Yu Wanwan checked her watch; it was less than ten minutes until the fireworks.
She quickly set up the tripod and adjusted the camera position: "Stand right there. Let me check the framing."
After adjusting the shot, she returned to Zhang Jingxu's side and glanced at her watch again—less than three minutes to go.
She couldn't help feeling nervous. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she emphasized: "Ready? The fireworks are about to start. You have to time it perfectly. No mistakes."
In contrast to her anxiety, Zhang Jingxu was remarkably calm. He spoke slowly: "Actually, even if I miss the timing, it's fine. I can confess again when the fireworks start—it will still be romantic."
Yu Wanwan frowned in dissatisfaction, her tone serious: "What do you know? This is a carefully designed romantic scene. When the male lead finishes his heartfelt confession and the sky bursts into fireworks at that exact moment, it creates a sense of awe—like the male lead's words are so powerful that the world responds to his love. It's like when a male lead swears an oath and gets struck by lightning the next second—shocking! You get it? If you confess after the fireworks start, the sound of explosions will drown out your words. Where's the romance in that? It's so tacky."
She then shot him a sharp look: "How dare you question me? Who's the director here?"
"You are."
"Then cooperate!"
Forget it; she shouldn't have explained it to this straight guy who hasn't watched any Japanese dramas and doesn't understand atmosphere.
She looked down at her watch, holding her breath as she watched the countdown.
Ten, nine, eight...
As the hand approached 7:30, Yu Wanwan urged him: "Say the line, say the line!"
"Yu Wanwan." Zhang Jingxu quickly got into character. Their eyes met, and his voice was as deep as a mountain spring, full of emotion as he spoke the line he had rehearsed countless times: "I like you!"
As he finished the last word, the time hit exactly 7:30.
But...
Silence.
The only response was the untimely croaking of frogs in the distant fields.
"?"
Yu Wanwan looked up stiffly at the pitch-black sky. Where were the promised fireworks? Where did they go?
Could Elder Sister's information be wrong?
After waiting for over a minute, the romantic fireworks still hadn't appeared. Yu Wanwan deflated like a balloon, her disappointment plain to see.
She let out a helpless sigh, feeling like a clown who had been fooled.
She regretted so easily believing her sister's information. She herself was usually better informed. If there really was a tycoon in Fuyi City setting off fireworks to propose, how could she not have known even a single clue?
Just as she was fuming, the clueless offender bumped right into her line of fire: "Didn't you say there would be fireworks tonight? Did you get the time wrong?"
"How should I know!"
She snapped, opening her bag to pull out her phone. Suddenly, a crisp sound of silver hitting the ground. Yu Wanwan looked down—the silver hairpin Zhang Jingxu had won for her through the spicy challenge had fallen out of her bag.
She was about to pick it up when Zhang Jingxu bent down first.
She decided to let him handle it and opened WeChat to confront Yu Suisui: "Sis, didn't you say a tycoon in Fuyi was going to set off fireworks for an hour to propose to his girlfriend? It's 7:33 now. Where are the fireworks? What kind of tycoon proposes this late?"
Zhang Jingxu picked up the fallen jasmine silver hairpin and, as if it were a treasure, wiped off the nonexistent dust.
He looked at Yu Wanwan, who was chattering in the cold wind.
Even without the romantic fireworks, he wanted to say something to her.