Chapter 52 "How could it have fallen so much?..."

"How could it have fallen so much?"

"The whole market crashed overnight."

The word "again" is so intriguing, yet it sends a chill down one's spine.

Since the collapse of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, many directors and executives sensed the disconnect between the soaring stock price and the company's actual value, and began to sell their shares. Panic ensued, and many media outlets rushed to report that Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect was about to collapse.

With extensive media coverage and a sharp market decline, the collapse of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Exchange Group's stock market seemed to happen in an instant, influenced by various factors.

As a result, most stock investors, trusting Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, kept increasing their leverage, leading to severe losses, heavy debts, and ultimately, suicide.

The middle-aged man sitting on the steps glanced at the person lying on the ground. The face was sunken into the ground, a bloody mess, and it would occasionally twitch a few times, as if it wasn't quite dead. The middle-aged man looked at it for a few seconds, then calmly looked away. He had lost count of how many times he had looked at this today.

He said to the unkempt man squatting to the side, smoking a cigarette, "Oh well, luckily I didn't buy too much, or I would have lost a lot of money. Luckily, luckily, sigh, but I still have to get scolded by that old woman when I get back."

The man with the cigarette dangling from his eyelids looked listless and lifeless, as if all the blood had been drained from his body. "Look at you, so pathetic." But then, thinking of the plummeting stock market, his eyes lit up with renewed determination. "Didn't you say that this Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock was a sure thing?! I was waiting to get rich! I believed your lies, and now I've lost everything!"

The man was also quite innocent, explaining, "No, I heard through the grapevine that your daughter, Huang Shiyu, had bought a lot of this stock, which is why I dared to get you involved. Your daughter is a big businesswoman, I thought she couldn't be wrong, but who knows?"

This scruffy, unkempt man was Huang Shiyu's biological father, Huang Guodong.

Huang Guodong spat out his cigarette and turned around: "It's all your fault! You've made me lose everything, not even my underwear! All 500,000 yuan is gone!"

Faced with such accusations, the man sitting on the steps calmly said, "Why don't you just ask your daughter again? She paid off the million you owed last time. You can see she won't abandon you. The blood ties between family members can't be severed."

But even the strongest family ties can be worn down by these daily actions.

Without giving him a chance to think it over, he saw a group of people looking around in the distance with expressions of fear in their eyes. He didn't even bother to say goodbye to the man sitting on the steps. He took off running in the opposite direction from the group of people and fled the scene while the ambulance and police cars were on their way.

Just as the police were about to cordon off the scene, the group of loan sharks saw Huang Guodong running faster than a rabbit and eagerly said to the leader, a man in a brightly colored floral shirt, "Brother Wang, look, he's over there."

The man called Brother Wang looked in the direction his underling pointed and saw Huang Guodong fleeing. His eyes narrowed. "Let's see where he can run to."

After saying this, the well-trained thugs split into several groups and quickly disappeared from the crime scene.

After they left, police tape was quickly put up at the scene. Many people who hadn't shed tears when the stock market crashed suddenly burst into tears at the sound of sirens, disregarding their image. What were they crying about? Perhaps they were crying because their daydreams had finally come to an end. They might have thought they could hold on and maybe weather the storm, but the sirens and the case of the man on the ground who had lost his stock investment finally opened a gap, telling everyone present the stark truth: there was no way to recover the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stocks; like a bubble economy, they had burst in one fell swoop.

Huang Guodong was panting heavily from running. He was old and not in good health. He was exhausted. It was the cold season, but he was covered in sweat. No matter how much he ran, he should be in this condition. He tugged at the sleeves of his clothes that were tightly bound to his arms. Before he got into gambling, he never thought that his clothes would be so ill-fitting.

Just as he was about to sit down and rest, a stick silently struck his back, leaving him no time to even be stunned.

Huang Guodong knew he couldn't escape, so he could only bend over and hide to feel a little better.

"Still trying to run? Huang Guodong, pay me back!" Brother Wang looked at him expressionlessly, but seeing his terrified expression, his tone became disdainful and urgent, "Go ahead and run, let's see if you still dare to run."

Huang Guodong quickly waved his hand: "I was just stretching my muscles, they got numb from squatting."

She smiled brightly, but her smile looked more like a grimace than a cry.

Brother Wang looked at him coldly: "Fine, is it still numb now?"

"It's not numb anymore, it's not numb anymore." How could he dare to get numb? He was terrified. These people were all ruthless, especially Brother Wang. If he dared to say he was numb, they would chop him up.

"Alright, let's do the math first. Principal: 500,000, plus interest and late fees, totaling 2 million." Brother Wang suddenly sneered, "How do you plan to pay it back?"

Upon hearing the amount of two million, Huang Guodong panicked. "I have no money right now. I just lost everything in the stock market."

Seeing that Brother Wang didn't speak, she suddenly felt uncertain, and her lips trembled involuntarily. "Brother Wang, could you please give me a few more days, just a week? I'll pay you back."

Regardless of whether he could repay the debt, he made a guarantee first, otherwise he didn't know how he would die later. However, it didn't turn out well, as the other party didn't buy it at all.

Brother Wang glanced at his underling: "Did you bring the things?"

"Big brother, I brought it."

He instructed his underlings, "Put it on and see just how amazing this new toy really is."

Huang Guodong looked at the object, his face turned pale, and his lips trembled even more violently than before. "No, no, no, I have money, I have money." He knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. In his despair, he could only think of Huang Shiyu, whom he had abandoned, and grasped at her like a lifeline. "My daughter has money. She owns a very wealthy company in the big city of Shanghai."

"Do you think I'm stupid? Your daughter lives in that lousy place, how could she possibly have any money? Do you think it was your daughter who paid you back last time?"

Brother Wang's tone was extremely mocking, implying that someone else had repaid him last time.

Huang Guodong looked on in surprise: "Isn't it that brat...?"

"Look, that's him." Brother Wang pointed to the LED screen on a building not far away, and to the person being shown on it, "Li Xingzhou."

Huang Guodong was stunned.

Brother Wang clicked his tongue: "Your relationship with your daughter is quite special. As soon as she heard you owed a million, she gave it to you without batting an eye. She's really generous."

After saying that, Brother Wang recalled the day they staked out Huang Shiyu's residence and encountered Li Xingzhou, who stopped them and told them that he would pay back the money Huang Guodong owed, and that they could pick it up at the Rongchuang Building first thing the next morning, on the condition that they would not cause any more trouble for Huang Shiyu.

The relationship is unusual, and the implication can be interpreted in a hundred ways.

The only thing that can lead people to speculate about between a man and a woman is that kind of secret relationship.

But Huang Guodong didn't catch what Brother Wang was trying to say. After thinking it over, he felt that this possibility was more to his liking. "Yes, that's her boyfriend. See, I told you my daughter is very rich. She can easily shrug off such a big company as Shenzhen-Hong Kong. Two million is nothing to them."

That's what he was thinking: so what if Shenzhen-Hong Kong Group's stock plummeted? Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Two million is just a piece of cake for them, not even worth a second.

Brother Wang was well aware of his ulterior motives: "It's really bad luck for your daughter to have a father like you."

“I am her father. If I hadn’t given birth to her, she wouldn’t have achieved what she has today. It’s only natural for a son to pay for his father’s debts, especially since my daughter’s boyfriend is very rich.” He pointed to the LED screen, “You all know who this big boss is. Please give me a few more days, and I will pay it back.”

He said this without blushing or getting angry. He had never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father, yet he wanted to exercise his rights as a father.

"Do you think I'm a philanthropist? Week after week, enough nonsense. If you don't pay me back in three days, I'll use this new toy on you," Brother Wang said, pointing at him with the new toy.

Huang Guodong nodded repeatedly and replied, "Thank you, Brother Wang. I will pay you back, I will pay you back."

As the Spring Festival approaches, red lanterns with the character "福" (fortune) are hung from the branches of trees all over the streets. A fierce cold wind blows the lanterns crookedly. Ambulances with sirens blare and police cars clear the way, shuttling through this flower-filled scene. It's only a few days away from New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival, a time for family reunion at the end of the year. But this city seems to be tainted with the aura of death, dragging a group of people away from their peaceful and happy homes.

"Brother Wang, are you in such a hurry to get Huang Guodong to pay back the money so you can prepare a dowry for Xiaoyu? If you ask me, the dowry you've prepared for Xiaoyu is quite generous; it's enough for her to live on for the rest of her life," the younger brother said.

Brother Wang turned his gaze to his younger brother and said seriously, "That won't do. I only have one daughter. Her mother died early. Although I am both her father and mother, I can never replace her mother. Her dowry must be generous. I can't let her in-laws look down on her."

"Brother Wang, you are such a good father." The younger brother said sincerely, and couldn't help but want to give him a thumbs up.

Brother Wang smiled knowingly at his younger brother's praise.

Watching them leave, Huang Guodong shrugged his shoulder, which had been pressed so hard, and spat out a mouthful of filth: "Pah, what a load of crap."

Huang Shiyu walked on the cobblestone path, at the end of which was her mother, Ms. Tong's, house.

Because she had promised her mother, Ms. Tong, that she would go back to her place for the Chinese New Year, Huang Shiyu returned to Yucheng yesterday, to the home where Ms. Tong now lives, which was also where she used to live during high school. The room where she lived was still there, and the furnishings were exactly the same as before. Although everything was the same as before, she still felt uncomfortable and couldn't stay there. Perhaps it was because she had suffered too much, and she was afraid that this was just a mirage, and she was also afraid that Ms. Tong was slowly boiling the frog in water, and that she needed something from her.

She wasn't afraid that Ms. Tong would ask her for a favor; she was afraid that if she used this approach of first being polite and then resorting to force, Ms. Tong would feel like an outsider.

The awkward way they chatted and interacted made her extremely uncomfortable.

So after dinner today, she used the excuse of taking a walk to look at old places to sneak out by herself.

She didn't go anywhere today, just wandered around the vicinity of her home. The furthest she went was the street opposite her home, the route she and Li Xingzhou used to take to and from school together.

Seeing that it was getting late, she decided to go back to Ms. Tong's house. Otherwise, Ms. Tong would start nagging about how unsafe it was for a girl to be out alone. She would always reply with something like, "I'm not a child anymore. I've grown up and know my place," to shut Ms. Tong up.

Ms. Tong would shut up as soon as she heard that, and then she would have achieved her goal.

It was nearly dusk when she stood at her doorstep, and she could hear her great-aunt talking inside.

"Shiyu is a pretty girl, with a good education and can earn money. But she'll be twenty-seven after the New Year, so she needs to find a boyfriend soon. A woman's golden age is only a few years. Once she's over thirty, it's all over."

Huang Shiyu hesitated as she reached for the door. At that moment, she felt as if her hand weighed a ton. As if she had made a decision, she slowly let go of the door. It wasn't out of fear or cowardice, but because she wanted to hear what her mother had to say.

Water was boiling inside, so the noise wasn't too loud; you could clearly hear the two people talking.

The next second, Huang Shiyu, who had been eavesdropping, slowly relaxed her pursed lips, revealing a faint smile.

“My daughter has plenty of suitors; she’s not short of men. There are enough men chasing after her to choose from. Eat more fruit. These are cherries that Shiyu brought from Shanghai. She said they’re imported and cost 300 yuan a box. They’re very sweet. Don’t worry about finding her a partner,” Ms. Tong said.

“It’s not that I’m being nosy, but a woman’s prime years fly by in the blink of an eye. We’ve all been there, you should know that. You can’t afford to waste your time. In big cities, they call it something like that.” My aunt was eating a box of cherries that cost 300 yuan. She paused here, and when she spat out the cherry pit, she finally remembered what the term was. “Oh, an older single woman.”

Ms. Tong just smiled and said, "Times have changed. Young people have their own ideas. We, who are half-buried in the loess soil, shouldn't worry about it. Let them go whichever path they want to take."

The aunt put down a box of cherries and hurriedly said, "You can't have this kind of thinking. Let me tell you, there used to be Wang Dagui's daughter in our village. Ever since she graduated, she kept saying she didn't want to get married and wouldn't go on blind dates. But then she suddenly wanted to get married when she got older. But that's no use. She has no chance in the blind date market. The only ones she could have a chance with were people like Shiyu."

The kettle of water boiled quickly, and Huang Shiyu, as if having found a good excuse, opened the door the moment the water boiled.

When Huang Shiyu opened the door and came in, he called out to the woman sitting on the sofa, "Auntie."

"Shiyu." The woman called Auntie's eyes lit up instantly when she saw the person in the conversation. "Auntie knows you don't have a boyfriend yet, so I'm going to introduce you to someone today. That young man is tall, handsome, and very family-oriented. He's perfect for you. He doesn't do anything like gambling, drugs, drinking, or smoking. He's a good man."

Huang Shiyu walked over, ignoring Ms. Tong's waving hand, and sat down directly on the single sofa. "If he's as good as you say, I've never seen a man like him before. He should be very popular, so why doesn't he have a girlfriend yet?" She glanced unconsciously at the tablet computer on the table. She knew it belonged to Yang Hengyu, since she had bought it. She just hadn't expected that besides being ignorant, he had also started investing in stocks. Wasn't he afraid of losing everything? She thought that if she ran into him later, she would have to give him a few words of advice, whether he listened or not was up to him.

“The economic climate is bad right now, so after I resigned, I’m taking the civil service exam at home. But people say I don’t necessarily have to take it at home; I can also go to your city.” My aunt said this with a straight face, as if it were the truth.

This might fool a young girl who hasn't entered the workforce yet, but trying to fool someone as shrewd as Huang Shiyu is clearly misjudging her. "What would you do in my city? Take the civil service exam in Shanghai? It's probably not as easy to get a civil service job in Shanghai as it is back home."

“That’s easy. You run a company, don’t you?” her aunt advised. “Just give him a position, and you’ll have more time to spend together and build a relationship. Isn’t that great?”

So, it turns out he was waiting for her here, taking a roundabout route. Did he think she wouldn't realize he was a complete gigolo?

"No, do I look like a bastard?"

After glancing at the woman who was her great-aunt a few times, she said with undisguised sarcasm, "You two chat. There are dogs barking outside, it's too noisy. I'll go and deal with it. Excuse me."

There are no dogs outside. We never keep dogs at home, and neither do our neighbors. This is a veiled criticism that someone should shut up and stop barking.

Ms. Tong naturally understood the hidden meaning in Huang Shiyu's words, but her aunt next to her was probably too old and not so quick-witted. She just stared blankly as Huang Shiyu stood up.

Huang Shiyu didn't even leave a glance behind, acting as if he was about to walk away.

She usually leaves room for maneuver in her words, but this time she spoke without any restraint. She must have been extremely bored and too lazy to even bother with formalities.

As Huang Shiyu left, her aunt frowned and said, "No, what kind of talk is that? A woman being too assertive is not a good thing."

"Can you say something nice?" Ms. Tong praised Huang Shiyu in a calm and composed voice. "My daughter has a good education, good looks, and good abilities. In the matchmaking market, she'll be the one choosing whoever she wants."

"Are you confused? These things don't apply to women once they reach a certain age," my aunt said disapprovingly.

Huang Shiyu leaned against the door, listening to the two people inside each giving their own version of events. She smiled, a simple smile, without any deeper meaning.

She didn't know why Ms. Tong would speak up for her today, as if the person who had abandoned her was just a figment of her imagination. Sometimes she really didn't want this forgiveness, as if everyone had reconciled with her, but she was still stuck in the same place. But she had to stay in the same place, otherwise what would she do if she was abandoned in the past? She couldn't bear to watch that little girl fight against the whole world alone in the rain.

If even she herself has forgotten these things, then no one will remember her from the past.

I can't remember that little girl who longed for her parents to come home.

The brilliant afterglow of the setting sun shone above her, trailing a heavy tail that swept across the sky. Her eyes held a glimmer of winter's warmth that had not yet faded.

How beautiful! She thought to herself.

Looking at the rosy clouds filling the sky, she was suddenly reminded of many years ago.

At that time, her parents had just divorced, and she lived with her father, who worked in another city all year round, leaving her with her grandparents at home. Her grandparents were elderly and in poor health. There were crops to work on in the fields, but she was too young to do such heavy work, so the two elderly people took care of it.

Once, she accidentally fell and didn't know what to do, so she called her mother. She didn't expect her mother to answer, and she was quite happy to turn on the recording function. However, she only managed to call out "Mom" before the call was disconnected. When she called back, it showed that the other party was on another call. At that time, she didn't know what those seven words meant and simply thought that someone was looking for her mother. It wasn't until she got older that she understood. Her mother had hung up the phone and didn't want to answer at all. That recording is still on her phone, and she has never deleted it.

Her mother may have forgotten about it, but she will never forget it.

Just as tears were about to spill from her eyes, a voice entered her ear, sealing the warm liquid.

"for you."

Suddenly, a tissue appeared in front of her. Without even looking, she knew who had given her the tissue. She didn't choose to take it, but instead remained in that position, blinking frequently. Seeing her like this, the person who gave her the tissue didn't say anything and promptly took it back.

The tears ultimately did not fall.

She looked at Yang Hengyu, whose eyes were bruised, and said, "You're always doing nothing productive. Did you go out and get into a fight again? How old are you, Yang Hengyu?"

Yang Hengyu didn't take her words seriously at all, took a sip of beer, and said, "It's one thing for my mom to nag me, but now she's nagging you too. You've only been here for a few days."

Huang Shiyu glanced at him silently: "I don't usually care when I'm not around, but I saw it now." She also reminded him, "You should stay out of the stock market stuff. If someone messes with you, you won't even have ten fingers left to cut off."

"Did you look at my phone?" Yang Hengyu stared at her with a stern expression.

Huang Shiyu looked at him with eyes that seemed to regard him as an idiot, and said coldly, "Your tablet is open, and it's in such an obvious place in the living room. I'm not blind."

Yang Hengyu thought about it for a moment and realized that there was some truth to it. He remained calm and composed. "Mom said that you learned to trade stocks on your own back then and you were able to make so much money. There's no reason why I can't."

"Don't listen to this nonsense. You're the kind of person who'll get scammed out of your social security when you're old," Huang Shiyu said jokingly.

Yang Hengyu naturally chatted with her about this and that: "You're worried that I'll be scammed out of my social security when I get old, then teach me how to save up some money so that I won't be scammed out of everything when I'm old, right, sister?"

Huang Shiyu looked at him and said, "If you had put a little more effort into your studies back then, you wouldn't have failed to get into even a top-tier university."

Mentioning grades and studying always seemed to touch Yang Hengyu's sore spot. Sure enough, her tone was full of impatience: "Sorry, sis, not everyone wants to be like you, with lofty ideals. Some people's ideal is to eat, drink, and wait to die, like me."

His words seemed reasonable enough, but when the target was Huang Shiyu, it was a different story. As a beneficiary who had been receiving benefits from Huang Shiyu, he stood on the moral high ground to criticize her, even though he knew that the reason she was trying so hard to stand on high was because of the injustices and indifference she had suffered over the years.

Therefore, his words sounded somewhat detached from reality.

It can be described as a kind of cruel indifference.

Huang Shiyu didn't react, and just listened to him continue.

"Oh, right, Mom must have told you to just give me any position at the company, and not to listen to her. No matter what, I'm not at the point where I need to rely on a woman."

She nodded: "Okay then. I bought your graduation certificate with my own money, and I also bought all the clothes and shoes in your closet. Pay me back."

"Besides, I ignore what Mom said, so you don't need to take it to heart. I didn't plan on having you come anyway."

Her tone was genuine, and her expression was serious, making it seem as if she were truly telling the truth.

Unlike Huang Shiyu, Yang Hengyu was not cunning. He was a shrewd person who could not tell good words from bad words or jokes. When he heard Huang Shiyu say that, he was young and impetuous, and his limbs were more developed than his brain. He glared at Huang Shiyu and thought he was very powerful.

"Fine, fine, your run-down place is bankrupt, who wants to go there?"

Huang Shiyu was secretly delighted when he heard him say that; he was just embarrassed and angry.

Unfortunately, the person in question had already left in a huff, carrying a can of beer and heading in an unknown direction, certainly not towards home.

After Yang Hengyu left, Huang Shiyu stood still for several seconds without moving, her eyes still fixed on the sky. But the sky was different now; it was black, pitch black, as if it had changed into another face.

Li Xingzhou's call came at just this time, which was both timely and opportune.

"Shall we come out?"

"Are you in Yucheng?"

"Yeah, wanna go for a drive?"

"Now?"

"Um."

Huang Shiyu thought she had misheard. If she remembered correctly, today was Lunar New Year's Eve, a day when she should be at home having a reunion dinner with her parents. If it weren't for Ms. Tong's habit of eating dinner early, they would also be sitting at the table eating their reunion dinner at this time, watching the Spring Festival Gala amidst the sound of firecrackers.

But Li Xingzhou is clearly not someone who can be judged by conventional standards, because he is used to doing things unpredictably.

She asked him, "Where are we going?"

"Turn around."

The winter wind blew so gently past her ear.

"I'm just ten steps away from you."

Huang Shiyu casually turned her head and saw Li Xingzhou standing in the cold wind. The shivering wind howled, and she not only heard it but also saw it. The hem of Li Xingzhou's coat was trembling in the night. The wind also blew to Huang Shiyu's ear. She looked at Li Xingzhou in surprise.

The other person was also looking at her with their phone.

The moment she turned around, their eyes met.

At that moment, she felt the phone in her hand had an immense weight to it.

She really didn't expect that the moment she turned around, Li Xingzhou would actually appear behind her.

She watched as the other person's black leather shoes stepped onto the wide road.

But is it really ten steps away as he said?

She counted them carefully.

No, it's not ten steps, it's nine.

The next step is the step she takes forward.

She asked, bewildered, "How did you get here?"

Seeing her somewhat dazed expression, Li Xingzhou smiled, a rare occurrence for him. "I heard there's a fireworks show in Yucheng, so I came to see it."

"I thought Mr. Li really just wanted to go for a drive with me."

They strolled along the streets they used to frequent, heading to the fireworks display spot that Li Xingzhou had mentioned.

Li Xingzhou looked at her and said calmly, "It's to express my gratitude."

What she was grateful for was, of course, for helping him gather comprehensive and thorough information about the CEO of Qixing. It was true that Shenzhen-Hong Kong Group was full of talented people and very powerful, but Huang Shiyu was very skilled at private investigations, because in addition to being good at algorithms, Wang Ping was also very good at finding clues.

Sure enough, she did find out some things.

She hadn't expected Zhang Jinheng to be so secretive. If she hadn't asked Wang Ping to investigate, she wouldn't have known that Qixing had already developed its own 3nm chip with a high yield rate, almost on par with that foreign chip company. However, she could understand why Zhang Jinheng was so secretive. If this news were to leak out, it would be like dropping a bombshell in the industry. For Qixing, while it was undoubtedly good news, their journey of developing their own chips had only just begun since the company's inception. If they wanted to continue on this path smoothly, they had to keep everything a secret; leaks would lead to failure.

On New Year's Eve, the streets and alleys were filled with laughter and joy. People were eating, playing cards, and the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers. The humorous Spring Festival Gala skits from their memories were also present on every brick and stone slab they walked on.

The place was bustling with noise and activity, but the people there were just passersby, and compared to the hustle and bustle, they walked very orderly.

They walked from the alley where there was no light to the place where there was light.

As she looked up, the fireworks arrived with incredible speed. She could only catch a glimpse of the first wave of fireworks rising into the sky, leaving behind only a faint trace after they bloomed, like ripples on boiling water.

"No need, it's just returning the favor. But the fireworks were beautiful, thank you. It seems like it's been a long time since I've seen such a grand fireworks display." Huang Shiyu quietly looked up at the sky.

That's what she said, but she also had her own selfish reasons for letting Wang Ping investigate. She wanted to know what breakthroughs and progress Qixing's self-developed 3nm chip had made. After all, she couldn't afford to work with that foreign chip company, and her project was scheduled to start no later than next year, so she needed to plan ahead.

Now, she just needs to wait for Sunac and Qixing to reach a cooperation agreement, and then she will check the compatibility between Qixing's chips and Sunac Qidian. If it is good, then she will go and negotiate with Zhang Jinheng. After all, Qixing's chips have not yet entered the market, and it will take time to integrate with the products. It may also be just a castle in the air. So this approach will not cause her any loss. It is a win-win situation.

“Yes, we used to set off the Spring Festival every year right after midnight,” Li Xingzhou said calmly, looking at her profile.

In the years before he went abroad, he spent the New Year in Yucheng because he was too lazy to go back to that home. It wasn't his home; at best, it was a cage that imprisoned his body. So he longed for the ordinary homes of ordinary people.

Another loud bang, and the firelight illuminated two people on the shore, their hearts heavy with unspoken thoughts.

What is your New Year's wish?

Huang Shiyu asked, "Does watching fireworks come with a New Year's wish?"

"Say it."

Huang Shiyu stared at another wisp of firework rising into the sky, a smile appearing in her eyes. She sincerely made a wish upon the firework: "I want my project to be successfully listed on the stock market."

"Definitely, no problem." His gaze lingered on the fireworks in the sky and on Huang Shiyu's smiling face, his lips curving slightly.

"Are you fast?"

What does he mean by that?

By the dim light of the fireworks, Huang Shiyu could barely make out that they were standing on a street that was perfect for running, and beyond the fence a little further ahead was the sea.

Does he expect her to go for a night run with him just to watch fireworks?

The topic shifted a bit too quickly, and Huang Shiyu didn't quite understand it at first.

Then she looked at the rusty sign in the shadows that read: "Fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited here."

She instantly understood the situation and teased the other person with a smile: "You're really bold. You're a public figure now, what? Are you planning to divert attention from your family's stock market?"

Li Xingzhou laughed along: "Ready?"

"certainly."

She answered decisively.

"This is much more exciting and fun than racing."

As the sound of sirens grew louder and louder.

Li Xingzhou suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

The sky was an endless expanse of black, a deep and mysterious black.

The afterglow of the fireworks fell behind the two running figures, who looked like figures etched into an oil painting, forbidden to be seen.

The scent of the wind kept brushing against her nose, and the intense running made her heart pound too hard. The heart rate watch on her wrist was flashing red, but even so, she didn't let Li Xingzhou, who was pulling her along, stop.

She relished this suffocating death, and if she could, she wanted this feeling to last forever.

Huang Shiyu's gaze remained fixed on the hand that held her wrist, unable to look away. She wondered what Li Xingzhou was thinking the moment he grasped her wrist.

I can't remember.

But she could feel a burning place inside her. She thought it might be because of the fireworks filling the sky.

So beautiful.