beside the stone railings of the waterside pavilion in the Regent's Palace.

I still remember what he said at the beginning:

"The sound of the clear music lingers on fingers, like frost on morning snow; the flowing notes of the jade pegs resemble dew on a white dress. A beautiful woman stands beneath the jade branches, the pear petals on her temples trembling gently, still wet with morning dew. Broken jade strikes the icy silk, its clear shadow reflecting the moonlight."

That was the scene when he saw her at Qingxi Cottage: under the pear tree, her white clothes were as white as snow, and when she looked back, her eyes were moving, just like a spring breeze, which disturbed his heartstrings.

He said it was an impromptu composition and had never been given a name. When he played it again now, every note had a bit more certainty and tenderness than before.

"This song..." Xiyan looked at him, her voice as soft as a dream talk.

Xiao Nanyan's fingertips did not stop, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his lips, and the sound of the piano became more gentle:

"This song was created for you. It's called 'Pear Blossom Snow'."

The sound of the zither continued to flow, accompanied by the warm light of the lotus lanterns on the lake and reflecting the bright brilliance of the stars in the sky, gently wrapping the sixteen words "It is better to drink wine and grow old with you; the zither and the qin are in the palace, everything is peaceful and good" into the night of the Phoenix Pavilion.

Xiyan looked at him playing the piano with concentration, and suddenly realized that some feelings never need to be expressed in words. They have long been hidden in the past and melted into the melody at his fingertips, and they will be spent with her for a long time to come.

The sound of the piano was still there, and Xiyan had not yet recovered from the shock when the night sky suddenly exploded with brilliant fireworks.

First, a huge peony bloomed, and then, golden sparks outlined words in the sky, so bright that they were blinding - "Year after year, we will stay together forever, Yan and Yan will never be separated" The ten words stayed in the night for a moment before turning into falling stars in the sky.

Xiyan could no longer hold back her tears, which slid down her cheeks, drop after drop hitting her clothes, leaving small wet marks.

The emotions and sorrows hidden deep in my heart now turned into hot tears, silently telling thousands of words.

The sound of the piano behind me suddenly stopped, and the last note disappeared in the evening breeze.

Xiyan was still immersed in her emotions when suddenly a pair of strong arms appeared around her waist.

Xiao Nanyue hugged her tightly from behind, his chest pressed against her back, his warm breath brushing against her neck, bringing with it a familiar and comforting scent.

"Why are you crying again?"

His voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of imperceptible heartache, and his fingertips gently wiped away the tears on her cheeks:

"Is it that the piano music isn't pleasant, or are these fireworks and lotus lanterns not to my liking?"

Xiyan shook her head and grabbed his hand with her backhand. The warmth of their palms dispelled the chill of the night.

She didn't have to look back to imagine how worried he was at the moment.

“Neither.”

She sniffed, her voice nasal:

"Everything is so beautiful...it doesn't seem real."

Xiao Nanyan chuckled softly, resting his chin on the top of her head, and tightening his arms around her, as if he wanted to rub her into his bones and blood.

"Silly Yanyan, as long as you like, every year on this day, I will play "Pear Blossom Snow" for you, and I will also accompany you to set off lotus lanterns and fireworks..."

The evening breeze passed through the Phoenix Pavilion, carrying the freshness of the lake water and the fragrance of flowers in the distance, gently carrying his promise away.

Xiyan leaned in his arms, listening to his steady heartbeat, and suddenly felt that all the words in the world were not as moving as the hug at this moment.