That year, Princess Xi, Kong Yue, and Xuan Zhi were also among the crowd. It felt like yesterday that they were having fun together.

Wu Xin’s tears had long blurred her view and flowed down her cheeks. She had rarely cried since she started the journey of revenge. Still, it had been her norm to indulge herself in the past and allow herself to be weak during the Lantern Festival on the Seventh Night of July. Slowly closing her eyes, she touched the only ornament on her head, the pearl hairpin, felt the pearl with her fingers, and let her tears flow.

She thought of her lover Kong Yue, of everything that happened in the past, and of her love and joy as well as her hatred and sorrow... Wu Xin stood still by the river, singing softly the song Kong Yue taught her again and again. The lyrics were like a reflection of her life, “Wind and sand blocked my view... I wished life could still be a beautiful song under the moonlight when I woke up.” Time flew by. Wu Xin began to recall her past like flipping the pages of a book...

With the veil concealing her face, Wu Xin looked so pure and beautiful. Expectedly, some rogues approached her and wanted to flirt with her. But Wu Xin didn’t panic. When a few men blocked her way and tried to tease her, she pulled off the veil.

Wu Xin’s appearance now was like a weapon! Sure enough, the men were frightened.

“She’s a ghost!”

“Ugly monster!”

“Don’t go out and scare people like this!”

While yelling, the rogues ran away, forgetting how eager they were to flirt with her minutes ago. Some of them even almost vomited their guts out!

Distracted by such a farce, Wu Xin felt much better. She decided to put aside the veil so that everyone could see her ugly face clearly. She hoped all of them would avoid her like the plague.

Suddenly, a man appeared behind Wu Xin and hugged her. Surprised at first, she immediately recognized the familiar embrace. Those warm and comforting arms belonged to Xuan Zhi. A sense of peace came back to her. Wu Xin relaxed and leaned in his arms.

“Zhi, it’s you.”

“Yeah. Are you okay?” Xuan Zhi murmured in Wu Xin’s ear.

“I’m all right now.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, don’t worry! Keep nagging, and you will turn into an old man,” while speaking, Wu Xin turned around and hugged Xuan Zhi back, feeling his warmth.

“I’m glad you are okay.” Xuan Zhi stroked Wu Xin’s head. After hugging her for a while, he lifted Wu Xin’s hand, pulled out a bottle of ointment he always carried with him, and applied the medicine to her palm. Skillfully and carefully, Xuan Zhi focused on his work without caring about the strange looks from the passers-by, who were surprised that a handsome man was willing to be with a disfigured woman. “You really need to learn how to take care of yourself,” said he softly.

Wu Xin shook her head. The pain in her palm was nothing compared to that in her heart, and she had gotten used to it a long time ago. Yet looking at Xuan Zhi’s tender movements, Wu Xin felt that all her wounds were healing up. She didn’t notice how happy she was at the moment.

“Zhi, I should have been tougher. I should have prepared for this day to come.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m here with you. I will always stay by your side.”

“I know. Zhi, you promise.”

“I promise.”

“Zhi, take me to the tree the three of us planted that year!”

“Okay.” Agreeing with that, Xuan Zhi carried Wu Xin in his arms and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

In front of them, the sapling had grown into a two-meter-high tree with wide-spreading branches. Unafraid of the hot summer, it was full of vitality, looking happier than any of the people who planted it.

The distant memory reappeared. At the only Lantern Festival Princess Xi had ever celebrated in her life, she also wanted to write her wishes on a ribbon and hang it on the tree like everyone else. However, since it was too crowded, Kong Yue came up with the idea to plant a tree of their own. Finding an open place with few people around, they planted this small sapling and hung up the ribbons with their wishes on.

Seven years had passed, and the tree was still there, as were the three ribbons, just ragged and stained. But one of the three people who wrote the wishes, Kong Yue, had forever gone.

Wu Xin untied the three ribbons one by one. The handwriting was almost illegible, but she could still tell what was written with a closer look. The first one read, “May Xier be happy forever and suffer no more.” The second one went, “I hope the three of us can spend the Lantern Festival on the Seventh Night of July together every year.” The third one wrote, “Even if one day I am not with Yinzhu, I hope she will be happy forever.”

Regardless of how dirty the ribbons were, Wu Xin put them on her chest and cried loudly, “Yue, I miss you. Yue...”

Staying beside her, Xuan Zhi saw the words on the ribbons too. Only the two of them had been alive. It turned out that Kong Yue was ready to die at that time. No wonder he would allow Xuan Zhi to accompany the girl he loved.

Xuan Zhi hurriedly hugged Wu Xin and let her cry as much as possible in his arms. Knowing how heartbroken she was, he was the one who understood and cared about her the most. Allowing Wu Xin’s tears to wet his clothes, Xuan Zhi embraced her silently and patiently.

After a long time, Wu Xin finally calmed down. Her tears were still dripping, but her crying gradually quieted down. With her eyes reddish and her voice hoarse, Wu Xin gently pushed Xuan Zhi away, folded the ribbons, and placed them inside her clothes closest to her heart. Wu Xin touched her pearl hairpin again. Although it was not expensive, the hairpin was her treasure as it always reminded her of the days with Kong Yue and it was her only connection with him.

“Zhi, take a walk with me!”

“Okay.”

“By the way, let’s find a rooftop to sit on and watch the fireworks together!”

“Alright.”

Except for shopping and guessing lantern riddles, Wu Xin had relived the night with Kong Yue and Xuan Zhi that year. While she felt her past wounds were torn open, she chose to face the pain bravely for the first time. She loved Kong Yue, but he was long gone. Wu Xin knew that she had to accept the fact to walk out of the shadow of the past. Every time they visited a place they had been to, Wu Xin would gently say, “Yue, goodbye.” By doing that, she finally bid farewell to her past and was ready to move on.

As it was impossible to get back onto the roof of Xiyan Palace, they found a shabby temple and sat on its top to watch the fireworks.

Naturally, Xuan Zhi hugged her. Wu Xin didn’t cover her face that night. With her face full of red spots and marks, she didn’t seem to be a good match for Xuan Zhi, who was good-looking as usual. However, neither of them cared about it. They just snuggled together and looked at the sky, where colorful and brilliant fireworks exploded, representing people’s beautiful wishes.

“Zhi, kiss me,” Wu Xin spoke suddenly.

Hearing Wu Xin’s words, Xuan Zhi couldn’t believe his ears at once. He was so overwhelmed that he almost fell off the roof. Was that just a voice in his head? But seeing the determination in Wu Xin’s eyes, he asked to be sure.

“Wu Xin, do you want me to kiss you?” he still spoke cautiously for fear of making Wu Xin unhappy.

“Call me Yinzhu.”

“Yinzhu.”

“Yeah. Zhi, you heard me right. Kiss me,” this time, Wu Xin spoke the words one by one to make herself clear.

After confirming that the woman he loved really wanted him to kiss her, Xuan Zhi finally realized what he should do. He lowered his head and kissed the pink lips of Wu Xin. As they kissed, their hearts also moved one step closer.

Gradually the kiss deepened, and the tip of their tongues met. Slowly the two of them were getting lost and crazy. They started to pant heavily as it was harder and harder to control themselves. Wu Xin said softly in her heart, “Yue, I’m sorry.” While tears flowed down her cheeks, she added, “Yue, farewell.”

Feeling Wu Xin was crying, Xuan Zhi immediately stopped the kiss and wiped the tears off her face, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“I’m fine. Keep kissing me.”

“But...”

Looking at Xuan Zhi, who was still hesitating, Wu Xin didn’t want to explain or talk more. Stretching out her fair and delicate hands, she pulled down his head and approached to kiss him. Perhaps she was selfish, but Wu Xin at that moment needed Xuan Zhi’s breath, taste, and heat to calm herself down. She wanted to completely indulge herself in Xuan Zhi’s passionate kisses.

Again and again, they kissed on the roof. Wu Xin’s lips were already red and swollen, but she was still looking for his lips like crazy.

After all, Xuan Zhi was just a man, and he knew he was on the verge of undressing her. Yet, it was not the right time. He understood that Wu Xin was using him to forget Kong Yue, but seeing that her lips were swollen and wounded, he was reluctant to go on like this anymore. Xuan Zhi hugged Wu Xin tightly to stop her kiss, “Yinzhu, let’s stop it here, okay?”

“Zhi, you don’t like it?”

“No, Yinzhu. I love you, and I’m so happy that you came to kiss me. But, my heart breaks when I see you hurt yourself. It’s enough. Just let me hold you like this and watch the moon together, okay?”

After hearing Xuan Zhi’s words, Wu Xin finally calmed down. She did go too far this time. She was smart enough to know that Xuan Zhi felt her intention. He must have realized that she was relying on him to forget Kong Yue. Deeply sorry for Xuan Zhi, Wu Xin still had not noticed how much she had fallen in love with Xuan Zhi.

Leaning in Xuan Zhi’s arms, Wu Xin didn’t ask him to kiss her again. Cuddling together, they raised their heads to look at the sky. Of course, only they knew if they were thinking about something else. Fortunately, Wu Xin finally decided to let go of Kong Yue and accept Xuan Zhi, the man who had quietly given her everything he had all along.