The festival was indeed livelier at night than during the day.
All kinds of lanterns and streamers hung along both sides of the street, their warm yellow glow turning the entire street into a flowing river of light.
The smoky aroma of grilled meat, the cloying sweetness of syrup, and the fragrance of flowers filled the air, mingling into a scent unique to the nighttime festival.
Five people in the crowd, however, stood out thanks to their striking looks.
"Wow, those four girls are all so pretty!"
"And the guy in the middle is actually better-looking than me?!"
"I'm so jealous. He's surrounded by beautiful girls, but he still looks completely composed. If that were me, there's no way I could stay that calm."
What those people didn't know was that, although Greg looked perfectly calm as he walked between the four girls, every nerve in his body was stretched taut.
He wasn't nearly as happy as the people around him imagined. It felt more like he was surrounded by bombs that could explode at any moment, forcing him to stay alert in case one of their fuses suddenly caught fire.
But as time passed, something took Greg by surprise: their outing was unexpectedly peaceful!
Victoria and Lilith occasionally bickered, but their insults never went beyond things like "Your hairstyle looks awful today" and "Still better than that mess on your head." It never escalated into a real fight.
Although Juno kept pestering Vivian, Vivian simply endured it with an expressionless face and never truly lost her temper.
Greg couldn't help wondering, Was I really overthinking it? There are so many people here, after all. Surely they wouldn't cause trouble?
"Greg! Come look at this!"
Victoria's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
She crouched in front of a dough