Lianxin Festival

Standing in front of the restroom mirror, she fixed her hair and straightened out every edge and corner of her snow-white dress.

"Mom, I'm going shopping with Han Wenwen! When you get up, help me tell Maternal Grandmother!"

Aunt He was making breakfast in the kitchen. "Qingqing? You're not eating breakfast?"

"I'll buy something to eat with Wenwen! Bye, Mom!"

Little He Qing had already grown into a graceful young lady, the makings of a beauty gradually coming into their own.

Compared with the pure cuteness of a few years ago, the word "pretty" had finally begun to show on her face.

Of course, compared with her Bestie Han Wenwen, she felt she fell short in terms of beauty, because from the day He Qing met Han Wenwen, she had realized the other girl was growing more and more like a fox spirit.

It was just that Han Wenwen's face had none of that cuteness. Instead, there was an added touch of... an indescribable air. The two of them each had their own distinctive charm.

Little He Qing walked to the intersection to wait. Before long, Han Wenwen, wearing a fitted pink dress with her long hair draped over her shoulders, carefully snuck up from behind.

She covered Little He Qing's eyes from behind and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. "Guess who I am?"

Little He Qing's body stiffened in embarrassment, and she cried out, "Wenwen, why are you teasing me like this again?"

"You guessed right!" Han Wenwen covered her mouth and laughed, then tilted her head, blinking her Fox Eyes with a seductive look. "What's wrong with girls kissing each other? If I don't kiss you now, I won't get to in the future."

Little He Qing helplessly wiped her face and stared at her.

"What do you mean you won't get to kiss me in the future? Didn't you say you were going to the same middle school as me?"

Han Wenwen linked arms with He Qing. "That's right, I do want to be with you, but that's not what I meant. I mean, once you start going to school with that Childhood Sweetheart Brother of yours, what room is there for me?"

Little He Qing blushed and could not answer. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Han Wenwen asked, "Have you talked to him on the phone again lately?"

"No. Nothing much has happened lately, but after we finish visiting the Lianxin Festival today, I can call him."

The two best friends walked toward the market. "You're really diligent when it comes to him. The moment anything happens, you tell him. I'm so curious how handsome he has to be to have you this hooked."

Little He Qing muttered, "He's all right, I guess. He was pretty handsome when we were little, but I don't know what he looks like now."

"Huh? Don't you two call each other every now and then? You've never turned on video?"

"Ah, no, I haven't."

"I'm honestly impressed. You really are timid." Han Wenwen was stunned.

Ever since the two girls had met at school on that rainy day two years ago, Han Wenwen, in order to repay Little He Qing's kindness, would stay with Little He Qing whenever there was something like cleaning the classroom.

Even when someone spoke badly about He Qing, Han Wenwen would help talk back with her.

After all, Little He Qing's combat power was off the charts, and Han Wenwen was not afraid of making the other party angry.

And Little He Qing had always been the kind of person who repaid a drop of kindness with a gushing spring. No matter what Han Wenwen's purpose was in treating her well, treating her well was treating her well, so naturally she treated Han Wenwen well too.

And so the two of them gradually began spending every day together. After two years, they had already become best friends who talked about everything, and they had learned many things about each other.

When they arrived at the Lianxin Festival, it was incredibly lively.

The two best friends held hands or linked arms as they wandered happily from stall to stall.

When they reached a stall selling love letters, Little He Qing suddenly remembered something. "Wenwen, were there any boys confessing to you this month?"

Han Wenwen bent over to look at the envelopes, propping both hands on her knees. Every single one looked familiar. "Yeah. Maybe because of the Lianxin Festival this week, I found three in my schoolbag yesterday."

"Ah? Three? Did you read them all?"

Han Wenwen shook her head. "No. I can't be bothered to read them going on about how much they like me. I'm not interested in them anyway." She turned back curiously. "What, has your good big brother never written you a love letter?"

He Qing answered shyly, "What are you talking about? Actually, he and I haven't reached that point yet. I even feel like he might not know I like him."

Han Wenwen was speechless and rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Do you think boys are stupid? Though some of them are kind of silly, I don't think that good big brother of yours is an idiot."

"Mm, he really is very smart. He's good at everything."

The two of them wandered for half the day, from the foot of the mountain to the lower slopes. The place with the tree called the Heart's Desire Tree was halfway up the mountain, and it was also the liveliest spot of this Lianxin Festival.

Interestingly, when the two best friends were halfway there, several boys holding flowers suddenly appeared, as if they had been waiting there for a long time, and rushed out from the side of the road.

The boy in the middle held flowers as he confessed to Han Wenwen. He looked like a student from another school.

Little He Qing let out a long breath. Even she had grown used to it, let alone Han Wenwen.

Sure enough, Han Wenwen rejected him very playfully and directly. "Sorry, I don't like you. But you look pretty handsome. Maybe some other girl will like you."

After saying that, she even took a hair clip from her pocket and smiled. "Here, I've worn this before. I'll give it to you as a keepsake. We're going to keep shopping. Bye-bye."

That was how Han Wenwen was. Even when she rejected someone, she would praise them. Perhaps that was also why those boys still liked her even after being rejected.

At last, they arrived before the Heart's Desire Tree. This tall, majestic ancient tree was covered with wish Red Strings. When the breeze brushed past, the fluttering Red Strings were breathtakingly beautiful.

This was Little He Qing's first time seeing it, and her eyes widened, glittering with light. "It's practically the embodiment of romance. I heard that a thousand years ago, a couple was separated because of something, but after each of them tied a Red String to the tree, they found each other."

"There is a story like that. Did you bring your own Red String today?"

Little He Qing nodded and took a Red String tied with a strip of red cloth out of her pocket. "I brought one. What about you?"

Han Wenwen waved the string in her hand. "Of course I brought one too. Then let's find somewhere to write our wishes. I heard the success rate is higher if you write them on-site."

The two best friends went to an empty spot, squatted down, and wrote on them.

Little He Qing carefully wrote: "I hope I can meet him soon—and be together forever."

After she finished, she saw Han Wenwen biting her pen cap and staring into space. "Wenwen, you still haven't finished?"

"I'm thinking about what to write. I really haven't thought about what kind of boy I actually like."

Little He Qing chuckled, thinking, Every kind of boy has confessed to you before, and you didn't choose a single one. "Actually, I'm curious too."

"Oh, I've got it!" Han Wenwen picked up the pen and wrote on the Red String: "I want my future man to know what I want."

Little He Qing looked at it but didn't understand. "What does that mean?"

"It means I hope my future boyfriend is someone who can resonate with my soul."

As soon as she said that, Little He Qing suddenly burst out laughing, and Han Wenwen laughed too. The two of them leaned against each other, giggling and teasing.

Little He Qing covered her mouth and laughed. "It feels so literary."

They tied the two Red Strings to the Heart's Desire Tree, and the two Red Strings connected with the tree.

If you wrote on a Red String but didn't have someone you liked, you could collect a hand plaque beside it, and the plaque would show your future boyfriend's surname.

Han Wenwen casually picked one up. Written on the plaque was the character "Lin."

When Little He Qing saw it, she was pleasantly surprised. "Lin?"

Han Wenwen asked, "What's wrong? Don't tell me that dear big brother of yours is surnamed Lin?"

"Mm, his surname is Lin."

Han Wenwen linked arms with her best friend and raised the hand plaque high. "Then it looks like we really are Besties. Even our future boyfriends have the same surname! Tell me, could he be some younger brother of your dear big brother or something?"

The two best friends kept joking as they continued strolling hand in hand through the Lianxin Festival.

The two Red Strings on the tree twisted together in the wind, as if the wind had tied them into a dead knot.