Fireworks crackled and burst outside the window.
The sky wasn't dark yet — daytime fireworks.
"Maybe they're about equal. You know me."
"I don't."
Wen Qing put down her fork, leaned on the table, and looked at Zhou Shixu with only her eyes showing above the edge.
She didn't ask any further.
The tips of her lashes brushed gently against her cheeks as her gaze lowered.
The window was behind Zhou Shixu, fireworks blooming one after another.
Brief, fleeting, yet lingering in the heart.
"Zhou Shixu."
"Hm?"
"You're definitely going to City A for university, right?"
"Not necessarily."
Strands of hair fell down, covering the eyes Wen Qing had left exposed.
Shielded by those few strands of hair, she looked at Zhou Shixu without restraint.
"Why not necessarily? Your grades are so good — it'd be a waste not to go to City A."
"There's nothing to waste."
Zhou Shixu's fingertips touched the ends of her hair.
He gently pinched them and lifted them up, moving away the strands that were tangling with her lashes.
"But Uncle and Auntie are both in City A. If you go there, you can be with them."
The moment the words left her mouth, Wen Qing lowered her eyes to look at the fingertips he'd moved away.
She didn't question it, nor did she stop him.
"I don't usually live with them anyway."
"You haven't seen each other in a long time, have you?"
"I can't remember clearly."
Wen Qing withdrew her arms from the table, propped her cheek with one hand, and sat up.
"Then why don't you ask where I want to go for university?"
"I'll wait for the results."
"Why? Don't you believe in my ability?"
"Do you have somewhere you want to go right now?"
Winter always darkened faster than usual, and by now dusk was slowly spreading across the sky.
Wen Qing looked into Zhou Shixu's eyes, her voice firmer than ever:
"I'm going to City A."
Without waiting for his reply, she continued in a resolute tone:
"You have to come with me."
"Okay."
·
The weather was cold, so Wen Qing wore a newly bought down jacket.
A pale yellow, long one.
When Ms. Zhao bought it, she said Wen Qing would definitely look like a little yellow duck in it.
At first, Wen Qing disagreed with that description,
but the moment she put it on, she was charmed by her own appearance.
Not wanting to face her messy horde of relatives at home, Wen Qing headed out early with Zhou Shixu.
To the perfect fireworks-viewing spot Xu Jinqi had mentioned.
Which turned out to be a small hill by the river.
Although fireworks hadn't been banned outright this year, they were only allowed at designated spots.
It went without saying that the square where fireworks were being set off would be packed with a surging crowd.
Thanks to the ceaseless fireworks or perhaps the moon, the ground was unusually bright.
At the thought of seeing Sang Nianning soon, Wen Qing felt a quiet excitement stir again.
Schoolwork had been too demanding, and besides, their classrooms were located at opposite ends of campus — one in the south, one in the north.
Even in the same district, they rarely had chances to meet and chat.
With environmental management improving in recent years, the river's surface had grown much clearer.
Even at night, it shimmered with rippling light when seen from afar.
Probably worried the other three wouldn't find the place, Xu Jinqi had arrived earlier than everyone.
He'd even brought all kinds of small fireworks.
Of course.
He and Sang Nianning still couldn't avoid bickering.
When Wen Qing and Zhou Shixu walked over, the two were arguing about the types of fireworks.
One complained the designs were no good; the other said take it or leave it.
"Hey, hey, hey — why are you two fighting again? You were thrilled for ages before we arranged this, and now that we're out, do you get itchy if you don't bicker?"
Wen Qing played peacemaker as she crouched down beside Sang Nianning and rummaged through the fireworks with her.
Seeing the little Goldfish Pop-its Xu Jinqi had bought, Wen Qing finally understood what Sang Nianning had been mocking.
Wen Qing could have crushed these little pop-its barehanded back when she was six.
"I just thought they'd be safe! Exams are coming up—if anyone got hurt by an explosion, I'd be a criminal for the ages!" Xu Jinqi said as he picked one up and threw it.
The sound was nearly a dud.
Jokes aside, he had bought almost every variety on the market.
Though the hill wasn't tall, no stairs had been built—only a few small dirt pits worn into the slope by repeated footfall offered any footholds.
During New Year's, no one besides the four of them had any interest in climbing an uninhabited little hill.
As he climbed, Xu Jinqi couldn't resist teasing Wen Qing that she'd finally thought to wear non-slip shoes.
Before they even reached the top, the group was nearly at each other's throats again.
The moon was bright, the stars sparse, and fireworks bloomed right beside the moon, almost within arm's reach.
"How about that! I told you this spot is absolutely perfect!" The moment they reached the top, before even walking to the center, Xu Jinqi was already eagerly showing off.
"It's alright, I guess. I'll give you some credit." After her jab, Sang Nianning made a point of snatching the bag of fireworks from his hand.
Down the hill she'd been complaining that the fireworks Xu Jinqi bought were too childish; up the hill, Sang Nianning immediately asked Wen Qing to teach her how to crush pop-its barehanded.
Wen Qing pinched one between her thumb and index finger, then twisted hard with her fingertips.
"Pop."
Sang Nianning imitated her motion, but no matter how she rubbed it after pinching it up, it wouldn't burst.
Thinking it was a dud, she tossed it to the ground—and it went off instantly.
"You two are teaching it wrong. Just squeeze hard once and it pops."
Saying this, Xu Jinqi picked one up to demonstrate, pinching it hard between two fingers.
The lingering smoke from the burst floated at his fingertips.
"No, you definitely have to rub it. Otherwise, how would the stuff inside grind against itself and explode?"
As if to prove her method was the more reasonable one, Wen Qing raised her hand and crushed one right in front of Xu Jinqi's eyes.
It gave him quite a fright.
"When you throw it on the ground, the stuff inside doesn't grind together either. This kind bursts under enough pressure."
With that, Xu Jinqi crushed another one right in front of Wen Qing.
As the two argued, who knows how many pop-its they crushed against each other's cheeks, until their fingertips turned red.
And still neither would admit defeat.
Just then, a sharp crack suddenly sounded from Sang Nianning's fingertips.
"Pinch it with your thumb and middle finger first, use some force, then suddenly slide it onto your index finger."
"I told you it needs a rub!"
"And she just said to squeeze it hard!"
Seeing the two argue endlessly, Zhou Shixu suddenly spoke up:
"I can't crush one either."
Wen Qing leaned in to look at his fingertips.
He was pinching a yellow pop-it between his fingers, the same color as Wen Qing's down jacket.
"Then rub it."
Wen Qing had meant to demonstrate for him, but after all that contest with Xu Jinqi, her fingertips now ached too much to pinch.
Much as she didn't want to admit it, it should be possible to crush one directly—especially with hand strength like Zhou Shixu's.
Following her words, Zhou Shixu moved his thumb and index finger apart.
It didn't pop.
"That's not right." As she spoke, Wen Qing rose on tiptoe to look closer.
There were no extra streetlights on the hill, and she couldn't see his fingertips clearly—the closer she leaned, the closer she got.
Wen Qing reached out and demonstrated in front of him, like snapping her fingers.
"I can't see clearly."
With the fireworks reflecting off his lenses, it really did seem he couldn't see well.
Wen Qing reached out, her index finger lightly touching the back of his hand.
Her two fingers made contact with his fingertips.
Then she squeezed hard and gave a twist.
Handheld poppers weren't very powerful, and their bang wasn't loud.
But Wen Qing distinctly felt the sound jolt her heartbeat.
Her fingertips hadn't even had time to let go.
Even though the weather wasn't that cold, how could his fingers be so cool?
As if they carried no warmth at all.
Xu Jinqi's eyesight was surprisingly good.
Even from a distance, he could clearly make out the two of them.
Seeing Wen Qing teaching Zhou Shixu hand over hand, he nearly fainted from regret.
If he'd known this would happen, why had he spent so long debating pinching versus rolling?
Who cares whether you pinch or roll!
Once Sang Nianning got the knack of it, she didn't feel tired either.
She pinched a whole bag of poppers by herself.
Unexpectedly, the most popular item in the bag of fireworks turned out to be the one they'd called the most childish at the start.
Suddenly, shouts came from the plaza in the distance.
It was too far away—too far to see what was happening.
Before anyone could react,
Xu Jinqi was already standing near the plaza, shouting along with the crowd.
Wen Qing was right behind him:
"I! HATE! GOING! TO! SCHOOL!"
"WELL! SAID! AS! IF! I! LIKE! IT!"
"I! HATE! EXAMS!"
A new round of fireworks bloomed overhead.
The cheers from the plaza grew even more feverish.
In that corner, Wen Qing shouted herself into venting to Xu Jinqi.
She said their homeroom teacher always targeted her—other people could skip morning exercises without consequence, but if she skipped even once, she'd get caught; other people could be late without trouble, but whenever she arrived right on the dot, the teacher would be waiting at the classroom door to nab her; other people could sleep in class without issue, but whenever she dozed off, the teacher watching the surveillance cameras would always catch her.
As she talked, Xu Jinqi started venting too.
He said other people could chat in class without consequence, but when he talked to Zhou Shixu during breaks, the teacher pulled him aside and told him not to disturb a good student's studies—he even made insinuations at the class meeting about how one rat dropping ruins the whole pot of soup.
"Has he ever seen a rat dropping this handsome?"
"Although… hmm… he might not have meant you, right?"
"He was about an inch from pointing at my forehead. Don't believe me? Ask Old Zhou."
Zhou Shixu walked over to the two of them holding a sparkler, holding it out in front of Wen Qing.
"Mm, it's true."
"See? Xiao Qing, I've had it way worse than you."
Wen Qing still couldn't quite believe Xu Jinqi, after all, the Class One teacher looked rather… kindly and benevolent.
The sparkler in her hand was lit by Zhou Shixu, and the rather dark mountaintop abruptly brightened for an instant at the sparkler's appearance.
Though the hillside had been abandoned for many years, it was said to be the best spot in Qingcheng for watching the sunrise.
Perhaps because of this, the mountaintop was now completely bare of grass from all the foot traffic.
Just as her sparkler was about to burn out, Wen Qing used it to light the one in Zhou Shixu's hand.
"Hold it up a little higher. I want to make a wish."
Zhou Shixu raised it as she asked, at just the right height—close enough for her to lean in and make her wish, but not so close that the sparks at the edge would reach her.
A small cluster of sparks bloomed before Wen Qing's eyes. She closed them, her lashes trembling faintly, her cheeks already flushed from standing in the cold wind so long.
The sparkler burned slowly from tip to end, and Zhou Shixu's gaze followed the light downward.
Forehead, brows and lashes, the tip of her nose.
Finally, her lips.
Wen Qing didn't like drinking water, but perhaps because she often ate fruit, her lips weren't dry at all—she didn't even normally need lip balm.
He watched far too intently.
The instant Wen Qing opened her eyes, the sparkler had already burned down to its end, nearly scorching Zhou Shixu's fingertips.
She pinched the very bottom and quickly pulled it away from Zhou Shixu's hand.
The sparkler was made entirely of wire, and after burning all the way down, the end had become scalding hot in his palm.
Suddenly it was pulled away along with Wen Qing's warm fingertips.
His palm was suddenly left empty.
"Why didn't you let go? What if you burned your hand?"
Zhou Shixu didn't answer her question. Instead, he asked one of his own.
"What wish?"
"If you say it out loud, it won't come true."
"It will."
"I'll tell you once it comes true."
The colorful fireworks bloomed in the night sky, small flowers trailing one after another from the tail.
Slowly rising to the highest point, then the largest one burst open.
The moment it faded, a new round of small flowers followed from the tail.
Wen Qing glanced at Zhou Shixu from the corner of her eye.
The fireworks reflected on her pupils.
Leaving shadow after shadow of little flowers on his cheek.
What wish could it possibly be?
She just really, really, really wanted to go to City A with you.