Chapter 22.

*When the sparkler burns out, I will stop liking you.

Yu Shitian worked quickly. Under Yu Luoyin’s 'coercion,' she groggily rubbed her eyes in the middle of the night and, muttering complaints, contacted someone. The bracelet was easy to obtain, but getting the limited edition was a challenge.

However, Yu Shitian had her ways, and she handed the item to Yu Luoyin early the next morning.

"Cousin, I know you bought this to please your girlfriend, so you better thank me properly." Yu Shitian hummed, waving the black card in her hand in front of Yu Luoyin and said coquettishly, "I had to contact several sisters in the middle of the night to get it for you. I'll be keeping this card for now."

Yu Luoyin didn’t deny the 'pleasing girlfriend' part and simply took the necklace, saying, "Whatever."

He looked anxious, grabbed the coat hanging nearby, and put it on as he walked out, stuffing the bracelet box into the coat pocket and taking the car keys from the table.

Watching her cousin, dressed in a long, knee-length dark gray coat, leaving hurriedly like a distinguished young noble from 19th-century Europe, Yu Shitian couldn’t help but marvel.

Holding the warm cup of tea beside her, she sipped and wondered: what kind of girl could make someone as proud as Yu Luoyin so attentive?

Yes, the keywords Yu Shitian thought of were 'proud' and 'attentive.'

She understood the structure of the Yu family. Her uncle, Yu Yuan, was the head of the family, and as his only son, Yu Luoyin was the sole legitimate heir to the family business, Fengyang Group.

And everyone in the Yu family accepted this—each person had their role and responsibilities.

Yu Shitian and Yu Shiqin, as children without inheritance rights, saw this clearly.

Their uncle had expanded the family business significantly, and naturally, the inheritance rights belonged to Yu Luoyin.

The Yu family had been properly educated for generations, avoiding disgraceful internal conflicts.

Yu Shitian, at a young age, understood that her role in life was to be a 'decorative vase.'

She didn’t want to do anything else and aimed to live a carefree life without financial worries.

But Yu Luoyin was different; he was raised as a true 'heavenly prodigy.'

As the only son of Fengyang Group's head Yu Yuan and Professor Gu Yuan of the Academy of Sciences, Yu Luoyin seemed born with a silver spoon, groomed as the heir from a young age.

He had to master everything, whether he was good at it or not, whether it suited him or not.

While he was the object of many people's admiration, the pressure he bore was unimaginable.

Growing up, Yu Luoyin seemed free, but he was always like a branch in a vast, invisible glass box, pruned by experts when it grew too long.

For example, Gu Yuan, fearing he would neglect his studies, imposed strict academic standards on him from primary school, where he had to be in the top three of his grade or face silent cold treatment.

Thus, Yu Luoyin’s grades never fell below the top three, and once forced learning methods became a habit, studying became effortless for him.

This was how a habit was formed.

Yu Yuan also feared that their only son, spoiled by others' adoration, would become arrogant and unrestrained. Hence, he set strict rules for him.

For instance, unlike other wealthy second-generation kids, Yu Luoyin didn’t spend extravagantly because Yu Yuan strictly controlled his finances to prevent insatiable desires.

He also avoided other vices common among rich kids, like luxury cars and watches.

Yu Luoyin had none of these bad habits.

Gu Yuan and Yu Yuan's strict control created a fusion of discipline and high academic achievement.

This made Yu Luoyin, compared to the ostentatious rich kids flaunting their wealth, seem more like an ordinary student.

He was outwardly elegant and gentle, not stingy with smiles, though his gaze could sometimes be icy.

Only those who truly knew Yu Luoyin understood he was the most unapproachable person—aloof and distant.

Hence, Yu Shitian was curious about the kind of girl who could make someone like Yu Luoyin so anxious and willing to buy gifts to appease her.

In her memory, Yu Luoyin had never tried to please anyone actively, let alone so urgently.

There might be a good show to watch.

Yu Shitian’s beautiful eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Driving to pick up Bai Xunyin, Yu Luoyin occasionally tapped his long fingers on the steering wheel, frowning at the red lights.

Inexplicably, he felt uneasy, though he couldn't pinpoint why.

Thinking it over, it was probably because Bai Xunyin had been too 'cold' these past few days.

But it was ridiculous for him to be unsettled by someone else’s actions.

While waiting for the traffic light, Yu Luoyin took a deep breath, commanding himself to calm down.

His education had always emphasized—never let others see your true thoughts; your outward expression should never reveal your inner emotions.

Yu Luoyin was accustomed to living with a 'mask.'

He was used to effortlessly discerning others' thoughts and controlling them...so his recent inability to 'control' Bai Xunyin made him uneasy.

However, things should still be under control.

As the green light turned on, Yu Luoyin turned the steering wheel, expertly driving into the alley leading to Bai Xunyin’s residential area.

From a distance, he saw the girl waiting for him under a tree through the car window.

Outside Bai Xunyin’s old residential area stood a huge locust tree, seemingly fully grown, towering over several buildings and providing ample shade in summer.

Compared to the tree, the girl appeared as delicate as a leaf, a small part of the vast world.

She seemed to have dressed up, her long hair, usually in a ponytail or loose, was now braided into a loose fishtail braid. She wore a creamy white woolen coat, her tiny face pale and exquisite, resembling a cup of cold milk tea.

In the quiet, chilly surroundings, she seemed lonely and fragile.

Yu Luoyin frowned, honking the horn to break the amber-like stillness—satisfied as Bai Xunyin looked up at him.

When Bai Xunyin's tea-colored eyes met Yu Luoyin's pitch-black gaze through the car window, there was no ripple of emotion. She simply followed his gaze and walked over.

Quietly, she opened the passenger door and got into the car.

Inside the car, the silence was so profound that it almost froze the air warmed by the heater.

Yu Luoyin watched the girl's serene profile. Unconsciously, he toyed with the car keys in his long, slender fingers, slowly clenching them.

It had been a few days since they last met, and the girl hadn't even given him a smile.

Yu Luoyin's refined eyebrows furrowed slightly, but after a moment, he composed himself and smiled as he asked her, "How was your New Year?"

Bai Xunyin turned her head to look at him, her tea-colored eyes meeting his. It was as if she could see into Yu Luoyin's heart.

"What's wrong?" His eyebrows raised slightly. "Do I have something on my face?"

In reality, "the face reveals the heart" was all a deception. As long as the act was convincing enough, the exterior facade would not change due to inner desires.

If Bai Xunyin hadn't overheard Yu Luoyin say those words, "a bet, little mute, tired of accompanying her," she might still have naively believed in him.

After all, Yu Luoyin was truly a born actor.

Bai Xunyin smiled faintly and took out her phone to communicate with Yu Luoyin: "[Do you need something from me?]"

"You mean I can't find you unless I have something to discuss?" Yu Luoyin chuckled discontentedly, reaching into his coat pocket and tossing a delicate box to Bai Xunyin. "Happy New Year."

Bai Xunyin looked at the exquisite blue box on her knee, the English letters 'Tiffany' embossed on it. She knew what it was.

Lowering her eyes, she opened it to find a dazzling bracelet lying on black velvet, even looking at it... was dazzling.

"Do you like it?" Yu Luoyin's fingers unconsciously tapped the window ledge of the car rhythmically, casually asking, "It's a New Year's gift."

"[I like it.]" Bai Xunyin mechanically replied, raising her gaze to look at him, then typing again: "[But I didn't prepare a gift for you.]"

"No need." Seeing the girl returning to her usual "gentleness," Yu Luoyin smiled lightly, paused, and said again, "How about you let me help you put it on? Consider it my New Year's gift from you."

See how good he was at coaxing people?

Bai Xunyin stared into Yu Luoyin's eyes, her lips slowly curling upward as if saying 'okay'.

It turns out that acting and deceiving people were such enjoyable things. You knew in your heart, and you watched others expose themselves in front of you without defenses, like a little ugly...

No wonder Yu Luoyin liked deceiving her so much, acting 'sincerely and earnestly.'

Allowing the slender fingertips of the young man to pass lightly over her fair wrist, Bai Xunyin did not resist and gently snapped it on.

The wrist was bright and shiny, like some kind of shackle.

Yu Luoyin breathed a sigh of relief, slightly squinting his eyes as he looked at her, "School starts tomorrow."

So, let's go on this date today.

Later on, Bai Xunyin didn't remember what they experienced so hastily today—although it was their first 'date.' Without being cautious, they could be unrestrained.

But 'fake' things are just fake. No matter how beautiful they were at the time, they couldn't leave memories for people after they knew the results.

Just then, they were like ordinary seventeen or eighteen-year-old couples. They ate, watched movies, and spent time very quickly.

Bai Xunyin cooperated like a ghost until the night fell. When they came out of the square in the city center, they lifted their heads and found that the stars seemed to finally dare to peek out from the clouds of Lin Lan.

In this city, stars were rarely seen. Every time they were seen, they were cherished as if they had won a lottery.

Bai Xunyin squinted her eyes, staring blankly for a long time. The bright dark sky, like fireworks.

"[Yu Luoyin.]" So Bai Xunyin couldn't help smiling and sent him a message on WeChat, the first time she had taken the initiative to ask, "[I want to set off fireworks.]"

"Fireworks?" Yu Luoyin was surprised, turning to look at her, "What kind of fireworks?"

"[That kind of sparkler.]" Bai Xunyin looked up at the stars in the sky, squinted, and slowly replied, "[Like those stars.]"

Yu Luoyin stared at the information on the screen for a long time before slowly turning his eyes to the fair, delicate profile of the girl. Bai Xunyin looked up at the stars, innocent and pure, like the little girl he had seen when he was a child, simply wanting to light sparklers.

Well, it's rare to have such childlike innocence. Why not have a good time?

Yu Luoyin decisively took Bai Xunyin's wrist and walked hand in hand in the splendid night scene that was as beautiful as a painting. Their slender and delicate figures complemented each other.

"Alright, sparklers." Yu Luoyin took Bai Xunyin through a maze of alleys, so narrow that even a car couldn't enter.

There was a row of storefronts—fireworks stores with everything you could imagine.

He walked in, selected almost every variety of handheld sparklers, and bought them all, with the shopkeeper smiling and giving him a lighter.

In the darkness of the alley, Yu Luoyin lit the sparkler in his hand, and the flame quickly ignited between the two.

The light in the darkness was beautiful and dazzling, but equally short-lived. It was fleeting.

Bai Xunyin watched the sparkler in his hand and smiled sincerely for the first time today.

The corners of the girl's lips were slightly curved, like two dimples emerging faintly under the light of the sparkler.

Yu Luoyin looked at her in surprise, feeling that he was once again getting to know Bai Xunyin.

Receiving this 'gift' of sparklers, she seemed happier than receiving the Tiffany bracelet.

At the same time, his phone in his pocket buzzed. It was Bai Xunyin asking him on WeChat:

"[Yu Luoyin, can you keep this sparkler forever?]"

Yu Luoyin raised his head in confusion to look at her.

In the bright tea-colored eyes of the girl, there seemed to be a trace of indescribable sadness, like the color of fireworks.

"[Can you make time stop at this moment?]" His phone kept receiving messages from Bai Xunyin, and in Yu Luoyin's bewildered gaze, the little mute smiled faintly, finally sending one last message: "[When the sparkler burns out, I won't like you anymore.]"

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