Chapter 61 Mask
"Sister!" Du Ruozhi protested vaguely, but did not dodge. She just blinked her bright eyes and smiled.
The years were peaceful, and Du Huaizhi's tense nerves relaxed slightly, but he still didn't dare to let his guard down, fearing that he would be dragged into the alley if he wasn't careful. Li Siyu was definitely capable of such a shameful thing.
"Sister, there are masks for sale over there. Let's go and take a look." Du Ruozhi excitedly pointed to a small stall in front and pulled Du Huaizhi over.
Du Huaizhi frowned slightly, but didn't resist. The small stall was well stocked with all sorts of masks. Du Ruozhi picked up a white, faceless mask and put it on.
"Sister, look, do I look good?" She turned her head and looked at me, a smile faintly visible under the funny faceless mask.
Du Huaizhi looked at her childish appearance, feeling helpless. He raised his hand and picked up a fox mask, "This one suits you."
"Do you know?" Du Ruozhi took the mask, put it on her face, and tilted her head towards Du Huaizhi. Seeing the faint smile on Du Huaizhi's face through the eyes of the mask, Du Ruozhi made a quick decision, "Okay, then buy this one."
He looked at the mask in his other hand, picked it up and compared it to Du Huaizhi's face, "I want this one too, for my sister."
Du Huaizhi had no interest in this kind of thing, but he still paid the money and put on the funny faceless mask.
The two continued to wander the streets. As the night deepened, the candlelight on both sides of the street became as bright as daylight, and more and more people walked on the street. The crowds were so crowded that the two sisters were almost separated.
Du Huaizhi subconsciously tightened his grip on Du Ruozhi's wrist, but he lost control of the force, causing Du Ruozhi to hiss softly.
Du Huaizhi was stunned, let go of his hand, and couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.
"Feel sorry."
"It's okay." Du Ruozhi answered cheerfully.
The crowd surged like a tide, and all kinds of sounds and smells mixed together, making Du Huaizhi's nerves, which had just relaxed with great difficulty, tense again.
"There are so many people here, follow me closely and don't get separated."
"Okay." Du Ruozhi nodded, held Du Huaizhi's hand tightly, and let her lead them, quickening their pace and moving towards the relatively less crowded side of the street.
The crowded crowd kept pushing them, and the accidental collision made Du Ruozhi stagger. Fortunately, Du Huaizhi supported her and prevented her from falling in the crowd.
"Let's go." Du Huaizhi's calm voice was reassuring. She took Du Ruozhi and cleverly avoided the crowd and came to the stone railings by the river where the flow of people was not so dense.
Standing here, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why is it so lively tonight?" Du Huaizhi asked, breathing heavily. Without the support of internal energy, even squeezing for such a long time made her short of breath.
Du Ruozhi thought about it, and suddenly clapped her hands, "It's the Fireworks Festival!"
Seeing Du Huaizhi's lack of reaction, he figured she probably didn't know, so he explained, "The Fireworks Festival is a special festival to celebrate the founding emperor's unification of the northwest and the establishment of the Great Yan Dynasty. It's held on the sixth day of August every year. Kyoto has fireworks for three days, and tonight is the first day."
"I see." Du Huaizhi suddenly realized and cast his gaze across the river. The river in the night reflected the bright lights on both sides, like a falling starry sky. This was such a special festival, and he had never heard of it before.
Du Ruozhi seemed to read her mind and continued to explain, "The founding emperor was always frugal and disliked extravagance. This fireworks festival only came about later and is considered unique to Kyoto. It's normal that you haven't heard of it, sister."
Before Du Ruozhi finished speaking, the first gorgeous firework had already soared into the sky and exploded in the night. Golden flames fell like rain, instantly lighting up the entire night sky.
The huge noise drowned out the hustle and bustle of the city, and the crowd burst into thunderous cheers, looking up in amazement.
Du Ruozhi was also ignited by the atmosphere. She stared at the sky without blinking and cheered along with the crowd almost in ecstasy.
Even Du Huaizhi's eyes flashed with surprise, but soon returned to coldness. A crescent-white figure slowly walked towards this side, with a clear goal, making it difficult for Du Huaizhi not to pay attention.
Xie Sui and Du Huaizhi's eyes met and they raised their hands to bow.
Du Huaizhi's eyes fell on the pink sachet on his waist, which did not match his outfit at all. It was not that she did it on purpose, but it was mainly because it was too eye-catching.
The embroidery stitches on the sachet looked more and more familiar. Without thinking too much, he knew it was from Du Ruozhi's hand. Du Huaizhi thought to himself: These two are making rapid progress. They have already started giving gifts, and Du Ruozhi, that little liar, is still fooling people every day.
Du Huaizhi looked at Xie Sui, then at Du Ruozhi, who didn't know someone was coming. He raised his eyebrows in understanding and stared at him with strange eyes.
Xie Sui was a little confused by her stare, and was just thinking about how to explain when Du Huaizhi handed him the faceless mask he was playing with. He took it blankly, and when he saw the plain white dress she was wearing, which was similar to his own, he understood and nodded gratefully.
At this moment, Du Huaizhi raised his hand, narrowed his eyes slightly, and made a gesture of touching his neck.
Xie Sui immediately understood her silent warning and nodded solemnly, his eyes firm and frank.
Du Huaizhi then withdrew his gaze from him and turned to look at his sister, who was still immersed in the fireworks. A complex emotion flashed in his eyes. It was quite like the feeling of a child at home reaching the age of marriage in the blink of an eye, and a little bit of reluctance arose in his heart.
But soon her reluctance was suppressed, and she left quietly, leaving the place to the two of them.
Xie Sui watched her leave, put on the mask, and moved to the place where Du Huaizhi had originally stood. Under the mask, his eyes fell on Du Ruozhi, tender and affectionate.
The fireworks continued for a long time. Du Ruozhi was dazzled and lowered her head. She took off the fox mask, rubbed her eyes which felt a little uncomfortable, and vaguely saw a white figure wearing a faceless mask standing beside her.
Thinking it was Du Huaizhi, she grabbed his hand, leaned her face against his chest, and said in a muffled voice, "Sister, my eyes are blurry and I can't see the road."
However, she soon realized that something was wrong. The smell was wrong. It was not the cool fragrance of her elder sister, which was clear and had a hint of medicine, but a clean pine ink scent with a faint bookish air.
Du Ruozhi raised her head suddenly and met a pair of smiling, gentle eyes. Even through the faceless mask, she could clearly feel the warmth in those eyes.
She let go of her hand instantly as if she was scalded, took two steps back, her cheeks turned red, and even her ears were stained crimson.
"You...you?!" Her voice trembled, she felt shy and embarrassed, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into. "Why is it you? Where's my sister?"
Xie Sui didn't expect to be recognized so quickly. He chuckled softly, his voice carrying a hint of amusement through the mask, "Miss Du just said she was going to get some fresh air, and she left her place to me."
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