They said they were going out to play, but actually, they just went to the children’s fireworks spot with a bundle of fireworks.

The area was spacious, with no houses around, making it a great place to set off fireworks. Many parents, under the pretense of accompanying their kids, were playing too. Various small firecrackers went off with a bang, followed by the sound of everyone cheering and dodging.

Xie Qingci finally put on his coat, leaving it open.

As soon as they stepped outside, the cold wind blew, making Yu Xia instinctively shrink her neck. He remained unfazed, winding the scarf around her loop by loop.

The scarf was fluffy and long, wrapping half of her head inside.

This triggered Xie Qingci’s quirky habit as he pushed down the part of the scarf covering her mouth and nose, unwrapped her, and lifted her chin for a kiss.

Then he adjusted her thick coat, pulled her hand out from the sleeve, and kissed it repeatedly.

"No wonder so many people like their girlfriends to wear their clothes. You look so small, so cute."

"...Pervert, grab your fireworks and let’s go."

It was late at night, and there were no street lights. Only the instantaneous glow from everyone’s fireworks and firecrackers allowed one to barely see a vague silhouette of others. They didn’t use any other decoration and blended into the children’s crowd with plain faces.

Xie Qingci handed her two sparklers, ignited them, and instructed her to hold them far away, as if passing a baton in a relay race.

The sparks vaguely illuminated their profiles. Yu Xia passed the sparker in her right hand to the side, and Xie Qingci seized the chance to pick a new one, leaning into the sparks to ignite it.

He asked, "Does it look good?"

Yu Xia straightforwardly replied, "It’s okay, it looks better when you hold it. Hold still, let me take a picture."

Xie Qingci took the two sparklers from her hand, holding three together, and flashed a relaxed smile at the camera.

Sparklers burn out fast, the sparks vanished in an instant. Catching the last bit of light, she snapped a picture, capturing his handsome face amidst the light and shadows.

A child ran past from behind him, drawn to the box of small fireworks beside him, lingering instead of leaving, mimicking him by squatting next to him, big eyes staring at him.

Soon, two other kids joined, standing at his back, looking into the box.

Yu Xia found it amusing and took a few more photos, documenting the scene of him being surrounded by children.

Xie Qingci was still in a staring contest with the child squatting beside him.

He didn’t mince words when speaking to the child, lacking the usual good-natured coaxing he gave Yu Xia.

"Why are you squatting beside me?"

The child eyed his fireworks box eagerly, inching closer until they were pressed against his knee.

"Brother, you have so many small fireworks."

Xie Qingci: "Yeah, I plan to light them all up soon."

The child’s mouth puckered, and the two kids bouncing behind bent down, standing on either side of him like New Year’s picture dolls, also looking at him eagerly.

"Brother, can we play with one?"

"Brother, can we trade our sky flash for one of these?"

Xie Qingci glanced at the person ahead, unsure if they were taking photos or videos, and raised an eyebrow: "I can’t decide. You have to ask that sister over there; I follow her lead."

The squatting child immediately rushed over, clinging to Yu Xia’s leg, head lifted, looking at her eagerly.

"Sister, are you that brother’s sister? Can we play with that small firework?"

Yu Xia pretended to be in a dilemma: "But I’m not his sister."

The kid running over chirped a sentence each.

"You could be his younger sister!"

"Or his girlfriend! You guys are so clueless!"

"Not just that, she could be his wife! My brother has a wife!"

"Wife! Wife!"

Yu Xia: "..."

Instinctively, she glanced at Xie Qingci, only to find him still half-squatting, tilting his head, looking at her meaningfully.

Feeling slightly uneasy, she took a deep breath, keeping her expression calm as she looked down and patted a child’s head, saying, "Go to brother and get the small fireworks."

"Wow! Small fireworks!"

"Brother, sister agreed!"

"She’s really your wife! It’s your wife!"

Xie Qingci’s smile grew wider, and he directly grabbed a handful of sparklers, handing them to the kids, even helping to light two.

The sparklers fizzed and popped, startling the kids into shrieks, but then they laughed and ran around, waving them fearlessly.

In the glow of several sparklers burning at the same time, Yu Xia could clearly see Xie Qingci’s expression. He looked over at her with a smile, mouthing words that were hard to hear amidst the noise, but she could barely decipher from the movements of his mouth.

He was saying, "Come over here."

She hesitated for a second, then walked towards him.

They squatted together, and he leisurely took another sparkler from the box, lit it, and handed it to her.

Yu Xia stared at the spark as he nonchalantly said, "These kids are something else, finding me a wife with just a few words."

"..." Hearing him say those two words really felt like being bitten by a mosquito, making her whole body itch.

As the sparkler burned out, she pointed the bare stick at him.

"From now on, you’re banned from speaking."

Xie Qingci raised his hands in surrender: "Requesting to lift the ban on speaking, I didn’t do anything wrong."

"If I say you’re wrong, then you’re wrong."

"Wrong about what? Calling someone wife? "

"...You’re still saying it." Yu Xia threw the stick aside, pouncing to cover his mouth.

Xie Qingci’s mouth was covered, but the laughter came from his throat, impossible to suppress.

He tried to open his mouth, the warm touch opened and closed, and although no syllables came out, she just had a premonition, he was definitely still calling those two words.

The physical mute game lasted for quite some time until the three kids squatted next to them again, staring at them.

The kids squatted like small bundles, with hands neatly placed on their knees, tilting their heads like little angels.

"Sister, why are you covering brother’s mouth?"

"Brother, can we play with one more?"

"Why aren’t you guys playing anymore?"

Yu Xia withdrew her hand as if nothing had happened, and even responded to the questioning child, "Because brother mumbles too much."

Xie Qingci, just having been unmuted, handed out a few more sparklers to them.

"The rest are for sister to play with, can’t give them to you anymore. Tell sister thank you."

The three kids sweetly said, "Thank you, sister," their voices so sweet, all leaning on Xie Qingci, asking him to light them. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He pulled the kid on the left to the right, telling them, "This is sister’s spot. She also wants me to help light her sparkler. Look, she’s pouting unhappily."

Yu Xia: "...You’re the one pouting!"

A kid laughed, spouting off some "knowledge" they picked up somewhere.

"Pouting means you want a kiss! Your wife wants a kiss!"

Xie Qingci raised an eyebrow: "Is that so? My bad, I didn’t catch that."

Then he winked at Yu Xia: "Want a kiss?"

Yu Xia: ...Kiss your big head!