Chapter 65 Starry Bamboo Sea

Starry bamboo sea.
I only gave you one star, and you're giving me back a whole sea of stars?
And isn't this your birthday?
"It's beautiful, thank you."
Chen Yuan roughly knew what Xia Xinyu meant by wanting to show him: a place that, once discovered, would also be fenced off and charged for.
Perhaps there's a large deviation between this scene and the one Xia Xinyu envisioned, guided by him, but this isn't a false thing.
Everyone possesses their own starry bamboo sea.
Chaozi, I won't scold you today; take a break.
Xia Xinyu closed her eyes, opened her arms, and felt the wind blowing against her skin, never having felt so relaxed, as if she had entrusted everything to this vast world.
This was it. This was what she wanted Chen Yuan to see, this very moment.
Tonight was exceptionally cool. Sitting in the front seat, Xia Xinyu even felt a bit warm, after all, it was late autumn.
Regarding Kong Miao's aesthetic tastes, Xia Xinyu only knew that I had seen a small-chested man in a tight-fitting dress that day.
Of course, more importantly, you remembered Kong Miao's birthday: August 28th.
And for Xia Xinyu, those obscured parts were also where you shone.
Kong Miao: Still sleeping? Is school off tomorrow?
"Next time, this place is a little out of the way. Actually, there's a stretch of riverbank in the old city, closer. He sat down."
Actually, you were somewhat expecting Long Jie to send you a birthday message at midnight; otherwise, you wouldn't have set her as a special contact and turned your phone volume down to the lowest setting, placing it next to your pillow.
What made life worth living was that Kong Miao replied instantly.
His sudden explanation made him seem quite dull.
Before he could finish speaking, Xia Xinyu suddenly realized that Chen Yuan beside her had disappeared?
"Huh? So expensive? Shouldn't it be a few yuan?" Long Jie said, perplexed. Even if you bought it at night, it shouldn't be so much more expensive, right?
Kong Miao: Should I come to your room now?
After replying to that, she got out of bed, then turned on the light, opened the closet, looked at the clothes, which weren't few in number but mostly lacked bright colors, and carefully chose...
That's right, why would I wear a dress so late? Wouldn't it be better to wear a jacket like Kong Miao...?
After pushing it open, he froze.
Following Kong Miao's instructions, Xia Xinyu set up the Kongming lantern. And Kong Miao lit the candle.
Just let me off this time.
Instead of asking your aunt... you might as well ask me directly.
Ding-dong!
But he still put the beautiful bracelet on Xia Xinyu's pretty, slender wrist.
Chen Yuan's lights were thicker, a bit milky white, typical of the idol type.
But he didn't let up, using his hands to create a 'wall' to protect the flame.
Xia Xinyu: Thank you
Unlike those two-yuan ones, the difference wasn't just in the design; the quality was also much different.
In the night, things that glow are always touching.
Just as she was thinking, others also sent messages of blessing. She glanced at them, not replying immediately, planning to reply tomorrow morning.
Then, she lightly fastened the sterling silver clasp.
A girl like Xia Xinyu should try on all the pretty dresses in the world.
But for some reason, she didn't realize it was a dream.
While waiting, the time in the upper left corner jumped to 0:00—
"Then you hold it. Hold the top with both hands; this is very sturdy."
A little probing.
I have to get up at eight tomorrow morning, and now there are only eight hours left to sleep.
Just that one sentence made Xia Xinyu's heart beat faster in panic.
"There are Kongming lanterns for ten yuan? That's awesome?" Kong Miao asked in surprise.
And the guilt in Kong Miao's heart was slightly lessened.
After preparing sufficiently, another ten minutes passed. Just as Kong Miao couldn't help but ask Xia Xinyu when she'd be ready, the door was knocked.
That's settled, then. I'll just doze off in class tomorrow.
It's not a timed post, is it!
Wait, am I posting it on time?
Long Jie scanned a 16-yuan payment code and showed the Alipay to Xiao Ye.
Upward.
Couldn't he express himself a little more interestingly?
"Then where are we going to release it?" Xia Xinyu asked.
Then, she pulled up QQ, found Xia Xinyu, put her finger on the blessing she had already edited, and waited for the time to jump to 0:00 before posting it on time.
Kong Miao and Long Jie Zhuang held the bottom together.
Xia Xinyu: Wait a moment, I need some time
"Clearly, we're both from out of town. Why are you so familiar with this place?"
Long Jie Zhuang didn't know what it was, but she wisely didn't ask.
Obviously, she didn't agree.
Those one- or two-yuan Kongming lanterns are too thin; they're easily burned through, or simply can't be released. They flip over as soon as they rise.
"... That sentence of yours is kind of cool," Xia Xinyu said sincerely.
Kong Miao shook his head, then lightly knocked on the kiosk door.
Long Jie didn't answer, tacitly nodding in agreement, and then said, "Don't tell Auntie about this."
As she followed Kong Miao downstairs, she suddenly brought up, "How did you know my birthday?"
Her furrowed brow instantly relaxed, and she happily raised her arched feet high, almost touching her calves. Long Jie Zhuang unintentionally showed off her good physical flexibility when she was happy.
"But it has to fly slowly..."
"I'm Doraemon." Kong Miao got into the car. "Let's go."
A smile tugged at the corner of Long Jie Zhuang's mouth, and she also grasped the other's hand, interlocking her fingers as she had in the dream.
However, now wasn't the time.
In the dream, because Kong Miao was there, and it happened to be in her old home in Shaoxiang, she took him there, to a place where you could see the 'starry bamboo sea'.
Similarly, after only dozing off for a while, she quickly opened her phone.
Then, she would have a good mood for the whole day.
Similarly, if a toothbrush appeared in one of her stories, then...
But how did he know?
Then, Long Jie took out the Kongming lantern.
"What a quiet atmosphere. It's indeed quite suitable for fishing," Xia Xinyu sighed.
Then, she saw the first message.
Teasing myself is okay too.
Kong Miao also pinned his hopes on it.
Of course, because Long Jie Zhuang was a good kid with a particularly regular schedule, falling asleep meant she had already gone to bed, so she would probably only see it early in the morning the next day.
Because it can dispel darkness and point people in the right direction.
So, Kong Miao got up, changed his clothes, tidied his hair, then took a glass of water to rinse his mouth and started brushing his teeth.
Xia Xinyu: Let's talk in person
She looked really good in a dress.
Sure enough, there wasn't a single person here at this hour.
Xiao Ye gave Kong Miao a lighter and a teacake, then pointed to several Kongming lanterns, gesturing with his fingers in order: seven, eight, ten.
Moreover, if Xia Xinyu was also waiting for a midnight blessing, and then found that there wasn't one, even if there was a surprise the next day, that joy might not be as satisfying as "I want it all."
Kong Miao got on his bike, his destination clear.
He was putting up this toothbrush brand's advertisement rental spot here.
Regarding the specific dream, she wanted to edit the text, but couldn't write it out. She wanted to send a voice message, but didn't know where to start. After hesitating for a while, she finally decided—
Life is fucking upward!
Rather than getting a surprise.
Xia Xinyu: I'll tell you now
Kong Miao rudely woke him up, then paid the full price without any extra sympathy, and finally unemotionally had the clumsy-handed him pack it up for him.
Xia Xinyu: I just had a dream, a very real dream. In the dream, I could even feel my hair being blown up.
Even without anyone holding it, it seemed to be able to balance.
The two of them went downstairs like that. Xia Xinyu wanted to take a walk, but didn't know which direction to go, and Long Jie, seeing her hesitation, suggested, "How about we go release a Kongming lantern?"
Too much concern for face.
Just like really holding hands...
"Wait a moment, I'll be right down." Kong Miao, realizing he had forgotten something, closed the door, cruelly rejecting Xin Bao from entering, then returned to complete it before opening the door again, "Let's go."
Alright, the possibility of me having a girlfriend has decreased again.
Fortunately, seven minutes later, they arrived at the riverbank he had mentioned.
It's also okay to give a little advance notice.
That kind of reliability, no matter how many times you see it, is surprising.
Xia Xinyu was a little embarrassed, because after watching a movie and going home that day, Kong Miao fell asleep and said something nonsensical like "Even if you kill someone in my room, it's okay because I'm already asleep," so she secretly looked at his ID, which was carelessly placed on the table and felt like it would fall into the crack at any moment, while she was blow-drying her hair at her desk.
But how to extend the surprise, to prolong that time as much as possible?