My girlfriend was reborn.

Chapter 18, Act 4: Dandelions are frozen fireworks.

"Did you just do something?"

On the river embankment, as the last firework exploded, Qiao Jinchen looked at the girl beside him with some hesitation. He couldn't help but reach out and touch his cheek, as if the soft touch still lingered. He wanted to confirm whether it was just his imagination.

"No."

But Xu Youyou immediately grabbed her wrist.

The girl simply looked at him with flushed cheeks, and in the reflection of her glasses, the remnants of fireworks drifted away with the cheers of passersby along the riverbank.

Not without.

Qiao Jinchen felt a warmth in his chest. He immediately took several steps back, and then started running, jumping for joy.

"?"

Xu Youyou looked at the boy running wildly on the river embankment like a mad monkey and couldn't help but tilt her head.

After running lap after lap, Qiao Jinchen was exhausted before finally returning to the girl he admired, panting heavily.

"Are all boys like this?"

Xu Youyou found it both funny and confusing.

"No, I'm too excited, I'm afraid I'll do something wrong."

Qiao Jinchen spoke the truth.

"What wrong thing do you want to do???"

"I don't want to think about it now, I'm too tired."

Qiao Jinchen slumped in the chair, her chest heaving, her collar blackened and soaked with sweat.

Xu Youyou sat down next to him, near the boy's seat.

"But who was setting off fireworks just now? I think I heard the manager shouting from down here."

She glanced down the riverbank at the sea of ​​dandelions blooming quietly in the night, where a pair of figures seemed to be running along the shore, followed by noisy pursuers.

The crowd made way for the two who were trying to escape, but deliberately blocked the administrators behind them.

With their backs to the fireworks, the two held hands and made a grand escape.

This must be what people who set off fireworks look like.

"Who knows? But he's definitely a romantic guy."

Qiao Jinchen muttered something, then asked curiously.

"Can they escape?"

"Yes, it's definitely possible."

click-

Xu Youyou couldn't help but pick up her phone and take a picture of the two people running away hand in hand in the night illuminated by fireworks, just like the ending of "The Graduate".

This must be a scene that will be etched into the memories of our youth.

Seeing this, Qiao Jinchen also took out her phone and operated it.

"what are you doing?"

Xu Youyou leaned closer and noticed that Qiao Jinchen had changed his QQ signature from "There are always some things in this world that you can't figure out no matter how hard you try, so it's better to eat and sleep."

[My heart is filled with longing for your green collar]

"???"

You're being too obvious; the homeroom teacher will call you in!
As a good student since childhood, she was very disciplined. Although the school did not explicitly prohibit early romantic relationships, the homeroom teacher would always say something if he noticed.

but.

She pursed her lips, revealing a slight smile.

“This is not your style at all; it’s something only Zhou Heming would do.”

Xu Youyou continued to criticize.

Then, she changed her own QQ signature as well.

But for your sake, I have hesitated until now.

"So, Xiao Ding wants the two of us to be together."

She giggled.

"fool."

Qiao Jinchen couldn't help but ruffle her hair, then looked down at the river embankment. The two seemed to have succeeded in their escape plan. The administrator looked around with a flashlight, but still couldn't find them.

Only now has he belatedly realized this.

"Speaking of which, where did Zhou Heming go?"

*
"It should be about time."

Zhou Heming only slowed down when he saw that there were fewer and fewer passersby around and the administrator's shouts had stopped.

Cheng Shuangjiang couldn't say a word. She wasn't very good at sports to begin with, and now that she had been dragged along for a while, she was out of breath and her face was flushed.

"Although I knew there were administrators, I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly."

Scratching his head, Zhou Heming offered an explanation. "Hmm."

Cheng Shuangjiang, panting, lowered her eyes and looked at her left hand.

Still wrapped in bandages, with only the upper half of the hand exposed, Zhou Heming was holding the hand naturally. They weren't interlocking, but just touching with a few fingers, as if they might let go at any moment.

"Feel sorry."

Zhou Heming noticed the girl's gaze beside him, so he gently released his hand and then squatted down.

Just as Cheng Shuangjiang was wondering what he was doing, her left hand was taken again, or rather, it was pulled in front of her, palm facing up.

The role of Zhou Heming, now 35, has ended, but he still wants to take advantage of the last moments of his performance to do something he wouldn't normally do or be able to do.

Zhou Heming stood facing Cheng Shuangjiang, and with his left hand, he gently placed something in her scarred palm.

It is a dandelion.

"do you know?"

Eighteen-year-old Zhou Heming looked directly into her eyes, seeing his own thirty-five-year-old self, and said softly.

"Dandelions are frozen fireworks."

Cheng Shuangjiang paused slightly, her gaze fixed on the small dandelion that seemed ready to disappear at any moment.

Then, Zhou Heming gently blew on it.

next moment.

The boy raised his hand to catch the river breeze, which transformed into fireworks filling the sky.

The dandelions along the entire riverbank were suddenly blown into the air by a strong wind, spreading across the mountains and fields like fireworks rising from the ground and into the brilliant night sky, blooming beautifully.

Illuminate the long night.

Cheng Shuangjiang stared blankly at this scene, looking at Zhou Heming in the rain of flowers. The boy's smile was clear, just like when they first met.

"This fireworks display is for you."

The silence, like the world's heavy rain falling on the world's lawns, echoed between the two of them.

She pursed her lips, and Cheng Shuangjiang gently closed her empty palm, which held something important in her hand.

"Wow, you're so good at this! Are you secretly dating someone?"

She then joked.

"No, no."

Eighteen-year-old Zhou Heming denied it somewhat awkwardly.

There was no secret.

He did not let go of Cheng Shuangjiang's hand.

The crowd on the shore was still cheering and taking pictures because of the rare scene they had just witnessed. The scattered dandelions had long since disappeared into the night sky, but the area had indeed become lively, with people coming and going, and even some internet celebrities doing live streams.

"Should we go find Qiao Jinchen again?"

Cheng Shuangjiang glanced at her left hand, offered no objection, and instead asked a question.

"No, he has his own path to follow."

Zhou Heming knew that he had only helped Qiao Jinchen and Xu Youyou confirm their next direction, like giving them a gentle push when they were confused, but from now on, it was their own path.

How to persuade the parents and how to work together are things they both need to consider together.

"Shall we go back and study?"

Cheng Shuangjiang walked naturally beside him, like a wife he had been with for many years.

"Of course we should learn!"

Zhou Heming nodded.

Upon hearing this, the girl suddenly raised her left hand, which was holding his.

"You know what? This is the first time we've ever held hands. In your words, it's the first time in my life I've ever held hands with someone of the opposite sex my own age!"

"Is this...the first time?"

Zhou Heming immediately realized that he had been a bit reckless. At that moment, he was actually a little panicked and made a subconscious, habitual choice.

So, is Zhou Heming, at thirty-five, already quite used to holding hands with girls, or rather, holding Cheng Shuangjiang's hand?
"Although I'm not particularly particular about rituals, I still want to remember these firsts in my life, whether it's the first time holding hands, the first hug, or..."

Cheng Shuangjiang smiled and continued.

"This time, I'm so happy, it exceeded my expectations!"

"That, that's good."

Zhou Heming habitually rubbed his nose, looking at the crowd coming and going. He then glanced at the girl who seemed noticeably happier than usual.

"By the way, I have a question, it's just out of curiosity."

"uh-huh?"

Cheng Shuangjiang spoke in a soft, nasal voice.

"In the timeline before your 'rebirth,' how did the two of us get together?"

*
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(End of this chapter)