The season was already deep autumn, yet on a small hill near Taoyuan Vale, the peach trees were abnormally blooming in full splendor. Pink and white petals were swept up by the cool night breeze, fluttering down in clusters.
"It's really a nice place—very beautiful."
Noah held the sky lantern, looking down from the high point of the small hill.
Countless lotus lanterns floated along the winding river, passing over the pebble beach. The faint sound of water mingled with the distant bustle of Taoyuan Vale, while orange-yellow candlelight flickered among the petals.
Jinhsi nodded, lit the sky lantern in Noah's hands, and the two released them at the same time. The two lanterns slowly rose into the sky, merging with countless other drifting orange-red sky lanterns into the starry river.
The two slowly sat down, together admiring the romantic scene filling the sky.
"People in Jinzhou write their wishes on paper slips and place them inside dragon lanterns. The dragon lanterns carry those beautiful hopes high into the sky."
"Pretty romantic, huh. But autumn is too dry—easy to start fires."
"That won't happen. The candles in the dragon lanterns only burn for five minutes. After five minutes, the lanterns go out and slowly fall back down."
Noticing the topic had gone slightly off track, Jinhsi quickly steered it back.
"Noah, last time you said you like watching dancing, right?"
"Yes."
"I've recently practiced a dance. Could you check how my progress is?"
"There's such a good thing!"
Noah's eyes lit up immediately. He sat up straight and pulled out his camera.
"Can I take photos?"
"Do whatever makes you happy."
Jinhsi nodded shyly and slowly stood up.
Silver-frost moonlight spilled over the peach grove, dyeing the clouds of pink blossoms into translucent glassy hues. A few peach flowers landed on the girl's pink skirt hem, creating a unique charm.
Her delicate shoe tips tapped among the piled fallen flowers as the girl shyly began to dance, the embroidery on her skirt fluttering with the raising of her wrists.
Falling petals were gathered into her palms; her fingertips, painted a light cherry color, flickered in and out of sight between the flowing wide sleeves.
Pure moonlight bathed the girl. She lightly spun her steps, her pink skirt blooming open, stirring up a fine rain of petals—breathtakingly beautiful.
Her dance paused briefly. The girl turned her head, half-revealing her smooth profile, her flowing gaze meeting his from afar.
She took a few steps, treading on dawnlight as she leaped into the air. The entire peach tree rustled, and amid countless falling petals, her pink wide sleeves and skirt spread like clouds.
The dance came to a stop.
It was clearly a long dance, yet to Noah it felt like time had flown by—the performance ended in the blink of an eye.
Back when he watched the Wuthering Waves anniversary video on Blue Star, he had thought Jinhsi wasn't good at dancing. But now—
Whoever said Xi Xi can't dance? She's amazing at it! And it looks incredible!
"Great!"
Noah put down the camera and clapped enthusiastically.
"Thank you."
Jinhsi gave a slight curtsy, her face showing a mix of nervousness and joy as she gracefully walked back.
"Noah, do you still remember our experience on Mt. Firmament?"
"Of course. How is the Sentinel now?"
"She's still recovering, but what I want to talk about is something else."
Jinhsi suddenly leaned closer, reaching out to gently brush away a peach petal that had landed on Noah's shoulder, then sat down beside him.
The girl's faint, fresh fragrance reached his nose. Noah turned his head and met Jinhsi's gentle expression.
"Actually, back on Mt. Firmament, I was gravely injured—ambushed by the Fractsidus, unable to find the Sentinel. I thought for sure I was going to die."
"If I died just like that, I'd probably be the worst Magistrate in Jinzhou's history."
"But fortunately, you were there. You saved me from the Fractsidus, helped me find the Sentinel, and even... fought the Sentinel for my sake."
The girl recounted emotionally:
"During the second resonance with the Sentinel, my injuries flared up intensely again, and I completely passed out."
"At that moment, I felt like I was helplessly sinking in cold, dark seawater. It was you—like a warm, strong hand—that pulled me back from the grasp of death."
"Ever since returning to Jinzhou, I've often zoned out for no reason, stared into space, suddenly smiled... My heart feels like it's eaten a piece of honey—sweet and soft."
"What I mean is... if the Magistrate of an entire region fell for you, and it had to be you and no one else—what would you do?"
Saying these words took almost all of Jinhsi's courage. Her heart was pounding rapidly now, extremely nervous, a blush creeping up to the tips of her ears bit by bit.
The person across from her only needed one sentence to decide whether she would go to heaven or hell.
"You like me?"
As Noah spoke, Jinhsi tightly closed her eyes and nodded vigorously like pounding garlic.
"You're very beautiful, Jinhsi," Noah said slowly.
"The dragon lanterns of the Moon-Chasing Festival tonight, the peach blossoms, the moonlight—they're all beautiful. But when you were dancing, I could only look at you; I couldn't look away."
"Your beauty is enough to move anyone's heart, but—"
"But you're only sixteen. Do you know what that means?"
Noah's expression was a bit complicated.
"We're six years apart. That means when I was in college, you were still in elementary school..."
"If I said I liked you too, that would make me way too much of a beast. At the very least, you need to be an adult first..."
"Otherwise, something like this couldn't even pass censorship if written into a novel from my hometown."
Somehow, it felt like that last sentence was the most important one.
As Noah finished speaking, Jinhsi's expression shifted from nervous to expectant to heartbroken.
She had been rejected.
"Um... I could change Jinzhou's legal adult age to sixteen."
Jinhsi still wanted to fight for it, using a small willful abuse of power.
"That won't do. It has to be eighteen, or I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wouldn't pass censorship in a novel either."
Hearing Noah's firm words, Jinhsi clenched her silver teeth, feeling bitter inside.
Clearly, timing, location, and harmony were all on her side, yet she was still rejected. So this is what it feels like to be turned down in a confession.
So embarrassing, so humiliating, she wanted to cry. She must have left a really bad impression on Noah tonight.
Was there any way to salvage it?
Her gaze suddenly shifted to the Tacet Mark on the knuckles of Noah's right hand, and her eyes lit up slightly.
There really was!
Snap!
She snapped her fingers, activating her time ability.
Jinhsi took a deep breath and forced a smile.
"Noah, where were we just now?"
"You said you were going to dance."
Snap!
The time ability activated again.
"Where were we just now?"
"Autumn is too dry—easy to start fires."
"You're right. I'll have my people look into it later. No releasing them next year."
"That might be a bit extreme..."
As if thinking of something, Jinhsi suddenly spoke up.
"Oh, right, Noah—actually, I'm already eighteen."
"Who are you trying to fool? You're only sixteen."
Noah immediately countered.
"Your master told me herself and even told me to be mindful of propriety. I don't know what she meant by that."
Master Changli, how could you be so mean!
Jinhsi's vision went dark. She fell backward, lying on the lush green grass, looking utterly distressed.
Earlier, she had put in so much effort to adjust this peach grove to springtime sequencing, but now it had all been for nothing.
But—she wouldn't give up.
Just two years!
She had plenty of lifespan; she could wait. Two years from now, she would definitely prepare an even grander and more spectacular confession!
Although Noah hadn't said he liked her earlier, he did say he was moved by her—so she had a chance!
In these two years, she had to keep a firm hold on Noah and not let any other bad women steal him away.
===✧✦✧===
Taoyuan Vale, bustling streets.
"Yangyang, you're finally back! Where did you go just now?"
Facing Chixia's question, Yangyang smiled faintly, her mood seemingly excellent.
"I went to pick up a dragon lantern and... through flow sensing, watched a wonderful performance by the Magistrate. Heehee."
She opened the dragon lantern and took out the wish paper slip Noah had written inside. On it were eight neatly written large characters—
[Explosive Luck · Ten Pulls Double Gold]