Qiuyun refused coldly. “No.”
“Oh.”
Pei Cizhou’s lips curved upward. “There’s a small hill nearby. How about we go up there and look at the stars?”
“That’s your request?” Qiuyun switched on her turn signal.
“Of course not!” He glanced at the night sky. “I read that there might be a meteor shower over the city tonight. I was already planning to invite you to watch the stars after dinner.”
Qiuyun was speechless. “When you’re trying to woo a girl, you invite her to look at the stars? Don’t you think that’s a little cliché?”
“…” Pei Cizhou gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, “Those useless strategists. I told them this move wouldn’t work. It’s completely unnecessary.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Pei Cizhou cleared his throat. “If you don’t like it, we can do something else.”
Qiuyun shrugged. “Let’s go take a look. We’re already here, and there’s supposed to be a meteor shower, isn’t there?”
The mountain belonged to the resort next door, which operated as a private club. On the vast mountainside, only a few scattered lights could be seen.
There were a lot of mosquitoes and other insects in the mountains, and most visitors came for the scenery. So instead of tents, the resort provided large, square mosquito nets designed to fit over beds. Their four corners were secured over a patch of open ground, keeping the bugs out while leaving the night sky visible. They were also surprisingly spacious.
The staff set up the mosquito net, laid down a moisture-proof ground mat and a camping blanket, then switched on several insect-attracting lamps nearby. They provided light while keeping the mosquitoes away.
Qiuyun looked around. “You can do it like this? Pretty nice.”
“What did you think? That we’d find some deserted mountain and sit there together looking at the stars?”
Ahem.
That was, in fact, exactly what she had imagined.
“Let’s eat first.” Before leaving, he had asked the chef to prepare the food again and pack it up. It was still warm inside the boxes.
Qiuyun was genuinely hungry, so the two of them ate dinner beneath the moon and the lights, chatting as they went.
Both of them were broadly knowledgeable. Whenever they talked, each could offer one or two opinions, and there was never an awkward silence.
“But how did you know when my birthday was?” she asked curiously.
Pei Cizhou answered concisely. “The driving school.”
Right.
They did indeed record that kind of information.
After dinner, it was time to cut the cake. Qiuyun had had her eye on the birthday cake from the beginning and had deliberately saved room for it.
Pei Cizhou took out an ice pack, opened the box, and lit the candles for her.
“They say the meteor will pass over our city at 10:10.” He checked his watch. “There’s still one minute. Perfect timing for making a wish.”
Qiuyun clasped her hands together. “You timed it that precisely?”
“Isn’t it lucky that we made it in time?” He lifted the cake toward her. “Go ahead and make your wish.”
“All right.” She closed her eyes.
Qiuyun herself didn’t actually believe in making wishes.
If wishes really came true, the floor in front of every shrine would have been worn through by now.
She believed only in human effort—that people could shape their own fate.
Still, Pei Cizhou had prepared everything so earnestly. He had chatted with her over dinner while keeping one eye on the time, waiting for the meteor. It would have been rather unpleasant to ruin the mood now.
So she wished for favorable weather and peace throughout the land.
Then she heard the delight in Pei Cizhou’s voice. “Open your eyes. Look up.”
The night sky was a sheet of black jade, and a meteor streaked across the horizon, dragging a silver-white tail behind it. In the blink of an eye, it vanished.
In the vast universe, humanity was no more than a mayfly beneath heaven and earth, a drop in the ocean. Against such immensity, all the desires and regrets, pursuits and possessions of the mortal world seemed unbearably empty.
Pei Cizhou turned his head and looked at her candlelit profile. “I used to think the universe was vast and humanity insignificant, and that even meteors were merely falling according to some fixed pattern—nothing special about them. But just now, for that one second, I suddenly felt that within such a grand and profound emptiness, the difference between eternity and an instant might simply be whether you’re willing to burn once for what you want, within the limited time you have.”
Qiuyun withdrew her gaze from the sky and looked at the starry glimmer in his eyes.
“Blow out the candles.” Pei Cizhou held the cake closer to her. The dim candlelight traced shifting shadows across his face, making his already exquisite features look even more striking and sculpted.
Fine.
She took back what she had said earlier. Bringing a girl to look at the stars wasn’t necessarily a cliché.
It mostly depended on the person’s face—and whether he had a mind capable of making it feel fresh.
Qiuyun moved her gaze away from his face and obediently blew out the candles.
Pei Cizhou said warmly, “May everything go smoothly for you. Happy birthday.”
“Thank you.”
Qiuyun accepted his blessing.
“Actually, I was able to guess a little from the way you’ve been treating me lately.” Pei Cizhou began cutting the cake. “But since you gave me two chances to make requests…”
He cut a slice and handed it to her, his eyes crinkling with a smile. “I couldn’t help wanting to hear the exact answer from you yourself.”
Qiuyun took it from him. “What do you want to ask?”
Pei Cizhou cleared his throat and asked carefully, “Have you… started liking me a little more lately?”
Qiuyun paused and looked up at his eyes. They held a trace of nervousness, though he was clearly forcing himself to keep it under control.
At first, Pei Cizhou, that Little Devil, had been quite annoying. But she could understand why. After all, it was perfectly normal for a hot-blooded, rebellious young man to dislike someone like her—smooth and worldly, rigid and steeped in old-fashioned propriety.
She simply hadn’t expected him to fall for her later on.
But now that he had fallen for her…
There was no room for him to change his mind or retreat.
Qiuyun met his gaze, then suddenly curved her lips into a smile. She reached out, took a little cream, and dabbed it onto his lower lip. Then she leaned forward and covered it with her own.
Their breaths mingled, the tips of their noses brushing. Pei Cizhou’s eyes widened abruptly, his entire body going rigid. His mind turned to mush as he stared blankly at her curled lashes and felt her warm lips give his a light bite before pulling away.
The sensation was soft and fragrant. Only after she had withdrawn did the belated tingling begin to crawl slowly up his spine. His entire face flushed scarlet.
“You… you…”
His ears burned red, and his lower lip felt numb. He wanted to press his lips together and savor the lingering sensation, but he was too embarrassed. Instead, he stammered helplessly, his eyes darting everywhere but at her.
By comparison, Qiuyun was utterly calm. She picked up her spoon and continued eating her cake. “You looked cute, so I wanted to give you a definite answer through practical action.”
As she spoke, her warm breath brushed against him. Pei Cizhou finally had a chance to press his lips together while she lowered her head to eat, slowly soothing the intense, tingling itch.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. He turned his gaze away, too afraid to look at her. “Then… then are we, cough, are we officially…”
“No.”
Huh?
Pei Cizhou suddenly turned to face her and straightened his back. Even the red cloud above his head disappeared. His eyes were filled with accusation.
Qiuyun tilted her head, her eyes and brows smiling as she encouraged him. “The revolution hasn’t succeeded yet, comrade. You still have to keep working hard.”
He was exasperated. “Then my second request is to have you kiss me again.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“That would be unreasonable.”
“Why was the first one allowed?”
“Because I make the rules.”
“…”
Pei Cizhou admitted defeat. “You win.”
Qiuyun blinked and scooped up a spoonful of cake, offering it to him in salute. “Well played.”
Just liking her wasn’t enough.
He had to love her enough to defy his family’s objections. Only then could he earn the right to be with her.
