Chapter 54: The End of the Night
Chapter Fifty-Four: The End of the Night （2）
The Man in Black’s lips curved slightly as he faced the moonlight. He then placed the seashell into Qing Tian’s hand and said sincerely, “It is said that seashells at midnight possess magic. Whenever you encounter hardship, just call for help while holding the seashell, and it will eliminate it!”
Qing Tian examined the seashell in her hand, asking with half-belief, “Is it really that powerful? Like a genie from Aladdin!”
The Man in Black reached out as if to stroke Qing Tian’s hair, but his hand stopped halfway.
He remembered her words; her hair already belonged to someone else.
Qing Tian also sensed the awkwardness and said with a smile, “In old television dramas, the hero and heroine would take a bottle, write down their wishes, bury it in the sand, and then return years later to find their past wishes and see if they had been fulfilled!”
The Man in Black, with a complete lack of romantic sensibility, poured cold water on her idea, saying, “Years later, that bottle would probably have been swept to some corner of the ocean. How would you ever find it!”
Qing Tian retorted, “How do you know? Many things are not absolute. That’s why people with heart and affection can hold onto that bottle filled with sentiment!”
Qing Tian’s eyes sparkled as she said this.
The Man in Black gave a cold smile and said, “Stay right here, I’ll be back soon!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Man in Black vanished.
Qing Tian looked in the direction the Man in Black had disappeared. How could he just disappear like that?
She walked to the farther shore, then sat on the sand with her knees hugged to her chest, gazing at the distant waves and listening to their roar.
The sea breeze blew gently, and she faced the wind, looking towards the distant opposite shore.
On his way back after finding the bottle, the Man in Black saw from afar that under the moonlight, Qing Tian sat on the beach like an ethereal fairy, otherworldly and elegant. She was like a lost mermaid, waiting alone for a prince to find her.
He took a deep breath. Tonight, he had learned too many of her secrets.
“Tonight, I’ll fulfill your maiden dream!”
The Man in Black presented the beer bottle he held, looking at Qing Tian with a smile.
Qing Tian said in surprise, “You ran off just to find this?”
The Man in Black nodded faintly, then took out a piece of paper and a pen he had found somewhere and handed them to Qing Tian, saying, “Come on, write to your future self a year from now!”
Qing Tian hesitantly took the paper and pen, murmuring, “To myself a year from now… Where will she be in a year? Probably fighting for the college entrance exams at First High School!”
The Man in Black also sat beside her. He tore off a piece of paper, picked up a pen, wrote a few words on it, then carefully rolled it up and casually tossed it into the beer bottle.
Qing Tian watched his swift actions and asked in surprise, “You don’t even need to think about what will happen a year from now?”
The Man in Black rested his hands on the sand, gazing at the boundless sea, and said, “A year from now, I’ll be the same as I am now, so there’s no need to consider anything. I have a goal within the year!”
Qing Tian, curious, tried to coax him, saying, “What goal is it?”
The Man in Black turned his head and looked at her, as if about to say something. But just as Qing Tian thought he was really going to reveal it, the Man in Black burst into laughter.
Qing Tian was bewildered by his laughter. The Man in Black finally said, somewhat reluctantly, “If I say it, it won’t count. But I can give you a small hint: it’s related to a woman, a woman I love very, very much!”
After saying this, he sighed to the sky.
Qing Tian didn’t pay too much attention and continued to ponder what she should write. After some thought, she forcefully wrote four words and two punctuation marks on the paper: Rain, I love you!
After finishing, she gazed at the four words, lost in thought. This sentence had always been hidden in her heart, and now it finally had a place to be kept.
She rolled up the note and, with her deep love for Ji Xiangyu, surrendered it into the bottle.
The Man in Black took out the stopper he had prepared, sealed the bottle’s mouth, and said with a smile, “Let’s see if the bottle is still here a year from today!”
Qing Tian nodded, then stood up and chose a spot closer to the land, saying, “Let’s bury it there!”
The Man in Black said with a smile, “You really do care about this thing, don’t you!”
Qing Tian smiled awkwardly and said, “None of your business! Hurry up and dig the sand…”
The Man in Black stood at attention and said seriously, “Yes, Your Majesty Queen!”
Qing Tian was amused. The two of them squatted on the sand and started digging. While filling the hole, the Man in Black playfully smeared sand-covered hands onto Qing Tian’s face.
Qing Tian yelled unhappily, “Hey, that’s enough!!! It’s so dirty!”
The Man in Black just laughed, “You’re even more charming like this!”
Qing Tian, not to be outdone, grabbed sand and tried to throw it at the Man in Black’s face, but he reacted quickly and dodged. Still annoyed, Qing Tian chased after him.
On the beach late at night, she chased him, laughing, their shadows stretching long under the moonlight.
The midnight beach was filled only with the sound of the waves and their laughter.
Finally, Qing Tian got tired of running and lay on the sand, saying with a grievance, “I’m not playing anymore. You’re a great hero, how could a weak woman like me outrun you.”
The Man in Black stood about five meters away from her, silhouetted against the light. After hearing her words, he smiled faintly and gazed at her affectionately in the darkness.
