Should we make a wish?
In bars, Christmas is far more representative and important than New Year's Eve. Most hotels will go all out for Christmas, while they don't receive the same treatment on New Year's Eve and may even be closed.
When Christmas Day actually arrives, the bar will be incredibly busy.
Xu Li even had the people from Tianguang Hall come down to help.
The bar has a Christmas tree, staff dressed as Santa Claus, and many limited-edition drinks for Christmas...
After a long night, everyone was exhausted and lay down on the sofa to rest.
Ah Feng, holding a plate and eating from a fruit platter that the guests hadn't touched, mumbled, "Will Mingyue Night be open for the New Year?"
"Why isn't it open?"
Ah Feng almost choked: "Have you no humanity left?!"
Zhou Junchang knew that the brothers around him were all listening intently, so he raised his voice and teased them, "No one can be missing on New Year's Eve, everyone come as usual."
The surrounding area was filled with complaints.
Zhou Junchang laughed and slumped into the sofa.
Xu Li was at Tianguang Hall at the beginning of the night, but when there were fewer people in the early morning, she came downstairs to help Zhou Junchang. At this moment, she was sitting alone on the sofa. She heard this and smiled. She thought that Zhou Junchang was a bit arrogant at times, but she had never seen Zhou Junchang treat her like this before.
Xu Li looked at the empty glass and was about to pour another one when she saw someone who had been lying on the sofa walk up to her and snatch the glass away.
Zhou Junchang said in a slightly cold tone, "Still drinking? Don't you ever learn?"
Xu Li wisely put down the half-empty bottle of wine, thinking she would secretly pour more after Zhou Junchang left, but who knew he would just take the wine away.
...
Okay, okay.
...
On New Year's Eve, Mingyue Night is open as usual, but there are fewer customers, so naturally there are fewer waiters.
A group of people were already itching to go back before midnight.
Zhou Junchang didn't make things difficult for them. He knew they all had families. It was fine if they didn't go back home normally, but they had to go back and have a proper New Year.
Afterwards, Zhou Junchang did the accounting, mixing drinks, and tidying up by himself. Although he wasn't busy, he still worked very late. When he was about to turn off the lights, he heard some noises coming from inside the warehouse.
The corridor lights were off, and there was only darkness at the end.
A rustling sound came from the warehouse. At first, Zhou Junchang thought it was rats, but the sound didn't seem like it.
Thieves during the Chinese New Year?
That makes sense; they might be taking advantage of the Lunar New Year holiday, when everyone else is home celebrating, to catch us off guard.
Having convinced himself, Zhou Jun often used his foot to hook the broom by the door and then casually put the fruit knife into his pocket.
As Zhou Junchang approached the warehouse, before he could even swing his broom, he was caught off guard by a pair of bewildered eyes.
Zhou Junchang instantly pulled back the broom in his hand, and finally took his hand out of his pocket.
Xu Li looked at Zhou Junchang, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears, as if she had been crying or something else, giving off an air of homelessness and wandering.
Xu Li looked at the contents of Zhou Junchang's phone and realized what was going on. She awkwardly turned her head away, pretending not to see it.
Zhou Jun casually tossed the broom aside by the door, where it stood perfectly upright. He then turned to Xu Li and asked, "Why are you still here? Aren't you going home?"
After saying that, Zhou Junchang realized that what he said seemed a bit wrong, because he suddenly remembered that a long time ago, when Xu Li was drunk, she said that she had no home.
Since the question had already been asked, Xu Li thankfully didn't feel uncomfortable: "Wait a minute, let me move tomorrow's goods out first."
Zhou Jun frowned: "Were you the one who came to move things before?"
"No, Xiao Ba went home for the Chinese New Year today."
Xiao Ba is Xu Li's little helper; he's always the one who helps with anything.
"Not only did you not ask for help, but you didn't even say a word. If I hadn't heard the noise just now, you would have been locked up here today."
Xu Li was also feeling bitter. She had called Xiao Ba today, but Xiao Ba was in a hurry to get off work and go home. Before the things were moved out, she thought she would move the things out first. Who knew that the things were heavy and piled up deep? Xu Li had to move the goods piled on top out bit by bit before she could move the things out.
After saying that, Xu Li turned around and continued to bend over, rummaging through something.
"come out."
"ah?……"
Zhou Jun pulled Xu Li out, rolled up his sleeves, and asked, "What are you moving?"
"Ah? Oh! That tablecloth, two sets of golf clubs, and the cues... I couldn't find the cues inside..."
Xu Li gladly accepted Zhou Junchang's help and happily directed things from the sidelines.
Zhou Jun walked to the box, made no extra movements, bent down, his fingertips precisely gripped the gap at the bottom of the box, and with a pull of his arm, the half-person-high cardboard box was steadily suspended beside him. His steps were steady, neither fast nor slow, the lines of his shoulders were straight and taut, and his profile was expressionless.
The two shops share a warehouse. Tian Guangting doesn't usually change its stock, so over time, many items get buried underneath. Just recently, Mingyueye received some goods for the Lunar New Year, which were also buried there.
Xu Li watched as Zhou Junchang carried the things out one by one, and thought to herself that it was a good thing that Zhou Junchang came to help in the end, otherwise Xu Li would have had to carry them all by herself until next year.
Everything was moved out. Zhou Jun patted the dust off his clothes and heard Xu Li say thank you.
While moving things inside, Zhou Jun noticed that the red lanterns that had been delivered earlier had not yet been hung up.
Xu Li carried Zhou Junchang's belongings upstairs, and Zhou Junchang also helped carry them upstairs.
The two went downstairs, and Zhou Junchang called out to Xu Li: "Do me a favor."
Xu Li looked at Zhou Junchang with a face full of doubt.
"Help me hold up the ladder."
Zhou Jun often brought out the A-frame ladder and gestured for Xu Li to brace against one side of the ladder to avoid slipping.
Zhou Junchang climbed the stairs step by step, the red lantern in his hand was stretched out, and it emitted a festive red light the moment the power was turned on.
After being electrified, the lanterns will spin. They look a bit old-fashioned, but they really bring out the festive spirit when they're with traditional holidays like Chinese New Year.
Zhou Junchang stood on the stairs, looking down at Xu Li, and noticed that she was also looking at the rotating red lantern, the red reflected in her pupils.
The red lanterns were glowing; they looked beautiful.
Xu Li's eyes also shone, making her even more beautiful.
Zhou Junchang glanced at the time; there were still two minutes left. He pondered for a moment before asking Xu Li, "Should we make a wish?"
It's definitely a bit old-fashioned; who makes a wish while looking at a red lantern these days?
Xu Li assumed Zhou Jun was just teasing her about never having seen a red lantern, and looked away.
Although it was a question, the tone left no room for refusal: "Permission or not?"
Xu Li looked up again, but this time, she wasn't looking at the red lanterns, but at Zhou Junchang.
Zhou Junchang kept his head slightly lowered, his eyes hidden by his hair, his gaze dark and unfathomable.
As Xu Li hesitated and closed her eyes to make a wish, she felt an unparalleled tranquility, as if something was being laid out.
Three, two, one...
One sound, two sounds, three sounds...
The timing was just right.
Gradually, the sound of firecrackers began to echo around us, and countless fireworks exploded in the sky.
Fireworks exploded, and umbrella-like branches of light stretched out in all directions, illuminating the outlines of distant treetops. The night was tinged with varying shades of light by these flickering lights. Those fleeting glimpses of light, like candles lit on black paper, burned intensely and extinguished quickly, yet left a string of tiny, fragmented spots of light in the eyes that lingered for a long time.
Zhou Junchang took advantage of the fireworks to go down the stairs and stand next to Xu Li.
Compared to the fleeting brilliance of fireworks, Zhou Jun often felt that the eternally beautiful people around him were more appealing.
Xu Li was so engrossed in watching the fireworks that she didn't notice the even more attention-grabbing gazes around her.
Zhou Junchang slowly closed his eyes and made a wish in his heart.
Zhou Junchang never believed in these things, and he had never made such a formal or expectant wish on his birthday. But at this moment, as he and she stood under the fireworks, he actually wanted eternity for a fleeting moment.
When he opened his eyes, he turned around and met Xu Li's gaze.
Zhou Junchang stood in the halo of light, half his face illuminated and half bathed in shadow. His Adam's apple bobbed, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just stared at the fireworks. The mist in his eyes seemed to dissipate, revealing a tenderness hidden beneath, one that even he himself was unaware of: "What did you wish for?"
Xu Li shook her head and leaned close to Zhou Junchang's ear: "Wishes won't come true if you say them out loud."
Then he asked, "And you?"
Zhou Junchang, what did you wish for?
Zhou Junchang smiled awkwardly and turned away.
Xu Li still saw it.
Xu Li smiled too.
The two continued watching the fireworks in tacit agreement.
Xu Li didn't say what she wished for, and Zhou Junchang didn't ask any further. If knowing Xu Li's wish required him to use his own wish as a condition, he felt his own wish would be even more unspeakable.
Zhou Junchang carried the ladder inside, and Xu Li waited for him at the door. The two closed the door and walked into the night together.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, and as I passed a house, the enticing aroma of dumplings wafted out.
Happy New Year, Zhou Junchang.
"Yes, Happy New Year, Xu Li."
On this special holiday, the two of them watched fireworks together. That night, they stood under the bright red lights and began to make wishes to welcome the New Year.
It was an ordinary yet extraordinary night. It was common for the two of them to walk together like this, but tonight they were both in a relaxed and happy mood, enjoying the tranquility of the moment and feeling each other's presence.
The wind was still blowing, and the embers of the fireworks slowly dissipated in the sky, revealing even brighter stars. There were still only two people in the darkness, two steps apart, yet it seemed as if they had already filled the emptiness in each other's hearts with something.
In the new year, there's no need to rush to hug or confide in anyone. Just knowing that there's someone by your side, walking home step by step with you, waiting for dawn, is enough.
The fireworks overhead were still flashing, casting long shadows of the two people, which slowly overlapped in the alternation of light and darkness, like a pre-written ending.
Afterwards, Zhou Jun would often recall the scenery of that night, a memory that would linger no matter how long it had been. And it was precisely because of this that he would be struck by the memory every time he thought about it.
Memories are like a jar of wine, repeatedly brewed under the baptism of time, and each time it is opened, one is amazed by its mellow and rich flavor.
Therefore, Zhou Jun often loses himself in his memories, fantasizing countless times, as if trapped in an endless loop, unable to escape or get out. He knows it's wrong, but he still can't control himself.
Some things are unavoidable, but we have to experience them.
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