10 Make a Wish

"Liu Jian, you…" Xu Jiyu trails off, unable to speak his mind when he sees the faint smile on his partner's lips.

"Mm?" Liu Jian hums questioningly, briefly meeting Xu Jiyu's gaze.

The taller man is currently holding a wrinkly paper lantern, one that he wrote on himself earlier. Xu Jiyu couldn't read what it said. It pales in comparison to Xu Jiyu's, whose lantern is wrinkle-free with neat writing.

But because he's enjoying himself so much, the youth can't bear to ruin his fun. Instead, he says with a light-hearted grin, "Nothing, let's go cast our lanterns into the sky. You wrote your wish inside your lantern, right?"

He nods, "En."

"And you didn't show or tell anyone your wish, right?"

Another nod. "En."

"That's good, then let's get going!"

Xu Jiyu walks in front, leading Liu Jian towards an open space. He feels something warm wrap around his hand for the second time tonight, and he looks back, surprised.

Liu Jian was holding his hand again with usual stoic expression.

There wasn't much of a crowd anymore, so for two men to be holding hands like this in public, was it really okay…? Didn't Liu Jian realize that it wasn't necessary at the moment?

"Liu Jian, you don't have to…" He's about to shake Liu Jian's hand off despite the blush creeping up to his cheeks, but then—

"Mas—I mean, uh, you there…!!" A young boy around Xu Jiyu's height runs up to them, right through their connected fingers. Their joined hands immediately disconnected.

Liu Jian's face darkens. "...Fang Lei."

The stranger holds up three steamed buns, puffing out his chest as if extremely proud of himself. Xu Jiyu observes the two, an uncomfortable feeling swelling in his chest. Did they know each other? And here he thought that Liu Jian didn't like talking to anyone besides himself. Perhaps he had been a bit conceited to think that…

The boy looks between Liu Jian and Xu Jiyu, before grinning. "I finally found you. Today's your lucky day! I'm going to give you these three steamed buns for free, Liu Jian!"

"...En." The steamed buns wrapped in a cloth are shoved into Liu Jian's arms, almost making him drop his lantern. But it doesn't anger him, he only nods his head and says, "...Thank you."

At this point, the boy is stunned into silence, staring at Liu Jian as if he'd grown a horn out of his head.

"Liu Jian, who's this?" Xu Jiyu finally speaks up to break the silence, peering curiously over at the boy named Fang Lei.

"...A friend of mine, Fang Lei."

Fang Lei snaps out of his trance as he hears his name being called, and he straightens up and cups his hands, bowing to Xu Jiyu. "Hello. Thank you for taking care of Liu Jian while I was busy. This one's name is Fang Lei."

Xu Jiyu returns the greeting, cupping his hands and bowing, "It's an honor to meet one of Liu Jian's friends. This one's name is Xu Jiyu, and the pleasure is all mine." He ignores the strange emotion stirring within his heart and only smiles.

And here he naively believed that he was Liu Jian's only friend…

Xu Jiyu quickly slips his mask on, smiling even wider.

Unbeknownst to Xu Jiyu, Fang Lei also has his own mask on. The two are smiling at each other, but in reality…

The corner of Fang Lei's mouth twitches. "So, I know we have only just met, but I'm very busy and I must depart again… make sure that Liu Jian is well-protected, and please don't trouble him too much, brother Xu."

A spark of electricity seems to crackle through the air.

"I will do my best not to, dearest brother Fang. You should quickly go, the festival gets rather rowdy later in the night…" Xu Jiyu says, his burning eyes never wavering. "Go on."

Meanwhile, Liu Jian is completely oblivious to the apparent rivalry going on between them. The only thing he says under his breath is, "It's nice to see them getting along so well… en." And he nods as he stuffs the steamed buns into his robe.

Fang Lei harrumphs, before saying, "Many thanks for your kindness. I'll be going now." Then he finally turns to Liu Jian and bows to him. "This one will be going now. I'll be back soon!"

"En." Liu Jian replies, again.

Fang Lei takes his leave, briskly walking off and disappearing into the sea of people.

The unpleasant feeling in his chest disappears completely. Xu Jiyu peels off his mask and flashes a genuine smile towards Liu Jian.

"Come on, let's go, Liu Jian!" This time, the youth takes the initiative to grasp Liu Jian's hand himself.

Ignoring the strange stares they were receiving from the onlookers, he pulls Liu Jian without waiting for an answer towards the middle of the village. His mind awash with an uncertain emotion, he fails to question why Fang Lei only found Liu Jian to give him steamed buns. In fact, the thought doesn't even cross his mind.

As they walk, Xu Jiyu strikes up a conversation.

"I didn't know you had friends, Liu Jian. Judging by the way you treat everyone else that isn't me, I was very surprised…" His voice is soft, but his expression is one of annoyance. He doesn't understand why he's so bothered by it...

A few people loitered about in the spacious area, some socializing while some sent their lanterns into the sky.

"...There's only you." Liu Jian answers after mulling over his partner's words for a good moment.

Surprised, Xu Jiyu turns to face Liu Jian. "Huh?"

Liu Jian repeats with more conviction, "There is only you. Fang Lei and I do not speak often. Only when needed."

"...I see." Xu Jiyu murmurs, his expression softening considerably. His uncertainty vanishes, and he says again, "I see."

For some reason, he feels incredibly relieved.

He reluctantly lets go of Liu Jian's hand and hums, "Hmm, well… I think it's time to light our lanterns. What do you say?"

Liu Jian flashes a small grin and he nods. "En… I'm looking forward to it."

"Alright, so all we have to do is light it with a small flame here," Xu Jiyu points to the bottom of the lantern. "When lighting it, we have to hold the top of the lantern so it won't catch on fire. Then all you have to do is let go of it, and it'll fly into the sky by itself."

"...En." Liu Jian nods.

Xu Jiyu says, "Well, it's good that you understand. Now, I'll have to go find something to light these—"

Liu Jian shakes his head. "No need."

With that being said, Liu Jian uses his spiritual power to create a small, azure flame at the tip of his index finger. Not noticing Xu Jiyu's awed expression, he says, "...Xu Jiyu, please hold the top of the lantern for me."

"Huh? O-Oh, sure!" No matter how many times the young man sees Liu Jian use his spiritual powers, he still can't believe just how powerful this man is. Just… who exactly is Liu Jian?

He hastily holds the top of the lantern up, and Liu Jian carefully touches the tip of his finger to the bottom of the lantern, following Xu Jiyu's instructions. The blue fire sways for a moment, before catching onto the lantern's wick and bringing it to life.

Slowly, the two let go of it as it floats up into the sky.

"...Now yours," Liu Jian says, reaching over to light Xu Jiyu's lantern. They repeat the process with the youth's lantern, and it's not long before both of their lanterns are flying up into the sky.

The two watch with unabashed admiration as their wishes soar unerringly into the heavens, soon becoming lost among the stars.