The first firework burst in midair, golden-red sparks cascading down and lighting up the snow throughout the courtyard.
Jiang Huaixiao lowered his head to look at the fluffy head nestled in his arms. Jiang Xun was gazing up at the sky, the light of the fireworks flashing through his pupils, burst after burst.
It was as though all the celebrations he had missed over those seventeen years were being made up for in that moment.
From the age of seven to twenty-four, Jiang Huaixiao had visited orphanages in countless cities and combed through more files than he could count.
Every time he waited for the results of a DNA test, he lay awake night after night.
Through those years, he always had the same dream. In it, a child crouched in some unknown corner, thinly dressed, his lips purple with cold. Jiang Huaixiao ran toward him desperately, but could never reach him.
Now that child was in his arms, his body warm and soft, his steady breaths brushing Jiang Huaixiao's arm. The stubborn tufts of hair at the back of his head rubbed against Jiang Huaixiao's collarbone again and again.
Jiang Huaixiao closed his eyes for a moment and buried his face in Jiang Xun's fur collar, a hot, aching tightness rolling through his throat.
Standing on the steps, Jiang Yanchu held up his phone to record. After filming the fireworks in the sky for a long while, he slowly turned the camera toward Jiang Huaixiao and Jiang Xun.
He saw his eldest brother bury his face in their little brother's shoulder, his shoulders trembling ever so slightly. He lowered his phone, his eyes reddening.
The fireworks kept coming, one burst chasing another, illuminating the old residence's upturned eaves. Beyond the courtyard walls, lively crackling firecrackers sounded near and far.