After Ye Heng left, Tang Jiang teased Sheng Nian for a while, then boarded the Ferris Wheel with perfect timing, just before Yan Feizhuo lost his temper.
Yan Feizhuo said to Sheng Nian, "Come on, let's get in too."
Sheng Nian answered and was about to return the handkerchief to Yan Feizhuo when he remembered he had just used it to wipe his tears and blow his nose. Embarrassed, he drew it back and stuffed it into the little bag he carried.
"I got this handkerchief dirty. I'll wash-I'll buy you a new one."
Yan Feizhuo glanced at the crumpled handkerchief and smiled.
Everything he wore and carried was custom-made, including this handkerchief. Its materials and design were top-notch; even money could not necessarily buy one. He wondered what sort of replacement the young master would give him.
He glanced at Sheng Nian, curved his lips, and said softly, "All right. I'll be waiting for your handkerchief, then."
Without delaying any further, the two boarded the Ferris Wheel together.
The Ferris Wheel's cabins were rather small, so the camera crew did not follow them in, only sending in two hovering livestream cameras. That left Yan Feizhuo and Sheng Nian alone in the cramped cabin.
At first, Sheng Nian was still talking quietly to Yan Feizhuo, but as their cabin slowly rose, the nighttime view of Evernight Sky outside caught his attention.
Under the bright moonlight, Evernight Sky truly became a sky without night, its brilliant lights sparkling like countless stars.
Neon lights of every color and streetlights glittered beyond the glass. As the cabin slowly rose, the scenery and crowds below became blurry patches of color, like an abstract painting.
The lights of Evernight Sky below spread into a dazzling river of stars, which became another river of stars reflected in Sheng Nian's eyes.
Sheng Nian gazed at the scenery outside, while Yan Feizhuo sat quietly to one side, staring steadily at his faintly flushed profile.
["You stand on a bridge watching the view; someone watching the view watches you from a building. The bright moon adorns your window; you adorn someone else's dream." After all these years, I finally understand the feeling behind this poem.]
[Honestly, all I originally wanted from dating shows was to see my favorite couple spending time together quietly like this. There's no need for too many fancy scenarios. Just having the right two people sitting together is enough to make me scream.]
[Girl above, I'm not like you. I have basic tastes. Hurry up and get to the top. I want to see a kiss!]
[I'm really curious how President Yan is going to complete the task too!!]
[I just checked out He Gu's livestream. They kissed on the forehead when they reached the top. Does our President Yan dare to do something more exciting and kiss him right on the lips?!]
[??? And they still call themselves friends after that? Won't Sheng Nian be heartbroken if he sees it?]
[Wait, seriously? That other pair actually kissed? Jiang Shu's fans must have gone crazy...]
Jiang Shu's fans had indeed gone crazy at the sight. They swarmed He Gu's livestream, his Star Network profile, and other places, hurling abuse and harassing him online. Jiang Shu had numerous girlfriend fans, and they were formidable fighters. He Gu's fans could not fend them off at all and could only take the abuse. He Gu was getting a taste of how Sheng Nian had been treated before.
Meanwhile, seeing Sheng Nian absorbed in the scenery outside, Yan Feizhuo quietly shifted over to sit beside him.
Bang, bang, bang-
Just then, the Evernight Sky Celebration outside reached its finale, and the fireworks began.
Fireworks shot into the sky, pierced the cloud cover, and burst above it, dyeing the clouds gold. Even high in the air, Sheng Nian could hear the cheers of the crowds in Evernight Sky.
"Look, fireworks!"
Sheng Nian turned to call Yan Feizhuo over, not expecting him to be right behind him. As he turned, he bumped straight into Yan Feizhuo's arms, as though throwing himself into his embrace.
Yan Feizhuo opened his arms to steady him. "Careful."
Sheng Nian hurried out of his embrace, his cheeks faintly flushed. "Come watch the fireworks too. Evernight Sky really spared no expense. They even have the newly developed Ten Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains. Look how pretty it is."
Yet instead of looking at the dazzling fireworks outside, he looked at Sheng Nian and said, "It really is beautiful."
Then he removed the slightly disheveled winter jasmine from Sheng Nian's hair. "The flowers are a little wilted."
As Yan Feizhuo removed the flowers, he inevitably brushed against the cool tip of Sheng Nian's ear and the ends of his hair.
Feeling the fleeting warmth on the tip of his ear, Sheng Nian found it a little ticklish. He turned back and beamed at him. "It's fine. Let them wilt. We already took pictures anyway."
Yan Feizhuo put the flowering sprig away. "Then these flowers are mine. Next time, I'll give you one that won't wilt."
The fireworks show held Sheng Nian's attention. At those words, he waved a careless hand. "No need. You paid for the flowers anyway."
As the cabin slowly rose, they were drawing close to the highest point, where they had to complete their task.
In the quiet cabin, Yan Feizhuo suddenly spoke. "Young master, it's almost time to complete the task."
Sheng Nian snapped out of his reverie. "Huh? What... task?"
The Ferris Wheel task? If I remember correctly, wasn't it, "They say lovers who kiss at the top of a Ferris wheel will stay together for a lifetime. Would you be willing to kiss the person who makes your heart flutter?"
How am I supposed to do this task?!
Do we really have to kiss? No, no, that would be OOC.
"This, this task, we don't have to..."
"Hmm?"
Yan Feizhuo said discontentedly, "Have you forgotten what you just promised me, young master? You said you'd do whatever I said during the Ferris Wheel task."
Sheng Nian froze...
How was he supposed to have known this would be the Ferris Wheel task?
"Can we please not, Feizhuo? I don't want to..."
I can't break character. I have to keep acting.
Sheng Nian felt he had it so hard.
Yan Feizhuo leaned closer, looking down at Sheng Nian's stubborn cowlick. "Are you trying to go back on your word, young master?"
"Can I?" Sheng Nian looked up straight into Yan Feizhuo's dark eyes and asked timidly.
Yan Feizhuo said mercilessly, "No."
Sheng Nian stubbornly lowered his head and went into ostrich mode.
Inside the transparent bubble, the little figure's eyebrows scrunched into wavy lines. [This plot device is so bossy~]
Their negotiations reached a stalemate. The atmosphere in the cabin seemed to freeze, yet somehow took on a different kind of intimacy.
At last, they reached the very top of the Ferris Wheel.
The tension reached its peak.
Watching Yan Feizhuo move closer, Sheng Nian strained until the corners of his eyes reddened, then shook his head at him. "Feizhuo, I don't want to..."
But Yan Feizhuo seemed not to hear him and continued drawing closer, until a glistening tear slipped from the corner of Sheng Nian's eye.
A helpless sigh sounded in the quiet cabin.
Yan Feizhuo covered the lower half of Sheng Nian's little face with his hand and, solemnly and reverently,
kissed the back of his own hand.
Sheng Nian's eyes widened slightly in alarm and surprise.
It was a very brief kiss. Only after Yan Feizhuo straightened did Sheng Nian realize what he had just done.
"Why are you crying? If you don't want to, I won't force you."
His warm hand wiped the tear tracks from the corners of Sheng Nian's eyes as he said helplessly, "Don't be so silly next time. Just act a little sweet with me, and I'll do as you wish."
[Aaaaaaaaaah!]
[Waaaaah, President Yan! Enough, my heart aches for you!]
[A kiss on the back of his hand! He kissed the back of his hand!]
[He treasures him so much that he won't do anything he doesn't want, is that it? Yan Feizhuo, I'd rather you were a little more selfish...]
[Our President Yan is falling apart, and he still remembers to comfort his wife. Waaaaah.]
[There are so many lovers in this world. What's wrong with letting our Sheng-Yan be one more couple?]
[Actually, Yan Feizhuo never expected to get to kiss Sheng Nian in the first place, just as he knew from the beginning that Sheng Nian's heart wasn't with him. This kiss on the back of his hand was a hopeless kiss...]
[Then why kiss him anyway? Because of the Ferris wheel's legend of happiness? Is President Yan still clinging to that tiny shred of hope that he and Sheng Nian can end up together?]
[Enough, stop stabbing us in the heart. The shippers are already shattered...]
Before you continue