Chapter 97
THE TWO OF THEM spent a long time with their heads thrown back, going “AAAH.” It was satisfying, but Jiang Cheng was starting to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen.
He quickly pulled out his phone. “Here, hold this position and don’t move.”
Gu Fei turned to him. “You’re taking a picture?”
“Mm. Don’t move. Look at the camera.” Jiang Cheng held his phone above their heads, and they both looked up at their faces on the screen. “Now go ‘AAAH’!”
Gu Fei laughed and started yelling with him again.
Jiang Cheng pressed the shutter. “Very good,” he said. “Ah, my neck is getting sore.”
“Fireworks.” Gu Fei kicked the plastic bag.
“Is Er-Miao brave enough to set them off?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“She doesn’t know how,” said Gu Fei. “You have to hold her hands and light it with her.”
“All right.” Jiang Cheng pulled out his pack of cigarettes. “I’ll do it with her.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Gu Fei handed Jiang Cheng the lighter he was holding. “You’re gonna let her light it with a cigarette?”
“…I forgot,” Jiang Cheng said sheepishly as he took the lighter from Gu Fei. It was a long-stemmed one he’d gotten from the store. “Come on, Er-Miao, let’s light it together.”
Holding her skateboard, Gu Miao squeezed in close to him. Jiang Cheng placed the lighter in her hand. “Hold down this part.”
He held down Gu Miao’s finger and they lit the lighter together. Then he took her hand and reached over to ignite the fuse.
“Okay, okay. It’s lit!” Jiang Cheng pulled her back a couple of steps.
The one they set off was a bundle of eight sticks, and though it wasn’t that impressive to see in broad daylight, Gu Miao still let out an excited whistle the moment the sparks flew out.
The bag of fireworks Gu Fei had brought with them wasn’t much, but Gu Miao wasn’t like the other kids when it came to setting off fireworks. Other kids liked to watch them go off one after another, in quick succession, but Gu Miao got so excited after each one that she would fly out on her skateboard and take a couple of laps around the area before coming back. And if someone was lighting firecrackers nearby, she had to go zoom through that cloud of smoke, too. It took almost an hour for them to finish setting off all of their fireworks.
“All right, we’re out,” Gu Fei said. “We’ll set off the rest tonight when it’s dark—it’ll look better then.”
Jiang Cheng was about to speak when across the smoke-filled street, from what felt as distant as the other side of the world, a voice called out, loud and clear.
“Feifei, Miaomiao, and friend from school, it’s time for lunch!”
“The fuck?” Jiang Cheng turned to stare at Gu Fei in shock. “Who’s that calling us?”
Gu Fei sported a complicated expression. “Who else?”
“Pony Boy?”
“…Your nicknaming speed is honestly kinda impressive.” Gu Fei sighed. “Come on, let’s go check out the guy’s cooking.”
“It’s ‘boy,’” Jiang Cheng corrected him.
“Boy,” Gu Fei repeated as he walked back.
“But he’s a boyyy. Why did he sound almost like a soprano just now?” Jiang Cheng was still having a hard time reconciling the boy with the voice. “I thought it was your mom calling you, Feifei.”
“Call me that again and I’ll smack you.” Gu Fei gave him a sideways glare.
“I dare you. Do it or I’ll revoke your citizenship.” Jiang Cheng was suddenly in a great mood. Though he could hardly see what was in front of him through all the smoke hanging in the air, the person he cared about most was by his side. They could go shopping together, set off fireworks together, and eat a New Year’s Eve meal together… He couldn’t help being in a great mood.
He skipped a little, took a big stride forward with his left foot, and landed in a lunge. With his hands on his hips, he started to shake his shoulders and chanted to some kind of beat, “Do it. Or I’ll revoke. Your. Citizenship.”
Gu Fei maintained a blank expression as he looked at him. After a few seconds, he turned and bolted away. “Run, Er-Miao! There’s a monster!”
As he ran, he let out a whistle. Gu Miao immediately kicked off on her skateboard and zipped after him.
Ponytail Guy made quick work of the cooking. By the time they returned to the store, there were already six dishes and a soup laid out on the table, and all of them were major dishes, too. He really was living up to his job description.
Judging by the types of dishes he’d prepared, he probably wasn’t a cook at an upscale joint, but still, the whole spread smelled delicious—it was making Jiang Cheng drool.
“You’ve worked hard,” Jiang Cheng said when he sat down.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s what I do for a living.” Ponytail waved off the compliment. “This is nothing.”
“I’ll go get some drinks.” Gu Fei’s mom ran to the shelves where they kept the alcohol and picked a bright red bottle of Jin Liu Fu baijiu. “This one looks fitting for the occasion.”
“Er-Miao, grab a bottle of something for yourself,” Gu Fei said to Gu Miao.
Gu Miao ran to the fridge, took out a can of beer, and turned to look at Gu Fei.
“…Sure,” said Gu Fei.
“Here, Miaomiao.” Ponytail pulled out a red envelope from his pocket. “Take this.” But Gu Miao didn’t look at him. She was focused on pulling the tab off of the can of beer.
“Er-Miao?” their mom called to her. “Uncle is giving you lucky money.”