Yu Yuan walked slowly, leading Ji Yu away from the noisy crowd.
He brought her to a quiet bridge by the lakeside, where the lights and laughter of the festival seemed so distant. For a long moment, he just watched the crowd dancing and singing, until he finally sighed. Standing behind Ji Yu, he gently smoothed down her hair, which had been tousled by the night breeze.
"Mm…"
Feeling the warmth of another person again, Ji Yu turned and leaned into his chest like a child who had lost her sense of security, sobbing silently. Yu Yuan stroked her hair and looked up. Above, the night sky seemed to have fallen into slumber, yet the pale moon still intruded upon this dreamlike silence.
"…Sorry. Your birthday—I couldn't really celebrate it with you…"
It was midsummer.
The moon shimmered across the rippling lake, stars scattered above like spilled ink, while laughter and cheers pushed the night wind across the water, stirring waves that broke the moon into countless fragments.
Ji Yu stepped back, taking off the jacket and handing it back to Yu Yuan. She wanted the cool breeze to wake her, even if the chill only served as an excuse to cover her fragile state.
The moonlight fell faintly, as if afraid of intruding. The dim glow revealed the delicate figure of the girl standing by the bridge, breathing slowly, eyes fixed on the reflection in the water.
"…Do you know why I asked you out yesterday?"
Yu Yuan's voice carried a quiet chill in the dim light. His warm hand pressed lightly against her back, lending her a sense of safety in the cool night.
Ji Yu didn't turn to face him. Her gaze stayed on the moon rippling in the lake. Soon, the cheers from afar rolled like waves across the water, drowning the moon's reflection.
Shua—
Unlike the still lake, the city behind them erupted in fervor. Fireworks, applause, cheers, and music lit up the night. From plazas to markets, from high-rise balconies to crowded bridges, people opened windows, lifted cameras, and recorded this moment of midsummer joy.
"I know Tang Li. I know his temper, his personality. As long as you're around, he'll always come to you."
Yu Yuan turned his gaze to the roaring plaza. The jacket still hung on his arm, untouched. His pale silver hair, his habitual sneer—it was his last bit of defiance against this noisy city.
"It wasn't hard to guess. You skipped my invitation—of course it meant he'd come find you tonight. If our 'coincidental meeting' was just your first day here, then the reason he avoided you until now was simple: he already had someone new. School's out. Summer break is long. You two are in the same city. How could he not have time for you?"
"Sure enough, tonight he showed up with his girlfriend. And you, instead of coming with me, ran straight into this mess."
Ji Yu listened quietly, following the direction of the crowd, her heart slowly piecing together Tang Li's actions.
"Today isn't my birthday. And it isn't a day for you and Tang Li to 'reunite.'"
"I asked you yesterday because I didn't want you to end up like this—humiliated. If you had chosen not to meet him tonight, then you wouldn't have had to admit it to yourself. Admit that you do, in fact, like Tang Li."
Her head lowered, Yu Yuan's words dug into her heart like a wound—not fatal, but lingering, stinging whenever touched. Just like Tang Li himself: always there, yet never fully hers.
"…Yesterday you asked me if the person who stays by your side the longest is the one who understands you best. I lied."
"Being by your side doesn't mean they truly understand you."
"People lie. People use others. Even those closest to you might treat you as a tool, a bargaining chip, to get what they want."
"So, Ji Yu… What is Tang Li to you? A friend? A backup? A lover? Something you think belongs to you by default?"
His voice stayed gentle, but the questions cut ice-cold.
Ji Yu nodded absentmindedly, though it wasn't clear if she truly understood. The sight only deepened Yu Yuan's frustration.
Time slipped by with the breeze. Ten o'clock.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Small fireworks shot into the night, bursting with faint light. Ji Yu raised her face, her voice trembling—
"I thought about it for so long… and finally, I get it."
"I'm selfish. Maybe even self-serving. I care too much about how others see me, and I take for granted that the ones who treat me well should always be that way…"
Her fingers parted, moonlight and sparks spilling through the gaps.
"…Is it true? That the one favored always ends up unloved?"
"Am I… just that unbearable?"
Cheers filled the night sky. Fireworks blazed, smoke rolled, yet under the dazzling colors, Ji Yu's smile bloomed again. She turned back, wearing her usual lively mask. Behind her, fireworks blossomed, as if echoing her heartbeat.
This feeling of entitlement.
This pain of letting go.
She could neither confess nor explain.
In this world, there was no restart button, no way to reload the script and undo a missed line.
Beneath neon lights, she looked like any other girl—bright in appearance, but hollow in her gaze. In this city of dreams, she should have been surrounded by love and laughter, but all she had was loneliness.
"…It's already ten. Senior, can you walk me home?"
As if nothing had happened, Ji Yu sniffed, shivering in the night wind. Her shadow wavered under the streetlamp, swallowed by the dark like a beast.
The fireworks above seemed all the more precious in the suffocating night. Yu Yuan understood her thoughts from that dim smile, and he smiled too—bitter, regretful.
Human joys and sorrows are never truly shared. Behind them, the city feasted, laughed, and sang, while Yu Yuan followed Ji Yu's lonely back into the dark.
The wind blew, cold enough to make her shiver. The city glowed with countless lights, illuminating the faces of people smiling with ease. Yet for her, all that remained was regret and the sound of her own quiet sobs.
"…Ji Yu? Your mom was just about to call you. Didn't expect to find you here."
She turned.
And there, at the edge of the light, stood her family—waiting silently for her to come home.