After a while, Song Jinxi and Zhou Jingtang came in like two arms dealers, carrying several large bags of fireworks sets.

Seeing the two of them sweating profusely, Jiang Shuyi asked in a disappointed tone, "Where's my ice cream?"

"Forgot it." Song Jinxi and Zhou Jingtang replied dryly.

"Is the fireworks you bought legal?"

Lin Qing now felt that the question of whether these fireworks were legal was a more pressing issue to discuss.

According to Song Jinxi, they bought them on the roadside on the way to the supermarket, and just buying them used up all the money they had.

Lin Qing felt suspicious just hearing about this "roadside."

"Of course, it's legal. They have a license." Song Jinxi said, patting her chest to assure them it was definitely legitimate.

"But the villa has so many trees. What if something catches fire?" Lin Qing was a bit worried.

"You pessimist. Who said we were going to set them off at the villa? We'll go to the beach. If the neighbors complain and hear, we'll all get kicked out of the villa area today." Song Jinxi said enthusiastically, picking up a bag.

"Come on, let's go."

". . ."

Jiang Shuyi also picked up a bag of fireworks and followed them outside.

In fact, Jiang Shuyi also wanted to play with fireworks. 

She hadn't played with fireworks since she was in elementary school. 

Tang Wenzhen and Jiang Haichao were overly protective of her, worried she'd have an accident with the fireworks, so they never let her touch them.

She usually sat from afar, enviously watching others play with fireworks, never having the chance to do it herself.

The sea breeze was strong at night. Jiang Shuyi, holding a bag of fireworks, walked over to where the wind was blowing, asking Wen Yao, "Feeling cold?"

"Not really." Wen Yao shook her head.

Jiang Shuyi nodded. After all, among them, Wen Yao was the only one wearing a shirt, and she didn't seem to be affected by the cold.

"Have you ever set off fireworks?"

"No." Wen Yao quietly looked at Jiang Shuyi, seemingly indifferent to the matter.

"I haven't done it in a long time." Jiang Shuyi said, her tone full of anticipation.

---

The group stood by the sea, opening the plastic bags of fireworks.

Song Jinxi and Zhou Jingtang started running around with the sparklers. They set off several impressive rockets, the loud sounds making Lin Qing worry they'd get kicked out of the neighborhood by tomorrow.

Lin Qing was hesitant to touch the fireworks, so she took out her phone and started taking pictures, even sharing them in the group chat.

Wen Yao stood quietly to the side, her expression calm, gazing at Jiang Shuyi and the others playing around.

"Wen Yao, come join us."

Jiang Shuyi smiled, grabbing her hand and stuffing a sparkler into it.

Wen Yao calmly looked at the sparkler in her hand, lowering her gaze slightly.

Jiang Shuyi handed her the one she had lit, saying, "This one is golden."

Jiang Shuyi stated this simple fact in a very plain manner, yet for some reason, she looked very happy.

The light from the sparkler illuminated Jiang Shuyi's face, and she smiled with great vitality.

"This shape is so beautiful..." Jiang Shuyi looked at Wen Yao, her voice cheerful as she said, "Are you happy?"

"Of course, I am happy," Jiang Shuyi replied cheerfully, glancing at Wen Yao's expression, "Aren't you happy?"

". . ." Wen Yao paused for a moment.

—Not answering meant she wasn't particularly happy.

"...Is that so." Jiang Shuyi's mood also seemed to dampen for some reason.

Before long, Wen Yao's sparkler also went out, so she pulled out one from her hand and extended it towards Jiang Shuyi.

Wen Yao's sparkler ignited, this time in silver.

Wen Yao looked at Jiang Shuyi's disappointed expression and said in her usual calm tone, "Next time, let's play when it's just the two of us."

Jiang Shuyi's ears slowly turned red. She scratched her ear and smiled brightly, ""Okay!"

---

Halfway through the fireworks display, Song Jinxi's phone rang.

"...Hello?" Song Jinxi glanced at everyone before answering.

"Why didn't you call me to set off fireworks?"

Yan Jingshu's somewhat complaining voice came through the phone, evidently having seen the pictures Lin Qing posted in the group chat.

Song Jinxi paused, then handed the fireworks in her hand to Zhou Jingtang.

"Didn't you say you needed to study for exams and not to bother you for a while?" Song Jinxi replied.

". . ." Yan Jingshu didn't respond at first, then added after a moment, "Have Shuyi take the call."

Song Jinxi glanced at Jiang Shuyi and handed her the phone.

"Yan Jingshu wants you to take the call."

"I want to talk to her too." Zhou Jingtang said, getting to his feet, eager to take the call as well.

Upon hearing Yan Jingshu's name, Lin Qing immediately looked in Wen Yao's direction.

Wen Yao was quietly taking out a sparkler, lighting it up calmly, seemingly indifferent to the actions of the others.

"Hello?" Jiang Shuyi answered the phone.

"Shuyi, I saw you guys setting off fireworks."

Yan Jingshu's voice sounded much sweeter compared to earlier.

"Oh, I see."

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao and for some reason not only felt a bit chilly around her neck but also thought the phone was scorching hot.

"When you went to play, did you not think to call me?"

Yan Jingshu's tone sounded somewhat lonely, sounding very different from her usual self, a bit pitiful.

Jiang Shuyi remembered what Song Jinxi had said earlier and echoed:

"Song Jinxi said you had exams and couldn't come."

"Yeah."

Yan Jingshu sat on the floor of the piano room, hugging her knees tightly, looking very desolate.

"But if you had asked me, maybe I would have come."

". . ."

Jiang Shuyi thought she was just saying that, if she really asked, Yan Jingshu probably wouldn't come.

Yan Jingshu fell silent for a while, then suddenly said, "I haven't played with you guys in a long time. It's so lonely."

"And lately, I've been practicing piano every day. I'm so tired..." She quietly complained.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao, "But focusing on exams is more important."

"Shuyi, are you saying that for my sake or because you don't want to see me?"

Yan Jingshu asked quietly on the other end of the line.

Jiang Shuyi felt that no matter what she said at this moment, it didn't seem quite right, so she cleared her throat,

"I really think exams are important."

"By the way, Zhou Jingtang wants to talk to you. I'll pass the phone to him. If you want any local specialties, text Song Jinxi, and we'll bring them back for you..."

Jiang Shuyi quickly finished speaking to Yan Jingshu, then handed Song Jinxi's phone to Zhou Jingtang without waiting for her response.

She hurried back to Wen Yao's side, wanting to explain, "About just now..."

"It's fine."

Wen Yao was quietly watching the flames of her sparkler stick, her calm expression showing that she really didn't care.

". . ." Jiang Shuyi leaned against her, feeling like the atmosphere just now was gone and wouldn't return.

---

The next morning, Wen Yao opened the curtains in Jiang Shuyi's room.

"Wake up, Jiang Shuyi."

She was there to wake Jiang Shuyi up to do her homework.

Jiang Shuyi was still asleep, her sleeping face as silly and carefree as usual.

It seemed that Jiang Shuyi caught a whiff of Wen Yao's pheromones in the air, and she reached out to grasp Wen Yao's hand.

". . ." Wen Yao looked at her sleeping face, her hand paused.

After hesitating for a moment, she gently patted Jiang Shuyi's shoulder.

Jiang Shuyi groggily opened her eyes.

"Wen Yao?" Seeing Wen Yao standing by her bed, she stretched lazily.

"Do your homework."

Because she and Song Jinxi stayed up late playing pool in the game room last night, she hadn't touched her homework at all.

Looking at the dim light of the morning city, Jiang Shuyi suddenly felt like crying.

She wrapped her arms around Wen Yao's waist and whined, "We're all here to play, can we write later?"

"You said the same thing yesterday."

". . ."

Yes, she had already used the procrastination tactic last night.

"But, I've already written half of it in Huan."

Jiang Shuyi, still half-asleep, pulled Wen Yao into her arms, bringing her to the bed.

"Most people finish their winter break homework on the last day." Jiang Shuyi said with a serious tone.

"You know that doesn't count as doing homework." Wen Yao replied objectively.

Jiang Shuyi knew that she couldn't argue with Wen Yao, so she reluctantly got up.

". . ."

Jiang Shuyi slowly crawled to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, then lazily sat down at her desk to mechanically start her homework.

When Zhou Jingtang and Song Jinxi came to invite Jiang Shuyi to the beach, she was sitting in a room with a fantastic sea view, painstakingly writing her physics homework, while Wen Yao sat beside her, looking at a book with names they couldn't pronounce.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at them and gave a defeated look, "You guys go on."

—Have fun on my behalf.

Song Jinxi and Zhou Jingtang bid her goodbye with sympathetic looks, not trying to stop her from doing homework, and left the villa with an inflatable boat and surfboard.

The cheerful echoes of their laughter lingered in the room.

Jiang Shuyi suddenly felt a wave of frustration wash over her.

In the afternoon, Song Jinxi and Zhou Jingtang were already on the beach, sunbathing, playing volleyball, and paddling around in the inflatable boat.

Laughter still drifted in from the window.

They were having a great time.

Jiang Shuyi glanced at Wen Yao, who was reading a book. The sunlight cast beautiful shadows on Wen Yao's face, her long eyelashes seeming like they could catch water droplets with a light blink.

Jiang Shuyi knew that Wen Yao had finished her homework long ago and was now just keeping her company.

"Wen Yao, you should go play with Song Jinxi and the others. I'll finish up and come over right away." Jiang Shuyi said, tapping her hand with her pen reluctantly.

Wen Yao looked up at her.

"I'll wait for you." Wen Yao's voice was as quiet as snow.

Jiang Shuyi felt her heart skip a beat, "Oh."

In that moment, she felt that this glance would be something she could remember for a long time.

---

By the time she finished her homework, it was already one in the afternoon. Wen Yao took Jiang Shuyi's assignment and began to correct it carefully.

Jiang Shuyi sat on the side, idly propping up her chin and watching Wen Yao correct her own homework. Her gaze slowly wandered, settling on the snowy white neck of Wen Yao, causing a slight stir in her heart.

Quietly, she approached Wen Yao from behind, gently placing her hand on Wen Yao's arm.

Wen Yao, being Wen Yao, understood Jiang Shuyi's intentions as soon as she saw her move.

Glancing at the wide-open door of the room, Wen Yao furrowed her brows.

"Come on..." Jiang Shuyi softly pleaded.

Wen Yao's expression clearly showed her reluctance.

This was Song Jinxi's villa, in other words, someone else's home.

This wasn't their own house or a hotel, and engaging in such activities felt quite improper.

Jiang Shuyi hugged Wen Yao, continuing to plead, "Wen Yao."

Even when she was asking for something, she didn't forget to tease, she gently nibbled on Wen Yao's ear, then on the mole on her neck. Wen Yao turned her head away as if to refuse, knitting her brows...

Jiang Shuyi tugged at Wen Yao's clothes, "Just this once..."

Before long, the red pen in Wen Yao's hand weakly fell onto the table...

A gust of wind blew, closing the door shut.

The wooden door echoed loudly in the corridor, as if trying to shatter the eardrums of the two.

Wen Yao looked at the door, somewhat drained.

"No one's coming, it's just the wind..." Jiang Shuyi whispered as she slowly began to undo Wen Yao's shirt buttons.

The white sheer curtain fluttered in the wind, accompanied by the sounds of waves and seagulls.

"The chair will get dirty." Wen Yao said in a hushed tone.

So, Jiang Shuyi held Wen Yao and sat on the floor, letting her sit in her lap, with the warm breeze from outside carrying the salty sea air...

---

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆Charvinovel ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆