Ch16 - Rings

Editor: MinMin

Proofreader: DarkSapphire

After visiting the mountain top, Bai Xi and Qi Xun went down in a cable car.

They did not go anywhere in the afternoon, just strolled around the town. Bai Xi played with the cat in the coffee shop all afternoon.

The evening arrived, and they went to the town square to wait for the performance. According to the event page, there should be a fireworks display before the show.

Percy has seen fireworks many times, domestic and foreign, from school evenings to playground performances, no matter how strange they are, they have lost their freshness. But in this ancient town far away from the urban area, among the mountains, rivers and seas, watching the lights blooming like flowers in the valley, there is still a kind of movie-like romance.

Bai Xi had seen fireworks many times- at home and abroad, from school parties to amusement park performances. No matter how different they were, they already have lost their freshness. But in this ancient town far from the city, in the middle of Mother Nature, there was a kind of romance that existed only in film, watching the lights bloom in the valley like flowers.

There was still some time before the performance began. Qi Xun went to buy him milk tea.

He sat on the stone bench beside the square and looked around aimlessly in the crowd. As soon as his gaze went up, he saw the girl he had met in town yesterday. She was wearing a bright red down jacket today, making her eye-catching as she stood by the masses.

He waved at her to say hello. The girl ran over, saw he was by himself and asked, “Why is it only you, where is your friend?”

“He’s gone to buy me milk tea.” He replied while sending Qi Xun a WeChat message on buying one more milk tea.

She uttered an “Oh”.

She was anatural socializer, so she had chatted with Bai Xi for a long while yesterday, yet she was not as interested today.

Looking at Bai Xi with some envy, she asked, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I actually wanted to ask this yesterday. Are you two together?”

Bai Xi didn’t expect that he and Qi Xun would be exposed to this easily.

But he didn’t hide it and nodded.

“Yes, he is my boyfriend.” He said this with a smile.

“That’s so nice.”

The smile on her face was a little sad. She looked up at the pitch black sky.

“You two look so good together. I want to be in a relationship too.” She sighed.

She sat on the bench and swung her legs. Her fingers unconsciously clicked on the button on her phone to wake it up, and it quietly showed the locked screen before it timed out, turning black again.

Bai Xi could clearly see that her locked screen wallpaper was a boy’s profile.

The girl obviously said nothing, but as someone with a six-year experience as a secret admirer, he was keenly aware of what he saw.

“Then do you have someone you like?” He asked softly.

She nodded in response.

She played with her phone anxiously, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Actually, today is my birthday. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to confess to the person I like, but I was afraid of saying it in person. I just wanted to say it on the phone.” , but when things came to a close, I still didn’t dare to make a phone call.”

She fidgeted her phone, hesitated before sharing, “Today is actually my birthday. I wanted to take the chance to confess to the person I like. But I knew I would chicken out face to face, so I decided to confess through a phone call. And when the time arrived, I still didn’t have the courage to make the call.”

She also didn’t know why she was telling Bai Xi all of this.

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She looked at the crowd in distress.

The person she liked was not among them, but she wanted him to be there, also not there.

He knew this feeling all too well.

Smiling, he suggested to the girl, “It doesn’t hurt to try. I was also a coward who didn’t dare confess. I was so afraid we won’t even stay as friends afterwards.”

As he said these things, Qi Xun walked through the crowd towards them.

In the bustling sea of people, Qi Xun was like a walking beacon, he could easily attract attention wherever he went.

Bai Xi raised his chin towards Qi Xun and said to the girl next to him, “He is also the one I have a crush on. I have had a crush on him for six years and have never confessed to him. If it weren’t for some accidents, maybe we would still be just friends now.”

Bai Xi raised his chin to Qi Xun and said to the girl beside him, “He is also my crush. I’ve been secretly in love with him for six years and never confessed. If it was not for an accident, maybe we’d still be friends.”

“But this chance allowed him to learn my feelings,” He continued softly, looking at Qi Xun with gentle and bright eyes under the night sky. “Look at him now, now he is the best boyfriend in the world.”

At least in his heart.

The girl widened her eyes and felt it was incredible. She thought Qi Xun was the one who confessed based on their earlier meeting.

Qi Xun stopped in front of them and handed the milk tea to Bai Xi and the girl.

She didn’t expect she would be getting one, so she politely said, “Thank you.”

Since Qi Xun was back, she wasn’t interested in being alight bulb, so she stood up from the bench.

She raised her milk tea towards Bai Xi. “Thank you for listening to me vent. I’ll think over carefully about what you said. Since I need to prepare myself, I won’t be disturbing you two.”

Bai Xi smiled and gave her a good luck gesture.

But before she left, she glanced at Qi Xun and happened to see his unkind expression towards her, her eyes suddenly curved upward.

She stooped close to Bai Xi and whispered, “Your boyfriend must really like you now. He was staring at you constantly yesterday. It was ridiculous! It was like he was afraid that someone would abduct you. So I thought he was the one who pursued you first.”

When she finished, she ran away with a chuckle.

Like yesterday in the maple leaf forest, they didn’t exchange names or WeChat contacts.

It was just a one-time stranger coming together by chance. The two strangers had a short mutual understanding and would never see each other again after brushing against each other’s shoulders.

Qi Xun sat down next to Bai Xi, frowned and asked, “What did she say to you? Acting so secretive.”

Bai Xi looked at him while biting his straw.

He didn’t expect that he and Qi Xun would be like that in other people’s eyes.

He smiled with his eyes, looking like a shy fox. “I’m not telling.”

Qi Xun frowned deeper, but seeing the man dead set on keeping the secret, he did not push on the topic.

At eight o’clock, the performance in the square began as scheduled.

First was the fireworks. Countless fireworks bloomed in the winter night sky, dispersing the bleak scene.

In the middle of the mountains, the forest, and laughter—the fireworks’ “Whoosh” sound echoed.

There were also different kinds of lanterns lit in the square, as it matched a verse in a poem:Phoenix flutes chirped as lights whirled beside the dancing fish and dragon lanterns throughout the night.

Bai Xi followed Qi Xun and moved to a higher place. He stood on the bridge and watched the dance performance in the center of the square. The dancing skills could not be said to be very superb, but the girls’ skirts and makeup faces reflected the surrounding lights, which was indeed like a dream. , like a demon in the mountains, sneaking into the world at night.

Bai Xi followed Qi Xun to a higher ground and stood on the bridge, watching the dance performance in the middle of the square. The dancing skills were not superb, but the ladies’ skirts and makeup blended in with the surrounding lights. They were dreamlike, like seductive demons that lurked in the mountain and sneaked into the human realm at night.

He wanted to talk to Qi Xun but found that the other man wasn’t watching the performance. Qi Xun looked down at his hand.

At the ring around his middle finger to be exact. It was the small silver ring he bought this morning.

He asked strangely, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Xun grabbed his hand and rubbed the silver ring, then asked, “Didn’t you buy the couple ring this morning? Wasn’t the other one for me?”

The deep voice wasn’t loud, but it entered Bai Xi’s ear crystal clear along with the night breeze.

Startled by the question, his mouth was slightly open. He didn’t know what to say. He did not expect Qi Xun saw him when he bought the rings this morning.

“Dong” A sound echoed from the square, the drums added to the dance. The drums beat in a fortissimo and allegro spirit, partnering with the dancers and shifting the gentle dance to a powerful one.

He gazed up at Qi Xun. The cold breeze blew back Qi Xun’s hair and revealed a pair of clear eyes, which flickered with the fireworks and reflected his feelings.

Bai Xi’s heart burned hot as he clumsily took the second ring out of his pocket. The ring was no longer ice cold because it had been hidden in his pocket all this time.

“It is for you,” He explained hastily. “It’s just…it’s just I didn’t get a chance yet.”

It was an ordinary small silver ring. It was unfit and unequal to Qi Xun’s millions of yuan watches.

When he put the ring on Qi Xun’s finger, his heart was beating so loud that it seemed to mute other sounds around him.

The thump was so loud and fast that every beat hammered against his chest.

He had always felt that his current relationship with Qi Xun was a driftwood floating on the water tied to a rock with a reed. It could break away from a blow of the wind.

Qi Xun was not with him because of love.

He knew this very well.

So he decided not to be greedy.

These were days that he had stolen. He counted each passing day and profited on each additional day.

But it had been more than a month since they started their relationship. The blade hanging above his head had not dropped yet. Instead, it turned into a spring rain, which nurtured the seed in his heart, helping it slowly sprout until it gave birth to a small courage, enough for him to hope this relationship would stay eternal.

He put the ring on Qi Xun’s middle finger.

He often wore casual clothes, which were not lofty. But Qi Xun, an elite class who dressed impeccably, looked out of place.

Despite this, Bai Xi’s heart was filled with happiness.

He put his hands together with Qi Xun’s. The duo wore the same ring on their fingers. The chubby little carp bit the pearl as they became a pair. It was really a good omen, like what the owner said.

He restrained his pounding heart and said to Qi Xun as calmly as possible, “It does not suit you. I will give you a new one in another style later.”

Qi Xun met his eyes and said, “Okay.”

Then “Boom”, another fireworks exploded in the sky, and the girls dancing in the square blossomed like flowers, then scattered silk flowers and colourful paper confetti into the crowd.

Bai Xi checked the date on his phone. Today was December seventh.

It was also the forty-fifth day since they started dating.

He and Qi Xun held hands as they stood in the crowd, just like every ordinary couple.

As soon as the fireworks ended, Qi Xun held him in his arms and wrapped him in his coat. The two watched the smoke drift to the earth.

.

The duo stayed in the town for two days. On Sunday afternoon, they drove back home.

The maple leaf forest had not fallen yet. It was as warm and fiery as their state when the couple first arrived, but in a few days, it would dye the entire ground red.

When they left, it started to snow.

There seemed to be more snow this year than in previous years.

Bai Xi covered himself in a small blanket he took to use when he fell asleep in the car later. Since it was hot inside the car, he wore only a blue shirt with an open collar.

He glanced at the passing scenery outside the window.

Compared with the other tourist attractions he had visited, this ancient town was nothing but ordinary, but he was slightly reluctant to leave.

He hummed a song. This song was written by Liang Song and his high school band. It was called ‘Eavesdrop’ and was written for his girlfriend at that time.

Later, although Liang Song’s relationship with his girlfriend withered into yellow, his friend kept the song.

Bai Xi didn’t remember most of the lyrics, but the only one he remembered deeply was ‘Loving you like silent snow falling, a reason that wasn’t needed’.

The author has something to say:

Pine Nut Tea: When I was writing this, I researched the meaning of wearing a ring on the middle finger—it means in a relationship.