"Do you know how much preparation I put into freeloading off this fireworks show? When we get back, you have to compensate me for my mental distress and all the expenses of this trip, got it!"
Yu Wanwan was pressing the voice key and rambling on, when she suddenly heard Zhang Jingxu call her tenderly, "Wanwan."
Unfortunately, his extremely gentle "Wanwan" didn't get the attention it deserved. After sending the voice message, Yu Wanwan said irritably, "What? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"
With that, she pressed the voice key again, ready for another round of output.
Zhang Jingxu bit his lower lip, as if making the bravest decision of his life. His voice was even more solemn than before: "Yu Wanwan."
"What now?" Interrupted twice in a row, Yu Wanwan's expression had reached the peak of impatience.
Seeing that she finally looked at him, Zhang Jingxu clenched his fists. With the principle of not turning back once the arrow is shot, he gathered his courage and bravely spoke the confession he had been brewing for countless days and nights before returning to China: "I like you!"
As soon as the words fell, the distant sky suddenly heard the sound of a firework breaking through the air. Then, a brilliant firework instantly lit up the entire sky, followed by a second, a third, with explosions echoing one after another...
Yu Wanwan took a deep breath and covered her mouth with excitement, looking at the gorgeous waterfall of fireworks in the sky, completely shocked into speechlessness.
Was this the belated, regained surprise?
A belated deep affection is cheaper than grass, but a belated firework... was too stunning!
At this moment, the shock on Yu Wanwan's face no longer had any trace of acting; it was an incredibly joyful, genuine expression.
What stunned her most was the person in front of her. His timing was impeccable!
How did he know the fireworks would be delayed by six minutes? And he hit the mark so accurately?
Was it the effect of his lucky buff?
Now the world was truly responding to his love.
Zhang Jingxu didn't look at the distant fireworks; his eyes were fixed on Yu Wanwan's face from beginning to end.
He spoke earnestly, word by word, finishing the unfinished confession: "I hope to be by your side every year in the future, watching different fireworks with you."
Yu Wanwan looked at the man who was so focused on performing the lines she had arranged. For a moment, she couldn't tell if what he said was the script or his true feelings.
Because she was too excited, she didn't even realize that Zhang Jingxu had added "lines" without permission. She just stared at him dazedly.
The brilliant fireworks in the distance illuminated the contours of the two. At that moment, the world seemed to be paused, and in their eyes, there were only reflections of each other.
Zhang Jingxu lowered his head, gently stroked the cold silver hairpin, and thought of the little stall owner's sales pitch from the day: "If you put a silver hairpin on the girl you love with your own hands, you'll grow old together in love." He slowly spoke: "Let me put this on you."
Yu Wanwan didn't resist, letting him slowly approach.
It was Zhang Jingxu's first time doing this for a girl. He clumsily tried twice before successfully tying up her long hair.
"Done." He stepped back, looking at her hair he had clumsily put up, with a quite satisfied expression.
Yu Wanwan had been watching him without a moment's pause. Her crow-feather-like eyelashes fluttered. Her heart suddenly started pounding uncontrollably, the sound seeming louder than the distant fireworks.
She even wondered if Zhang Jingxu could hear it.
Oh no, oh no, she felt like she was getting too deep into the act. Why did she suddenly want to kiss him so badly?
Yu Wanwan's cheeks flushed involuntarily. She inwardly berated herself for being unable to extricate herself from the script she had designed.
All because of his outstanding performance!
She tried to wake herself from the false confession, finally coming back to reality.
The two leaned shoulder to shoulder, snuggling together to admire the brilliant fireworks in the distance.
Their silhouettes—one tall, one short—and the dazzling fireworks were precisely recorded by the camera a few meters away.
Yu Wanwan spoke softly: "Didn't I tell you not to add any lines?"
Zhang Jingxu frowned: "I didn't add any lines."
Yu Wanwan questioned him: "You didn't? Then what was all that gibberish you said afterward? I only gave you one line!"
Hearing this, Zhang Jingxu's expression quickly drooped.
So... she thought his confession just now was part of her script?
He was about to explain, but Yu Wanwan spoke again, her voice much lighter: "Forget it. Considering you did a good job with the ad-lib this time, I'll let it slide. But don't do it again, got it?"
After saying the last three words, Yu Wanwan turned her head and gave him a smile sweet enough to melt anyone.
Zhang Jingxu gazed at her, watching the joy on her face as she indulged in the belated fireworks and the filming material. Though unwilling, he bitterly accepted the outcome, his voice grim: "Oh."
Forget it. Next time, he would find a more solemn time to confess.
The two enjoyed the fireworks display on the undisturbed Magpie Bridge for about ten minutes. The mountain night wind was a bit chilly, so Zhang Jingxu suggested going back.
Yu Wanwan packed up the filming equipment. On the way back, she was incredibly elated.
After walking for a while, she suddenly stopped, took out the red rope bracelet woven from her own hair from the inner pocket of her bag, looked at it seriously for a long time, then said: "Considering how much material you provided me today, I've decided to give you this bracelet. Give me your hand."
Zhang Jingxu obeyed without hesitation.
As the skin of their palms touched, Yu Wanwan carefully put the red rope on him and adjusted the length: "Done."
She said: "When you have a girlfriend in the future, or if you don't want it anymore, remember to return it to me. Don't throw it away, okay?"
Zhang Jingxu twisted his wrist, and the previous disappointment seemed to be compensated by this red rope. He said with great seriousness: "I won't throw it away."
"Good." Yu Wanwan put her hands behind her back, hopping along like a happy rabbit.