Over in the East Courtyard, the servants were bustling back and forth, neatly lining up massive fireworks barrels across the yard.
By the time Ouyang Rui led Chai Xiaomi inside, the sudden, dense fog from earlier had quietly dissipated.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost thought that the surprise he had so meticulously prepared for tonight was going to be ruined, but unexpectedly, the fog vanished as quickly as it had arrived.
Chai Xiaomi stared in astonishment at the yard full of cylindrical fireworks. Aside from their somewhat simpler packaging, they looked almost identical to modern ones.
Curious, she asked, "What is this..."
Ouyang Rui's eyes were filled with a smiling warmth. "These fireworks were originally prepared by my father for the grand celebration night after the New Moon Archery Tournament concludes, but I secretly set some aside to light for you tonight."
In Thousand Fog Town, there was not a single girl who did not love fireworks.
Chai Xiaomi silently clicked her tongue in her heart: As expected of the richest man. Even accepting a deposit feels as grand as a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Youtiao drifted out faintly: "Host, never mind the fireworks for now. The system just detected that the villain's emotional fluctuations have hit a historical peak! There's a good chance he's going to plant a Gu on the female lead again tonight!"
Chai Xiaomi remained unhurried: "Relax, I've already secretly passed a message to Sister Yao. I told her that Wu Li has developed a strange rash. It's invisible on the surface, but once he takes off his clothes, it's full of terrifying blisters. I told her that I have antibodies, but others absolutely must not touch him, or they'll definitely get infected."
Putting aside the fact that Wu Li's cold and arrogant nature made him difficult to approach, Song Yueyao was inherently a person who knew her boundaries. Knowing that someone had such a hidden ailment, she would never take the initiative to ask about it, but she would carefully avoid him.
Therefore, this deception was absolutely flawless.
Chai Xiaomi guessed that planting the Gu required Song Yueyao to actively touch Wu Li, and Wu Li taking the initiative would be useless. So as long as Song Yueyao didn't touch him, he most likely wouldn't find an opportunity to plant the Gu.
Youtiao: "...You really are a genius! When did you say that? How come I didn't know?"
Chai Xiaomi silently rolled her eyes: "You go AFK at the drop of a hat. Eight out of ten times I call you, you're offline. Can I really count on you?"
Youtiao felt a pang in its heart and said aggrievedly: "I'm not going AFK, I'm lagging. As an old and worn-out system, patched up for another three years, it's a miracle I can still run."
While Chai Xiaomi was chatting with Youtiao in her mind, Ouyang Rui had already turned and run into that dazzling storehouse.
Standing outside the door, she followed his figure and caught a glimpse of the interior. How was this a storehouse? It was clearly a treasure pavilion!
It was a riot of radiant colors. Inside were not only rare treasures but also peerless magical artifacts. Many of the items emitted their own lustrous glow, so much so that the entire room radiated various dazzling lights.
Even a single candle would have been redundant.
Before long, Ouyang Rui excitedly emerged holding a red sandalwood box.
"Mi'er, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Xiaomi." Chai Xiaomi unconsciously shook off the goosebumps popping up on her arms and seriously corrected him, "I'm really not used to that form of address. It's better if you just call me Xiaomi."
It sounded incredibly cheesy!
"Alright, Xiaomi," Ouyang Rui agreed obediently, then offered the wooden box with both hands.
The lid gently opened, revealing an emerald green jade hair ornament resting quietly on the velvet, swirling with a crisp, dazzling halo in the night. "This is the betrothal gift I prepared. Please accept it."
He paused, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the box, his voice revealing a bit of tension and hesitation: "There's also something else I want to say. It might not be the right time, but I still want to tell you."
Seeing his fidgety appearance, Chai Xiaomi couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"
"I..." Ouyang Rui gripped the wooden box tightly, suddenly shoved it into her arms, and simultaneously shot a quick glance at the servants in the far corner.
The servants understood immediately. They rushed forward to light the fuses and then ran far away.
Sparks hissed and danced along the fuses.
Taking advantage of this brief moment of quiet, he finally mustered all his courage and shouted loudly, "I like you, Xiaomi! From the very first moment I saw you, I felt like you were a fairy who had descended to the mortal realm. I just want to marry you and cherish you forever!"
As his words fell.
"Bang—!"
The first firework tore through the sky, bursting brilliantly against the night curtain.
Immediately after, a series of bangs followed. The sky filled with splendid colors pouring down like a galaxy, illuminating the courtyard as bright as day.
Chai Xiaomi was startled twice in quick succession.
First by Ouyang Rui's blunt confession, and then by the deafening roar.
She blinked, holding the wooden box.
Back in school, she had received all sorts of confessions from underclassmen and upperclassmen, but she had never felt a moment of heartache or flutter, including right now. She was already well-versed in rejecting confessions.
Chai Xiaomi looked up and gave Ouyang Rui a bright, grateful smile: "Thank you for liking me, but—"
Ouyang Rui read the first half of the sentence from her lips.
But the second half was completely swallowed by the continuous explosions. He couldn't help but lean in closer, asking, "What did you say?"
Chai Xiaomi brought her mouth close to his ear and yelled, "Don't love me, it's a dead end! Unless you can beat me at the flower-hand dance!"
Ouyang Rui looked bewildered: "What is a flower hand?"
Although Chai Xiaomi's voice was right by his ear, it still seemed as faint as a drizzle amidst the sound of the fireworks: "I only tell the person I like!"
The gleam in Ouyang Rui's eyes suddenly dimmed.
He understood. She had tightly sealed off the path to her heart, telling him plain and simple: this road is a dead end, there is no need to try in vain.
He forced a slight smile onto his lips and leaned in close to her ear: "You misunderstood. The like I meant was the appreciation between friends. From now on, can I be your good friend?"
"Of course you can." Chai Xiaomi breathed a sigh of relief and pushed the wooden box back to him.
The fireworks were still booming. She had to lean close to his ear again and raise her voice: "But I really can't accept this. It would be better to just give me a cash deposit. Take it back!"
Looking from afar, the figures of the two under the sky full of splendid colors would sometimes draw close, sometimes whisper, looking exactly like a perfect couple pouring their hearts out to each other amidst the brilliance.
"It's just a deposit gift, keep it for now." Ouyang Rui gently pushed the wooden box back, his smile carrying a trace of imperceptible bitterness. "Wait until Alchemist Ji drives away the nightmare and I pay the gold, it won't be too late to return it to me then."
He silently swallowed back the surging sorrow in his heart.
"Alright then." Chai Xiaomi nodded, finally tucking the wooden box into her arms and letting out a sigh.
Only then did she finally have the leisure to lift her head and gaze up at that grand and resplendent night sky.
The fireworks specially made for the New Moon Archery Tournament clearly took exquisite thought. The firework spheres were massive and full, bursting into overlapping layers that painted the night sky into a flowing scroll of brocade.
Chai Xiaomi couldn't help but gasp softly, "Wow—"
It was too beautiful.
So beautiful that the corners of her eyes grew slightly hot, welling up with a thin layer of moisture.
A line of poetry surfaced in her mind without warning: As the bright moon rises over the sea, we share this moment from the ends of the earth.
She wondered, at this very moment, if her family and friends were to look up, would they be seeing the same moon as she did?
Did the fireworks here tonight and the lights of her distant homeland ever illuminate the same deep night sky at the exact same moment?
The wind blew through the courtyard, and a few wisps of lingering smoke gently brushed against the dampness at the corners of her eyes.
"Thank you for the fireworks, Ouyang Rui."
Her gaze remained fixed on the magnificent display filling the sky.
Ouyang Rui stared at the young woman's profile, flickering in the light and shadow of the fireworks. For the first time in his life, he tasted the bittersweet sorrow of yearning.
In a corner untouched by the light of the fireworks.
A young man leaned against the cold wall, immersing himself completely in the shadows.
His gaze fell silently, also fixed on that delicate face made exceptionally radiant by the lit sky.
No one knew what he was thinking.
His long, slender fingers silently brushed over his forearm, where a faint scorpion tattoo subtly emerged in the gloom.
Because a portion of the Gu poison had already taken root elsewhere, the remainder effortlessly followed the established trail, silently slithering away to seek its source.
The outline of the venomous scorpion gradually faded, fading further and further...
Until it completely dissolved from the intertwined tattoo of the Five Poisons. On the inner side of the young man's forearm, the once-complete totem was quietly missing a piece.
At the same moment.
The girl, who was looking up at the fireworks, suddenly froze.
She lowered her head in astonishment and looked at the back of her hand. The color of the scorpion tattoo there had suddenly darkened into an absolute, pitch black!
A sharp, piercing pain radiated from it, spreading upward along her veins thread by thread, eventually crashing heavily into her chest.
Her heart also began to throb with a dull ache.
Strange...
It clearly did not feel like her own heart was hurting, yet why was the sensation so incredibly vivid...
