Chapter Twelve: Romantic Fireworks

  At 7:30 in the evening, the school set off fireworks on the playground to celebrate its centennial anniversary. Li Han squeezed among the crowd, secretly gazing at Xia Meng, who was looking up at the fireworks with her head raised. She turned around and smiled sweetly, and suddenly, he lost his heart! That moment was frozen in time! From then on, he was indebted for this life, suffered for this world, and exhausted for years to come.

  So beautiful! Xia Meng exclaimed in her heart!

  The colorful and resplendent fireworks began to adorn the vast sky. The broad sky became a stage for the fireworks to show off their unique charm, various types of fireworks displaying their elegant figures in a wild and domineering manner, illuminating the dark night sky. Tonight's night will be very proud, because it finally has the qualifications to compete with daytime in terms of charm.

  The colors of the fireworks are like a thick, burning red sunset, some are as transparent and green as jade, some are as clear and blue as a cloudless sky, some are as pure and white as snowflakes, and so on. They come in all sorts of colors, dazzling the eyes.

  The shapes of fireworks are varied and beautiful, some resembling various flowers, such as chrysanthemums, roses, lilies, etc. Against the backdrop of a dark night, they slowly and shyly bloom. Looking up, it's as if they're dancing with elegant steps, floating gently, like flowers that can only be seen in dreams, breathtakingly beautiful; some are like waterfalls rushing straight down, like a brilliant silver river, shocking and impacting people's souls. Some are like dragons dancing vigorously in the air, swinging freely, vivid and lifelike. Some are like heavenly maidens scattering flowers, countless stunning flowers falling from the slender jade hands of the fairy, carrying fragrance, making people look on with rapt attention. Some are like lanterns floating gently from the distant horizon, red and fiery, with an endless divine charm.

  Endless beauty pours into the night sky, a beautiful picture like heaven. Fireworks, so beautiful, beautiful to the point of heart palpitations, beautiful to the point of being somewhat bleak.

  Heaven and earth are one at this moment.

  The night is boiling at this moment. The night is drunk in this second.

  Fireworks lit up and went out, went out and lit up again in the vast sky. The fireworks that burst instantly fell like tears, like a cold rain slipping down, filling the dusty ground, just like shattered dreams, making people's dreams disappear instantly.

  I wish to piece together the fragments, to form a complete dream for the already faded fireworks. I wish that the beauty of the fireworks could last for a very long time, long enough to warm up the chill of time, and use its released warmth to kiss away the vicissitudes of the years.

  Gazing at the fleeting shadows of fireworks, a thread of idle melancholy sprouted instantly, and Xia Meng's eyes suddenly became moist. It turned out that the moment when the fireworks fell would touch the heartstrings, causing pain to penetrate the marrow, leaving behind a sigh in the vast sea of people after the grand finale.

  Fireworks are beautiful, but they fade quickly and turn to dust.

  Are encounters and partings not like fireworks? Some people, in exchange for a fleeting smile, pour out their entire being, exhaust all their courage, lightly believing in the fate inscribed on the three-life stone. A moment of beauty may ultimately lead to a lifetime of desolation. And turning away might be an eternal farewell, forever a wound.

  Isn't a woman's beautiful face just like fireworks? So beautiful as if from heaven, stunning the world, beauty that transcends generations. Isn't her skin white as snow, isn't her figure outstanding, isn't she elegant and noble, isn't her temperament extraordinary, isn't her beauty just the radiance of youth in an instant? And yet we spend most of our lives with dull faces and worn-out complexions.

  Isn't human life like fireworks? A lifetime of hard work and struggle, tasting all the bitterness and sweetness, experiencing countless setbacks and hardships, crossing many swamps and thorny mountains, leaving behind only a fleeting moment of splendor and elegance, and only after falling will it become eternal, dwelling in the world.

  Fireworks lit up and went out, went out and lit up again, just like the changing of the seasons, the alternation of day and night, the flow of the sun, moon and stars, the changes of the ocean and the fields. It's more like the cycle of life, birth and death, never-ending.

  Just as Xia Meng fell into deep thought, unable to extricate herself, the phone in her backpack rang. She opened it and saw that it was a message from Zhang Li: "Xia Meng, I'm on the rooftop, waiting for you!" Xia Meng's face turned slightly red, she glanced around and found no one paying attention to her, so she squeezed out of the crowd and ran towards the teaching building's rooftop. Li Han thought for a moment, then quietly followed behind her.

  Zhang Li leaned against the railing of the rooftop, gazing at the blooming fireworks with a thoughtful expression. Xia Meng quietly appeared beside him, and Zhang Li looked at her beautiful and youthful face, her clear eyes pure and innocent, smiling gently. They exchanged a silent gaze for a long time. "Tonight, the fireworks are beautiful, but when I watch them burn out, why do I feel like crying? I inexplicably feel sad?"

  Xia Meng's eyes widened, "How? At this moment, we have the same feelings. Softly speaking: 'Zhang Li, beauty is so short-lived, life is also so short-lived, right? A fireworks display, half a lifetime of confusion, I'm afraid of this feeling, afraid of this burning. I'm afraid that life or love will be like these fireworks, after burning out, there's nothing left. I believe that having it plain and simple will make love more lively, slowly disappearing, I think this is also a kind of eternity. Zhang Li, what do you say?"

  Zhang Li nodded: "I thought that at this moment, only I was sad, and everyone else was having a great time!" "It turns out that we are the same kind of people!" The two said in unison, then looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Do you still remember the article about dreams that we wrote last time? We had the same dream, with the same scenes!" Xia Meng regained her usual lively demeanor, her eyes filled with joy and surprise.

  "Is it? College days?"

  "Really!"

  Zhang Li's smile deepened, "Speaking of dreams, I want to tell you a story that's like a dream but not quite!" Zhang Li paused for a moment before continuing: "In the second semester of my 6th year in elementary school, the Education Committee organized a math competition and required us to stay collectively at their guesthouse. The teacher arranged for me to stay alone in a three-person room. I chose the bed against the wall and fell asleep facing the wall. In the middle of the night, in a daze, I heard voices - one was a bright and cheerful girl's voice, and the other was a kind old lady's voice. The girl's laughter was like silver bells, with a magical power that made people drunk. I tried my best to open my eyes wide to see if it was just a dream or real, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open my eyes!"

  Zhang Li smiled and continued: "Don't laugh at me, this is the first time I've had such a strange feeling about a girl's voice."

  "Oh, what are the girl and the old lady talking about?" Xia Meng was also curious.

  "They were discussing math problems, about sheep eating grass and water flowing, haha, isn't it strange? The next morning, when I woke up, I found that the room had not changed at all from the day before!"

  "When is the math competition? What's the specific address of the Education Commission? Do you still remember which room it was?" Xia Meng asked, her face slightly changing.

  "Remember, it's April 6th, the address is xx Road xx number, I live in 308!"

  Xia Meng shouted out loud. "No way!" she exclaimed in surprise.

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Li hurriedly asked.

  At this moment, Xia Meng's mobile phone rang with a sudden and urgent ringtone. She picked it up to see that it was Li Han calling her.

  Xia Meng hung up, but didn't answer. However, the phone persisted in ringing. Xia Meng could only smile apologetically at Zhang Li and pick up the phone: "What's going on?"

  Li Han shouted anxiously on the phone: "Where are you? The League Secretary is looking for you! Said it's an urgent matter!"

  "I'm far away!" Xia Meng glared at Zhang Li, angrily shouting into the phone in a low voice.

  "The secretary is waiting for you under Teaching Building No. 1, it's an emergency!" Li Han shouted anxiously.

  "Summer dream, go!" Zhang Li urged.

  At this time, the fireworks were still crackling. Xia Meng came down from the rooftop and saw Li Han standing alone in front of the teaching building.

  "Where is the League Secretary?" Xia Meng asked.

  "Look up, look up!" Li Han urged Xia Meng.

  Xia Meng raised her head to see the fireworks blooming in the sky, and the campus night sky was rendered particularly striking and beautiful by the brilliant fireworks. Li Han said softly: "At this moment, the fireworks are happily blooming with their own beauty, their splendor, which is shining on each of us, including you and me. If there were no fireworks, how lonely would this night be? In the vastness of time and space, human life is so insignificant, why can't our short lives be more brilliant like the fireworks? Xia Meng, look, the dazzling fireworks almost lit up the entire night, see, these fireworks are blooming in front of us like stars, and then disappearing. Do you know, I don't want to miss, I won't be sad, I'm just full of hope, waiting..."

  Xia Meng glared at him, "What nonsense are you talking about? Where is the League Secretary?"

  Li Han's face turned sideways, and he said in a low voice: "She's gone."

  Xia Meng kicked him angrily. "Are you crazy?!", then walked quickly towards the school playground.

  Li Han hurried over with a big smile on his face. "The team leader was really looking for you! By the way, do you know? Our special collection for the school anniversary received unanimous praise from alumni and leaders! The principal agreed to publish a themed collection every quarter, and we've already got funding from alumni for our literary club! Oh, girl, the fireworks are over, let's go out for a midnight snack, I know there's a new dessert shop that just opened, authentic mango ingredients..." Li Han followed behind her, being overly cute.

  "Don't follow me!" Xia Meng glared at Li Han.

  "No way!" Li Han replied firmly. Several girls around discovered Li Han and pointed at him, "Hey, isn't that Li Han from Class 3 of High School Year 1? Who's the girl next to him?"

  Xia Meng worried that if she lingered with him in the crowd, it would cause trouble (in junior high, Xia Meng was slapped by a girl because she was suspected of being Li Han's girlfriend), so she quickly ran towards the school gate. Li Han smiled smugly and said, "Wait for me on the bridge, I'll go get my bike from the shed. If I find out you didn't keep your promise, tomorrow morning I'll...".