DF Chapter 50
by VolareThis year’s fireworks festival was a city celebration.
Every city has a long history, and Jingjiang is no exception. Every year, the day of Lesser Cold is celebrated as the city’s anniversary to commemorate Ms. Wu Xiuzhu, who led the entire city through a cold natural disaster and saved tens of millions of lives. She was once a wealthy young lady who, after returning from studying abroad, witnessed the tragic state of society and donated most of her family fortune to provide assistance. Even with her reduced wealth, she remained extraordinary, rising again to become the richest person in the city within the next forty years.
Later, during a severe winter with shortages of supplies and transportation shutdowns, she stepped forward again, controlling the prices of her various shopping malls and supermarkets and completely opening up stockpiled warehouses, ensuring the operation of the entire city.
Afterward, the government designated the day of Lesser Cold as the city’s anniversary to thank her for her contributions, becoming a tradition in Jingjiang that has been maintained for over thirty years.
Wu Xiuzhu also passed away eighteen years ago. She had no children in her life, and her estate eventually established a foundation that makes hundreds of donations every year.
The fireworks festival is extremely lively every year. Although it’s not a holiday, many people still gather by the sea. After all, Jingjiang has developed fireworks into an art form in recent years, becoming more grand each year, from initially only twenty minutes of fireworks to now nearly an hour-long display.
After leaving school, Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an didn’t wait for Xu Lijing and the others. They weren’t in the same class, and their schedules were different. Xu Lijing and Su Zhaolin had left early and simply went ahead to secure a spot, lest they arrive late and have to stand in the sea or on the side of the road.
The relationship between Sanzhong and Jingjiang No. 1 High School has always been good. After Lu Jing decided to hold a parent-teacher conference, the principal of Sanzhong followed suit, although the process was different. Song Yi was probably still at school and would likely be the last to arrive at the beach.
As soon as the two arrived at the school gate, they saw Auntie Liu waiting by the roadside. Upon seeing them, she quickly went to the trunk and took out Song Ji’an’s electric scooter.
Song Ji’an had done her research. The fireworks festival started at eight o’clock, and every year, traffic would become impossible from four o’clock in the afternoon. Even electric scooters could only be parked in the designated parking area more than a kilometer away from Golden Beach, let alone cars, which weren’t allowed to enter at all.
It was now three-thirty in the afternoon, and judging by the time, the traffic was probably already congested. This was also why Xu Lijing and Su Zhaolin were hurrying to get there. Taking the bus before three-thirty would get them there faster, but after three-thirty, the bus would likely be stuck on the road for an hour or two.
“I’ve checked for you. The road to Golden Beach is already blocked. There’s a small road here you can try,” Auntie Liu said, taking out her phone and smiling as she instructed them, “But I’m not sure if others will discover this small road.”
Song Ji’an was fastening her helmet. She put down the special material visor on top of her head. The dark gray lens made it impossible to see her expression, and even her voice sounded muffled, “It’s okay, even if there are more people, it won’t be as many as on the main road.”
Sheng Jia also put on her helmet. The helmet had good insulation, and the oncoming cold wind was blocked completely.
“Okay,” Auntie Liu nodded, “If you have any problems, call me. If you want me to pick you up, let me know an hour in advance, or you might have to wait a long time in the cold wind.”
Song Ji’an was used to Auntie Liu’s instructions. She nodded repeatedly, patted the seat behind her, and signaled Sheng Jia to get on.
Once Sheng Jia was on, she zoomed off, completely different from the first time she drove, now very skilled, even a bit like speeding on a small electric scooter. Once they were out of the school area, she turned the speed to the maximum.
Sheng Jia narrowed her eyes and, still a little worried, put her arms around Song Ji’an’s waist, then said, “Should you slow down a bit?”
“Is it very fast?” Feeling Sheng Jia’s arms around her through her down jacket, Song Ji’an couldn’t help but smile, “Don’t worry, my skills are great now, I definitely won’t let you fall.”
Sheng Jia didn’t respond, thinking that even experienced drivers couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t fall in the winter. She felt that Song Ji’an’s face was written with the words “carried away.”
But perhaps Song Ji’an sensed Sheng Jia’s thoughts, as she slowed down after driving for a while.
“We’re not going to the beach now?” Sheng Jia asked, looking at the increasingly bustling streets.
“Xu Lijing and the others are going to secure a spot, we should go buy some snacks first,” Song Ji’an shook her head, “Otherwise, we might faint from hunger there.”
After all, they had to wait a full four hours, they really needed to eat something to replenish their energy.
Neither of them took the parent-teacher conference to heart, knowing that Lu Jing would never increase the pressure on the senior high students at this critical juncture. After Sheng Jia received Sheng Huaiying’s extremely normal concern, she didn’t have any additional worries about the parent-teacher conference either.
But the fact that Song Ji’an could leave Song Ningqiu and come out to watch the fireworks with them still made Sheng Jia feel a little incredible.
Song Ji’an was an extremely clingy daughter to her mother, especially since they hadn’t seen each other for three whole months.
She walked behind Song Ji’an with her hands in her pockets. Song Ji’an had chosen a very authentic small night market, mostly small vendors with stalls, gathering snacks from all over the country. She walked ahead with her backpack, buying whatever she liked and stuffing it into her bag. Soon, it was full. When she turned around with a bag of roast duck, looking pitifully at Sheng Jia, Sheng Jia finally came back to her senses.
“Mine won’t fit anymore, Sheng Jia, can you put it in your bag?”
Sheng Jia helplessly opened her backpack and replied, “Do I have a chance to refuse?”
Song Ji’an grinned and carefully put the roast duck inside. The roast duck was in a cardboard box and wrapped in plastic wrap to ensure that there would be no oil leaks. She glanced at the test papers and textbooks inside, took out an isolation pad from her own bag and put it on top of the books, then nodded in satisfaction.
“There’s no chance to refuse.” She pulled Sheng Jia forward, looking excited, and bought a lot more things until Sheng Jia stopped her from buying more.
“We’re just going to watch some fireworks, not camping there. You bought enough for eight people to eat,” Sheng Jia complained while starting the small electric scooter.
Their backpacks were bulging with the smell of food.
Even the handlebars were hanging with five cups of lemon tea, swaying back and forth.
To ensure they could get to the small road, Sheng Jia drove while Song Ji’an navigated.
Soon, they entered a section of road with more and more people. The small road was surprisingly empty, with only a marble road extending towards the sea, looking beautiful at first glance.
They had contacted Xu Lijing and Su Zhaolin early on, and Xu Lijing’s figure soon appeared at the end of the small road, waving at them.
“How did you find this road, that’s amazing!” She said as she took the lemon tea from the scooter. The small road led directly to the parking lot, where rows of small electric scooters were neatly arranged. There were also public security officers escorting them, with several police cars parked by the side of the road.
From afar, Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an saw a familiar person. The captain of the criminal police team, Liu Qing, was also on duty here. They went over to say hello and got a secret tip from her about which side had fewer people.
With this information, Xu Lijing led them, zigzagging, and finally returned to the beach they had secured in the crowded, chest-to-back throng. Otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have been able to get back.
In the past, there were awnings here, but today, to improve the viewing experience, the awnings had been removed. Everyone was either sitting or standing on the beach, mostly with picnic cloths spread on the ground, ten or so people next to each other, probably to limit the flow of people, as the space on the beach was limited. Song Yi had already arrived. Their picnic cloth was spread closer to the sea, but because of the safe distance, it wouldn’t get wet. It was a great vantage point.
This was probably the advantage of arriving early. By seven o’clock, the beach was no longer accessible, and most of the tourists were waiting on the coastal highway, while the well-fed teenagers were sitting in a row, waiting for the fireworks display that was more amazing every year.
In fact, the message that the parent-teacher conference had ended had been sent at five o’clock in the afternoon, but there were too many people here, the signal was extremely poor, and it was basically impossible to reply to messages. Sheng Jia’s desire to ask Sheng Huaiying what the teacher had said was suppressed, but she could tell from Sheng Huaiying’s messages that she was quite happy, and even told Sheng Jia to have fun.
But soon, Sheng Jia could no longer stare at her phone, because it was almost eight o’clock. Xu Lijing and the others eagerly pulled them up, their faces flushed with excitement.
“I’ve seen these fireworks before, but this year is the first time I’ve come with friends,” Xu Lijing muttered, “I hope we’ll have the chance to come together in the future!”
Song Yi thought for a moment, “Next year will be the college entrance exam. By then, we probably won’t be in Jingjiang. Every year, winter vacation is after January, but I heard that there are fewer classes in senior year, so we can go home early.”
“Can’t you let me dream?” Xu Lijing snorted, “I’ll just stream it for you guys when the time comes!”
“Are you so sure you’ll still be here in the future?” Su Zhaolin asked curiously.
“Yeah, I’ve decided that after I pass the bar exam, I’m going back to Jingjiang to open a law firm,” Xu Lijing nodded.
“Good! Then I’ll help you make a wish later so you’ll definitely succeed!” Su Zhaolin said with a smile, “My sister said that making wishes during the city celebration fireworks is quite effective.”
The girls chatted and talked about the future, as they had many times before, imagining the future to encourage each other. On the other hand, Sheng Jia and Song Ji’an didn’t participate.
Song Ji’an was looking at her watch. The fireworks were scheduled to start at eight o’clock sharp, and it was now seven fifty-nine. She pursed her lips, looking a little nervous.
Sheng Jia was staring at the sea in a daze. There were few stars tonight. Standing by the sea, the wind was strong, blowing the scarf around her neck so that it almost covered half her face.
It was actually Sheng Jia’s first time watching the city celebration fireworks. Before this, she had never had such a leisurely mood.
She had heard that the fireworks were beautiful.
Sheng Huaiying had also told her on her phone that the fireworks in Jingjiang were beautiful. She had secretly sneaked out to see them when she was young, and she could never forget the sight of that night.
But unfortunately, Sheng Huaiying later lost the desire to squeeze into the crowd just to wait for a fireworks display.
There were moments when Sheng Jia felt that she was not only adding a few bright colors to her monotonous life, but also fulfilling Sheng Huaiying’s regret.
In the lively crowd, she briefly forgot the worries she had buried in her heart, took a picture of the night sky, and sent it to Sheng Huaiying, but it didn’t send, still spinning on WeChat, along with her words about recording a video for Sheng Huaiying later.
Suddenly, she heard someone calling her name.
“Sheng Jia.”
It was Song Ji’an.
Sheng Jia turned to look at her, but only saw her profile.
At the same time, fireworks rose overhead, making a huge roar that almost drowned out all the noise, making people’s ears ache.
Song Ji’an’s lips moved, saying something with a smile, but it was also buried by the roar.
The dazzling colors instantly filled the entire sky, the falling cold stars twinkled, and finally disappeared into the clouds, only illuminating the faces of everyone on the beach, even their expressions appeared so vivid and fresh.
Sheng Jia found that she couldn’t take her eyes off her.
Song Ji’an was burning as passionately as a torch, indulging the emotions she had suppressed for so long, so bright and infectious that even just looking at her smile, she couldn’t help but smile along with her.
Sheng Jia’s mind was somewhat blank.
It was after she decided to simply be a seventeen-year-old Sheng Jia for one night that she began to be controlled by her emotions.
She clearly knew this, but she couldn’t control her impulses.
She stared intently at Song Ji’an and, for some reason, suddenly wanted to give herself a chance and give Song Ji’an a chance. So, she leaned close to her ear and asked loudly, “What did you say?”
Song Ji’an turned to meet her gaze, the clear depths of her eyes mixed with a bit of guilt, but her smile was contented, as if she had completed something she had always wanted to do, making her feel refreshed. She also leaned to Sheng Jia’s ear and said loudly, “Nothing! I said tonight’s fireworks are so beautiful! Can we watch them together in the future?”
Not those words.
Sheng Jia was a little lost.
She could feel her heart beating, and she could no longer tell if it was because of the explosion of the fireworks or because of what she had discerned from Song Ji’an’s initial words.
But it didn’t matter now.
Whether it was her or Song Ji’an, they both wanted to be impulsive for themselves, but this impulsiveness was only for themselves.
From the results, Song Ji’an was satisfied, and Sheng Jia’s impulse had cooled down.
This wasn’t a meeting of minds, but their unilateral emotional release.
You can’t hide when you like someone, and Song Ji’an can’t hide her feelings for Sheng Jia either. She has never been suited for secret love. She always comes so openly, yet she is unwilling to cause people any trouble or distress.
This fireworks display was the opportunity for her to say what was in her heart, and even if only the fireworks and the sea could hear it, she was still very happy.
This was why she was willing to not meet with Song Ningqiu and come here.
But Sheng Jia saw it clearly.
She saw what Song Ji’an was saying.
She was saying—
Sheng Jia, I like you.
And what about herself?
Sheng Jia’s lips suddenly turned pale, and she was tottering.
What was she doing?
What did that wisp of impulse represent?
What did that wisp of loss represent?
She woke up, but was engulfed by a deeper fear.