Chapter 255: Summer, Beach, Fireworks, and Confession

Chen Mo led Su Yuqing toward the giant rock at the very tip of the headland—the same spot where they had stood side-by-side during the day, overlooking the bay.

Chen Mo took a thick, wool shawl he had prepared earlier from his backpack. With a practiced motion, he wrapped it around Su Yuqing, bundling up her upper body securely until only her small face was showing.

"The wind is strong at night. Don’t catch a cold." His voice was somewhat scattered by the wind, but his actions were resolute, carrying a kind of forceful gentleness that Su Yuqing had grown accustomed to, one that permeated the small details of their life.

The memory of his meticulous care as he applied her sunscreen during the day overlapped in her mind with the forcefulness of him wrapping the shawl around her now, converging into a searing, warm current in her heart.

She clutched the shawl tighter, which carried his body heat and the fresh scent of soap. Watching his silhouette as he busied himself for her under the starlight, the shyness she had felt under his appreciative gaze while wearing a bikini during the day intertwined with the warmth of being so securely wrapped up now. The feeling in her chest swelled until it felt like it would burst.

"Thank you," she said softly. Her voice was faint against the wind, yet it carried clearly to Chen Mo’s ears.

"I’ve told you before. You don’t need to say those two words between us."

She lifted her head and gazed deeply into Chen Mo’s eyes, which appeared even more profound in the darkness. A turbulent, heart-stirring emotion churned within them.

At that very moment, as if in response to the surging passion between them, a massive wave of cheers erupted from the beach some distance below the headland, instantly overpowering the whistle of the sea wind and the roar of the tide!

Immediately after, the impassioned voice of an emcee, broadcast through giant speakers on the beach below, clearly pierced the distance and echoed over the tranquil headland...

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the Bikong Island Summer Festival! Our fireworks display is about to begin! Let’s all count down from five together—Five! Four! Three! Two! One!—"

"BOOM—!"

The instant the countdown ended, a world-shaking boom exploded between the sea and the sky!

No, not one boom, but what sounded like a thousand muffled thunderclaps rolling across the sea all at once!

The first massive firework shell shot toward the heavens, trailing a long, burning comet’s tail. With a sharp whistle, like a golden meteor, it decisively pierced the thick, ink-blue canopy of the night sky!

Everyone’s gaze, including Chen Mo’s and Su Yuqing’s, was involuntarily drawn by the enormous opening blast, and they snapped their heads toward the ascending firework.

"BANG—CRACKLE—!!!"

The moment the golden meteor reached its apex, it burst apart!

A dazzling golden light, like a liquid sun, instantly splashed open, forming a giant curtain of light that covered half the firmament!

From the edges of this luminous curtain, countless fine, golden specks of light, like shattered stars, rained down in every direction—toward the deep sea, and over their heads—trailing long tails of light!

This pure, blazing golden waterfall gilded every face turned up to the sky with a layer of flowing, brilliant gold foil!

The ink-blue night was utterly torn asunder, and the abyssal surface of the sea reflected thousands of glittering golden fragments!

"WOAH—!!!" Zhao Yuanyuan screamed, completely losing herself in the moment. Beside her, Huang Mao clenched his fists in excitement. Zhou Hao and Qu Danwan instinctively drew closer, while Lin Yu’an’s and Zhao Yuanyuan’s eyes were also filled with pure awe.

But this was merely the prelude!

The first golden bloom had not yet fully faded when, immediately after—

"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!!!"

Countless sharp, piercing whistles sounded in quick succession! Red, blue, purple, green... specks of every color, like a startled swarm of fireflies or colorful lava erupting from the seabed, shot toward the heavens from the direction of the beach, scrambling over one another with a shriek that tore through the air!

"BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG—!!!"

The next second, the heavens became a canvas upon which the gods themselves were splattering paint!

Giant peonies bloomed in magnificent, overlapping layers. Each petal, composed of countless tiny, colorful beads of light, spun and unfurled with regal grace.

Dazzling chrysanthemums blossomed, their golden, silver, and purple filaments unfurling elegantly, as if trying to embrace the entire starry sky.

Spiraling rings of light expanded, rotating rapidly like mysterious nebulae from the depths of space, shimmering with unpredictable iridescence within.

Heart-shaped patterns embraced tenderly at their peak before transforming into a meteor shower that rained across the sky...

The shape of every firework was exquisite, the color saturation was extremely high, and the combinations were full of artistic flair.

Crimson burned like a blazing fire, sapphire blue glowed like deep-sea gems, emerald green shone like new spring leaves, and bright yellow gleamed like molten gold, all intertwining and illuminating one another.

Their light was so intense that it not only illuminated the churning, dark sea, casting an iridescent sheen upon the waves, but even made the texture of the jagged reefs beneath the headland clearly visible.

The faint scent of gunpowder began to fill the air, mixing with the salty tang of the evening breeze and flooding everyone’s senses.

The explosions were continuous, like a dense roll of war drums beating beside one’s ears, or a deep rumble from the bowels of the earth.

Each massive RUMBLE was accompanied by a faint tremor in the rock beneath their feet, weaving together with the deep bass of the waves crashing against the shore below.

Cheers and gasps of amazement drifted up from the beach, merging into the magnificent symphony between heaven and earth.

In this ultimate feast of light and sound, Chen Mo and Su Yuqing felt as if they were at the center of the world, yet also felt isolated in a space that belonged only to them.

Every time a firework burst across the sky, its brilliant light would ignite in their eyes, illuminating the surging, no-longer-concealable emotions reflected in each other’s gazes.

As the next enormous purple peony firework boomed open, dyeing the world in the haze of a dreamy purple nebula, Qu Danwan’s hand, with a hint of hesitation but far more resolve, quietly slipped into Zhou Hao’s palm, which rested at his side, already damp with sweat.

Their fingers intertwined and clasped tightly.

Zhou Hao jolted. He whipped his head around to meet her eyes, which were reflecting the brilliant purple light and filled with a gentle, smiling warmth. A wave of immense joy instantly washed away all his nervousness, leaving only a goofy yet utterly content smile on his face.

Lin Yu’an and Zhao Yuanyuan sat in a corner where the light was slightly dimmer.

The deafening explosions seemed to have some of their fury filtered out by the rocks, leaving only a silent, beautiful play of light and shadow in their quiet eyes.

Every time the sky was lit by a new color, Zhao Yuanyuan’s clear pupils would fill with an entirely new, brilliant sea of stars.

She watched with such focus, her lips slightly parted, as if trying to absorb this fleeting yet eternal beauty into her very soul.

Lin Yu’an’s gaze, however, involuntarily slid from the burning sky to linger on her tranquil, innocent profile, illuminated by the flowing light.

A strange, warm current, like a gentle rising tide, silently washed over the emotional walls he had built up for so long.

[PS]: Some readers are eager to see the confession plotline and feel the recent Chapters have been dragging. However, this part of the story was designed as a special "movie-style" arc, and the confession is just the climax of this arc.

You have to understand, a climax without any foreplay is dry and dull. You might feel satisfied for a moment, but afterward, you’re left with a sense of emptiness, as if it was all a bit rushed.

A confession is simple. A quick "I love you" or "I like you" is all it takes to complete the ritual. But obviously, without enough buildup, performing that ritual is incredibly hollow.

So, before we get to the climax, the foreplay is the most crucial part.

After two days of foreplay brewing on Bikong Island, and after serving everyone a few small, sweet appetizers to whet their appetites, everything can finally and naturally flow to the final climax.

Tomorrow, we will officially present the climactic Chapter of this movie-style arc: "Summer, Beach, Fireworks, and a Confession! (The Confession Arc)"!