Chapter 318 Lantern Festival (6400+)

The last day of February 2010 is the Lantern Festival.

It happened to be Sunday.

So this year's Lantern Festival is very festive. Based on past experience, this is a festival that belongs to the night.

Fireworks, riddles, and lanterns bring the festive atmosphere to its peak with the colorful night, and then the Spring Festival officially comes to an end.

However, along the way, many stores had already hung up lanterns in advance, and you could always see children running around holding electronic lantern toys.

The Lantern Festival, a day that had no impression on Li Yan in her previous life, was given special meaning after her rebirth.

Because of a song, because of a cultural performance, because of a girl in a royal blue dress.

When he reached the door of YY Bookstore, Li Yan stopped and looked inside.

His figure in a black windbreaker was reflected through the glass, and he was actually a little nervous about entering the bookstore.

There's no way, it's so handsome.

It is a sin to interrupt the reader while he is reading.

But when I looked inside through the glass, there was indeed no one there... Come to think of it, who would come to a bookstore during the Lantern Festival?

Especially early in the morning.

As soon as the door was opened and he walked around the pillar at the corner, the girl who was sitting upright reading a book met his eyes.

This look lasted for several seconds.

Li Yan is tall and broad-shouldered, and looks very stylish in a black windbreaker - although the outfit is a bit too mature for his age, no one would think he is a junior high school student if Li Yan didn't say it.

Wei Yunzhi had her hair tied into a bun, with a gold hairpin as a hairpin, and a school uniform jacket on her upper body, but she was clearly wearing a royal blue dress underneath - of course not the one she wore for the cultural performance, but another thick, more casual long dress.

There was no makeup and no jade bracelets on her wrists.

Very good. If there is, it would look a bit like a rich lady in girlish clothing, which would be less beautiful.

It's just right now, with a plain face and only a few gold hairpins to adorn her.

Little Miss Lantern Festival Limited Edition.

She really looks like a young lady.

"Good morning." Wei Yunzhi greeted. It was not known whether she felt embarrassed by Li Yan's staring at her or she was a little uncomfortable with the way she was dressed today.

It could also be that the sudden dressing up of the two, coupled with the knowledge that they were going out together that night, brought some of their little secrets to the surface, creating a somewhat tacit shyness.

"Good morning," Li Yan sat next to the girl, "Did you study well during the winter vacation?"

"You ask this right away?" The beautiful girl supported her head. Only then did Li Yan realize that her hairpin had some gold tassels, which was very gorgeous.

With the body leaning forward and the hands supporting the head, the collar of the school uniform will be folded at an angle, revealing the fair neck.

Amitabha, let’s take a look at Liusu.

"What else? Don't we study in the morning?" Li Yan asked.

"Wait a moment."

"What?"

"When was the last time we met... for tutoring?" Wei Yunzhi's expression clearly showed "asking despite knowing the answer".

"National Day?"

“You know that too?”

Wait, wait, wait, isn't this conversation right?

"National Day...what's wrong?" Li Yan also asked a question even though he knew the answer, and gave the other person a taste of his own medicine.

"too long."

Damn, she shouldn't have been given the chance to launch a straight ball attack.

"I later... went for training, then participated in a competition, and when I came back it was winter vacation. No, it's not like you went out to play with your friends, right?"

"Hmm, so you wanted to see me then?"

Wei Yunzhi showed a mischievous smile.

Li Yan almost blurted out "no" - this certainly did not represent his true thoughts.

In Chinese family education, children are always good at using negation to hide the true meaning.

But he finally smiled and waved his hand, "Study, study."

"If you want to see me, you can tell me. I can postpone the travel or anything."

How could Li Yan, who had never been in love in her previous life, withstand such a critical blow?

There's nothing better than a special treat!

Li Yan looked at Wei Yunzhi's delicate face and sincere eyes, and for a moment she felt her ears getting a little hot.

"Okay," Wei Yunzhi smiled and stretched, "Let's study."

"You just got off vacation and need some time to get into review mode, right?" Li Yan said with a smile.

"No, it's just that I haven't seen you for a long time, and I want to take a good look at you first."

Isn't this incredible? It can't be explained as anything else, right?
I can't keep on testing you on the edge of danger while I'm on the defensive!
"Now, are you done watching...?"

"Yeah, I've finished reading it. It's very cool." The girl nodded, opened the textbook as if nothing had happened, and began to talk about her review plan for the second semester of the third year of junior high school.

Li Yan took a long time to adjust her mentality.

In short, stick to one principle: as long as the girl doesn't break the window paper, just pretend nothing happened.

Good friends are good friends, and we can talk about the rest in a few years.

No, when did only window paper remain?

The review time passed quickly, and it was only at 11:30 in the morning that Li Yan realized a key problem.

Is Wei Yunzhi planning to stay with him... for the whole day? !
"Are you hungry?" Wei Yunzhi asked in a low voice after noticing that Li Yan had switched from his engaged state.

In fact, there's no need to speak in a low voice. It's as if this bookstore was opened for the two of them. There's no one else there. I don't know how the lady boss still has the energy to continue running the business.

"It's okay. Do you have any plans for the afternoon?" Li Yan asked.

"Hmm? Aren't you reviewing?"

"Still reviewing?"

"So...what do you want to do?"

"Review, review." Li Yan stood up and stretched for a while. "Let's go out and find a restaurant to eat at noon?"

"No need, it's cold outside." Wei Yunzhi turned his wrist and waved at Li Yan, looking like a cat shaking its paws for a moment. "I ordered food, let's eat here."

Okay, I'll follow your instructions.

Li Yan thought Wei Yunzhi had ordered takeout from a nearby restaurant, and took the opportunity to chat with her for a long time about the project he was working on with Linda Li Kai's team.

"I'm hungry, so you're involved!" The beautiful girl listened with great interest.

"Yes, and my goal is definitely not to come up with a 'takeout' app, but..."

The proprietress interrupted Li Yan while carrying two plates of food.

Looking at Li Yan's astonished expression, Wei Yunzhi couldn't help laughing out loud.

This bookstore not only has a water bar serving drinks, but why does it also have stir-fried dishes?
The proprietress was very proud and said that she was a rare female hotel chef in the past.

With this delicious and tasty stir-fried dish, Li Yan could trust her a little.

A hotel chef opened a bookstore deep in an old residential building. He was really early in crossing borders.

Eating a small stir-fried meal in a quiet bookstore is really a unique experience.

Going to the bathroom with Wei Yunzhi and using mouthwash is also a very unique experience...

"How come you... carry mouthwash with you?" Li Yan was indeed curious.

“When I go out to eat, I worry about having a bad taste in my mouth.”

"Do you usually bring it with you whenever you eat out?"

"No."

……

It's okay because I didn't eat leeks or garlic. The key is that we didn't have any chance to smell each other's mouth.

As the saying goes, when you are warm and full, you think about...

No, I feel sleepy when I am full.

Wei Yunzhi walked around the bookstore for a while to stretch his body, then returned to his seat and prepared to start reviewing again.

The sun is always shining brightly when I go out with Wei Yunzhi.

The two of them were sitting by the window. The temperature in the bookstore was relatively warm to begin with, and when the sun shone on it, it became just the right warmth for a nap.

So Wei Yunzhi became a little confused as he continued to study.

He was obviously dull in answering some of Li Yan's questions.

It doesn't look like acting.

After holding on for another five minutes, the beautiful girl could no longer react to the objective fact that Li Yan had "spoken".

"Why don't we take a break?" Li Yan suggested.

"I overestimated myself." Wei Yunzhi had already closed his eyes, and his words were a little dull. "I studied at home all morning, and I was still very energetic in the afternoon..."

Oh, girl, how can the intensity of studying with me be compared to your self-study?

"have a rest."

"it is good."

After Wei Yunzhi finished speaking, he put down his pen, stretched, yawned, and leaned towards Li Yan's shoulder.

Li Yan was so frightened that she froze.

The proprietress opposite showed a satisfied expression.

Wei Yunzhi rested his head on Li Yan's shoulder, his shoulder against Li Yan's arm, his body shrank, and he looked very relaxed.

"Relax, Yan." The girl closed her eyes and murmured, "We are good friends, we can be like this."

It's not a matter of can or can't...

In her previous life, until she was 24 years old, Li Yan didn't like having physical contact with others.

He attributed his unwillingness to the fact that he was very sensitive and felt nervous when touched by others.

Of course, there is really no opportunity for serious physical contact.

Damn, is this the reason?
He looked at Wei Yunzhi's peaceful appearance, and for a moment he felt a little soft in his heart.

Afternoon, winter, warm sun.

With thick clothes between us, it's no big deal to lean against each other like this.

It’s not right to think too much, or you’ll become Baoyu wandering in the world of fantasy in your sleep.

He also relaxed, feeling the weight of the girl's restraint, shifted his body, and began to read.

Perhaps because the environment was too comfortable, Wei Yunzhi's nap lasted for an hour.

If Li Yan's physical fitness wasn't good enough, he would have been numbed by the height.

Fortunately, it was Wei Yunzhi's own biological clock that woke her up in the end.

It was obviously winter, but the girl slept until a layer of sweat appeared on her forehead. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and let out a long breath.

Li Yan thought that the next step would be for her to react. Her pretty face turned red and she apologized to him. But then she realized that he had maintained this posture for a very long time, so she felt even more embarrassed.

Oh, that’s interesting to think about.

As a result, Wei Yunzhi patted Li Yan's shoulder and said, "It's very comfortable and warm."

Then he got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face and wake up.

What? I’m a Li Yan brand pillow?
Studying in the afternoon... was pretty normal.

Li Yan was even a little bit uncomfortable. Logically speaking, shouldn't she have some ambiguous feeling at this time?
Shouldn't there be a special atmosphere?

It's the kind of fluttering feelings that you love most in youth romance novels.

Li Yan once wanted to observe whether Wei Yunzhi was pretending to be calm, but every time he started to observe, the beautiful girl would notice him and blink her beautiful eyes and ask sincerely: "Did I do something wrong?"

Wrong, wrong, wrong. If you were studying hard, how would you notice that I was looking at you?
Finally, when Li Yan's butt was numb from sitting, at 4:30 in the afternoon, Wei Yunzhi closed his textbook and decided to start the main itinerary of the day.

"Go to the Xinqiao area."

In the new city center of New Taipei City, Xinqiao has been developing rapidly in the past few years when Rongxi was fully developed.

Although the supporting facilities are not as mature and top-notch as Rongxi, they are new enough.

It won’t be long before Rongxi District surpasses it and becomes the center of New Taipei City in the eyes of outsiders.

Many large-scale city-level events have also been scheduled in Xinqiao District, such as tonight’s Lantern Festival fireworks show.

The location is right on the bank of Baijiang River, which is a tributary of the "Dongjiang River" that Linjiang Province faces.

Baijiang is the mother river of New Taipei City. People in New Taipei City have deep feelings for it, but Li Yan has no feelings for it.

On the subway to Xinqiao, Li Yan asked curiously:
"I thought you would choose Rongxi's lantern show. Why did you choose Xinqiao?"

"When it comes to lantern parades in the old city, New Taipei City can't compare to that in Lincheng."

"Really?" "...You ask me, how should I answer?"

Just as the subway arrived at the intersection station, it suddenly became extremely crowded.

The two of them remained silent tacitly.

It was just past five o'clock, but the crowds near Baijiang Park could already be described as bustling.

Various large lanterns have been placed in the park, and the greenway along the Baijiang River is full of people waiting for the evening fireworks show on the other side of the river - there are several skyscrapers under construction over there, and a lot of temporary light tubes have been installed, which will probably interact with the fireworks.

After exiting Baijiang Park subway station, Wei Yunzhi took Li Yan away from the park.

Of course, dinner should be solved first.

"There's a stew here that's really, really delicious. I love it." The girl was jumping up and down in front, looking very relaxed.

"Are you familiar with this place?" Li Yan asked.

"I live in Xinqiao."

"Oh, yes..." Li Yan shook her head. They had met so many times in Rongxi that she had forgotten about it.

The second time I met Wei Yunzhi was in a very exquisite European-style villa community called "Tianhong Garden".

It was a very, very expensive price. Li Yan had even discussed with Lin Zhiyuan briefly about Wei Yunzhi’s status as a wealthy woman.

Wait...Based on the current information, she is indeed rich.

"Can I ask which neighborhood you live in?" Li Yan couldn't help but ask.

"Rainbow Garden."

"That's... the place where we met? The little villa?"

"Yeah." Wei Yunzhi showed very obvious resistance.

Considering her complaints about her father neglecting the family, Li Yan decided not to ask any more questions.

This is not the point at all. Besides, Li is a millionaire now. It doesn't matter whether she is a rich woman or not.

"Do you care about this?" Wei Yunzhi suddenly slowed down, waited for Li Yan to walk shoulder to shoulder with him, and asked in a low voice.

"This? What do you mean?"

"That means I don't care." The little beauty smiled again, "Do you like soup?"

"See what kind of soup it is."

The soup restaurant was quite a distance away, and it had just opened when the two of them arrived, which meant that the soup would take some time to be ready.

Li Yan asked without thinking: "Is it freshly stewed?"

This immediately caused the boss and his wife and Wei Yunzhi to burst into laughter.

While waiting for the soup, Wei Yunzhi just sat opposite the small table, supporting his head with his hands, looking at Li Yan with a smile.

She wanted to hear Li Yan’s story about the international competition.

Good man, haven’t you heard enough stories about showing off? I’m good at this.

I waited half an hour for the soup, and another half an hour for drinking it - because it was too hot.

In fact, Li Yan doesn’t like soup, any kind of soup at all.

But he was so thirsty from talking that he could hardly taste the sweetness of the stew.

As the sky was getting dark, the two of them finally walked slowly towards Baijiang Park.

This is a walk after dinner.

After this day, I felt that Wei Yunzhi had arranged everything perfectly...

But the girl was very relaxed and Li Yan felt very happy, so she just let it go.

He had a hunch that everything that happened today was just a prelude.

"Yan," Wei Yunzhi's voice sounded much softer in an open space, "Did you know that the Lantern Festival is also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day?"

"I know. In ancient times, the Lantern Festival was a time for young men and women to meet their lovers."

“Because we don’t see them normally.”

"What a coincidence! This year's New Year's Day is also the Western Valentine's Day." Li Yan smiled.

"Happy holidays." Wei Yunzhi walked slowly beside Li Yan, without looking at him, and just said it lightly.

"Happy Lantern Festival." Li Yan responded.

The girl nodded, walked silently for a few dozen steps, and suddenly took off her school uniform jacket, revealing her long-sleeved royal blue dress.

The collar and cuffs are decorated with sequins, and the overall style is more mature compared to Wei Yunzhi's age.

"I've never worn it." Wei Yunzhi said, "My mother insisted on buying it for me when we were buying new clothes before the Chinese New Year. I always felt that it was... a little too mature."

"It's the same color as the art performance."

"Yeah, it's Lantern Festival too."

Tsk... Li Yan actually felt a little nervous.

"I like to make my days memorable." Wei Yunzhi stood in front of Li Yan and turned around. "Does it look good?"

"nice."

"That's good. Today is worth remembering."

"are not you cold?"

"It's warm."

Then the two of them quietly joined the crowd, walked along the long park, and watched the large lanterns gradually light up.

What's so beautiful about lanterns?

The crowd was so crowded that sometimes Li Yan couldn't even catch a glimpse of the royal blue figure in her peripheral vision, and she even felt a pain in the back of her teeth.

Then I saw the beautiful girl standing two or three people away and waving.

"You look very nervous." She smiled and patted Li Yan's hand, "Are you afraid of getting lost?"

"Kind of."

"Can we hold hands?"

It came too suddenly!

Wei Yunzhi raised his head, and in his sparkling eyes under the light, he could see Li Yan's stunned expression.

"I hesitated. You think too much." The girl crossed her arms and raised her head. "Then I won't give it to you. If you're afraid of getting lost, just stay close."

So on the rest of the trip, the two of them kept bumping into each other, like magnets frantically switching their positive and negative poles, attracting each other and then repelling each other, and then inevitably attracting each other after repelling each other.

There were many stalls in the park, and in the center was a lantern riddle contest. Wei Yunzhi was originally very interested in it, but after standing outside waiting for a long time and failing to squeeze into the front row, he lost interest.

"This is what happens when there are a lot of people." Li Yan comforted.

After all, he is just a child.

"Would you like to guess?" the girl asked.

It's clear that there is expectation in your eyes.

Li Yan smiled helplessly, "I think, let's go to a smaller stall."

Most riddles are solved by "breaking down characters", especially those fake poems that don't make sense at all - but these longer riddles are often considered the finale, and everyone is very enthusiastic about solving them.

The answer is basically a blessing.

For example, the lantern-shaped card that the little beauty is holding in her hand:

"It has been eight years since the seedlings were borne. One person picked a little more jade. Planted willow trees but they did not grow. Each day they grew an inch beside each other. Their infatuation remained unchanged but they were healthy. On the day of their thirties, a wonderful voice came. Who was speechless and wanted to say, saving people does not cost a penny."

It was just a brain teaser. Li Yan knew the answer at a glance: Money is easy to get, but a soulmate is hard to find.

A soulmate... He glanced at Wei Yun.

The girl was happily exchanging two small lantern-shaped key pendants with the boss.

He then glanced at the other riddles on the table and frowned, as the remaining answers were all about love.

Things like "I love you", "My heart can only hold you", "I can't live without you"...

Wei Yunzhi was also quite capable, and he just happened to find a soulmate.

"By the way, you should know that those pen names are mine." Li Yan suddenly remembered this.

"Of course I know. What a coincidence. It shows that you are very capable and that I have good taste. I really like your writing style." Wei Yunzhi fiddled with the pendant in his hand and looked very happy.

She was already shocked once when Li Yan explained this matter on Weibo.

And during several sleepless nights, I repeatedly recalled the scenes in the coffee shop, and for half a day I made a passionate confession.

She still doesn't know it!

But now, of course, we can deal with it calmly.

"Actually... all the things recorded in your excerpt book are my writings."

The pendant in the girl's hand almost fell to the ground.

There was clearly something more in the look she gave Li Yan.

"I wanted to tell you at that time, but..."

The girl raised her hand to stop Li Yan from speaking and turned away.

The light at the scene was orange and yellow, so it was impossible to tell whether she was blushing or not.

A soulmate...Isn't this also considered a kind of soulmate?

So, does he prefer the girl to get the "awkward" love riddle or this pretentious soulmate?
As I was thinking, I walked to the other end of the park.

There weren't many people here, as everyone was gathered in the middle to guess riddles and watch the fireworks. It was almost half past eight - the start time of the fireworks show, so Li Yan prepared to turn around and walk back to where the crowd was.

"Wait." The girl called him.

Li Yan turned 180 degrees and spun like a gyroscope on the spot.

Wei Yunzhi couldn't help laughing, "Yan, so have you decided where to study?"

The future.

This question can be asked on QQ or in the bookstore in the morning, but now it has finally been asked.

Are you afraid that the answer will become "HuaDa High School"?

“New Taipei Middle School.”

This time the answer is clear.

The girl's eyebrows twitched and she exhaled slowly.

If Li Yan saw correctly, her eyes were indeed a little moist.

"Soon you won't be a senior anymore." Li Yan said suddenly.

This was an entry point that Wei Yunzhi had never expected, and it even made her forget to laugh.

"I never considered you as my junior."

Li Yan was silent for a while.

"Let's watch the fireworks here, there are fewer people." The girl slowly walked towards the guardrail against the river breeze.

"Yunzhi, if you have the ability to get into a better school, will you still choose New Taipei Middle School?" Li Yan suddenly wanted to ask in reverse.

Don't know why.

"No," the girl said with a smile, looking at the light sign on the other side of the river, "If I get into Huada High School, I will still go there to study."

Li Yan's emotions were a bit complicated.

"But I'm not going to take the exam." Wei Yunzhi looked at Li Yan with a mischievous expression.

Are you trying to trick me?
Li Yan was racking his brains to think of a way to fight back, but he saw the girl smoothing her hair behind her ears and looking at him.

"Yan, didn't you ask me on the subway why we came to Xinqiao instead of staying in Rongxi?"

"Ah."

Wei Yunzhi waved to Li Yan, even though they were standing side by side.

Li Yan could only put his ear close to the girl's head, as if listening to a whisper.

"I want you to see the grandest fireworks, the most interesting lantern riddles, the most beautiful lanterns... the best Lantern Festival."

Several clusters of flames rose into the sky from the surface of the river, sounding the prelude to the fireworks show.

“With the best of me.”

Wei Yunzhi spoke very quietly, leaving only the shape of his lips.

She had not originally intended to say it, but when she saw the fireworks rising into the sky, she was able to use the explosion of the fireworks to cover up the sound.

Unexpectedly, Li Yan was not distracted at all by the fireworks rising into the sky.

He kept looking at her.

So I heard everything.

This moment lasted for a long time. The girl felt her cheeks getting hot. She wanted to turn her face away but she couldn't move her eyes away.

"Happy holidays." Li Yan said.

(End of this chapter)