Chapter Seventy-Two: She Is Lonelier Than Fireworks

Today’s first chapter!

Chapter Seventy-Two: She Is Lonelier Than Fireworks

The car drove straight through the most prosperous district of the city, farther and farther out, until at last it reached a stretch of streets lined with low, shabby buildings. Every city in the world has such places; this was where the lowest of the low lived, the poorest of the poor.

The road grew pitted and uneven. One could easily imagine that in long spells of rain, this area would be flooded from end to end. The streets narrowed as well, until the extended luxury sedan of the Xu family could go no farther and had to stop.

This was a district of single-story houses, a kind of dwelling seldom seen in the city anymore. Rows upon rows of low, squat homes formed narrow lanes that, seen from above, would resemble a spider’s web, dense and interlaced, running in every direction.

They were all small courtyard homes. From within the courtyards came the truest music of common life: the clatter of pots and pans, children’s cries, the noise and shouting at the shared water tap, the hawking calls of street vendors threading through the alleys.

Chen Xiao and Bai Cai followed Gonggong as he wound his way through the lanes, passing one small courtyard after another. They saw housewives seated on little stools before their homes, vigorously scrubbing dirty laundry in great wooden tubs, and others carrying spittoons or chamber pots. In places like this, dozens or even hundreds of households often shared a single public latrine.

The air here had a strange smell as well, a mixture of cooking oil fumes drifting from kitchens facing the street, cheap laundry powder, and the damp, musty odor of the alleys, together with the nearby public toilets. Blended together, they formed an indescribable and peculiar scent.

Bai Cai walked here with a look of familiarity and warmth, and she smiled at Chen Xiao. “You must never have been to a place like this. I grew up in a place just like it.”

At the end of the lane stood a pair of red wooden doors. Most of the paint had flaked away, revealing the worn planks beneath. Beside the entrance grew a jujube tree, and a string of bronze bells hung from its branches. The breeze brushed past, and the bells swayed gently. But their interiors had long since rusted, and the sound they made was no longer clear and bright, only harsh and grating.

Before that shabby wooden gate, Gonggong paused briefly. He drew a breath, even straightened himself with solemn care, and only then pushed the door open and stepped inside. He glanced back at Chen Xiao with a somewhat embarrassed smile. “It’s my first time meeting this senior too.”

The courtyard looked no different from an ordinary siheyuan. Three tiled rooms stood within, the main door facing the central yard. In the courtyard grew a tree full of elm seeds, its dangling clusters like strings of copper coins.

From inside came the sound of an old-fashioned radio playing a segment of Peking opera. Chen Xiao listened closely and recognized it as The Escape of Su San.

The three of them stood in the courtyard for a while before the left-hand door opened. An elderly woman with a face creased by age came out carrying a basin of dishwater. She casually poured it out beneath the elm tree, then gave them a languid glance. “You’ve arrived? Come in, one at a time.”

As she spoke, she pointed toward the innermost door directly ahead.

Gonggong smiled and looked at Chen Xiao. “You go in first.”

Chen Xiao did not refuse. He strode over, knocked on the door, then pushed it open and went inside.

The room was spacious, furnished in an old style. The rosewood chairs were plainly marked by age. Past the anteroom, a painting of the God of Wealth hung on the wall, and the air carried the fragrance of sandalwood.

When Chen Xiao reached the inner room, he saw a person reclining quietly in a lounge chair.

It was a woman. Her long hair made that obvious. She wore a pair of reading glasses, and beside the chair sat an old radio. She was dressed in a traditional qipao. On the side table stood a pot of fragrant tea and a small dish of melon seeds. In her hands she held a newspaper, reading it with complete absorption.

Chen Xiao approached, but the woman did not speak. She continued to read in silence. Chen Xiao also said nothing, simply waiting patiently at her side.

Seen up close, she was no longer young. Though her face remained lovely, wrinkles had gathered at the corners of her eyes and mouth, traces left by time. Her forehead was still smooth, yet within the depths of the eyes behind her lenses shone an ancient, well-like wisdom.

This old house, the antique furniture, the old radio, and this woman who was no longer young—standing there, Chen Xiao suddenly felt his heart settle into a near-empty serenity and peace.

As if standing in this room had already cut him off entirely from the world outside, leaving only that stillness and tranquility between heaven and earth...

Chen Xiao stood there for a full two minutes. Only then did the woman finally finish the newspaper. She let out a soft sigh, folded it neatly, removed her glasses, and tiredly rubbed her eyes before reaching absentmindedly for the teacup beside her.

Chen Xiao hurried forward and, taking the teapot first, filled the empty cup for her.

The woman seemed to smile, still not looking at him. Yet in her eyes there remained that same serene composure. She lifted the cup and took a small sip.

It was certain that in her youth this woman must have been exceptionally charming, for she possessed a pair of exquisite eyes. Yet she was not the kind of woman with startlingly perfect features. Her mouth was a little too wide, her lips a little too thin, her forehead a little broad, and even when she extended her hand, her fingers could not truly be called delicate. Her knuckles were slightly large.

Then she stood up to face Chen Xiao. Her figure, naturally, could not compare with a young girl’s, and her hips were a little broad, her waist not slender enough. And yet somehow one still felt that she carried within her a body full of grace and allure.

Such a woman could hardly be called beautiful. And yet the first time one saw her, one would still think she was beautiful—beautiful in a way that made no sense. It seemed that every subtle detail of her held a charm beyond words.

“My name is Fireworks.” The woman looked at Chen Xiao and smiled with closed lips. “Like fireworks that are beautiful when they burst, and leave nothing behind once they have faded.”

At that moment, Chen Xiao suddenly recalled a line once written by Gu Long: lonelier than fireworks.

Without question, the woman before him was exactly that kind of person.

Her name was Fireworks. A woman lonelier than fireworks.

“I know your name is Chen Xiao. No need to introduce yourself. I know everything about you—your origins, your experiences, and the trouble you are facing now.” Fireworks pointed at another chair in the room. “Sit.”

Chen Xiao had always considered himself fairly composed, but when facing this woman, under the clarity of her bright eyes, he strangely felt a faint helplessness, as though he did not know what to do with his hands or feet. He answered, then sat down in the chair opposite her. Fireworks seemed to smile. “You have ten minutes. No need to be nervous. In this room, you are my guest, and I will answer any question you ask me... within those ten minutes. Oh, and one more thing. About your clothes, I’m sorry. That chair was too old. It should have been replaced long ago.”

What?

Chen Xiao had barely had time to blankly register the words when he suddenly felt the chair beneath him give a low groan of strain. The ancient seat instantly burst apart and collapsed. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and stood at once, but the armrest had broken and caught on his sleeve. With a sharp tear, the fabric was hooked and ripped, leaving a gash more than ten centimeters long.

Only after regaining his footing did Chen Xiao stare dumbfounded at the tear in his sleeve. Then he remembered Fireworks’ last words, and his scalp began to tingle.

“Young man, there’s no need to look at me like that.” Fireworks picked up the exquisite little teacup again and took another sip. Her smile remained gentle. “Oh, and don’t worry about the cup if it breaks. Just be careful not to cut your fingers.”

Chen Xiao paused. With only the slightest turn of his body, he accidentally bumped into a small tea table nearby, knocking a glass to the floor. It shattered with a crisp ring.

Instinctively, he reached down to pick it up. But the moment his fingers touched a shard, he frowned. The fragment had sliced open the tip of his finger, and a bead of bright red blood slowly welled up...

Chen Xiao was finally stunned.

He shot his head up and stared at Fireworks. “You...”

Fireworks smiled lightly and sat with the same elegance as before. “Didn’t you know who I was before you came?”

Chen Xiao swallowed hard. His gaze flicked to the collapsed chair on the floor, the broken cup, the cut on his finger, and the tear in his sleeve.

He swallowed again with difficulty, forced a smile, and asked, “Just now... were all of these arranged by you? If I hadn’t sat in that chair, would it have fallen apart? If it hadn’t fallen apart, it wouldn’t have hooked and torn my clothes. And if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have felt embarrassed and turned around, so I wouldn’t have knocked over the cup, and I wouldn’t have cut my finger picking up the shards...”

Fireworks was still smiling, but her eyes had deepened even further. “Do you think the world has such a thing as coincidence?”

Her voice carried a quiet calm and peace. “One detail may be coincidence, but when a chain of coincidences connects together... that is inevitability.”

After a brief pause, she smiled again. “Oh, by the way, could you help me with something?”

“What?”

“Just a small favor.” Fireworks smiled faintly. “Later, when you leave, at the mouth of the alley outside, I’d like you to lend a hand.”

“The mouth of the alley? I don’t understand...” Chen Xiao looked blank.

“That too is inevitable.” Fireworks sighed, her expression almost indifferent. “Actually, I’ve said too much already. Since it is inevitable, there’s no need for me to make a special point of telling you.”

Chen Xiao’s mind was full of confusion, and then, in a flash, inspiration struck. Looking at the woman beautiful as fireworks before him, he blurted out, “Could it be that your ability is... foretelling the future?”

The light in Fireworks’ eyes seemed to fade little by little. Then, with a soft, distant sigh, she continued to look at Chen Xiao, though her gaze now held a faint sorrow.

“People like me are called prophets or seers overseas. Here at home, I suppose we’d be called a fraud of sorts.”

“You... really can foretell the future?” Chen Xiao was moved. “What kinds of things can you predict?”

This time Fireworks was silent for even longer. Her final answer consisted of only two words:

“What is the person inside really like?” Bai Cai stood in the courtyard outside, growing somewhat impatient as she looked toward Gonggong. “You...”

Gonggong smiled faintly. “No need to hurry, little girl. Right now, you’d be better off calming yourself and thinking about what difficult questions you want answered when it’s your turn.”

“Questions?”

“Yes.” Gonggong’s smile was mysterious. “The person inside can answer any question you can imagine. Anything that has already happened, or anything that has not yet happened. Any question at all.”

“Any question? Even things that haven’t happened yet?” Bai Cai’s eyes widened. “If I ask the person inside who my future husband will be...”

As she spoke, Bai Cai’s cheeks turned slightly red, and she couldn’t help glancing toward the house.

Gonggong laughed. “That question would be very easy for the person inside, and she would certainly be able to tell you the exact answer.” After a pause, he kindly reminded her, “But opportunities like this are rare. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend using such a precious chance to ask that kind of question. You might want to consider something more important...”

Bai Cai fell silent, nervously staring at the tips of her shoes...