"Eh, no need." Eric Foster had never thought of taking her things. "Sis, you keep it. You're a girl, you must be colder than me."

"But I already have two in my pockets," Evan Carter said. "There's nowhere to put this one."

"......"

This time, Eric Foster took it without any hesitation, and casually changed the subject: "By the way, sis, have you ever seen a fireworks show before?"

Evan Carter made a sound of agreement: "But never one this big."

Eric Foster: "Is it useful to make a wish on this kind of thing?"

Evan Carter: "No."

"......" Eric Foster muttered, "I just want to wish that I can find a girlfriend next year."

Evan Carter laughed: "Then it's even more useless."

"Sis Yifan, how can you be like this!" Eric Foster shouted. "Then I'll wish to grow five centimeters taller! Can guys still grow taller at twenty..."

This time, Evan Carter didn't discourage him.

At this point, Eric Foster suddenly pointed in a certain direction: "Hey, about that tall, that's my dream height. I'd be satisfied even if I was half a head shorter than him."

Evan Carter looked over and instantly fell silent.

By pure coincidence, the person Eric Foster was pointing at was Ryan Grant.

It was hard to say whether they were just fated to meet, or if he was just haunting them.

He was standing about ten meters away, leaning against the railing, his jacket puffed up by the wind, chin slightly tucked, absentmindedly playing with his phone.

Olivia Grant, who had just been with him, was nowhere to be seen.

"That's exactly my ideal body type," Eric Foster sighed. "I wonder if, under the witness of the heavens and the fireworks, I could put my head on his body."

Evan Carter shifted her gaze back and said with a laugh, "Why don't you steal his face too?"

Eric Foster clearly had the same thought, his words wavering: "Wouldn't it be too much to take both?"

"......"

William Harris suddenly called out to them.

Maybe he felt he'd ignored them for too long and was starting to feel a bit guilty, so he very dutifully called them over to talk about all the things to pay attention to during the outdoor live broadcast.

Time passed by.

With the new year approaching, the atmosphere grew more and more lively. The LED screens on the distant high-rises had already started counting down, and the crowd all around was in an uproar. In the final minute, people began to shout along with the numbers.

"—59, 58, 57."

......

"—5, 4, 3."

"—2!"

"—1!"

As the last shout fell.

Countless fireworks shot upward, drawing lines of different colors across the night sky, then bursting open with force at a certain height. The mottled lights bloomed into all kinds of flowers, overlapping and blossoming again and again.

Everyone present raised their phones, searching for what they thought was the best angle to record the scene.

Once William Harris had nothing more to say, Evan Carter also took out her phone and snapped a few photos.

When someone in front blocked her view, she moved to another spot to watch.

The whole process lasted more than ten minutes.

Unconsciously, Evan Carter was squeezed by the crowd to the outside, ending up by the railing. Noticing that the fireworks show was almost over, she was about to go back to find William Harris when someone passing by bumped into her.

Evan Carter stumbled forward a few steps, out of control.

And then bumped into someone.

She immediately stepped back, looked up, and instinctively said, "Sorry."

As the words left her mouth, she realized the person she had bumped into was Ryan Grant. At that moment, he was looking down at her, his expression hard to read, and it seemed like he was on the phone.

"—Mm, I'm about to head back."

Out of politeness, Evan Carter forced herself to apologize again.

Ryan Grant gave her a quick, casual once-over, then nodded at her.

As if to indicate he'd heard her.

As Evan Carter walked back, she vaguely heard him say something to the person on the phone.

"Happy New Year."

Back beside William Harris, Evan Carter belatedly touched her face. Feeling the mask still on her face, she paused, her nerves relaxing.

With her face covered, he probably wouldn't recognize her... right?

......

On the other side.

On the other end of the call, his college roommate and friend James Harris had been chattering away, but was interrupted twice in a row, and after a few seconds of silence, said, "Oh, I don't really care when you're coming home, okay? But thanks anyway, bro, Happy New Year to you too."

Ryan Grant raised an eyebrow: "Thanks for what?"

James Harris: "Aren't you giving your old man a blessing?"

"Can you stop being so self-important?" Ryan Grant drawled lazily, "I wasn't talking to you."

Chapter 7

After the livestream ended, Henry Parker interviewed a few more citizens nearby who had come to watch the fireworks show.

After that, the group packed up and headed back.

Thinking about what had just happened, Evan Carter couldn't shake a feeling of unease, so she called out to Eric Foster, who was also sitting in the back seat: "Dazhuang."

Eric Foster responded, "Hey."

Evan Carter still hadn't taken off her mask: "If you saw me on the street, like I am now with a mask on, and wearing clothes you've never seen before—"

She paused, then asked seriously, "Would you be able to recognize me?"