The song’s lyric went on in the background. “It had to be a special kind of fate to bring two people together and turn them into a family. He loves you a bit more, and you love him more in return. You’ve found happiness in each other. You’re no longer alone from now on…”
While the song played, Zhang Han did not intend to stay quiet.
“When I first met you, I was instantly captivated by your beauty. After that one accident, I kept thinking about it, about you. It was like a dream. But then my parents went missing and I was kicked out of the Zhang family. During that period of my life, I experienced darkness. Total darkness, where I couldn’t see any light at all.”
As he spoke, memories from those years flooded Zhang Han’s mind; from a larger-than-life young master, he became a suicidal man who lost his will to live. Those were dark, dark times indeed. As he spoke, Zhang Han’s voice had turned deep and laden with emotion. His voice brought a pang to Zi Yan’s heart, and she responded by tightening her grip on his hand.
“I’ve been through so much in the past five years.” The two of them had now reached the inside of the heart shape demarcated by candles. They were now facing each other, looking into each other’s eyes. “After that you came back with Mengmeng and step into my life once again. And when you did, it was like you had brought a spark of light back into my dark world. To be honest, I didn’t care much about you at first. But as we interacted and spent more time with each other, I slowly found you more and more beautiful, not just your physical appearance, but your heart and soul as well. Everything about you drew me to you.”
Zhang Han stopped talking, and in that moment, Zi Yan could really feel Zhang Han’s sincerity, which were radiating from the depths of his eyes.
A tremor coursed through Zi Yan’s heart right then as she was hit by a whole range of emotions: pain, anxiety, nerves, shyness, contentment, happiness… etc. It all confused her and overwhelmed her. But more than anything else in that moment, happiness and contentment prevailed.
Zhang Han picked up where he left off. “The truth is, Zi Yan, I love you. I’m saying this right now not just because you are Mengmeng’s mother but because I had gradually fallen in love with you. Also, thank you, Zi Yan. Thank you for bringing so much joy into my life. Without you, my life would be a dull and dreary place. But now, because of you, my world is beautiful.”
Zi Yan’s thin lips were now pressed into a thin line as she struggled to contain her emotions. She tipped her head up slightly and gazed at Zhang Han. Her eyes, huge and stunning, slowly welled up with tears. She was touched, and those were tears of joy.
“Well, of course, there’s another thing that I wish to say, and it’s got something to do with a tiny misconception that you have about me. The truth is that I never once looked down on celebrities.”
Zhang Han was now expressing his true feelings without holding anything back. There was a glint in his eyes as a result of the small amount of tears that had welled up there. It was a sign of emotion, of guilt, and of love.
“Which is why,” Zhang Han went on, “today, on your birthday, I’m going to sing a song just for you!” When he stopped talking, Zhang Han reached out his hand towards a small table beside him. There was microphone on the table, which he grabbed.
Whoosh…
The very instant Zhang Han picked up the microphone, something else happened. Bursts of light suddenly appeared all around them. It was an epic pyrotechnic display, made possible by the array of fireworks that had been arranged in a circle on the outer side of the candles.
The fireworks were all attached to some kind of automatic rotating device, which were now spinning around and spewing sparks all over the place. The result was a beautiful sight to behold.
“To You” reached its end, and another melody sounded in the speakers. This time, it was the accompaniment of a song. The moment she heard it, Zi Yan knew which song that was: “Just Loving You”.
“I’ve always wanted to tell you. You’ve given me unimaginable happiness, like an oasis in a desert. Say that you’ll be by my side forever, that you’ll be my roots and my wings. You let me fly and have a nest to return to. I am willing and able to give up everything for you without any regrets. Let us be together as we drift along the river of time. You must remember the way we love each other.”
Zhang Han’s voice was deep and powerful. As the lyrics spilled from his lips, his emotion-filled eyes were trained on her. Just like that, he conveyed the voice of his heart through the song.
Zi Yan was already transfixed right then.
She did not care one bit about Zhang Han’s singing skills, nor did she care about the candles all around them or even the fireworks. Then and there, all she saw was Zhang Han. Zhang Han’s singing voice gave the tears which had welled up in Zi Yan’s eyes the final push; soundlessly, they slid down her pale cheeks.
“I just love you and keep loving you, through sorrow and joy. When I’m with you, even the mundane becomes meaningful. I just love you and keep loving you, through sweetness and peace. That kind of feeling is you.”
As the song played, Zhang Li, Zhou Fei, Zhao Feng and the others found themselves completely blown away by what they were seeing. They were all stunned, and quite literally struck dumb. For a long time, they were unable to recover themselves from the wave of emotions that had hit them like a ton of bricks. Even Mengmeng was now staring at the scene wordlessly as if she finally had a little idea of what was going on.
“Wonderful. How absolutely wonderful. My brother has a such nice singing voice, doesn’t he? My brother finally created a family!” Zhang Li said with red-rimmed eyes. She was so glad for her brother right now.
Zhou Fei, too, was so touched that she was now in tears. “Elder Sister Yan is finally part of a happy family. This is just wonderful!”
It was safe to say that Zhang Li and Zhou Fei could really empathize with Zhang Han and Zi Yan, which was why they had both been moved to tears by the moment. Zhang Li knew just how much his brother had suffered in the past five years the same way Zhou Fei understood how her Elder Sister Yan had pushed through five years of hardship. Now, seeing both Zhang Han and Zi Yan happy together, Zhang Li and Zhou Fei felt happy from the bottom of their hearts.
A tiny smile tugged at the corners of Zhao Feng’s lips as he gazed at the two figures in front of him.
Perhaps the master and his wife could really love each other till the end of time, where the seas run dry and the lands crumble.
Meanwhile, the other two women, Li Anna and Luo Qing, were practically swooning over the romantic setting before them.
“God, Brother Zhang Han is so, so, so romantic,” Li Anna whispered.
Other than the few people in the group, more than 10 flying drones— quadcopters, really— hovered aloft the plaza. The drones were recording the entire scene on video from various angles. Then again, nobody really noticed the drones’ presence; Zhang Han’s romantic gesture was just too striking for anyone to notice other things.
Of course, it was not just them who could see the entire scene. A number of residents in the apartment building opposite had witnessed the whole thing as well.
If Zhao Feng and the rest turned their heads around, they would no doubt notice that a lot of people in the entire row of buildings opposite the plaza were now standing at their windows. Most of them had their phones out and were filming the romantic moment.
Again, if Zhao Feng and the others turned their heads around, they would also see that a neat crowd had already formed on the opposite side of the street. If it were not for the fact that the area around the plaza had been cordoned off by the traffic police— there was an officer stationed along the street every 10 meters or so— as well as the yellow police tapes blocking off the streets, the crowd would have definitely rushed into the plaza just to get a closer look.
Nevertheless, Zhao Feng was still able to hear the distant sounds of shrieks and cheers.
Of course, other than the crowd on the street, Sun Dongheng’s gang could see scene as well.
The ten or so people who had crashed Sun Dongheng’s party were now standing on the chairs near the ledge of the villa’s roof. Standing on tip toes, they were all gawking at the scene happening not far away.
“Holy sh*t! Surely, that’s going overboard! A love confession like this is so cool, right? Which girl could even resist something like this?”
“Oh, how romantic. I’m so envious.”
“…”
Voices of wonder broke out among the party-goers at Sun Dongheng’s place as they marveled at what was going on. Sun Dongheng stared at the scene for a while, and then his eyes brightened. He turned his head around to look at a chubby dude and said, “Hey, you have a pair of binoculars in your car, right? Go get it now! I want to check out the couple. Maybe it’s a handsome man and a beautiful woman. Hurry up. Move it!”
“But I’m not done looking yet,” the chubby dude mumbled softly before running quickly to the car park.
…
“Oh, together as time continues to pass. Please remember how much I love you. Oh, I just love you and keep loving you. Never abandoning you, never leaving you, no matter how much storm and rain we’re bound to face along the way. I just love you and keep loving you. Placing all my dazzling happiness right in the palm of your hands. Oh, I just love you and keep loving you.”
Slowly, Zhang Han was nearing the end of the song.
From the start till end, Zi Yan just stared at Zhang Han with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her gaze, filled with profound emotions, was fixed upon Zhang Han the whole time. She knew she should be smiling right now considering how happy she was. Still, her tears would not stop flowing simply because this idiot had finally confessed his feelings to her and had done it in a way that would make her swoon, no less! She loved it, the whole Prince-Charming-confessing-his-love-through-a-love-song thing.
Zhang Han began singing the final verse of the song.
“I just love you, and keep loving you. I want to be with you. I just love you, and keep loving you. I want us to be together. I just love you, and keep loving you. I want it all.”
Zhang Han deep voice had brought out the deep emotions of the song and had made Zi Yan experience the profound feelings of love that he harbored for her.
When the song ended, Zhang Han stared at Zi Yan who was standing in front of him. He knew he could pull the beautiful woman into his arms right about now!
So he stretched out his arm invitingly and wrapped them around Zi Yan’s body, pulling her snug against his chest.
Right then and there, Zhang Han could feel his pulse picking up pace slightly. At the same time, he felt a sense of peace washing over him, a feeling of warmth and contentment.
Home!
This felt like home, a home that was whole and complete. This was how a complete relationship should be.
Zhang Han spoke into Zi Yan’s ears with trembling voice. “Zi Yan, I love you. Will you accept me and be with me? Let us make a complete family together. Let me protect you for the rest of your life. I’ll make you the happiest woman in this world. I’ll hold your hand and together, we will spread our wings and soar into the sky. I’ll never abandon you, ever.”
This was the first time Zhang Han had ever felt like this. It was true that he had dated other women before. But he was now absolutely certain that Zi Yan was the woman whom he would spend the rest of his life protecting.
Zi Yan’s tears spilled down her cheeks in torrents.
Inside Zhang Han’s embrace, Zi Yan fought against the lump in her throat and said, “I promise. I promise to be with you. I love you, Zhang Han. I love you, too.”
Kaboom!
It was like their two hearts had come together in this moment to form a whole.
Once they were spoken, those words were like part of a vow; it marked a new beginning where Zi Yan and Zhang Han belonged to each other.
Clang!
The microphone that Zhang Han had been holding in his right hand dropped to the ground noisily.
Their embracing arms slackened and they pulled away slightly from each other. Zhang Han tilted his head back, creating a little bit of distance between their faces. His eyes found Zi Yan’s once more; the love contained in them was obvious to see.
Zi Yan had an inkling of what was about to happen.
She stared into Zhang Han’s eyes unblinkingly. Even her tears had stopped flowing.
Zi Yan saw Zhang Han slowly reaching up with his right hand. Moments later, he was swiping away the tears at the corner of her eye. There was a smile on his face, one filled with warmth, adoration and tenderness. Slowly, he brought his face closer to hers.
Zi Yan’s mind went blank as she stared vacuously at Zhang Han’s approaching face.
He got nearer.
Even nearer now!
Finally!
Thus began the kiss that was a long time coming, one that carried the weight and promise of love.
Zi Yan felt her body shuddering the moment her thin lips touched Zhang Han’s.
Her eyes slowly widened. For a while, she stared tenderly at Zhang Han’s face. Then, she slowly closed her eyes again.
The kiss went on and Zhang Han’s arms tightened around her. As if having a mind of their own, Zi Yan’s arms snaked around Zhang Han’s neck. Like so, the two of them were locked in a tight embrace as the bliss of their shared kiss intoxicated them!
Meanwhile, behind the kissing couple, Zhao Feng, Zhang Li and the rest were wearing smiles on their faces.
Further behind, a chorus of cheers erupted among a number of people who were watching from afar. A lot of them were able to relate to such sentiments of love, and from the bottom of their hearts, they wished the greatest happiness for the couple standing inside the heart shape.
“About damn time, hahaha.” Zhou Fei laughed. She felt the urge to open her arms wide and start spinning around. Still, that was not an option, considering the kid she was currently carrying in her arms.
Speaking of the kid?
How come she was so quiet?
Lowering her head, Zhou Fei realized that Mengmeng was gawking at the kissing couple, the ice cream in her tiny hand completely forgotten.
“Oh, hey. That’s embarrassing. Mengmeng shouldn’t look,” Zhou Fei said, covering Mengmeng’s eyes with her hand.
The kid, on the other hand, had other ideas.
She lifted her small palm and slapped Zhou Fei’s hand away.
A pout formed on Mengmeng’s lips and she pointed her a finger at the kissing couple in front. “Me too! Me too!” She said in her childish voice.
Apparently, the kid had come to the conclusion that something about that image was not quite right. There was PaPa, and also MaMa. But it was still missing another person: her!
Well, luckily, the next “stage” of the plan would successfully divert Mengmeng’s attention.
The long kiss had stopped Zi Yan’s tears. Streaks of crimson crept up her cheeks.
The kiss only ended when Zi Yan found herself near the point of suffocation.
Their faces separated from each other. Once again, Zhang Han was gazing at Zi Yan’s face with a dopey smile on his face. Heck, he was pretty sure he was drooling at this point.
Zi Yan’s beautiful eyes were sparkling. Her gorgeous lips parted to reveal her perfect teeth. “Idiot!” She said in an affectionate tone.
“Hahaha…”
Zhang Han burst into laughter. Then, he wrapped his arms around Zi Yan and began spinning her around in circles.
Zi Yan bent her legs at the knees slightly and cling on to Zhang Han with both arms wrapped around his neck. Just like that, Zhang Han spun her around in circles.
After God knew how many rounds, Zi Yan was starting to feel dizzy. “Hey, I’m dizzy. Put me down,” Zi Yan grumbled into Zhang Han’s ear.
Zhang Han stopped spinning and laughed. “Dizzy already?” He asked, staring at Zi Yan’s face.
“A little,” Zi Yan said with a light shake of her head.
“Don’t pass out yet,” Zhang Han said. Then, he flashed a cryptic smile at her. “Show’s not over.”
Zi Yan’s beautiful eyes gleamed slightly. She gazed at Zhang Han intently. “What else do you have planned?” She asked excitedly.
Was the surprise still ongoing?
Then, Zi Yan saw Zhang Han raising his right hand slowly with his index finger pointing upwards.
A split second later, she heard a cacophony of noises coming from the building in front.
Right then, she saw that the lights— normal lights this time— of every room in the building as well as every house in the vicinity switching on, which made the area in the plaza slightly brighter.
But that was just the beginning.
Moments later, huge balloons were released from the ground surrounding the plaza.
Countless balloons rose from the ground into the sky in a packed and uniform manner. The whole image looked like a vivid and lifelike piece of art.
Zi Yan was in for yet another surprise when the balloons climbed to about the seventh floor.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
All of a sudden, the legion of closely packed balloons burst.
“Ah!” Zi Yan suddenly screamed in shock.
Never in a million years would she have thought that the insides of those balloons were filled with flower petals. When several hundreds of balloons burst simultaneously, the rose petals contained inside them got scattered into the air. Slowly, countless rose petals rained down from the sky.
It was a shower of roses, literally.
At the same time, the spotlights surrounding the plaza flicked on; beams of lights shone into the sky, illuminating the falling rose petals.
It was like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. Any woman would feel delighted at such a sight.
“Oh, how pretty! It’s really beautiful,” Zi Yan said, staring at rose petals in the sky which were falling down like snowflakes.
It was an enchanting sight to behold.
Zi Yan spread her arms open and began spinning around in front of Zhang Han, looking extremely joyful.
Zhang Han found himself rooted to the same spot, watching her with tender eyes.
Every pair of eyes that were watching the whole scene were now filled with awe. The residents of the apartment building opposite who had been watching everything from their windows had now begun shouting.
“Holy sh*t! Seriously taking it this far? If this video goes viral, how is a love veteran like me ever going to survive in the sphere of love! All those love declaration schemes of mine are sh*t compared to this. Woo…”
“Putting flower petals inside balloons? D*mn, just imagine the effort that must’ve taken. Who on earth is that big wig down there?”
“Humph. See? Look at how romantic he is. Then take a look at yourself. Do you know what you did when you declared your love for me? You gave me a bouquet of flowers and that was it!”
“Oh, come on, honey. You can watch but please take it with a grain of salt. Do you know how much all this will cost and how much planning and coordination is needed to pull this off? How can anyone even afford huge romantic gestures like this. For a small-town guy like me, it’s the sincerity that counts. Sincerity!”
“Humph. Men, so typical!”
“…”
No matter what kind of debate the scene had incited, the undeniable fact was that it had shocked everyone to their cores.
Then again, beautiful scenes like this only last for a short while. Very soon, the rose petal all fell to the ground.
Although there were no longer any petals in the air, the entire plaza was now covered in a layer of roses!
Zi Yan took in the layer of rose petals that covered the ground. She looked at Zhang Han with joyful eyes and said, “They’re really beautiful!”
Zhang Han smiled and said, “Do you like it?”
“Oh, I love it! So much!” Zi Yan answered.
Right now, she was just like a teenage girl, smiling innocently and with extreme joy.
The smile remained on Zhang Han’s face as he shook his head. “Ah, but the show’s not over yet.”
“There’s more?” Zi Yan asked incredulously. Right now, she felt as if she had just swallowed a whole tub of honey; her insides were filled with sweetness.
“There is,” Zhang Han said, nodding his head. Then, he took two steps forward and reached out with his right arm to wrap it around her slender waist.
That was, in fact, a cue for Instructor Liu.
On the eighth floor, Instructor Liu’s eyes went wide when he saw the cue.
His face suddenly turned serious as he pressed a button on his walkie-talkie.
“Fire!” Instructor Liu’s loud yell sounded in the eerily quiet room.
Beside him, Ah Hu and Elder Meng nearly jumped out of their skin. “Holy mother of…”
“Hey, instructor, will you just chill? Godd*mn it, you nearly gave me a f*ck*ng heart attack!” Ah Hu said, patting his chest.
The show began the moment Ah Hu finished speaking.
Whoosh!
A salvo rang out from all around the plaza.
Following that was the ringing sound which typically accompanied the rising of a firework.
Boom boom boom…
Fireworks of various shapes and sizes lit up the night sky.
Was this what the Chinese called “the blooming of a hundred flowers”?
In that moment, it would probably not be too far off to claim that this pyrotechnic display had illuminated the entire New Moon Bay!
“Ah…”
Zi Yan released a soft scream. Mouth agape, she stared stupidly at the exploding fireworks in the sky. After a while, she cast a sweet glance at Zhang Han before tilting her head sideways so that she could lean her head on Zhang Han’s shoulder. Then, she kept watching the fireworks show, a show that was solely hers.
Before the first round was over, another salvo sounded.
Whoosh!
A second round of fireworks rose into the sky just as the first round ended. The newly released fireworks picked up where their predecessors had left off and exploded in the sky.
The whole show was like a roller-coaster of excitement, peaking immediately when it reached its trough and vice versa.
This time around, it was safe to say that the entire show had stunned and shocked a sh*tload of people.
In that moment, the pedestrians all over New Moon Bay halted their steps to look up at the sky.
Even those who were playing around in the plaza had temporarily abandoned the toys in their hands to turn their eyes skywards.
On the streets, cars were pulling over to the roadside; everyone, drivers and passengers alike, poked their heads out the car windows to look at the sky.
In that moment, everything went into a standstill. Regardless of how busy people were, everyone stopped their activities just to watch and appreciate the ongoing fireworks show.
A sense of peace washed over the entire New Moon Bay.
However, as people continued to enjoy the show, doubt and confusion soon filled their hearts. “Since when were fireworks allowed in New Moon Bay?”
“What kind of situation is this? Aren’t fireworks prohibited in this area?”
Not only in New Moon Bay, but even the people staying near the borders of Zhu Keng District were starting to raise questions.
“Which VIP is having a celebration?”
To everyone, that was a no-brainer. All of them knew that anyone with the guts to put on a large-scale firework show in New Moon Bay must be someone with a lot of influence and power!
At the same time, the 10 or so people in Sun Dongheng’s villa were also getting riled up.
“Fireworks! Holy cow! What a high-end show!”
“This is really pretty. So damn beautiful.”
“Man, what a huge show this is. It’s actually the first time I’ve ever seen something like this in New Moon Bay!”
“How about it, brothers?” Sun Dongheng said as he recorded everything on his phone. Even he had felt a little bit shocked when he caught a glimpse of his screen just now.
Three million viewers?
Never in a million years would he have thought that he would attract that many viewers in such a short amount of time. Seeing the steady climb of his viewership, Sun Dongheng was so happy that he nearly started performing backflips in the air.
“This is my first time going live, and yet I somehow ran into this long and drawn-out show. It’s rare to see a normal firework show in New Moon Bay let alone something this big. I mean, having a large-scale firework show like this in New Moon Bay is really a first. Do you guys think that they made it so epic precisely because I’d gone live?” Sun Dongheng mused.
Bullet screen:
“Quit being so shameless!”
“Stop f****** around and watch the show!”
“…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fine, I’ll stop talking now. Well, enjoy the show everyone. I’ll give out more red envelopes later if I have a good time. But for now, let’s just watch the fireworks. Come, come, come. Give me the binoculars.” Sun Dongheng took the device from his friend. “I want to see which VIP is putting on this show. Who knows I might even know them.”
Sun Dongheng stopped talking and held the binoculars to his eyes. Then, he began adjusting the binoculars’ focal length. Aiming the binoculars towards the plaza, he could vaguely make out two human figures. In fact, the two figures seemed very familiar to him!
Huh?
A loud thud shook Sun Dongheng’s heart.
He quickly readjusted the angle of the binoculars and began glancing at the vicinity of the plaza. He thought he could see Zhao Feng and the others nearby, though he could not be sure. But when he saw the two dancing figures of Dahei and Little Hei further behind, he froze instantly. He remembered the gorilla that Brother Feng had once told him about.
This time around, the truth had surfaced.
“F*ck*ng hell!”
Sun Dongheng yelled loudly, “That looks like my boss!”
“Hey, that’s my boss!”
“F*ck!”
In an instant, Sun Dongheng became riled up; his entire face was now red.
“My boss is awesome! Awesome! Awesome!”
“This show is f*ck*ng awesome! Just epic!”
Right now, Sun Dongheng looked like a deranged fanboy. His behavior made the ten or so people in the villa abandon the fireworks show; all their eyes were now on him instead. Some of them had wary looks in their eyes, while others seemed surprised.
Sun Dongheng released several belly laughs and glanced at screen.
Like a hot-blooded teenager, he yelled, “Isn’t my boss a total badass? Ha! He’s a f*ck*ng badass, I’m telling you! Do you know how many years it has been since the last time there was a firework show around here? But now look at this grand show today! Now do you yield to me?”
Bullet screen:
“He’s nuts. One of them has gone nuts!”
“Yo, big brother, chill out!”
“We yield. But then what does the show have to do with you?”
“Haha. What’s it got to do with me? He’s my boss!” Sun Dongheng laughed again. “I told you guys ages ago. Now, do you see? My boss usually keeps a low profile. But if he really lets lose, epic things will happen. This whole show is my boss’ idea of celebrating his wife’s birthday. Cool, isn’t it?”
Bullet screen:
“Yeah, it’s cool. But again, what does that have to do with you?”
Sun Dongheng yelled, “F*ck my life for having friends like you guys. No more red envelopes, then!”
Bullet screen:
“Oh, sure, sure, sure. It’s got everything to do with you! Your boss is a total badass! You know what? It sounded even more badass when you’re the one saying it!”
Back to the plaza, behind the spot where Zhao Feng and the rest were standing.
It was Dahei’s first experience with a firework show. Although it had seen it before in movies, seeing the real thing was a far better experience.
Which would, of course, explain all that dancing and gamboling.
Then, it stretched out its two arms and began clapping to the fireworks’ rhythm.
As Dahei clapped along excitedly, it started laughing as well. “Ha, ha, ha…”
Meanwhile, Little Hei was no longer its usual reticent self. It raised its snout into the air and released a long howl.
“Ow…”
It was like Little Hei was trying to match Dahei’s excitement. It almost seemed like the two Heihei powers had good chemistry with each other.
