Fireworks Display

"Fireworks? What are those?" Qian Renxue tilted her head as she looked at Li Qing. "Are they some kind of flower?"

Li Qing gazed at the starry sky. The countless stars reflected in his eyes, making his gaze seem even deeper.

"Fireworks are a kind of very beautiful flower. They bloom in the pitch-black night sky. The dark heavens are their stage, and the bright stars their adornments. When fireworks bloom, even the horizon becomes dazzling..."

Longing filled Qian Renxue's eyes.

Seeing her reaction, Li Qing was delighted. As the saying went, everyone loved beauty. Li Qing had described fireworks so brilliantly, and they were something Qian Renxue had never even heard of. How could she not be curious?

"Do you want to see them?"

"Yes!"

"Then come here again at this time tomorrow. I'll take you to see the fireworks, alright?"

Qian Renxue looked at him and hesitated for a moment.

Seeing her reaction, Li Qing was immediately overcome with deep disappointment.

It seemed he had still been too rash, overestimating the relationship between them. In her eyes, he was merely someone with a bit of talent.

"Alright!"

Qian Renxue's crisp voice rang out like wind chimes stirred by the breeze outside.

Li Qing immediately beamed with joy.

That night, Li Qing did not meditate to cultivate his Soul Power. A day was very short, and he could not guarantee that making fireworks would go smoothly. To put on a perfect fireworks display for Qian Renxue, Li Qing had to seize every minute and every second.

Before this, Li Qing would not have dared claim that he could definitely make fireworks. But now, he had successfully produced gunpowder, one of the crucial ingredients for making fireworks, so the difficulty had decreased considerably.

The principle behind fireworks was the Flame Color Reaction of metals. Flame Color Reaction was one of the few high school chemistry concepts Li Qing still remembered.

Since he often showed off his understanding of the principle whenever setting off fireworks during the New Year, it had naturally left a deep impression on him.

That night, starlight favored the diligent...

That night, bursts of explosions constantly rang out from that nameless mountaintop...

That night, Li Qing was not the only one unable to sleep...

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was noon. Although Li Qing had yet to make his ideal firework shell, after a night and a morning of experiments, he was confident he could finish it before that evening.

At the same time, while the fireworks display was important, cooking food for Qian Renxue was equally important.

Li Qing realized that he had gradually come to enjoy making food for Qian Renxue. Especially when he saw the happy expression on her face as she ate, Li Qing could stay happy for the entire day.

Of course...

So could a certain man old enough to be Li Qing's grandfather.

Besides the usual dishes, Li Qing also planned to make Qian Renxue a cup of milk tea today. He had already made it for Xiao Wu, Tang San, and the others. He could hardly leave Qian Renxue out.

Giving everyone equal treatment was the proper thing to do.

Besides, milk tea carried such wonderful memories for young girls. Li Qing wanted Qian Renxue to experience that beauty properly as well.

Li Qing did not ask for anything. He simply hoped that Qian Renxue's youthful memories would not consist solely of political schemes, nor only memories of living as someone else.

He wanted Qian Renxue to have the beauty that belonged to her own youth.

An hour later, Qian Renxue lifted the cup in her hand and took a light sip. At once, a happy smile appeared on her face...

After lunch, Li Qing continued developing fireworks without pause.

Two hours later, Li Qing, his face blackened and his hair blown into a wild mess, held the round firework shell in his hand and laughed foolishly. He laughed with great happiness.

However, one firework shell was not enough for a fireworks display. Li Qing immediately put the shell into his Storage Ring and began making more.

By the time the evening glow descended and the sun set, Li Qing had made more than a dozen firework shells one after another.

He had not expected that the first use of the gunpowder he made would not be for weapons, but for a fireworks display.

Time slowly passed. Soon, the sky turned black once more. A crescent moon hung high overhead, while the stars around it blinked endlessly.

"Uncle Jian, where is Li Qing? Didn't he say he was going to show me fireworks?" Qian Renxue asked when she saw Wu Jian alone.

Wu Jian smiled. "Saintess, Li Qing asked me to tell you to wait at the original place."

"Alright." Qian Renxue frowned slightly. "Who knows what that guy is up to again."

As he watched the figure leaning against a rock, Wu Jian's eyes filled with heartache. A bitter smile appeared on his face, yet within that smile seemed to be a trace of anticipation.

What exactly was he anticipating?

Wu Jian sighed. Then, a ripple of Soul Power emerged from his body, and in the next moment, he vanished.

When he appeared again, he was beside a youth with a pitch-black face. If not for the white teeth revealed when the youth opened his mouth, he would have been difficult to spot in the darkness.

That was right. The youth who had blended into the night was Li Qing.

"Are you really not going to watch the fireworks with the Saintess?" Wu Jian looked at Li Qing, who sat before the long tube, and asked.

A hesitant expression appeared on Li Qing's face. "Forget it. I won't go."

Li Qing had, of course, very much wanted to go, but after a full day of experiments and countless explosions, his face had unexpectedly turned pitch-black—so black that he could have hidden in a pile of coal and no one would have found him.

What was even more miserable was that the black stains left by those explosions would not wash off for the time being.

At the thought of Qian Renxue seeing his face like this and doubling over with laughter, Li Qing could not help shaking his head.

What was this fireworks display for?

Of course, it was to leave Qian Renxue with a beautiful memory of her youth...

Ahem...

Of course, there was also the tiny little reason of leaving a good impression on Qian Renxue.

So if Li Qing appeared before Qian Renxue now, would that not greatly lower his impression score in her heart?

How could that be acceptable!

Although he would miss this fireworks display, there would still be another chance. He could not let this performance leave a stain on Li Qing—a literal stain.

"Alright, then."

Seeing how resolute Li Qing was, Wu Jian stopped trying to persuade him.

Wu Jian had witnessed the entire process of Li Qing making the fireworks shells, and he knew exactly how many failures Li Qing had endured before finally succeeding...

Moreover, he had done it all for Qian Renxue. Unknowingly, Li Qing's image in Wu Jian's heart rose by several more points.

Even the way Wu Jian spoke to him became a little gentler.

Li Qing took out a fire starter. A faint breeze passed by, making that flicker of flame burn brighter.

The fireworks display was about to begin...