"Mr. Yun, aren't you going diving?" Roxie Lin walked past him in a diving suit.
"I'll pass, I haven't even learned how to swim yet!" She chuckled and waved her hand.
"But there are coaches, right?" Before they came, they had hired a temporary coach at the dive rental place.
"You go ahead, I'll just watch from the sidelines..."
"Really? Then I'll go first."
"Hmm."
...
She sat by the shore, dipping her feet into the water.
The icy sea water lapped at her feet, but she didn't feel a thing.
...
"Wow!"
William Wei, who hadn't been seen for a while, suddenly emerged from the water.
"I almost died!"
He held onto the rocks by the shore, gasping for breath.
"Luo Jia, come down! It's so refreshing!"
"..."
"What's wrong?" Seeing that she seemed lost in thought, he swam over.
"Nothing, just sunbathing."
She said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"What about Samson Nan?"
He looked left and right, but didn't see anyone.
They came together, didn't they?
"He went back..."
She hugged her knees and said softly.
"Back so early?"
He took off his swimming cap and shook it.
"He's probably worried about Rain."
She squinted her eyes and smiled.
...
William Wei looked at her for a while, then turned his head away.
For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to smile...
"William Wei."
"Yeah?"
"You know..."
She picked up a piece of broken stone next to her and gently tossed it forward.
With a splash, it sank to the bottom of the sea.
"Do you think... this is the end for me?"
"..."
He leaned against the stone by the shore, looking at the sea ahead, silent.
After a while, he spoke again:
"That's not something Jocelyn York would say."
In his memory, she was always the one who charged ahead, at the forefront.
Come to think of it, from childhood to now, wasn't it always like this?
Whether it was the determination to learn piano...
Or the determination to bring Samson Nan back to the basketball team...
Or resolutely returning from abroad...
And... the decision to become more like a girl...
Anything she determined to do, she would do it and as fast as possible.
"But sometimes... I wonder..."
She buried her face in her knees and spoke softly.
"What would I do if one day..."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"I became someone even I hated..."
She said, tilting her head slightly, revealing half of her eye.
"It's strange, isn't it?"
"..."
She raised the corners of her mouth, showing a weak smile.
"If that happens..."
"I'll pull you out."
His clear voice interrupted her soliloquy.
"Huh?"
She looked up at him.
"Do you remember this?" He said, extending his pinky finger.
The sunlight shone on his well-defined face, refusing to leave for quite some time.
"..."
She hesitated for a moment, looking at him.
So he still remembered...
The promise made by two children under the Christmas tree on that peaceful night.
"It's not expired yet, after all this time..."
"Of course!"
He thumped his chest and pointed to the sky with one hand.
"A man stands between heaven and earth, his word is as uncatchable as a running horse!"
"..."
She paused for a moment, then laughed.
"Ha..."
"Hey, it's rare for me to think of such a cool line, it's not fun if you laugh!"
"That's so silly... Haha..."
She couldn't help but laugh.
"Say it again!"
He stretched his arms and jumped into the water, swimming towards her.
"What do you want?"
He smirked and reached out to grab her ankle.
"Huh? Don't... Ah!!"
Before she could finish her sentence, he pulled her into the water with force.
With a splash, a huge splash of water splashed on the surface of the sea.
...
"Ha!"
She surfaced and quickly grabbed onto a nearby rock.
Looking around, she realized that he had dragged her to a reef some distance away from the shore.
"You idiot, William Wei! Come here!"
"Haha, I'll come get you after you repent~"
"You idiot!!"
...
...
"Achoo!"
"I told you to bring some clothes before going out, but you didn't listen."
In the evening, a sea breeze blew by the seaside.
"Quit nagging."
She glanced at Samson Nan and opened her hand.
"..."
He was speechless and took out a pack of tissues from his bag and handed it to her.
"Should we go back? The sun is about to set."
"I still want to walk around..."
She pondered for a moment before saying that.
"Then we can't go too far."
"Okay."
"..."
This girl usually stays at home and hardly ever goes out. It's a rare opportunity to get out, so it's good for her to walk around more.
That's what he thought.
As the sky gradually darkened, he sent a text message to William Wei, telling him that they wouldn't be coming home for dinner.
...
The seaside at night felt a bit chilly.
"Aren't you cold, little one?"
He glanced at her.
She was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, and her skirt seemed light and floaty.
"Not cold..."
"If you're cold, hold onto me."
"Drop dead."
...
They continued walking along the seaside, talking about trivial matters.
In the distance, the sound of a fishing boat's horn could be heard.
Looking in the direction of the sound, there seemed to be sporadic lights on the sea, appearing and disappearing, illuminating the dark surface of the water.
"What's that?"
"Want to go down and take a look?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
There happened to be a gap in the road ahead, leading to a set of stairs that led down to the beach.
As they approached, they realized that there were about ten people standing by the beach.
Judging from the bamboo cans and fishing nets they were carrying, they should be local fishermen.
They placed candles on palm-sized lanterns and lit them before gently placing them on the sea.
Is this a local custom...?
"Young people, interested?"
Beside them, an old man with a cigarette asked.
"Ah, we just think it looks beautiful. What is this...?"
Samson Nan smiled and asked.
"This is called a lotus lantern."
"Lotus lantern?"
Upon closer inspection, they really did resemble lotus flowers floating on the water.
"Yes, we locals make these lanterns to pray for the safe return of our loved ones who go out to sea."
The old man said, shaking off the ash from his cigarette.
"This place didn't have a lighthouse in the past, and many fishermen who went out to sea at night lost their way in the storm and never came back... Later, people started lighting these lotus lanterns by the seaside, and if the fishermen could see these lights and follow their direction, they could find their way back home."
"So that's how it is."
"Haha, but later we got a lighthouse, so the lotus lanterns lost their purpose. But the local fishermen still kept this tradition."
Following the old man's direction, they could see a lighthouse standing not far from the cliff, its light converging into beams and sweeping across the sea.
"Brother, I want to go up and take a look."
Raina Nan looked at the lighthouse and suddenly said.
"There's nothing interesting up there..."
"You never know~"
She turned around and a hint of a smile appeared on her lips.
"..."
He couldn't guess what she was thinking...
"Haha, this little girl seems to be a smart one. There are good things to see up there!"
"Really..."
Since the old man said so, let's go and have a look.
...
The two followed the path pointed out by the old man and walked to the bottom of the lighthouse.
Then they climbed up the spiral staircase inside the lighthouse.
They opened the door at the top of the tower.
They looked up.
He instantly froze.
...
Countless stars, like fragments of diamonds, filled the entire night sky.
"..."
The endless Milky Way seemed to suck people in and envelop the night.
This scene in front of him was absolutely impossible to see in a city full of high-rise buildings.
"Oh my God..."
He held onto the railing at the top of the tower and looked up.
Just now, when he was down there, he didn't notice this starry sky at all.
"Hehe, scared, right?"
She smiled lightly and looked at him from the side.
"Little one, how are you so smart?"
He said, rubbing her head with his hand.
"Hmph, of course!"
She said proudly, her nose high in the air.
"Big Brother."
"Yeah?"
"Can you find the Summer Triangle?"
"Um, where..."
He squinted his eyes. There were so many stars in the sky, he couldn't tell who was who...
"Fool! Look here..."
She said, leaning against his shoulder.
She pointed in the southeast direction of the night sky.
"The brightest one is Vega, and slightly dimmer below it is Altair... and, diagonally above is... huh? There should be a Deneb here too..."
She anxiously tiptoed and looked up, searching carefully.
"Huh... where is it..."
Can this girl do it or not...
"Forget it, maybe it hasn't come out today..."
Let it go...
"Yeah..."
She turned her gaze to the other side.
"Oh, there it is."
He looked in the direction she pointed.
It seemed that there really was a star that shone brighter than the others, blending in among them.
"This star is so bright, what's its name?"
"Spica."
Her lips moved softly.
"Also known as Alpha Virginis."
"Really?"
"Do you know its significance, big brother?"
She didn't look at him, but looked up, speaking softly.
He looked at the brightest first-magnitude star in the night sky, shaking his head.
The sea breeze blew, flicking her hair. She reached out and tucked it behind her ear.
"The original meaning of Spica is 'the ear of wheat of the maiden'. In Greek mythology, it symbolizes harvest."
"Harvest..."
"Yes, it's not just about crops, it also includes friendship, family love, and romantic love... so, it's a lucky star."
She smiled lightly, tilting her head.
"Big brother, do you want to make a wish? Now's the chance."
"A wish?"
"Spica is not something you can see every day."
In Raina Nan's pupils, the faint light of stardust was reflected. She kept looking at him without blinking.
"..."
He hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes.
Normally, he wouldn't believe in such things, but this time, he was willing to give it a try.
Raina Nan also closed her eyes and put her hands together.
The two of them stood facing the starry sky, shoulder to shoulder.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment, and stopped flowing.
Suddenly it became quiet around them.
The only things they could hear were the sound of the waves and each other's heartbeat.
...
"What did you wish for?"
He spoke softly with his eyes closed.
"It won't come true if you say it out loud, right?"
"That's true..."
"What about you, big brother?"
"It won't come true if I say it out loud, right?"
"You idiot..."
...