Loud cheers erupted from the crowd.
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year!"
"..."
Xue Yang and Lin Xi looked at each other at the sa ti.
"Lin Xi, Happy New Year!"
"Xue Yang, Happy New Year!"
In that mont, they only had eyes for each other. Si Wen took out her phone and captured this beautiful scene.
Behind them, the numbers on the large screen froze at 00:00:00.
It was an end, but also a beginning—a new year, a new hope. They would certainly have a better and better future.
Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she looked up at the sky. This year’s New Year’s Day doesn’t seem quite as dull as the ones before.
***
By the ti they returned from Kou City, it was already past three in the morning.
Xue Yang and Lin Xi went straight back to the little ho that was theirs. Si Wen followed them up, finally seeing with her own eyes the place where Lin Xi had been living for the past three months.
"I thought the place looked bad enough in the video, but seeing it in person... there’s no ’worst,’ only ’worse.’"
"Not at all. I think it’s quite nice," Lin Xi replied.
Si Wen did a lap around the apartnt, eventually ending up in the bedroom. Her brow furrowed slightly when she saw the Christmas trees by the window.
"Are these the two Christmas trees you showed during our video call?"
"Yeah."
Si Wen’s frown deepened. "How did they get so ugly?"
The leaves had long since fallen off, leaving only sun-bleached trunks. Because they had been soaked in water, their bases were starting to rot. It was difficult to find a single complintary word for them.
Lin Xi said, "Their ti was up, so they withered."
"Huh? How can a fake tree wither?" Si Wen had assud they would stay in bloom forever.
"..."
Xue Yang, who had just co in after taking off his coat, happened to overhear their conversation. "It’s fine," he said. "I can make new ones."
Hearing they could be remade, Si Wen chid in, "I want one too!"
"Sure."
"But I don’t want a Christmas tree. Can I have a different kind?"
"Of course."
The two young won sat at the table and began to draw the trees they wanted.
Lin Xi drew a plum blossom tree, which symbolizes perseverance, resilience, fortune, and hope. She hoped her relationship with Xue Yang would be like the plum blossom, able to produce beautiful flowers even in the harshness of winter.
Si Wen, on the other hand, drew a peach tree.
I hope I can have a sweet romance, too. Then I can be the one showing it off for a change. I’ve had more than my fill of their public displays of affection these past two days. I even briefly toyed with the idea of running away from ho myself. Maybe I could pick up a boyfriend that way. But after a mont’s thought, I dismissed the idea. What if I’m not as lucky as Lin Xi? What if, instead of finding a boyfriend, I end up getting sold? It’s probably better to just hope I et soone normally. The odds are much better.
Xue Yang poured the prepared chemical solution over their paper cutouts.
"Alright, they should bloom in about six to eight hours."
"Will they really bloom?" Si Wen asked, echoing the sa question Lin Xi had asked before.
Lin Xi said, "Of course, they will. You just have to be patient."
"Okay, but I won’t be squeezing in with you guys tonight. I have to go ho. It’s a three-day holiday, and I haven’t touched my howork. With only one day left, it’s ti to perform a miracle."
Just thinking about the mountain of howork gave Si Wen a headache. This was Lin Xi’s last night here, so Si Wen, the third wheel, finally showed so consideration and didn’t insist on staying over.
Xue Yang offered so words of comfort. "One pen, one lamp, one miracle. I believe in you. You can do it."
Si Wen forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "Thanks. Your brand of comfort is really... special."
Sohow, your ’comfort’ just made feel worse.
Before she left, a bodyguard brought up a computer. It was the sa one from Kou City that Si Wen had bought to play gas on—and had used exactly once.
"I have no place to put the computer, so I’ll just leave it here with you for now."
Just as you’d expect from a rich girl. A top-spec computer worth over a hundred thousand, and she just leaves it here without a second thought.
After lingering a little longer, Si Wen went downstairs, taking the peach blossom tree Xue Yang had made for her.
Downstairs, a line of luxury cars was parked, their polished bodies looking particularly conspicuous in the night. Luckily it wasn’t dayti, or they would have undoubtedly caused a commotion among the neighbors.
Si Wen carefully cradled the paper peach tree as she walked to the lead Bentley and tapped unceremoniously on the window.
The window slid down to reveal a sharply dressed middle-aged woman.
"She’s going ho tomorrow," Si Wen said. "Why the rush?"
The middle-aged woman replied respectfully, "Miss Si Wen, Chairman Lin sent us to wait for the Young Miss."
Si Wen leaned an arm on the window fra, a small smile on her face. "You should head back for now. If she sees you and gets upset, she might refuse to go ho with you tomorrow. Then you’ll have to figure out how to explain that to your Chairman."
The assistant looked troubled; she knew Si Wen was right. If the Young Miss was bold enough to run away once, she’d certainly do it again.
Si Wen continued, "You’ve been with Chairman Lin for decades. You should know what he’s like and what Lin Xi is like. If sothing goes wrong, don’t say I didn’t warn you."
In that mont, Si Wen’s deanor was completely different from the one she’d shown before.
After so deliberation, the assistant leaned out and waved at the motorcade behind her. She gave a respectful nod to Si Wen, the window slid up, and the engine started. The entire line of cars slowly drove away.
Si Wen stood on the curb, watching them disappear.
Soon after, a Rolls-Royce pulled up silently in front of her. A bodyguard got out of the driver’s seat, opened the rear door, and waited patiently for her to get in.
"Xiao Chaochao, do you think they’ll make it?"
The bodyguard, who was nearly three heads taller than Si Wen, seed completely used to the nickna.
He said, "The power of love is great."
"True. Who can say for sure when it cos to love? So, what do you think of my peach tree? Think it’ll help find romance?"
Xiao Chaochao glanced down at the barren paper cutout—nothing more than the silhouette of a peach tree. The corner of his mouth twitched. If Si Wen hadn’t told him what it was, he never would have guessed.
"You will et a Prince who will cherish you, Miss Si Wen."
Pleased, Si Wen gently stroked the paper tree. "Oh, peach blossom, peach blossom, finding my Prince is all up to you now!"
The bodyguard remained silent.
Maybe I was being too polite.
Si Wen was already settled in the car. The bodyguard closed the door, returned to the driver’s seat, and started the engine, leaving a trail of exhaust in the night.
***
User Comments
0 comments from readers