In many ways, Song Nanyin was not someone who enjoyed crowds. To her, on a rare day off, going out shopping was far less appealing than ordering takeout at home, putting on a face mask and body treatment, and lying on the sofa to binge through a week’s worth of shows.

Chai Yue had once said she was a bundle of contradictions and that her looks didn’t match her personality. Song Nanyin had never paid much mind to such talk. Who said a person had to act a certain way because of how she looked? She had always done only what she liked, nothing more.

Busy streets made the distance between people feel very short, with pedestrians passing by in twos and threes. Some people, even from far away, seemed to radiate a familiar aura between them.

Ah, so even walking a few meters apart, you could tell they had left the same house together and, after all the excitement, would return one after the other to the same home.

At least, Song Nanyin felt that was exactly how it was between her and Liu Zhaoran now.

“Hey, Black-Hearted Lotus, want some dango?” Song Nanyin wasn’t very hungry, having eaten plenty of beef tongue at the hot spring hotel.

She remembered Liu Zhaoran saying she was interested in these street snacks, but by now, aside from a crepe, she hadn’t touched any of the other foods.

“What flavors are there?” Drawn by the upward lilt at the end of Song Nanyin’s sentence, Liu Zhaoran didn’t really feel like eating but didn’t want to dampen the Little Lion’s spirits. The two stood before the stall, eyeing the delicately wrapped glutinous rice dango, which did indeed look appetizing.

“There’s matcha red bean, and red bean paste too.” Song Nanyin took a look and simply bought two skewers of each. The shopkeeper, an elderly woman in a kimono, smiled and handed over the packed dango.

The two were in no hurry, stopping and starting along the way, and finally reached the riverside before the fireworks began. A light snow had just fallen, and a thin sheet of ice had formed along the riverside, looking thin and cold beneath the moonlight.

Many people sat on picnic blankets spread on the ground, while most couples stood casually here and there, holding each other as if they felt no cold at all.

“When I came last time, I also caught the fireworks, but that was during the summer festival. Does Team Leader Song like watching fireworks?” Liu Zhaoran asked softly, casually shifting a little closer to Song Nanyin.

“It’s not really about liking or disliking. When I’m in a good mood, I’ll take a few more looks.” Song Nanyin thought for a moment, and as she spoke, she covertly edged closer to Liu Zhaoran.

Meeting each other halfway, they stood more intimately than many couples.

Song Nanyin didn’t harbor many of the pink-bubble fantasies that girls often had. Some girls loved princesses and adored romance, but those feelings had left her at a very young age.

Her parents had both been unreliable sorts. They divorced early, ending an absurd marriage. Afterward, her father died in an accident, leaving her an inheritance that was far from small, yet hardly enough to make her rich overnight.

Song Nanyin lived with her grandmother and had been independent since childhood. After her grandmother passed away, she left her hometown alone and came to Jiahai City for work. She was used to going it alone and rarely felt lonely. What’s more, she wasn’t the sort with terrible social connections. She had surface friends, and for a truly bosom friend, there was Chai Yue, that formidable madam.

Song Nanyin had no romantic fantasies and was very practical. She only hoped to find a man from a decent family to marry and muddle through life with. Whether she liked him or not hardly mattered.

In this world, love was a very extravagant emotion, and when that feeling had to do with romance, it became even harder to come by.

Falling for Liu Zhaoran had been an accident, perhaps the most out-of-line thing Song Nanyin had ever done in her life. She knew how nasty Liu Zhaoran could be, was well aware of her many quietly wicked schemes, and had been bullied by her more than once.

Even so, she still liked her. Being with her was fun, as if everything became more free-spirited when done with her. Song Nanyin had never imagined she would fall for a woman, and her former love rival and nemesis at that. Precisely because of this, the affection was all the more precious.

After all, when you had once looked at a person through a prejudiced lens, knew every one of her flaws, and still liked her that much, then you truly did like her.

What’s more, compared with Liu Zhaoran’s virtues, her flaws were almost negligible. She was pretty, had a great figure, excelled at work, and could cook. And she never seemed to lose her temper, wearing that affable look with a knife hidden behind her smile for everyone.

Song Nanyin figured she must be the perfect example of beauty being in the eye of the beholder, having turned every one of Liu Zhaoran’s bad habits into virtues.

“The fireworks are about to start.” Song Nanyin was gazing blankly at Liu Zhaoran’s profile when the woman she was watching suddenly spoke. Song Nanyin looked up. A few small fireworks shot abruptly into the sky, kicking off the show, and burst with a bang above.

The crowd, calm just a moment before, suddenly stirred, and those holding each other seemed to cling even tighter.

Song Nanyin looked up for a while, took out her phone, and snapped a photo, then secretly stole a glance at Liu Zhaoran. The other woman was also taking pictures, but unlike Song Nanyin’s perfunctory effort, Liu Zhaoran was shooting with great care.

The angle, the timing, even the colors of the fireworks, had all been captured beautifully.

“Shooting so seriously, are you going to post it somewhere?” Song Nanyin muttered under her breath, only for Liu Zhaoran’s sharp ears to catch it.

“I was thinking of printing it out and framing it. This is Team Leader Song’s and my first time watching fireworks together; we ought to keep a memento, don’t you think?” Liu Zhaoran said with a smile, half in earnest and half in jest. She did want a memento, only that memento was for the fireworks alone.

The sea breeze brushed across their skin with the gift of a little coolness, yet everyone around them was so warm that the chill breeze didn’t make anyone feel cold.

Song Nanyin stared blankly at Liu Zhaoran, who had turned back to smile at her. Her dark eyes carried a hint of color, the reflection of the fireworks, and Song Nanyin saw herself in them as well. She had been blended into that gaze along with the fireworks, wrapped up with her faint smile and tender softness, so beautiful that Song Nanyin felt a sense of unreality.

Liu Zhaoran was more radiant and dazzling than the fireworks. If everything in the world could be recorded, she alone was the scenery Song Nanyin most wanted to preserve.

“Team Leader Song? What’s wrong?” Perhaps because Song Nanyin had been staring blankly at her for too long, Liu Zhaoran raised a hand and waved it before her eyes. Song Nanyin snapped back to herself, gave a light cough, then opened the bag she had been hiding.

“You must be a little cold, right? Serves you right for carrying on, wearing a trench coat just to look good. Put this on, it’ll keep you warmer.” As she spoke, Song Nanyin wrapped the scarf she had just bought around Liu Zhaoran’s neck.

The scarf wasn’t one of the luxury brands in Liu Zhaoran’s wardrobe but a pure handmade woolen piece. It felt soft and plush to the touch, far more comfortable than those high-end labels, and warmer as well.

“Thank you, Team Leader Song. I have a gift prepared for you too.” With a smile, Liu Zhaoran took the small box from her pocket and opened it in front of Song Nanyin.

Inside lay a pair of specially customized diamond stud earrings in a distinctive, unusual shape. They looked like little lion heads.

“Hey, this… you didn’t buy this at the last minute, did you?” Song Nanyin looked at the exquisite earrings, then at the brand, and guessed the gift couldn’t have come cheap.

Her heartbeat quickened, as if a piece of candy were carving into her chest, trying to squeeze its sweetness inside.

“I think they’ll look lovely on you. Lion cub earrings suit you very well.” Liu Zhaoran raised her hand to put them on for Song Nanyin, only for her body to suddenly tense as Song Nanyin wrapped her arms around her waist.

Before the question could escape her lips, her mouth was kissed. It was a somewhat eager kiss, but with the fireworks as a backdrop, even an eager and clumsy technique was rendered far more romantic.

Here, they needn’t worry about the gaze of others. If they wanted to kiss the person beside them, they could simply kiss.

Liu Zhaoran hadn’t expected Song Nanyin to kiss her. In fact, they hadn’t kissed many times, and most had taken place during lovemaking and flirtation. Liu Zhaoran wasn’t sure why Song Nanyin had suddenly kissed her, but she couldn’t deny that kissing her felt good.

“The fireworks… seem to be almost over.” After the kiss, Song Nanyin’s cheeks burned with shyness, and she didn’t dare look at Liu Zhaoran. She thought herself a sentimental fool. She’d kissed plenty while making love, so why, when she kissed with fond feelings, did she suddenly become too embarrassed to face her?

“Indeed. So Team Leader Song did kiss that long.” Liu Zhaoran teased with a smile, giving Song Nanyin no chance to change the subject. At this, Song Nanyin pouted and, as if savoring the taste, licked her lips.

The kiss had actually been an impulse. Song Nanyin hadn’t meant to kiss her, but Liu Zhaoran was so beautiful that she simply couldn’t resist.

Song Nanyin had never confessed her feelings and didn’t know whether it required a rehearsal. But she felt she couldn’t make it too formal, or else the Black-Hearted Lotus would think she liked her an awful, awful lot, wouldn’t she?

When it came to feelings, it was better not to make the start too heavy.

“I think it’s fine for the two of us to keep on like this. I’m not someone who’s good at liking people, but… I really do like being with you.” Song Nanyin spoke softly, yet made sure every word reached Liu Zhaoran clearly. She tightened her grip on Liu Zhaoran’s hand and looked at her expectantly.

She thought this hint was obvious enough. If Liu Zhaoran liked her too, she ought to understand what she meant.

Liu Zhaoran heard Song Nanyin’s words clearly, but was somewhat surprised she would say them so candidly. The two of them had always had a relationship of mutual convenience, and Liu Zhaoran doubted she could ever find another bed partner who fit her so perfectly in every respect.

The Little Lion’s unusual candor struck Liu Zhaoran as incredible, but since Song Nanyin rarely praised her, she would still accept the compliment.

“Team Leader Song is finally willing to admit that our original contract was reasonable. I’ve always thought Team Leader Song was quite wonderful. If you’re willing, we can keep this relationship going for a long time.”

Liu Zhaoran’s answer was direct and candid, but in Song Nanyin’s eyes, it was a response completely at odds with her expectations. She stared in a daze at Liu Zhaoran, seeing the faint smile in the other’s eyes all too clearly.

Song Nanyin felt a sour ache in her chest. Compared with the embarrassment of having flattered herself, this feeling of not being wanted turned out to be a far more miserable taste.

So Liu Zhaoran… didn’t like her after all…

As she thought this, her nose suddenly stung with a sharp ache. She tried to keep the corners of her mouth lifted, but the ache in her nose was too obvious. It was like a child who didn’t know how to read the situation, who wanted nothing but to burst into loud tears and make a scene, as if that would make the sadness go away.

But Song Nanyin knew she was no longer a child.

She couldn’t cry or throw a tantrum; she shouldn’t even show how hurt she was.

“Mm, it is quite nice.” Song Nanyin squeezed out a few quiet words, then turned her head and looked up at the fireworks. Just now, she hadn’t bothered to appreciate them so carefully, but at this moment, she had to thank them.

She watched them seriously, blinking hard without pause. Only this way could she have an excuse to look away. Only this way could she let the extra moisture in her eyes evaporate.

The last cluster of fireworks soared, slowly spread open in the sky, and finally dispersed.

Song Nanyin slowly released Liu Zhaoran’s hand and let out a long breath.

“The fireworks really were beautiful.”