Chapter 152: Happy New Year

Zhu Yuan put the fox mask on her face, shook her head, and asked Ji Xiang, "Does it look good?"

Ji Xiang nodded repeatedly, "You are the little fox itself, it looks so good! Hurry, hurry, help me pick one too, my indecisiveness is acting up."

"How about this monkey one?" Enzo took a monkey mask and handed it to Ji Xiang.

Ji Xiang gave him a resentful look, "Who gives a girl a monkey mask to wear?"

In the end, Zhu Yuan picked a rabbit mask for her; it was pink and tender, looking exactly like her chubby baby face. Zhu Yuan held her masked face, "It looks good, why are you so cute?"

The sweet, soft voice reached the ears of the man not far away.

Sheng Yu put on a fox mask and looked over toward that side through the mask. The stall owner saw him lift his long legs to leave and hurriedly called out to him, "Hey, you haven't paid yet!"

The owner's shout was too loud, attracting the attention of many people around.

Zhu Yuan and her companions also looked over toward this side.

As early as when Sheng Yu looked over, Enzo had discovered him thanks to his keen insight. When Zhu Yuan and the others looked up, he moved a step without a sound, his broad shoulders blocking their line of sight.

"How about I take this bear mask?"

He picked it up and gestured seriously against his face.

Zhu Yuan took a look and expressed her approval, "It suits your temperament very well."

Enzo's brows furrowed slightly; why did that sound so wrong?

On the other side, in front of the stall being watched by passersby, Sheng Yu behind the mask had a gloomy expression. A Bodyguard wearing a black suit walked up quickly and scanned the code to pay.

One look at this posture and it was clear they were not ordinary people.

The owner was too scared to speak, and the onlookers did not want to invite any trouble during the New Year, so they quickly dispersed.

After Zhu Yuan scanned the code to pay, the three of them wore masks that exposed the lower half of their faces and wandered around.

When she saw special snacks, she bought them for the two of them.

Ji Xiang was a foodie, and Enzo was tall and burly and ate a lot, basically never refusing anything offered.

Along the way, the three of them ate and drank, feeling quite content.

The performance at the sub-venue began, and more and more people at the lantern festival were walking toward the venue.

The bustling crowd.

Zhu Yuan was holding Ji Xiang's hand at first, but as the crowd became more and more congested, their joined hands were pushed apart, and when she turned her head, Ji Xiang was nowhere to be seen.

"Ji Xiang!"

Her voice was scattered by the rush.

Zhu Yuan was pushed forward by the crowd. She anxiously took out her phone to call Ji Xiang; Ji Xiang was thin and small, she must not get trampled by people.

The phone rang for a long time without being answered.

She called Enzo again.

While being pushed forward by the crowd, she searched for the figures of Ji Xiang and Enzo; Enzo was so tall that he should be easy to find.

Fortunately, the call connected, "Miss Zhu!"

"Enzo, is Ji Xiang with you?" Zhu Yuan asked anxiously.

"She is right next to me. There are too many people, you take care of your own safety, I will look after her. We will meet at the venue."

Zhu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay."

She had just put her phone back into her bag when she was suddenly bumped by someone.

There were too many people tonight; if she fell, it would easily trigger a stampede. Zhu Yuan finally steadied her footing, only to be bumped by someone again.

Suddenly, a force gripped her arm.

The inexplicably familiar strength made Zhu Yuan's whole body stiffen.

When she stood firm and turned her head, she only saw a strange and slightly impatient face behind her.

Zhu Yuan hurriedly withdrew her gaze; was she losing her mind?

How could she have thought it was that person just for a moment?

As she got closer to the venue, it seemed less crowded.

Zhu Yuan was focused on finding Enzo and Ji Xiang, not noticing that around her, several men in suits were deliberately blocking the crowded people from getting close to her, which was why she didn't feel the congestion.

Finally, she found Ji Xiang and Enzo.

Zhu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as she went over to hook her arm around Ji Xiang's shoulder.

The three turned to go to the venue. Enzo slowly turned his head to look at the few people behind him; the men nodded slightly and dispersed instantly.

Under a lantern sign not far away, Sheng Yu took off the obstructive mask and lit a cigarette.

With people coming and going around him, he saw Zhu Yuan in the middle of the crowd, singing and laughing along with the music at a glance.

Across layers of figures, his gaze locked onto her.

So her so-called peaceful life could bring her so much happiness.

Sheng Yu flicked the ash from his cigarette and glanced at the eyesore Enzo beside her, who was smiling like a sunflower.

Heh.

He stubbed out the cigarette, put on his mask, and walked toward that side.

The music on the stage and the sound of the audience were too loud, and Zhu Yuan's voice was drowned out, but it did not affect her mood in the slightest.

She and Ji Xiang held their joined hands high, swaying left and right, happy as little girls.

The thing she was clutching in her hand swayed in mid-air; even at an arm's length away, Sheng Yu could smell that sweet, cloying fragrance.

A woman who dared to jump into the sea, could ride horses, fight wild wolves, and curse—she liked to eat this stuff?

Zhu Yuan was immersed in happiness, completely unaware of a scorching, quiet gaze falling upon her from behind.

Ji Xiang had sweaty hands; after getting high on the excitement, her palms were a bit sweaty, and when she was swaying while holding hands with Zhu Yuan, her hand slipped, accidentally knocking the mask off Zhu Yuan's face.

A gust of wind lifted Zhu Yuan's long hair, and she instinctively bent down to pick up the mask.

The mask fell behind her, and the moment she turned around to pick it up, the host on the big screen and on stage was counting down; New Year's Eve was about to pass, and the New Year was arriving.

She picked up the mask and heard Ji Xiang calling her.

"Xiao Fengzheng, hurry, you can make a wish now!" Ji Xiang hurriedly grabbed her hand, "The fireworks are about to go off!"

The audience below was full of enthusiasm, the crowd surging; Zhu Yuan was bumped by a stranger beside her, lost her grip on Ji Xiang's hand, and her body swayed to the side behind her.

Accidentally bumping into the person behind her, she hurriedly turned her head to apologize, "Sor—"

But the moment she turned her head, the words of apology stuck in her throat.

She froze completely, staring blankly at the tall and upright man behind her wearing a fox mask.

The host on stage shouted passionately: "Five, four..."

Meeting those ink-jade-like black eyes through the holes in the mask, Zhu Yuan's ears buzzed, and it was as if she could hear nothing at all.

"Three, two, one! Hap—py—New—Year!"

With the crowd becoming increasingly packed, Zhu Yuan was pushed forward by people and bumped straight into the man's embrace!

Almost at the same time, with a "bang," massive fireworks bloomed in the sky, the firelight falling like meteors behind Zhu Yuan.

Continuous fireworks illuminated the night sky, and the man looked down at the person in his arms, raising an eyebrow, "You bumped into me yourself."