So that's why she didn't let me help tidy up that day—because all those things were being brought to my house.
"You've come to visit, yet brought so many gifts. It's too extravagant," Wang Xia began.
"Everyone can use them, so it's not extravagant," Su Yunjin smiled, sipping her tea, even worrying that she hadn't prepared enough.
The group chatted over tea in the living room. Li Zheng brought out a box from somewhere, taking out a game console and, in the process, handing over an unopened gift box.
"Sis, this must be yours. I found it while cleaning up the other day. Don't know how it got mixed in with my stuff."
"Mine?" Jiang Mo was puzzled, looking at the unfamiliar box before accepting it.
Jiang Mo opened the gift box. On top was a letter. Inside the box lay a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace.
Gu Ye looked at it and found it somewhat familiar. It looked a bit like something he had prepared when confessing to Jiang Xiaomo back in the day.
Meanwhile, Jiang Mo had already curiously opened the letter. Scanning a couple of lines, she roughly guessed what it was.
Gu Xuan, who was leaning close to Jiang Mo, had sharp eyes and great eyesight. "Wow, wow, it's a love letter!"
No sooner had he finished exclaiming than a hand reached over and took the envelope from Jiang Mo's hand.
Gu Ye stuffed the envelope into his own pocket. "Don't read it."
Jiang Mo, not understanding, thought he was jealous and explained, "I don't know who wrote this. It's my first time seeing it."
Hearing it was a love letter, Li Zheng grinned mischievously. "Then it must be from your high school classmate. That box has been sitting there for years."
"Sis, quick, see which classmate it's from."
Jiang Mo looked at Gu Ye, shaking his arm. "Give me back the letter to read, please?"
Su Yunjin watched the scene with amusement, thinking to herself that a kid who could afford Van Cleef & Arpels back in school days must come from a well-off, generous family.
"Second Brother, you're not jealous, are you? So petty," Gu Xuan teased, tugging at Gu Ye's hand.
With everyone looking at him, he steeled himself, pulled the letter out again, and handed it to Jiang Mo. "Don't laugh after you read it."
Jiang Mo wondered what was so funny. She took the letter and continued reading, then looked at Gu Ye in shock. "You wrote this for me back when we were in school?"
"Yeah. How was I to know you never even saw it?" Gu Ye scratched his head. He had snatched it mainly because he was afraid the content he wrote was too cringey.
But this really amused Su Yunjin. "Son, I never would've guessed. You were quite the pure romantic, huh."
Li Zheng: "So, Brother Ye, you had your eye on my sister from that early on?"
Gu Ye: "..."
Nevertheless, this belated love letter, after being years overdue, was finally seen due to a twist of fate.
And by this time, the lovers had long been together.
Jiang Mo carefully put away the envelope and the necklace.
...
Wang Xia and Li Daming busied themselves preparing a lavish feast at home to host the three guests from the Gu family.
After lunch and some pleasantries, Su Yunjin took her leave first, leaving the two Gu brothers behind.
The four of them decided to go out to the temple fair.
The temple fair was bustling, with performances, various folk activities, and throngs of people.
Jiang Mo held onto Gu Ye's arm, her hand tucked in his coat pocket for warmth, while the two younger fellows beside them looked around and wandered.
"That strawberry tanghulu looks pretty good," Jiang Mo said, eyeing the candied fruit in the shop window.
Gu Ye understood immediately. "Wait here, I'll go buy it for you." He then asked the other two, "Do you guys want some?"
They both nodded. Gu Ye returned with three sticks of tanghulu.
Jiang Mo took a bite and asked vaguely, "You're not having any?"
Gu Ye shook his head. "I don't really like it."
"But this is quite tasty. Do you want to try a bite?" Jiang Mo held the tanghulu up to his mouth.
Gu Ye lowered his head, holding Jiang Mo's hand that held the tanghulu, and took a bite.
Li Zheng turned his head away: Utterly unbearable to watch.
Munching on the tanghulu like a squirrel, Jiang Mo strolled through the temple fair. They came across an elderly man with a stall making dough figurines, surrounded by several people.
The finished figurines on display were quite lovely, and the grandpa's hands moved with fluid grace, clearly a master of his craft.
Seeing their footsteps halt, Gu Ye stepped up and ordered three figurines.
Then he said, "You three wait here. I need to use the restroom."
Jiang Mo nodded, taking out her phone to take pictures to send to her group chat with her girlfriends.
Unnoticed, the crowd around them grew denser.
Suddenly, Jiang Mo felt someone tug her arm. Turning around, she saw a strange young man.
She frowned, looking at him questioningly.
"Um, hello, sorry to bother you. I'd like to get to know you. Would it be okay to add you as a friend?"
The young man spoke haltingly, somewhat shyly. Not far away, two other young men were watching and snickering, clearly his friends.
Jiang Mo was taken aback, then shook her head. "It's not convenient to add friends."
The young man smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed. He was also at the temple fair with friends. Actually, they had crossed paths with Jiang Mo half an hour earlier; one glance then had convinced him she was very pretty.
Then, half an hour later, they met again at the dough figurine stall. Encouraged by his friends, he mustered the courage to give it a try.
"I'm not a creep or a scammer. It's just that I've seen you a couple times here, thought it was kind of fate."
Jiang Mo responded politely, repeating her earlier words. "Mm, it's really not convenient to add friends. My boyfriend might misunderstand."
The intention behind such pick-up lines was always clear.
Returning from the restroom, Gu Ye spotted Jiang Mo talking to a guy from a distance and quickened his pace.
Jiang Mo, in her purple coat and tall stature, was still quite noticeable in the crowd.
As he got closer, he happened to catch a few key words and immediately stepped forward to assert his claim.
The stranger, seeing Gu Ye, knew he had no chance and promptly made himself scarce.
Gu Ye pulled Li Zheng and Gu Xuan aside. "What kind of bodyguards are you two? Someone was hitting on her, and you didn't even intervene?"
Li Zheng waved his hand. "Brother-in-law, relax. My sister only has eyes for you. No one else can steal her away."
"Exactly, Second Brother! Have a little more confidence in yourself!" Gu Xuan chimed in.
Jiang Mo linked her arm with Gu Ye's. "I already told him I have a boyfriend. We got the figurines, let's walk further ahead."
Having eaten a lot at lunch, none of them were very hungry. They spent the afternoon strolling, eating, and drinking. For dinner, they just had something simple, then watched intangible cultural heritage performances like the molten iron fireworks display.
Like silver blossoms on an iron tree, like ten thousand points of starlight bursting forth.
After the shower of silver sparks, brilliant fireworks shot into the night sky, blooming overhead.
Facing the fireworks, Jiang Mo closed her eyes and made a wish.
Gu Ye watched her fondly from beside her.
Jiang Mo opened her eyes to find Gu Ye looking at her.
"What did you wish for?"
"I can't tell you that. It won't come true if I say it out loud," Jiang Mo said, raising an eyebrow.
"But I want to ask you, about that letter you wrote me in high school. Since I never saw it, why didn't you ask me about it later?"
Gu Ye thought for a moment. "Back then, I thought your lack of response meant rejection. I was a proud, stubborn teenager trying to act cool and nonchalant. Later, when I heard you were focusing entirely on your studies, it felt even less appropriate to press the matter."
"What if you had seen the letter back then? Would you have said yes?"
Jiang Mo considered the question seriously. "I don't know the answer to that."
She wrapped her arms around Gu Ye's waist and nestled into his embrace. "Heh, maybe everything now is fate's best arrangement."
The performance ended, and the crowd gradually dispersed in all directions.
The couple, leaning against each other, became visible within the bustling throng. Amidst the lively, noisy atmosphere, the handsome young man and beautiful girl naturally drew the gazes of passersby.
You watch the scenery from the bridge, while others watch you from below the bridge.
Li Zheng also spotted the pair. Quietly, he took out his phone and found the perfect angle and distance.
Through his phone's camera lens, within a composition of interwoven light and shadow, he captured a snapshot of the deeply enamored couple.
