Jiang Yumo thought that this was arranged by Duan Ye. After the fireworks ended, she reminded him with a small voice, “Actually, we don’t need to have fireworks every year.”
Her seventeenth birthday passed with fireworks, and so did her eighteenth. Does that mean they have to continue with fireworks every year in the future?
It seemed a bit extravagant. After seeing it once or twice, the novelty wore off. There’s no need to turn fireworks into a fixed annual event.
Duan Ye was quite helpless. He didn’t know how to explain to her that he didn’t arrange this.
In the end, he could only admit it and shoulder the blame. If he told her that it was arranged by those three guys over there, and they were nearby, she would probably feel shy and embarrassed. It’s better to keep it from her. But as Jiang Yumo picked up her phone to capture the fireworks in the sky, he took the opportunity to send the same message to the three of them:
[Come to my place to watch a basketball match tonight.]
[Everyone has to come.]
After sending the messages, he put his phone away.
Jiang Yumo watched for a while and felt a bit pained. She complained to Duan Ye, “How much longer are these going to last? Fireworks are so expensive!”
These fireworks look really expensive. There are so many varieties, and they’ve been going on for so long. How much money must he be spending?
Duan Ye was really being wasteful. There are so many other places where money could be used. Why spend it on this? And these fireworks are all fake. They disappear as soon as you look at them. Real roses would be better, at least they’d last for a few days and could even be dried.
Duan Ye : “…”
He sincerely apologized, “I won’t do it again in the future.”
Jiang Yumo tugged at his hand again, “I just think it’s not very cost-effective. But I still really like it!”
Duan Ye smiled and ruffled her hair, “…As long as you like it.”
Her liking it is what matters.
It’s just too expensive! That’s what Jiang Yumo was thinking.
Finally, after the fireworks were over, Duan Ye breathed a sigh of relief. He was too lazy to care whether those three people were still nearby. Holding Jiang Yumo’s hand, he left.
The three people below the embankment had different expressions.
Zhao Zheng and Zhou Ji wore satisfied smiles, while Guo Shichao was cursing and slapping at mosquitoes.
After exchanging pleasantries with the mosquitoes’ ancestors for eighteen generations, Guo Shichao hesitated and asked, “We… haven’t turned a clever trick into a clumsy one, have we?”
Zhao Zheng patted Guo Shichao on the shoulder. “Who are you learning from? You’re using idioms every day. Absolutely not. Haven’t you noticed the great atmosphere between Brother Duan and Sister Mo? I suspect that if they were of age, Brother Duan might propose to Sister Mo, and she would probably agree.”
Zhou Ji shook his phone triumphantly and said, “Lao Duan wants us to watch a basketball match. It’s definitely a way to thank us. He doesn’t need to be this polite, we’re all brothers, one family!”
Guo Shichao was skeptical. “Is there a basketball game match?”
Although he wasn’t a basketball fan, he also knew that there hadn’t been any recent games.
Zhou Ji chuckled, “That’s just an excuse! Get ready, Lao Duan is definitely treating us to a late-night snack today. Think about how to make the most of it!”
Duan Ye had already taken Jiang Yumo down the riverside.
He remembered when they were seventeen, they used to sneakily explore alleys and small paths by the riverside. Duan Ye holding her hand, often due to her getting scared by a dog. And they hadn’t been together for very long. Being eighteen was truly wonderful. They could walk openly on the streets, without fear or worry. Though it wasn’t too late now, Duan Ye still insisted on walking her home, mainly to leave a good impression on her parents.
There was a stretch of road where both of them suddenly fell into a quiet understanding, a tranquility.
Duan Ye sighed, regretting his poor choice in friends.
Jiang Yumo was nervous, anxious about what Duan Ye had planned before the fireworks began.
Young students fall in love not necessarily out of infatuation or liking the person, but because they idealize the feeling of being in love.
What does love mean?
You can hold hands, you can hug, you can kiss.
For Jiang Yumo, this was quite strange. Seventeen and eighteen, just a year apart, yet she felt that as eighteen approached, someone had opened a box that belonged to her, emitting a tantalizing allure. Perhaps this was the world of adults, a world where she really wanted to stay with the person she liked, to be held by him, to be embraced.
Both of them lost in their own thoughts.
In reality, their relationship, as seen by outsiders, was already that of a couple. Yet, in this moment, their nerves were still enough to make their hands sweat.
Deliberately slowing down their pace, they arrived at the bottom of the residential building.
She always felt like there was something she hadn’t done, but Jiang Yumo couldn’t possibly be proactive in such matters. She could only avert her gaze, flashing fleeting glances, and managed to force a smile as she waved at him, then lowered her head and walked into the residential building.
Duan Ye watched her figure as she entered, lifting his hand to press against his forehead.
He felt like going to punch those three sandbags again.
He wasn’t as calm as he appeared. He could get nervous too, and uneasy. He was afraid she wouldn’t like his touch, scared his suddenness would disgust her. He could only probe step by step, ensuring she wasn’t upset before daring to hold her hand firmly. Just like a kiss, it really needed the right moment. But that moment had been ruined by a fireworks display. Waiting for the next one, who knew when that would be.
He lifted his head and looked towards the residential building, finally realizing something was off.
Why… weren’t the voice-controlled lights in the hallway on?
Retracting his gaze, he pondered for a few seconds and then walked inside. When he reached the space between the first and second floors, he saw Jiang Yumo. She was using her phone as a light source, but the phone’s glow was limited. Hearing his footsteps, she turned her head, seemingly surprised. “Why did you come?”
Without the voice-controlled lights, the hallway was pitch dark. Only a little moonlight seeped in, not enough to illuminate the steps ahead.
In such an environment, Duan Ye’s voice sounded deeper. He reached out to support her. “I noticed the hallway lights weren’t on.”
Jiang Yumo seemed somewhat frustrated. “They must be broken, I guess.”
“Yeah, I’ll walk you upstairs,” Duan Ye said.
“Alright.” Jiang Yumo placed her hand in his palm naturally.
Led by him, the hallway was relatively narrow. Just as they were about to reach the third floor, Duan Ye suddenly stopped.
What is timing?
To miss once means not to miss a second time.
Because he had never been lucky enough to believe that timing would repeatedly present itself.
Almost as if the world spun around, by the time Jiang Yumo reacted, she was already trapped between his chest and the wall.
*Thump, thump—*
Her heart raced so fast that she could hardly count the beats.
In the darkness, all human senses are infinitely amplified. Eyes can’t see clearly, ears and sense of smell become exceptionally sharp.
Duan Ye’s breath rushed forth, enveloping her. She couldn’t escape, nor did she want to. She closed her eyes, allowing him to invade.
On her eighteenth birthday, the first kiss from the person she liked, she would never, ever forget.
“I really like you.”
“I only like you.”
He almost whispered in her ear with his breath.
Jiang Yumo understood what he meant.
This time, it gradually merged with the time of the entrance exam. In the darkness, she seemed to see that Duan Ye telling that Jiang Yumo, “I like you.“
Last time, her response was, “My parents don’t let me date.”
This time…
Jiang Yumo held onto his neck tightly, standing on tiptoe, and whispered in his ear, “Yes.”
—I won’t let you down again.
—This time, I say yes.
On her eighteenth birthday, she became Duan Ye’s girlfriend, and their first love story officially began.
At Duan Ye’s home.
Zhou Ji and the other two were quite familiar here, treating this place as their own. They had turned on the air conditioning and the TV, sitting on the couch drinking beverages and eating peanuts. It was so relaxing. Zhou Ji seemed like a dedicated admirer, waiting for Ning Zhiyu’s reply with an earnest expression. He couldn’t understand why she was still studying when the college entrance exams were over. Thinking about it, what were Duan Ye and Jiang Yumo doing right now? He couldn’t think about it; thinking about it made him feel sour.
When it came to love, Lao Duan was indeed a master.
“Hey, you guys,” Zhou Ji suddenly lowered his voice, “Is Lao Duan giving away his treasured first kiss, saved for almost nineteen years?”
“Hold on—” he remembered something, then cautiously replied, “His first kiss should still be intact, right?”
Zhao Zheng threw an empty bottle from his hand at him, “You dare to question our Brother Duan’s chastity? Are you asking for trouble?”
“Damn it, am I questioning this? Who would question this?” Zhou Ji’s face was full of envy. “I’m envious, can’t you see?”
Duan Ye was only a step away from engraving Jiang Yumo’s name on his body. No one would question him.
Guo Shichao exclaimed, “Well… I don’t think so?”
In reality, Duan Ye’s relationship with Jiang Yumo wasn’t very clear even to their close friends.
Due to his personality, Duan Ye wouldn’t discuss these things at all.
“But,” Zhao Zhengyi said firmly, “although we don’t know when it happened, Brother Duan’s first kiss is Sister Mo’s. There’s no need to doubt this.”
Zhou Ji sighed, then sighed again, subconsciously touching his own lips.
His first kiss was still intact.
Seeing his expression, Zhao Zheng and Guo Shichao exchanged glances and leaned in curiously, asking, “Seriously, didn’t you two date for quite a while?”
Zhou Ji pushed them away, “It’s not that long, it’s only been forty-three days and ten hours!”
Zhao Zheng : “…”
Guo Shichao : “…Are you counting the days every day?”
Zhou Ji glanced at them, “How could you two single dogs understand? Of course, I have to remember, the one hundred-day anniversary must be celebrated.”
Zhao Zheng rubbed his arm, “Damn, your cheesy words are going to kill me.”
“So,” Guo Shichao pointed at him, “your treasured first kiss for eighteen years and five months, is it still there?”
Zhou Ji gritted her teeth. “Get lost.”
He didn’t really want to mention it, but a few days ago, he taught her how to swim. They went to the swimming pool together. She was still learning how to hold her breath and exchange it. He was thinking that when she needed to take a breath, he would also go underwater… Well… Wonderful things would happen, right? However, the result was that she slapped him and kicked him when he tried to do that.
While they were both annoyed, the sound of the door opening came from the entrance. All three of them turned to look.
Duan Ye entered from outside.
Zhou Ji glanced at him and felt even more envious.
All of them were guys, and looking at Duan Ye’s radiant appearance, everyone knew what could have happened.
Why was there such a big difference in dating between people?
Duan Ye casually placed the keys on the shoe cabinet and glanced at them with a nonchalant expression. “You’re all here, that’s perfect.”
What?
The three of them sat on the sofa and looked at him.
Duan Ye flexed his wrist and casually removed the watch that Jiang Yumo had given him. He said, “Alright, let’s have a one vs. three today.”
Finally dating properly. Good job Duan ge, Momo!!
RIP to those failures of wingmen
Haha… Pitiful outcome for these three stooges who wanted to be cupids.
Thanks