Chapter 66

Bai Xingmiao's eyes narrowed slightly; they were close enough to see the fine fuzz on the girl's face.

His silhouette loomed over the sleeping Ruan Ning, casting a shadow. Ruan Ning continued to sleep peacefully, like a contented infant, her brows relaxed, and under her delicate nose, her pale pink lips emitted a faint scent of lily of the valley.

Bai Xingmiao was somewhat surprised. He had never liked close contact with others, yet tonight he had spent the whole evening watching the stars alone with her.

This girl wasn't particularly extraordinary compared to others, but she had a magic that made people feel calm and relaxed. The two of them hadn't done anything earth-shattering together—just stayed quietly in each other's presence, and before they knew it, time had slipped away.

He had been getting to know her with a sense of curiosity, but the longer he spent with her, the less he understood the answer.

Ruan Ning, having slept enough, regained some awareness. She smacked her pink lips and groggily opened her eyes, only to see Bai Xingmiao staring straight at her from a hair's breadth away.

Their eyes met, and time seemed to freeze for a second.

Ruan Ning's foggy brain snapped awake. Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly turned her head away. Bai Xingmiao didn't flinch; he just looked at her, a soft light flickering in his cool eyes, mixed with hesitant ripples.

Was Bai Xingmiao just looking at me?

Ruan Ning's mind was a tangled mess, her fingers digging into the seat cushion. Being stared at like that by any member of the opposite sex was embarrassing enough, let alone by the untouchable Bai Xingmiao.

Her cheeks grew hotter. "Uh, did I oversleep? Why didn't you wake me?"

In stark contrast to her fluster, Bai Xingmiao slowly sat back in the driver's seat and said calmly, "You're home. Go in and get some rest."

"Mm, okay." Ruan Ning let out an awkward laugh and unbuckled her seatbelt almost as if fleeing. Her mind was full of questions about why Bai Xingmiao had been staring at her, and she dashed toward her courtyard.

She felt a deep gaze boring into her back. Combined with Bai Xingmiao's unusual behavior tonight, all sorts of conjectures exploded in her mind like splashing water with each stride.

Bai Xingmiao sat in the car, watching her hurriedly retreating figure, his gaze darkening for a moment.

He knew why she was flustered. A man and a woman alone in a car, by common standards, was enough to spark wild imaginations.

Unfortunately, most people lacked the ability to think deeply. Seeing a few superficial signs, they crudely fit them into their own cognitive boxes. Thus, individuals and groups are always filled with endless misunderstandings and misalignments.

Bai Xingmiao's expression remained unchanged as he rolled up the car window, a faint trace of disappointment passing through his heart.

"Wait!" A girl's voice suddenly came from afar. Bai Xingmiao's fingers paused on the steering wheel, and he looked up slightly.

Ruan Ning ran back like a gust of wind, a gentle, shy smile on her face.

She seemed to have gone through some inner struggle; her face still carried the messy blush of confusion, but her clear eyes met his with frankness and sincerity. There was no moon tonight, yet her eyes were clear and sincere, as if reflecting moonlight.

Ruan Ning smiled and waved her hand, her crisp, sweet voice like a shell wind chime tinkling in the night breeze: "Sorry, I left too fast. I haven't even said a proper goodbye. Thank you for giving me a special birthday today."

Bai Xingmiao's expression slightly froze. He rolled down the window. Ruan Ning's brilliant laughter flooded into the car, drowning every corner: "I'm really glad to have met you. I hope we can hang out and watch the stars together often in the future."

"Then, take care on the road. I'm heading in now. Good night."

The girl waved at the window, her smile blooming like a petal.

"Good night," Bai Xingmiao replied softly.

Back home, only Ruan Ning's parents were there; the relatives had gone home after watching the fireworks and drones.

Ruan Ning ran straight to her room, flung open the door, and threw herself onto the bed, her feet swinging up and down.

Qiu Yan, remembering what her niece had mentioned, wanted to ask Ruan Ning about her boyfriend, but Ruan Ning was absorbed in the meteor shower videos on her phone and couldn't hear her mother's calls.

Even now, it felt magical—she and Bai Xingmiao had skipped their respective parties to secretly watch the meteor shower, without the burden of gifts or social obligations, only simple, casual conversation and the breathtaking natural spectacle.

At this moment, Ruan Ning's mood was like blooming fireworks, their dazzling brilliance illuminating every corner of her heart.

Her cousin had been excited after watching the fireworks at Woyi Bridge, constantly praising them and sending her videos all evening. As Ruan Ning lay in bed watching the recordings, messages from her cousin kept popping up at the top of her screen.

[I'm telling you, Ningning, you really picked a great day to be born. You share a birthday with the young master's first love, so you got to ride the coattails today.]

Ruan Ning was baffled. [What? What do you mean by riding coattails?]

[Haven't you seen the trending searches? Everyone's guessing whose young master is celebrating a goddess's birthday with tonight's fireworks and drones. I've been scrolling all night, so many juicy tidbits I can't keep up.]

[No way, that's Woyi Bridge and the Grand Royal Palace.]

Ruan Ning found it absurd. Although Talun City had its share of rich people, she'd never heard of anyone powerful enough to occupy national-level cultural landmarks for a private birthday. Even if the government approved it, the citizens of Country A would be furious.

[Sigh, I can't explain it to you. Go see for yourself.]

Frowning, Ruan Ning tapped on the trending searches. Half were about drones, half about fireworks, with tags like "Mystery Goddess's Birthday" and "Young Master Splurges Thousands to Woo the Whole City"—all ludicrous.

The homepage was almost entirely flooded with fireworks and drones. Clicking any one of them showed videos of the dazzling, grand event.

Ruan Ning was born on November 16th, which happened to be International Tolerance Day. The fireworks and drones were themed around peace, friendship, and tolerance, delivering a spectacular performance to the audience.

At 9 p.m., the iconic single-arch bridge at Woyi Bridge changed its splendid lighting alongside the fireworks. Plump, round firework shells burst open, instantly flooding the sky and earth with a riot of colors, like lively, brilliant dandelions flickering and fluttering.

The fireworks lasted for over a dozen minutes, mostly cycling through basic spherical, chrysanthemum, willow, and three-dimensional shapes, and even forming large characters in the sky like "Peace," "Freedom," and "Love," urging people to understand each other, love bravely, and be tolerant.

The colorful glow reflected on the dense faces of the crowd along the riverbank. Stunned spectators screamed in delight, their eyes filled with reverence and admiration, completely immersed in the beautiful display.

Ruan Ning watched for a while and thought, "This seems pretty normal." Just as the fireworks finished spelling out the word "Love," the style suddenly shifted to a series of huge heart-shaped fireworks.

Then came a string of lovely pink smiley faces. Heart-shaped and rose-shaped fireworks took turns, turning the serious atmosphere playful and mischievous. It was as if pink bubbles filled the air. Some couples even embraced and kissed deeply the moment a heart-shaped firework exploded, drawing enthusiastic applause and whistles from the crowd.

Ruan Ning blinked, trying to process what she'd just seen. Weren't they just calling for love and peace?

The fireworks didn't give her time to digest, suddenly exploding into cakes and candles in the sky. At that point, even the most oblivious person would sense something was off.

But the fireworks were too beautiful to look away from. Although Ruan Ning felt something strange, she couldn't help pausing and replaying the video.

Comments under the video had already surpassed a thousand, with the top few building hundreds of floors as netizens chatted enthusiastically.

[Doesn't everyone think this firework show is a bit suggestive? Does International Tolerance Day need this many hearts?]

[It's definitely some young master sneaking in a birthday celebration for his true love. I wish I could live a rich person's life once like that.]

[You're all talking nonsense. Where's the proof it's a hidden agenda? The official statement clearly says it's to celebrate International Tolerance Day.]

[Hey, kid upstairs, put down your phone. Has anyone ever celebrated International Tolerance Day before?]

[Damned rich people! Do they think the government is stupid? Using Woyi Bridge for a birthday—do they think they can do whatever they want?]

[Isn't it? The New Year's fireworks at Woyi Bridge cost 30 million per show. The young master gave you a free show, so what's there to complain about?]

[Who's birthday is it anyway? Bring this old servant along to broaden their horizons.]

[Gross, I'm done with these rich people.]

[But the fireworks are really beautiful, obviously custom-made. I envy whoever's birthday it is today.]

Ruan Ning's heart skipped a beat for no reason. Anxiously, she quickly closed the fireworks video and opened the drone one.

The moment she opened it, a barrage comment flew across the drone video: [Came over from the fireworks video.] followed by [Wait for me, person above.] [Fireworks watchers +1, so many people tonight.] [+1, feels like the whole city is celebrating.]

Ruan Ning had thought she'd seen something spectacular at the Woyi Bridge fireworks, but the drone show was no less impressive—perhaps even more so in terms of technological flair.

The drones were set against the historic Grand Royal Palace square.

As night fell, neon lights flickered across the square, like an elegant, romantic stage. 1,116 drones slowly rose into the dark sky like a celestial vision, shifting through various high-definition 3D images. Every pattern seemed almost alive, growing more awe-inspiring the longer you watched.

The drones first formed a flock of lifelike peace doves to set the theme, then a giant Madonna appeared in the night sky, draped in white, her eyes lowered in solemn benediction over the people below holding up their phones. The overwhelming sanctity and compassion struck even Ruan Ning, outside the screen, stirring her heart. At the scene, some believers put away their phones and clasped their hands in prayer before the Madonna.

The screen was instantly flooded with wishes—barrage after barrage of [Bless me with success in exams], [Bless me with wealth], [Bless my job interview]—covering the video.

Ruan Ning smiled softly. With such a huge Madonna, one might as well take the chance to make plenty of wishes.

Although she was joking, she was actually terrified inside, afraid the drones might pull a fast one like the fireworks and conjure up bizarre patterns.

After all, this was high-tech, far more precisely controlled than fireworks. It could basically create any pattern with 3D movement.

Fortunately, the drone show was perfectly normal, mostly promoting universal love and peace. Like the audience on site, Ruan Ning watched in rapt fascination, feeling as if she'd amassed quite a bit of merit on International Tolerance Day.

After a dazzling series of performances, the event concluded with the mythological Tree of Life from Country A.

The drones started by depicting the Tree of Life's growth from a seed sprouting. The audience below began counting down. The seed sprouted, broke through the soil, grew tall, and became lush...

Everyone watched eagerly, anticipating the fruit.

Finally, to everyone's delight, the Tree of Life grew full of golden, plump lemons. Each lemon was round and adorable, as if you could smell their refreshing fragrance just by looking.

At that, the barrage exploded. In Country A's mythology, the Tree of Life was a legendary tree; there was no specific mention of what fruit it bore, let alone lemons.

[Why lemons? Do the staff even understand the mythology? The world is a huge shoddy stage.] [They must have hired foreigners, right? Anyway, I've never seen a Tree of Life with lemons in my life.] [A Tree of Life is a Tree of Life, not a lemon tree.] [DL, if you're not going to respect Country A's traditional culture, then don't do a show at all.]

Then a comment said, [Maybe lemons mean something special to the young master.] The barrage was inspired: [Right, this is definitely part of the young master's celebration along with the fireworks next door.]

To be fair, the drone show didn't show much romance. But the fact it happened the same day as the fireworks, with the same theme, inevitably made people connect the dots—that it was all part of the young master's love-struck plan.

Ruan Ning stared at the giant lemon, her temples throbbing.

Suddenly, her whole body felt electrified. Her thoughts scattered in all directions, unable to find a thread. She felt as if she were treading on clouds, weightless, a mix of immense fear, a slight tremor, and a touch of gratitude—she couldn't articulate the feeling.

She quickly opened her phone, computer, and all her chat apps to make sure she hadn't missed any message. Only then did she relax.

"Phew—I knew it, I was overthinking." She patted her chest in relief and took a sip of water to calm down. After a long day, Ruan Ning was exhausted, and it wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep, feeling at ease.

But the drone show and fireworks were so spectacular that they hit trending searches in several countries simultaneously. Over the next few days, people kept guessing who had organized the event.

Country A was full of wealthy people; netizens couldn't fathom who would go to such lengths to throw a grand celebration. Ruan Ning occasionally stumbled upon the topic and was curious too, but she soon forgot about it, because final exams were approaching and she needed to start reviewing early.

Just as the matter began to fade from memory, a bombshell dropped: the mysterious patrons behind the fireworks and drones were Jiang Yihao and Bu Chen, the heirs of the Duke of Tapei and the Duke of Banting!