The group set out once more.
The sky had already turned pitch black, and the light show was about to begin—probably the climax and most spectacular mont of this entire Lantern Festival.
A massive crowd stood together, bustling and boisterous.
"Brother Jiang, do you think there can be pure friendship between guys and girls?"
Perhaps because of running into Zhao Qiulu at the bubble tea shop, Shen Guoguo couldn't stop unconsciously linking her sister, Jiang Linyuan, and Su Muzhi's relationship in her mind.
Brother Jiang talked about being "good friends," but when he kissed, he sure didn't hold back!
"Pure friendship, huh."
Jiang Linyuan thought for a mont and said seriously:
"Yeah, there is. I have a lot of good friends—all pure lip friendship."
Actually, guys and girls can absolutely have a perfectly pure friendship.
As long as he's adorable, a soft and squishy little singleton, that is!
"They're not all like that bad woman, are they?"
Shen Guoguo was startled and lowered her voice to ask stealthily, not daring to glance at Su Muzhi beside her.
Normally, Dad, Mom, and Aunt Xueyun were pretty tangled up too, but that was just three people!
"Every good friend is unique; there's no need to rank them."
After Jiang Linyuan said this, Shen Wanyu and Su Muzhi both shot him a glance, but neither said a word.
Ugh, why does this guy always give such evasive answers!
Shen Guoguo couldn't stand Jiang Linyuan like this anymore. She tugged him aside and asked:
"I an, I an, Brother Jiang, if you get married soday, which good friend would you choose?"
"I'm a never-marrier."
Jiang Linyuan said without changing his expression.
"Never-marrier?"
Shen Guoguo froze.
"Yeah, never-marrier."
Jiang Linyuan nodded.
"Then... then what's going on between you and Sister Wanyu!?"
Shen Guoguo suddenly got agitated, her voice rising involuntarily. But when she saw Shen Wanyu look her way, she lowered her voice again.
"How can you not get married?"
"Oh, co on, Departnt Head and I are just good friends—we're not even boyfriend and girlfriend. How did we jump to marriage?"
Jiang Linyuan said this.
Shen Guoguo was furious, but she didn't know how to argue with Jiang Linyuan.
She just felt that what he was doing was wrong.
"Are you a jerk, Brother Jiang?"
She asked the question that had been weighing on her heart.
Kissing that bad woman and being all ambiguous with her Sister Wanyu at the sa ti.
Isn't that what a jerk does?
"Silly kid, none of your business. Don't worry your little head about it."
Jiang Linyuan patted Shen Guoguo's head without denying it.
Shen Guoguo slapped his hand away, huffing angrily, and ran over to Shen Wanyu's side.
She was probably badmouthing him.
Small person, big thoughts.
"Hehe, a jerk, huh."
Su Muzhi had sohow sidled up next to him, clearly having overheard their conversation. She looked at Jiang Linyuan with a teasing smile.
"Still better than being trash."
Jiang Linyuan said.
"Do you want to beco trash?"
"Not really."
"Really not?"
Su Muzhi leaned in and asked.
"Xiao Su, what kind of question is that? Who in the world wants to beco trash?"
"Hard to say—you've got so pretty weird hobbies."
"So do you? You say you like , but you're still playing matchmaker for and Departnt Head."
"I'm doing it to test how much I like you, not because I actually want to push you two together!"
Jiang Linyuan retorted:
"So if I end up with Departnt Head because of your matchmaking, and you still haven't figured out whether you like ?"
"Let's go murder... I an, let you have a tragic hiking accident."
Su Muzhi said.
"Why? Xiao Su, didn't you say you like ?"
Jiang Linyuan felt that Su Muzhi's ntal state was seriously unstable.
"Yeah, exactly. That's why I'd make sure you have that accident."
Su Muzhi looked at him with confusion:
"Is it that hard to understand?"
Shen Wanyu was just the process, not the end.
"Anyway, if you still don't like even after it cos to that, then there's definitely sothing wrong with your brain."
A bright, smiling expression returned to Su Muzhi's face.
"Why do you say that?"
"I've sacrificed so much just to prove I like you. The girl you want to chase—I'm helping you chase her. How could you not be moved by that?"
"You don't actually need to prove it."
"Then if I don't prove it, will you fall for ? Will you confess to sincerely?"
"...Maybe?"
Jiang Linyuan said vaguely.
Xiao Su's current state—she was completely inescapable.
Helping him pursue Shen Wanyu was, on one hand, to test her own Schrödinger-like feelings of like.
On the other hand, it was to make him fall for her.
*I like you so much, love you so deeply, give you everything I have—why don't you love back?*
But once she truly realized that this Jiang Linyuan guy couldn't live without her anymore, that he had fallen head over heels for her!
That was when Xiao Su would stop caring about toys or liking or whatever—she'd just scoop him up and make him her new slave!
If she won, he'd get taken away and enjoy a honey-sweet life. If she lost, he'd still get taken away and taste bitter misery.
A total cheater!
The more it got to monts like this, the more he had to show that Departnt Head was more important!
The triangle was the most stable shape!
"But I'm leaning more toward Departnt Head, Xiao Su."
Jiang Linyuan quickly ran over to Shen Wanyu's side.
Shen Guoguo bared her teeth at him and waved her little hands to shoo him away.
"Departnt Head, I like you."
Jiang Linyuan shalessly blurted out a confession.
"Get lost."
Shen Wanyu's reply was simple and clear.
Su Muzhi wasn't upset this ti. Instead, she found it amusing to watch Jiang Linyuan's confession.
Words like that ca as easily to him as drinking water or eating—who would want sothing so cheap?
Standing beside Su Muzhi, Jiang Linyuan kept praising Shen Wanyu endlessly: fair-skinned and beautiful, kind-hearted and lovely, soft hands and sweet lips...
Su Muzhi just watched the show with a grin. Those words sounded more like praise for herself than for Shen Wanyu.
"Watch the light show."
Shen Wanyu couldn't take Jiang Linyuan's trash talk anymore and forcefully cut him off.
"No matter how beautiful the lights are, they can't compare to the beauty before my eyes."
"Then close your eyes."
"Actually, I prefer kissing with my eyes open. No need to close them, right?"
"..."
Shen Wanyu ignored him.
Looked like Departnt Head preferred kissing with her eyes closed.
Jiang Linyuan closed his eyes and felt soone peck him.
"Hehe, like it?"
Su Muzhi's tone was full of mockery and teasing.
"Why did you kiss !"
"It's not like we haven't kissed before."
"But Departnt Head is watching!"
"Isn't it okay for the matchmaker to collect a little interest? Consider it a product inspection for the bride-to-be."
As the two bickered back and forth, multicolored lights flooded the venue, and a dazzling array of colors instantly covered the sky.
"Wow, so pretty."
A familiar voice sounded from a corner.
Oh, Xia Tao. She'd been so quiet he thought she'd left.
Jiang Linyuan stopped squabbling with Su Muzhi and looked up at the lights.
Brilliant, radiant light fell on Su Muzhi's face beside him.
Black strands of hair hung from her ear to her crimson lips, and her beautiful eyes, gazing at the lights, sparkled brightly.
Suddenly, all the lights went dark.
"What's going on? A malfunction?"
"No, what happened?"
"Don't worry, it's part of the show!"
The crowd imdiately grew noisy. In the darkness, Jiang Linyuan's face was kissed again—very lightly, very gently.
"Collecting a little more interest."
The girl laughed softly. As her words fell, the lights blazed back to life! Even more dazzling and radiant than before!
Wind rolled in from the distance, surging through the lanterns, swaying each palace lantern, and blowing up into the pitch-black sky.
In the sea of people, his gaze fell on the girl holding his hand. She was like a bond of light.
Her red dress and flying brows were so vivid, like a fla.
And just like that, while gripping his hand, she also grabbed Shen Wanyu's hand and joined the two hands together.
Shen Wanyu frowned and glanced at Su Muzhi.
"Is it uncomfortable?" Jiang Linyuan asked.
"What did you say? Speak up—I can't hear you."
Su Muzhi's face was full of smiles. It was unclear if she truly hadn't heard or was just pretending.
But she clutched his and Shen Wanyu's hands tightly.
The three stood quietly amid the surging crowd. Su Muzhi, in the middle, wore a carefree, bright smile as she firmly pressed Shen Wanyu's hand and Jiang Linyuan's hand together.
Red robes, black clothes, and white garnts intertwined. Bitterness, calm, and helplessness—light and shadow—all rged together.
Shen Guoguo watched the backs of the three standing beneath the lights, as if witnessing the beginning of a beautiful story.
Shen Wanyu looked at the two of them, her clenched hand slightly loosening, slipping out from the soft light.
"I suddenly feel a little sorry for you, Su Muzhi."
"I suddenly feel a little annoyed at you, Jiang Linyuan."
She said.
Neither of them replied. Su Muzhi looked at Jiang Linyuan, and Jiang Linyuan pretended to admire the scenery.
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