Chapter 29: Watch My Fireworks
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After a chaotic ordeal filled with mishaps and near disasters, the photograph was finally taken without anything going seriously wrong.
Fu Xiaotao let out a long breath of relief. She looked as though she had just finished running a marathon. Wiping nonexistent cold sweat from her forehead, she said, “Good grief, taking a photo is seriously hard work. It’s even more exhausting than solving a difficult math problem.”
Having said that, she dramatically collapsed onto the ground as if she had used up every last ounce of strength.
Lin Siqing, meanwhile, was like a prisoner who had just been pardoned. He instantly broke free of his rigid pose and began stretching his limbs as he complained, “That was practically a nightmare. My handsome image has been completely ruined. How am I supposed to show my face around campus now?”
His deliberately aggrieved expression made everyone snicker.
Fu Siqiao immediately hurried over to Fu Xiaotao and stared curiously at the camera’s display. Her eyes glittered with anticipation. “Xiaotao, let me see how it turned out! Did I look really stupid when I smiled?”
She looked like a child waiting to open a present, brimming with delight yet tinged with a hint of nervousness.
Xu Zhixing maintained her usual elegant composure as she slowly approached and said softly, “No matter how it turned out, this will still be a one-of-a-kind memory for all of us.”
Her words were like a spring breeze gently brushing across everyone’s hearts, warming the once-boisterous atmosphere.
Zhang Chenxi sidled up to Fu Xiaotao and said with an exaggerated wink, “I told you my eye for talent was flawless. With Lin Siqing’s sourpuss face in the picture, it’s bound to be more distinctive. We might even win a campus photography creativity award.”
The moment Lin Siqing heard this, he shot Zhang Chenxi a glare and pretended to hit him. Zhang Chenxi hurriedly ducked behind Fu Siqiao and begged for mercy with a grin. “Qiaoqiao, save me! The Bitter-Melon Hero is about to lose his temper!”
Fu Xiaotao rolled her eyes at them and rose with a laugh. “All right, all right. Once I get home, I’ll retouch the pictures properly. I guarantee I’ll turn every one of you into an outrageously handsome guy or gorgeous girl. But retouching these photos will be no easier than taking them all over again—especially certain people’s expressions. They’re practically disaster sites.”
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Lin Siqing.
Lin Siqing gave an indignant snort. “That’s called being authentic, all right? Those influencer faces are the truly dull ones—every single one exactly alike.”
Everyone burst into laughter again.
At that moment, Jiang Chaozhou quietly remarked from the side, “Actually, the way we all prepared for the photo was pretty amusing too. No matter how the picture turns out, the process itself is something we won’t forget.”
His words left everyone silent for a brief moment. Then they all nodded in agreement.
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Fu Xiaotao patted Jiang Chaozhou on the shoulder. “At least you understand what really matters, Brother Chaozhou. Once the photos are developed, I’ll put them up on our class honor board so everyone can see what a bunch of lovable oddballs we are.”
Zhang Chenxi immediately jumped up in protest. “On the honor board? Then my glorious image will be on display for the entire school! Absolutely not. I still need to rely on my good looks to make my quiet rounds around campus.”
Fu Siqiao laughed. “Stop flattering yourself. Maybe everyone will be so overwhelmed by our beauty and handsomeness that they’ll come begging for our autographs.”
While they continued bickering merrily, their laughter and chatter crackled through the air like popcorn popping.
Xu Zhixing, however, was like an elegant white swan. She had already glided away from that noisy flock of ducks and taken her place off to one side.
She stood there quietly, as graceful as a delicate ink-wash painting, in stark contrast to the clamor around her.
Jiang Chaozhou noticed the opportunity and hurried over to her. With a trace of shyness on his face, he stammered, “Th-thank you.”
He looked like a young actor making his first appearance onstage, so nervous that he had no idea what to do with his hands and feet.
Xu Zhixing merely gave a slight nod and said nothing.
She understood perfectly well that Jiang Chaozhou was thanking her for always taking care of his sensitive, self-conscious feelings.
After all, his family was poor, like an old garment washed so many times that its color had faded. His shabby circumstances were obvious to anyone with eyes.
At this school full of wealthy children, he was like a little sparrow that had somehow wandered into a flock of peacocks, always carefully concealing his inferiority.
Fu Siqiao did not notice the subtle atmosphere between the two of them. Like a little elf waving a magic wand, she excitedly swept her hand through the air and called out, “Xu Zhixing, come set off fireworks with us! Look at that Lin Siqing—he’s practically turned the fireworks into a shower of sparks. We can’t let him beat us!”
As she spoke, she mischievously stuck her tongue out at Lin Siqing.
Lin Siqing was having the time of his life. Holding a sparkler, he looked like a swordsman brandishing a blade, tracing dazzling arcs of light across the night sky.
Hearing Fu Siqiao, he did not even turn around. “I’m showing you amateurs what real fireworks artistry looks like. Watch and learn.”
He was so smug that he seemed to believe himself the greatest fireworks master in the world.
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Fu Siqiao’s enthusiasm finally infected Xu Zhixing. The corners of her lips lifted into a faint smile, and she walked over with light, graceful steps.
The moment Fu Siqiao saw her approach, she thrust a sparkler into her hand. Then, like a professional fireworks instructor, she said solemnly, “Miss Xu, our campus beauty, you have to give it your best. In your hands, this sparkler simply has to shine with an extraordinary brilliance—just like you, dazzling onstage.”
Xu Zhixing let out a soft laugh and chided her, “Stop flattering me. I’m not nearly that impressive.”
Despite her words, she still raised the sparkler elegantly, her posture resembling a dancer performing a silent routine.
The sparkler slowly came to life in her hand. Golden sparks danced around her like lively little spirits.
Jiang Chaozhou stood nearby, staring fixedly at Xu Zhixing, his gaze seeming glued to her.
Bathed in the glow of the fireworks, she looked dreamlike and impossibly beautiful, and he could not help but become captivated.
Fu Siqiao noticed his foolish expression and secretly giggled. Then she suddenly slapped him on the shoulder and teased, “Handsome Jiang, you’re practically drooling. Are you dazzled by the fireworks, or have our campus beauty stolen your soul?”
The sudden slap startled Jiang Chaozhou. His face instantly flushed crimson, like a perfectly ripe apple.
He awkwardly scratched his head and stammered, “I…I was just watching the fireworks.”
His transparently guilty denial sent everyone into another round of laughter.
Watching the scene from the side, Lin Siqing could not help laughing as well. He shouted, “You lot, stop fooling around over there! Watch me set off a truly spectacular firework.”
With that, he lit a huge firework tube.
With a sharp whoosh, the firework shot into the night sky like a rocket. Then, with a deafening boom, it blossomed overhead into an enormous flower of many colors, illuminating the entire sky.
Everyone was captivated by the magnificent sight. They all tilted their heads back and cried out in amazement as their earlier laughter and playful antics were temporarily replaced by the beauty of the fireworks.
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