After midnight

An Yan carried Su Zi Ling back home, laid him on the sofa, and found some painkillers for him. Su Zi Ling recognized that these were bought by An Yan when he first came to Qingdao.

"Take off your shoes."

"Ah?" Su Ziling felt that his brain was not enough today.

"Want me to help you?"

"No, thanks." Su Ziling shook his head and quickly bent down to untie his shoelaces himself.

"Indeed, there are no broken bones. It will be healed in a day or two." After checking, An Yan applied medicine on the red and swollen area.

"That's what I told you." Su Ziling rubbed the ointment, and a cool touch rose to his ankles.

An Yan watched him rubbing his hair, not planning to get up. Su Ziling sat on the sofa, watching the light shining on An Yan's head, creating a halo that made An Yan's fluffy hair look even better to touch.

"Xiao Su won't go to school tomorrow, right?" Su Ziling asked, quickly stopping the thoughts in his mind.

"Yes, tomorrow is Saturday." An Yan was still squatting, and his voice sounded much deeper.

"Why don't we go to Signal Hill together tomorrow? My minor injury won't be a problem. Xiao Su finally has a day off, so let's take her out for a walk."

"it is good."

The next day, they walked up from their residence and turned left at the first fork in the road. It took only ten minutes to reach the destination. They bought tickets and started their half-day tour of Signal Hill.

They walked along one side of the rock wall, passing large patches of emerald green stems and leaves, clusters of red azaleas in full bloom, and mottled shadows cast by the crowns of taller trees. Above their heads, the light blue sky and sparse white clouds complemented each other, making everything on Signal Mountain even brighter.

"It would be great if there was no charge. This is simply like a back garden." Su Ziling sighed. After they walked across the long flat ground, they began to turn the corner and climb the stairs.

Halfway up the mountain, there is a pillar with a dragon sculpture. The dragon head sprays water upwards, and small fountains on all sides surround the pillar and spit water to irrigate the dragon's body. The fountains make a crisp sound and the water flows clear. Su Ziling stopped and looked into the distance. From here, he could already see a corner of Qingdao. He looked at the green trees, red walls and the shallow sea level and couldn't help getting excited.

"Let's go up quickly," he said.

"Be careful."

The top platform, Su Ziling was not able to enter last night. This time he finally sat in the largest sphere in the middle. The automatic rotating platform rotated very slowly, and it took almost 20 minutes to complete one circle.

An Yan, Su Ziling and An Xiaosu sat down next to each other. There is a kind of beauty that you can only know how beautiful it is when you see it. White walls and red tiles, green trees and the sea, high and low, layered and stacked, appeared in Su Ziling's eyes. He stared at it for a long time through a layer of glass before muttering, "I wonder what it will look like here at night."

An Yan's eyes moved. After returning home, Su Ziling took the ointment, smeared it, and put it back. He could almost stand up and walk normally, but his feet still felt a little uncomfortable.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Su Ziling sat on the sofa and watched a TV series with Xiao Su. The TV series was a bit boring. When he was about to go back to his room to read, An Yan called him. "Su Ziling."

An Yan stood at the door of his room and looked at him. He walked over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"You're not going to play basketball?"

"Didn't I sprain my ankle?"

"Oh." An Yan still looked at him, "I mean... you're not going to have coffee?"

"Why, An Yan, are you going?"

"...I don't want to go today." After saying that, An Yan went back to the room and closed the door.

Su Ziling saw the dark wooden door slowly closing before he realized what was happening and tried to stop it. After Su Ziling entered, he immediately stood at the door and didn't dare to move forward. An Yan ignored him and pulled out a chair and sat down calmly.

Su Ziling opened and closed his mouth, then opened it again and said carefully, "You know I... like her?"

At last, she said lightly, and An Yan nodded.

After being exposed, Su Ziling became interested. He rushed forward, sat on An Yan's bed and asked, "Do you like Lin Nuan?"

An Yan's hand paused as he was about to turn the page of the book. He opened the book without shaking his head or nodding.

Su Ziling understood, "Anyway, I know Lin Nuan definitely likes you."

"Don't talk nonsense. Lin Nuan is getting married soon. Go read a book if you have nothing to do."

Su Ziling was stunned for a moment and then got up and went back to his room. He went back to his room and did not go out again for the whole day. The next day, at around four o'clock, he appeared in the coffee shop but soon went home. At ten o'clock that night, Su Ziling came out of his room and saw Xiao Su curled up on the sofa with a gloomy expression on his face.

"Xiao Su, it's ten o'clock, why haven't you gone to bed yet?"

"Dad said he was going somewhere soon."

"Where are you going so late?"

"I don't know either. Dad is very mysterious." Xiao Su pouted.

"I'm going to find An Yan."

"Brother Ling, Dad will definitely not tell you."

"You'll have to ask to find out." Su Ziling could not deny this, and An Xiaosu curled her lips after hearing this. Coincidentally, An Yan came out of the living room at this time, and Su Ziling asked him. "An Yan, it's so late, where are you taking Xiaosu?"

"It's not that I want to take her, but that we go together."

"It's about time to set off now." An Yan leaned out of the window and glanced out. There was no one in sight under the street lights in the alley.

Su Ziling and Xiao Su followed An Yan and set off, not knowing what An Yan was up to. The more they walked, the more confused they felt. Wasn't this the way to Signal Mountain?

Arriving at Signal Hill, An Yan crouched down and slipped in first. Before he went in, he smiled at them with bright eyes. Su Ziling and Xiao Su looked at each other tacitly and hurried in. Although they couldn't see each other's faces in the dark, they could feel each other's confusion, surprise and excitement.

Along the way, they were in high spirits, less leisurely and relaxed than in the morning, but more interested and cheerful.

"Dad, it's so dark here and we can't see anything. What are we doing here? We can't open the door." When they successfully touched the platform with the ball standing high, Xiao Su asked An Yan.

"Xiao Su, hold me tight." An Yan did not answer, but hugged Xiao Su tightly, letting Xiao Su wrap himself in his arms, with his hands tightly wrapped around his neck.

At this time, a thin and sparkling blue light like a silver thread quietly circled the vertical iron frame at the highest point of the platform. An Yan gently pulled and flew up with Xiao Su in his arms, lightly and confidently.

Su Ziling blinked in disbelief. His heart moved, and he immediately understood that this was An Yan's pure ability. He almost jumped up immediately. He almost forgot that An Yan, who was always gentle and pure beside him, was the strongest existence.

Su Ziling's heart was pounding and he was deep in thought when he was pulled up by An Yan without any preparation.

"Ahhhh!" Along with the sound of the wind, Su Ziling's screams, enough to pierce a person's eardrums, continued. After he stood firm, he angrily said, "An Yan, you pulled me up, didn't you tell me first?"

"Shh, Brother Ling, don't talk, look."

Thousands of lights flickered. Breaking the constraints of the glass windows, the view was closer and more real. The wind whistled beside his ears, but Su Ziling seemed to hear the sound of the waves hitting the sea. The sky was very dark, but he seemed to be able to outline the beauty of the white walls and red tiles during the day.

Su Ziling opened his arms and embraced the Milky Way under the night sky. At this moment, he could only think of one word: joyful.

It was late at night, and the yellow lights shone on the stone road. After coming out of Signal Hill, they were the only ones on the street, and the light and shadows passed by them. An Yan walked in front with Xiao Su sleeping on his shoulder, and Su Ziling followed behind.

They arrived home around 11:30. After 12 o'clock, Su Ziling had already gone to bed. In the early morning of the 18th of this month, An Yan silently said to the lonely starry sky in the dark room: "Lin Nuan, happy wedding!"

"A Nuan." The day before her wedding, Jiang Yu hesitated for a while in front of Lin Nuan's door before knocking.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Lin Nuan was sitting on the bed flipping through some books. When she heard her mother calling her to close the book and put it aside, she quickly walked over and welcomed her mother in. She took her arm, and the two of them walked in together and sat on the bed.

"It's okay, I just want to see you again." Jiang Yu said with a smile.

"Well, is your daughter pretty?" Lin Nuan leaned on Jiang Yu's shoulder, avoiding her mother's overly loving and sad gaze.

"It looks good, of course it looks good."

"Mom, you know, Lu Li's home is not far from here." Lin Nuan advised her tactfully.

"Mom knows." Jiang Yu stroked Lin Nuan's hand, turned it over and over in her hand, and then warned her. "You can't be careless about your lifelong event. I won't say anything else. When you get married, remember to be devoted to Lu Li."

"I know, Mom, you've told me so many times." Lin Nuan shook Jiang Yu's arm and acted coquettishly.

"Okay, I have to go find your father later, you should get some rest."

Lin Nuan watched her mother walk away, slowly disappearing, until she was out of sight, then she gently closed the door. Lin Nuan bit her lower lip, her eyes sad. She still didn't have the courage to say "I will come back to see you often in the future", as if once she said this, they would really be separated.

Half a block away at the Song Mansion, Song Yu finally lost his temper after returning home for several days. His tone was hurried and full of worry.

"Father, the Lu and Lin families will be united tomorrow."

"Keep calm." Song Hongtian still closed his eyes and rested.

"But everything you did before couldn't stop it."

"Stop it?" Song Hongtian opened his eyes, stared at Song Yu and snorted coldly: "I have never thought of stopping it. No matter what I do, I can't stop it. I know it too well, so let them pay the price with blood tomorrow!"

Song Yu walked out of Song Hongtian's study with a gloomy look in his eyes. After all, he still didn't know what Song Hongtian was planning, whether it was not long ago or now.

He walked along the corridor and planned to go back to his room through the small garden. The midday sun was very dazzling, so he turned his head to avoid it, and his eyes swept over the roses that were in full bloom. Red, pink, and budding, standing in the courtyard, the flowers were in clusters and formed a beautiful scenery.

This was the courtyard that Song Xin took care of herself. Song Yu's pent-up anger suddenly vented. He calmed down and walked into the courtyard. Before he took two steps, he saw Song Xin squatting in front of a yellow flower. The flower was not a rose, and Song Xin was watering it with a white kettle.

"Xin'er."

"Brother!" Song Xin smiled brightly, came over happily, put the kettle on the round table, pulled out the wooden rattan chair and sat under the awning. Song Yu took a step forward and sat down casually around the round table.

"I've been quite busy lately. Are you bored being alone?" He crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees.

"It's not boring. Yun Shuang comes over sometimes, and I go to accompany my uncle. I heard that Lin Nuan is getting married."

"Yes, tomorrow."

"Really? I really envy her."

"Are you jealous?" Song Yu asked, leaning against the back of the rattan chair.

"Yes, wouldn't it be nice to marry someone you grew up with and know and accompany?" Song Xin supported her chin with her hand, looking really yearning for it.

"You are still so young, and you want to get married so much." The smile in Song Yu's eyes gradually disappeared. How could he not know who Song Xin was talking about.

"Not young, I'm one year older than Lin Nuan."

"So you want to get married, who do you want to marry?" Song Yu also imitated Song Xin, propping up his chin with his elbow on the round table, with a half-smile.

"No one!" Song Xin argued, her face slightly red.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I have something to take care of, so I'll leave first. Don't water your flowers to death."

"No!" Song Xin pinched her lips and stomped her feet.

On June 18th, the wedding finally took place. The red carpet was laid neatly along the road, with no end in sight. At the gate of the Lin residence, firecrackers were set off, gongs and drums were beating, and four handsome and strong men carried the fiery red sedan chair and marched forward, leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the roadside.

After the sedan chair was sent away, the musicians who had been playing in front of the Lin residence stopped playing, and the crowds of people who were crowded and noisy around it quickly disappeared. The fiery red sedan chair was like a bleak boat, sailing alone into the lonely and silent sea. This is so strange, isn't it?

In the bridal sedan, Lin Nuan sat upright in her wedding gown. She lowered her eyes, her face calm.

At this time, marriage was more like a mission that she had to complete. She felt more sad than yearning, but not too sad. Her eyes were confused, not knowing which direction to look, and the past scenes emerged one by one.