Chapter Eighteen (Part Two)

  Qin Mo was probably going to send me home, he walked in front of me, I followed behind him, everything seemed normal, but I always felt like I had forgotten something important, and my heart wasn't at ease. When we got to the hall, I suddenly slapped my forehead and remembered: "Oh no, I forgot I have a son!"

  Qin Mo turned around and said: "Lang Lang and Zheng Mingming are having a great time, when the time comes, Zheng Mingming will send him back."

  "I thought to myself: 'After all, she's also a star, you're letting her be Yan Lang's nanny, isn't that a bit inappropriate?'"

  Qin Mo said, "Nothing's wrong, let's hurry up." After finishing speaking, he grasped my hand and quickly walked outside. At this time, a loud shout suddenly came from behind: "Qin Mo, stop right there!" - Zheng Mingming.

  Qin Mo sighed and we stood still together.

  Zheng Mingming took two steps forward, grabbed Qin Mo's sleeve and said: "What are you doing with my umbrella and fireworks? The fan-given umbrella is fine, but return the fireworks to me. I had a hard time buying them and was planning to set them off by the river later."

  I looked down at the plastic bag Qin Mo was holding and said, "Fireworks?" Turning my head to ask Zheng Mingming: "Didn't you come over here to protest against one person bringing Yan Lang? Why do you have to set off fireworks today?"

  Zheng Mingming said with a curious tone, "What does this have to do with Xiao Yanlang? I just came over for the fireworks. Today is November 11th, Singles' Day, and on Singles' Day we must set off fireworks, it's tradition. A poet even wrote a poem specifically to praise this tradition, called 'Singles' Day, We Go to the Riverside to Set Off Fireworks', have you heard of it?"

  I quickly searched through my mind and shook my head, indicating that I hadn't heard of it. Qin Mo let go of my hand and sent a text message with one hand while holding the phone.

  Zheng Mingming sighed regretfully: "It's a great poem, you've never heard of it? Come on, I'll recite it to you."

  She cleared her throat: " Singles' Day"

  Let's go to the riverbank and set off fireworks together

  Fireworks are the tears that flow from the corners of the eyes of the mistress of the night.

  Bachelors are guilty of crimes against the balance of male and female ratio.

  Fireworks are so beautiful

  Bachelors are so tired

  If I were a firework

  I must

  Burn fiercely once

  Even if the big fire is flying around, even if it burns CCj □ j

  But I won't indiscriminately kill innocent civilians one by one.

  If I were a bachelor

  I must

  Write a letter to the People's Congress

  Request the meeting

  Or control the sex ratio or allow same-sex marriage

  But I won't because I don't have the conference-specified notebook with Hero Brand Blue-Black Ink.

  "This letter is doomed to be returned by the post office"

  "How's that? Did I write it well?"

  I thought the poem was really poorly written, but seeing Zheng Mingming's expectant gaze, I couldn't bear to disappoint her, so I just nodded vaguely and changed the subject: "Who wrote this poem?"

  "My idol is Tang Qi."

  Qin Mo pointed out incisively: "This Tang Qi is not suitable for eating the poet's rice bowl, if you want to know him, hurry up and advise him to change his career. He doesn't have the temperament of a poet, what can he do?"

  "He can write poetry, and he writes it very well."

  Qin Mo said: "Oh, so he can't do anything? Then it's suggested that he take the civil service exam."

  I think this is too vicious, from the body to the soul, insulting people, idols being insulted, Zheng Mingming will not let it go easily.

  Zheng Mingming indeed did not let it go, staring with a pair of eyes: "Return the firework to me now."

  Qin Mo held up his phone with a nonchalant expression: "I just left a message on your official website saying you'd be setting off fireworks by the river tonight. I reckon within 15 minutes, the Yangtze Riverbank will be swarmed with your fans. Are you still going to go?"

  Zheng Mingming bit his lip for a long time before blurting out a few words: "You're too despicable."

  Qin Mo smiled and said, "Too kind, too kind."

  And I suddenly realized that in this world, there are some people we should never try to offend for our entire lives, such as Hitler, Mussolini, Li Linfu, He Shen, Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei, Dai Li, and Qin Mu...

  Qin Mo didn't send me home, but instead sent me to T University. The two of us stood on the basketball court near the graduate student dormitory at T University, with nothing to say to each other.

  I guess he's going to exercise before bed, but judging from the volume of the plastic bag in his hand, it's unlikely that there's still room for a basketball after packing fireworks.

  There were only a few dim streetlights beside the basketball court, and the sky was drifting with fine rain. The nearby rain threads were empty under the lamp light. Under the farthest basketball frame from us, there was a pair of men and women practicing shooting. I said: "Why don't I call my classmate to borrow a basketball?"

  He waved the plastic bag in his hand: "Do you need a basketball to set off fireworks?"

  I'm stunned, unable to figure it out, and he actually comes to the basketball court to set off fireworks? He's already crouched down to take out a lighter and light one of the fuses, a long, drawn-out whistle pierces the air, a huge burst of flowers explodes in mid-air, like a green chrysanthemum.

  The couple practicing shooting hoops stood there in a daze, gazing up at the fireworks exploding above their heads. Their basketball rolled over to our side.

  Qin Mo picked up the basketball and threw it over, handing me a lighter: "You try too."

  I was thinking about whether there was a ban on fireworks in C City while I crouched down to ignite the lighter, but the basketball court was open on all sides and the flame went out as soon as it was lit. Qin Mo came over and carefully shielded the wind beside me, finally managing to light the fire successfully.

  In my memory, it was still before my mom went to prison that we set off fireworks at home during the New Year. It's been five years now. I'm a bit nervous, the flame licks up, and the fuse ignites quickly. Qin Mo pulls me back with one hand, and a burst of air rises, causing another shower of flowers in mid-air. He wraps his arm around me, leaning close to my ear: "When you light it, don't get too close." After a pause: "This kind of firework, I believe ordinary people won't get hurt, but you're hard to say." I react for two seconds in my head, realizing this isn't a good thing to say. I swing my heel and kick him hard, he grunts, and I stifle a laugh, turning around with concern: "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to step back and accidentally kicked you, really sorry!" He looks at me patiently, twitching the corner of his mouth: "You're not very generous." Rarely seeing him at a loss, my mood is pleasant, and I can't help but feel smug. I squat down and press hard on the spot where I kicked him, successfully hearing a hiss of air. I raise my head, pretending to be innocent: "Does it still hurt? Is it sore here or here? Does this part hurt?" After speaking, I press again, he squats down, staring at me intently, his eyes fixed on mine. As I look back, my smile freezes... He lifts up my chin, and his lips cover mine in a light touch before letting go. His eyes are filled with amusement: "I'm not very generous either, we're even."

  I wonder what's going on, why did I go and step on Qin Mo's foot, this is basically actively flirting with someone. As soon as the word "flirting" came out, I was shocked. After thinking for half a day, I came to the conclusion that everything is just instinct, it seems that I have great potential in playing tricks on men, I really don't know whether to be overjoyed or deeply saddened, this conclusion has left me speechless. And he had already gone to set off the remaining fireworks. After arranging them into a huge pentagon, he turned around and called out to me: "You're in charge of lighting these two, I'll light these three, let's finish off the rest at once and see what effect it has."

  As soon as he said that, I was filled with expectation and immediately forgot about my thoughts on flirting. I happily ran over to help light the firework. The whistling sounds before the fireworks exploded grew higher and higher, and the vast night sky suddenly became lively and extraordinary. Many graduate students from the neighboring building poked their heads out, and quite a few boys even started whistling. The sky was like a cluster of colorful clouds falling down, while the enthusiastic reactions of my classmates were as if stacks of banknotes were falling from the sky. This school had been too quiet for too long.

  I couldn't help but exclaim: "It's really beautiful! How much did it cost?"

  Qin Mo raised his head to gaze at the fireworks blooming across the sky: "Anyway, it's not our money you're wasting, don't be heartbroken." I also lifted my head to look at the fireworks: "Yeah, I'm not heartbroken. As long as it's not my money being spent, I won't be heartbroken."

  During my conversation with Qin Mo, the young couple who were playing basketball on the same court as us also moved over. The girl said, "Wow, how romantic!"

  "Hey, bro, that's quite something you've got going on there for your girlfriend! But I gotta say, before the school staff arrives, you two should make a quick exit. Getting caught isn't a big deal, just a minor write-up, but the fine is what you should worry about - and since there are two of you, that's double the penalty, not worth it!"

  I found this voice particularly familiar, turned my head to carefully identify the young man's face, in the flickering light of the cigarette, the young man took a step ahead and identified me: "Yan Song? It's actually you!"

  Just then, a particularly bright firework exploded above our heads. As I saw the other person's face clearly, I was also shocked and dryly greeted with a laugh: "Haha, old classmate, what a coincidence! I didn't notice it was you. Playing basketball in the rain with your girlfriend is really romantic, you guys go ahead and continue, go ahead!"

  The head nodded and waved her hand: "Don't get me wrong, my junior sister is taking the three-step shot exam tomorrow and came to ask for my guidance. But you, when did you have a boyfriend? Yesterday, a new classmate from the 'Music Voice' side was still asking me about you, how come you're hiding it, not introducing your boyfriend to me?"

  I hastily intercepted: "Not my boyfriend..."

  Qin Mo has stepped out of the shadows: "What is the sound of music?"

  The two of them, including his junior sister, suddenly widened their pupils and stared with round eyes. His junior sister was the first to react, exclaiming in a low voice: "Master Qin?!" I thought this matter needed to be explained clearly, just as I was about to continue and finish the last word of my previous sentence, I caught a careless glance from Qin Mo. Instantly, I recalled Zheng Mingming's tragic experience and felt that this might not be the best time for an explanation.

  Qin Mo stretched out his hand: "Qin Mo, Yan Song's boyfriend."

  Maybe it wasn't the best time for an explanation just now, but from this point on, I have a premonition that I will never have another chance to explain...

  It's already imaginable that the whole team will know about it tomorrow, and since our boss didn't adopt Yue Lai's beauty trick last time, they'll definitely bring up the old case again: "Song Song, in order to get Qin Da Shi to cooperate with our program with the greatest enthusiasm, we collectively made a wise decision - to send you to Qin Da Shi's bed..." I shuddered at the ominous wind behind my back.

  After a long daze, he finally stretched out his hand and shook hands with Qin Mo: "Li Jun, the person in charge of TTV's academic wide-angle column... and colleague Yan Song."

  Qin Mo let go of his hand, looked at me for a moment, and said to the head: "Song Song has been taken care of by you in school."

  Headmaster nodded and replied: "Oh no, no, Yan Song has always performed well at the TV station and is a role model for her classmates. Many teachers and students like to watch the programs she hosts."

  I stared at him speechlessly, and the only part of his sentence I dared to agree with was "where where". He really didn't take care of me anywhere. As for our program having many viewers, that's purely his own imagination.

  Qin Mo said: "Later on, Song Song will still have to trouble you a lot."

  "Don't worry, don't worry. I know you're busy with work and don't have much time to care about what's going on at Yan Song School. As her head teacher, it's my responsibility to take care of her growth in school. You don't need to worry too much."

  I couldn't get a word in edgewise and felt like I was witnessing a parent-teacher conference.

  The night sky had fireworks burning out, leaving only gray and white smoke and a strong smell of gunpowder. The black sky was even more quiet after the excitement. I calculated the time and expected that the school staff would soon appear on the scene, just like in Hong Kong police movies where the police always arrive late after all the fighting has ended.

  In an instant, a beam of flashlight suddenly lit up behind him. The school worker shouted: "Don't run!"

  I had already dragged Qin Mo for at least thirty meters, and he was still clearly not in the situation, fortunately his coordination was still very high.

  Next to the basketball court, there was a small grove of trees. I pulled him into it and hid behind a large tree. Tonight, there was no moon, the grove was too remote, and there were no streetlights, so it was pitch black everywhere, making people's hair stand on end. Qin Mo said, "Song Song..." I felt around and covered his mouth with my hand, using a low voice to say, "Don't speak yet, we don't know if the school worker has followed us." After waiting for a moment, no one came after us. His breath brushed against my fingers, like they had been scalded, and I quickly let go. Qin Mo reached out and rubbed my hair, and in this dark sky, he was actually able to accurately find my hair with one touch - what a master. He chuckled: "Tonight, I really am like a young punk."

  "Huh?"

  He said: "I never thought that in this life I could still hold a girl's hand and run wildly on the university campus," paused, adding: "Just to avoid the school worker."

  I suddenly realized that the person in front of me was already thirty-two this year. Thinking about his usual seriousness, it's actually a bit funny, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. His fingers slid down to pinch my cheek and pull it outward: "Huh? Still laughing."

  "Didn't you ever do something like this when you were young?"

  He put his hand on my shoulder: "Really haven't done it before."

  I comforted him: "It's nothing, you've done it tonight and your life is complete. However, setting off fireworks on the basketball court, those are the spray-flower type, you really are creative."

  He fell silent for a moment: "This seems to be your idea?"

  "Huh?"

  He slowly and calmly said: "I heard that someone's second greatest wish in life is for their boyfriend to set off half an hour of fireworks on the T University basketball court, and their first greatest wish is to have a statue of themselves standing in front of the T University Liberal Arts Library for people to admire?"

  I was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly remembered that I had indeed said something like this to Zhou Yueyue. It was an old story from the first semester of our graduate studies. Han Meimei used 100 candles to spell out a heart on the basketball court to confess her love to Lin Qiao, causing a huge stir on the campus BBS and becoming one of the biggest events at T University that year. The posts discussing this event were continuously pinned to the top by the moderators for three months. Female classmates were both condemning Han Meimei for embarrassing women and admiring her for successfully touching Lin Qiao's heart. Male classmates, on the other hand, had a simpler reaction, all thinking that Lin Qiao had gotten a great deal. Zhou Yueyue whispered in my ear, sighing about this event for half a day, saying that if there was a guy who could be so devoted to her, she would die happy, even if it were a girl, she would still agree to it. I thought she was really shameless and couldn't help but say: "Is spelling out a heart with candles on the playground considered devotion? If someone can set off fireworks on the basketball court for half an hour just for me, that's what I call devotion."

  Zhou Yueyue said: "Your request is too high, you have to lower your standards."

  I said: "This is already a lowered standard. The previous standard was to have a statue of me erected in front of the T University Liberal Arts Library for people to admire."

  As I recall this period of time, my heart is filled with a mix of emotions that are hard to distinguish.

  Qin Mo said: "Forget about having a statue of you in front of the library, I don't have that ability yet. For now, I can only take you to set off some fireworks and hide from the school workers."

  I feel a bit sour in my eyes, and the words that have been suppressed in my heart for a whole night finally burst out: "Qin Mo, you'd better not waste your time on me. Actually, we're not suitable for each other."

  He didn't say anything, the night was too dark, and I couldn't see his expression either.

  I continued: "You see, what do you like about me? I'm ordinary in every way and I have a child. My lifestyle has no overlap with yours at all, it's just going to class, working, and taking care of my skin. I think someone like me is more suitable for a widower with children, I'm not suitable for you."

  He still didn't speak. I plucked up the courage: "And, isn't your circle always having wine parties, golf, yacht trips, hunting and whatnot? I don't get it at all, taking me out would be embarrassing..."

  "He finally spoke up: 'A pleasure boat? Hunting? Where did you get these ideas from?'"

  I was stunned: "It seems that last week's debate between Tianya Shang Gongzi and Yi Xiaojie on the internet has been quite intense."

  His hand played with my hair: "Any other questions?"

  He interrupted my train of thought and for a moment I couldn't think of anything else to ask.

  "He said: 'So there's no problem? What you just said doesn't constitute a problem at all. You see, the two of us being together won't have any problems. Don't think about anything, I've already said it, we'll take it slow.'"

  I was completely stunned by his words and was lost in thought. He grasped my hand: "Alright, let's go home."

  The rain doesn't know when to stop, the moon peeks out from behind a cloud, and the sky is truly unpredictable. I gaze up at the moon in the sky, and suddenly have an ominous premonition, as if something unsettling is approaching step by step from ahead.

  The author has something to say: I finally made a debut in the mirror. About the letter specifying the use of ink at the People's Congress, it was all nonsense, don't believe it.

  Then, on behalf of everyone, I'd like to say that today's chapter is really substantial.