She eventually gave a jittery nod under her adoptive sister’s threat. Unfortunately, she was inexperienced. Each time she used the match to light up the tip, the wind would quickly extinguish it. By then, only half of the fuse remained for ignition.

  That earned some scolding from her sister who wanted her to continue. Left with no choice, she fearfully put her face closer to the firework as she lit it with a lighter one more time. The sudden sparks, which burst forth, almost blinded her. This left an indelible fear in her since then.

  Hence, she dared not try any fanciful fireworks again and would only stick to simple spark sticks and the sort.

  The thought of that actually made her chuckle. She asked the man standing beside her, “Hua Jin, have you played with fireworks when you were young?”


  “I did,” he nodded but quickly added, “but I hardly had a chance to go out and play with other kids. Most of the time, I watched my peers play with their fireworks from the balcony.”


  “I got a fear of fireworks, though.”


  “Why is that so?”


  “That’s because I almost burned my eyes while playing with fireworks when I was a child.” She paused for a bit before continuing in half-jest. “That’s why I don’t dare to play with extravagant fireworks ever since. I’m afraid I’ll burn my eyes again.”


  The man turned to look at her all of a sudden and reassured her with a wink. “Actually, playing with fireworks isn’t scary at all. You just have to be careful and all.”


  The woman muttered sheepishly, “That’s true, but the fear is still there even after I reassure myself in my head.”


  He flipped his hand and grabbed hold of hers this time around. “Don’t be scared. If you hurt your eyes, you still have me.”


  “You?”


  She did not know what he was driving at.

  The man told her solemnly. “Yes! I’ll be your eyes if you can’t see a thing.”


  ‘I’ll be your eyes if you can’t see a thing.’


  She was taken aback by his declaration. Staring at him with eyes wide open, she then gave a gentle smile. “Sure, but there won’t be such a day.”


  At this time, she did not take his words seriously, reckoning that he had said them casually, but long after this conversation on this Chinese New Year’s Eve, when she randomly recalled it, she could not help sighing at his sincere intention for making such a promise. Only then did she realize that every promise he made to her came from the heart.

  Of course, this happened much later in her life!……

  At 11:15 PM, countless people were already gathered close to the riverside.

  Many had opted to usher in the new year at this place, and they were here for the countdown by the hour. Some happily came along with their kids and elderly parents, while young, loving couples could also be observed. All were looking forward to the same thing; they wanted to catch the brilliant fireworks that would light up the sky later.

  Gong Jie raised his wrist to look at his watch. As the time steadily edged closer to midnight, a look of cheerful anticipation appeared on his handsome face.

  “Sis, it’s almost midnight!”


  The twins looked at each other with a smile. They, too, were getting excited.

  Their mother asked smilingly, “Who’s going to light the fireworks later?”


  “I don’t play with this stuff very often, so I’m not good with it.” Just as her brother finished his statement, her older son raised his hand eagerly. “Me! Let me do it!”


  His younger twin reminded, “Hey, you’re too clumsy for this stuff. It’s dangerous; you may get hurt.”


  His gentle cautionary words were unlike his sarcastic remarks.

  He snorted, then smirked. “There’s nothing difficult about lighting a firework! You just need to ignite the fuse, right? Mommy’s already taught me what to do moments ago!”