A Wish Under Fireworks

“Bullshit.”

Jian Yixun angrily slammed the keyboard.

“We’re just normal friends playing a game together, what’s wrong with that?”

“Normal friends, huh.”

Lin Xiu replied quickly, his words dripping with sarcasm.

“What kind of ‘normal friends’ get so anxious when they don’t see each other that they want to stick to them all the time? Who are you fooling?”

Jian Yixun fell silent for once.

He looked up at Xu Shuche, who was fully focused on controlling his game character, and was momentarily distracted.

What if it were someone else?

Jian Yixun imagined it.

If another guy were sitting beside him, being this close would be absolutely impossible.

He disliked any close physical contact with others.

Even with the opposite s*x, he found it hard to accept.

But Xu Shuche was different.

Jian Yixun found it strangely fascinating.

They hadn’t even known each other for half a year, yet Xu Shuche already held such a high place in his heart.

Perhaps some people were just naturally compatible, meant to be together doing anything.

Jian Yixun looked at Xu Shuche again, then lowered his head to his phone, suddenly no longer as certain as before.

If it were someone else doing everything he had done with Xu Shuche, he wouldn’t be able to accept it at all.

And he definitely wouldn’t pretend to be a newbie just to play Jianghu Dream with them.

As an RPG game, Jianghu Dream was all about social interaction and character development.

Jian Yixun’s main account was top-tier, ranking among the best, with full resources, top equipment, and all cosmetics.

He usually hated leveling alternate accounts and even hired others to level them for him.

Yet now, not only was he playing Jianghu Dream with Xu Shuche, he was also leveling the very alt account he hated.

Jian Yixun was amazed by his own patience.

He sent Lin Xiu a message.

“Don’t say it… I think something really is wrong with me.”

After sending it, he locked his phone.

Xu Shuche happened to look up at him.

“I’ve changed your gems. Take a look. From now on, you should only use this black one.”

Jian Yixun quickly leaned over and nodded.

“Mm, yes, all black.”

“Black is poison attack, which is your main attribute,” Xu Shuche explained.

“Agate is resistance, you can equip those freely, but it’s best to keep them the same color.”

“Okay, thank you, senior.”

Jian Yixun responded obediently to everything Xu Shuche said.

Xu Shuche was very satisfied.

“Good. If you follow what I say, your cultivation will improve, and you’ll become a very strong Youlan.”

Jian Yixun looked at him and suddenly asked,

“Then if I become really strong… can I protect you?”

“Well…”

Xu Shuche saw the expectation in his eyes.

He originally wanted to say that there were many high-level players in the game, and one would need extremely high stats to protect someone.

But in the end, he said,

“You can. As long as your stats improve.”

Jian Yixun happily replied, “Mm.”

Then he lowered his head and messaged Lin Xiu again.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Anyway, being with him makes me happy no matter what we do.”

“You probably wouldn’t understand this feeling, but that’s fine, I don’t really understand it either.”

“But just being with him feels comfortable.”

“Even if we don’t say anything and just sit quietly together, I’m satisfied.”

“And he’s really cute.”

“I have a main account in Jianghu Dream, ranked near the top, so I’m definitely not a newbie.”

“But I pretended to be one in front of him, just to watch him teach me how to play.”

“I know only by reaching my main account’s level can I be unbeatable.”

“But he told me that if I improve just a little more, I can protect him.”

“He was afraid I’d feel discouraged, so he’d rather tell me a little lie.”

“Isn’t that adorable?”

Lin Xiu had just gathered enough people for basketball when his phone kept ringing non-stop.

Annoyed, he unlocked it and gritted his teeth as he sent a voice message.

“Who the hell cares whether your senior is cute? If you’re not playing basketball, stop bothering me!”

After saying that, he suddenly felt the world had become terrifying.

If even Jian Yixun could possibly turn gay, then maybe nothing in this world was straight anymore.

Although Jian Yixun was a young master, his family atmosphere was warm and loving.

He had grown up in comfort, without hardship, and his parents hadn’t spoiled him into having bad habits.

Even though Jian Yixun kept saying it was fine for Xu Shuche to stay at his house, Xu Shuche still felt it was intrusive.

He tended to overthink things, lying in bed every night wondering if he was causing trouble, feeling increasingly uneasy.

Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore and decided to leave.

He planned to send a message saying he felt embarrassed imposing and would visit another day.

But before he could finish packing, he was stopped.

Jian Yixun’s parents were completely different from what Xu Shuche had imagined.

Even in casual home clothes, Jian Yixun’s father carried a natural sense of dignity.

Yet he was actually very easygoing and didn’t seem like a typical business tycoon at all.

In Xu Shuche’s impression, wealthy families were intimidating, especially those in the capital.

But Jian Yixun’s family was low-key and approachable.

Jian Yixun’s mother, worried Xu Shuche might feel uncomfortable, had him sit together with Jian Yixun on the sofa.

Xu Shuche tried to hide his awkwardness by cracking pistachios.

But Mrs. Jian thought he liked them and poured him a whole bag.

Noticing his discomfort, Jian Yixun quietly said,

“It’s fine. Just treat this like your own home.”

If it were his own home, Xu Shuche wouldn’t receive such treatment.

His father was an alcoholic who used to beat and scold him when he was young.

Especially during the New Year, his father would drink heavily and curse his ex-wife and Xu Shuche.

At first, Xu Shuche would secretly cry while looking at the lights outside.

Later, he got used to it.

Whenever his father caused trouble, he would lock himself in his room and study, determined to escape someday.

This was the liveliest Spring Festival Xu Shuche had ever experienced.

The Jian family gathered together warmly, without arguments or insults.

No one questioned why Xu Shuche, a stranger, was spending the New Year with them.

After dinner, Jian Yixun seemed to notice Xu Shuche’s discomfort and quietly led him out through the back door.

The adults were chatting, and the TV was playing pre-Spring Festival Gala interviews.

Xu Shuche felt uneasy as Jian Yixun held his wrist.

“Where are you taking me?”

Jian Yixun turned and smiled mischievously.

“I know you don’t like staying there. I’ll take you somewhere else.”

Outside was a lively alley.

Children in thick coats were setting off firecrackers.

Since fireworks weren’t banned this year, it seemed like everyone was making up for lost time.

The alley echoed with crackling sounds and sharp whistles from fireworks.

Jian Yixun brought out a box of firecrackers and handed Xu Shuche a lighter.

Seeing the different sizes, Xu Shuche instinctively stepped back.

“Senior, why are you hiding?”

Jian Yixun laughed.

“You’re scared of this?”

“I’ve never played with them!”

Xu Shuche snapped, embarrassed.

“Then you should try.”

“They’re fun.”

Xu Shuche shook his head repeatedly.

Jian Yixun sighed.

“You really don’t trust me? Would I let anything happen to you?”

As he spoke, he lit one.

A sharp whistle shot into the sky.

Startled, Xu Shuche stepped behind him, only to see a firework bloom in the dark blue sky.

“Senior!”

Jian Yixun leaned close and shouted with a smile,

“Happy New Year!”

Xu Shuche was suddenly pulled into his arms.

This time, instead of aftershave, he smelled the scent of fireworks and smoke.

It felt like the warmth of the human world.

Without realizing it, he leaned into Jian Yixun’s scarf, breathing in softly.

It felt like being held in a warm world filled with fireworks.

“Make a wish!”

Jian Yixun lit another firework, glowing pink and green in the sky.

“Hurry!”

“What’s there to wish for with fireworks?”

Xu Shuche said that, but still looked up.

What should he wish for?

He had always fought for everything himself, so he didn’t believe in wishes.

Just as he thought that, Jian Yixun suddenly asked,

“After this project ends… we won’t be this close anymore, right?”

“Maybe,” Xu Shuche replied.

“Why?”

“…Nothing.”

Jian Yixun pressed his lips together, then said seriously,

“Then I’ll make a wish.”

“I wish that even after the project ends, we won’t grow distant.”

“That we’ll stay just as close as we are now.”