Chen Jinyue woke to the piercing sunlight of Nancheng. By the time she stirred, she was alone in the room. She lay spread-eagled across the bed; it was a rare occasion where Chen Fang hadn't nagged her to get up early.
After brushing her teeth, she padded out in her slippers to find Lin Yunsheng and her mother sitting on small chairs on the balcony, drinking tea with leisurely ease.
Lin Yunsheng was the first to notice her. Holding a delicate porcelain cup, she glanced back. "You're up?"
Chen Fang turned as well. "Oh, quite early, aren't we?" Jinyue couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, but she saw Lin Yunsheng break into a smile.
"What time is it?" Jinyue asked.
"Almost eleven-thirty!" Chen Fang stood up and picked up a square takeout box from the low table, handing it to her daughter. "Your sister got you breakfast."
"Oh."
Jinyue took it and opened it to find two sesame biscuits and a hard-boiled egg.
Lin Yunsheng rose, tea cup in hand, and leaned her back against the balcony railing, gesturing for her younger sister to take her seat. She looked the same as always, her weight shifted onto her left leg while her right foot hooked lightly over her left. With the sunlight at her back, she watched Chen Jinyue sit down, tap the egg against the table, and begin to peel it bit by bit.
Feeling self-conscious under that gaze, Chen Jinyue remarked, "Standing like that all the time will give you scoliosis."
"..."
Hearing this, Lin Yunsheng used her right foot to nudge Jinyue’s dangling foot—the one hanging in the air because she was sitting cross-legged. The silent message was clear: *Look who’s talking.*
Jinyue rolled her eyes internally, uncrossed her legs, and sat up straight.
Lin Yunsheng followed suit, shifting her weight to her right leg and hooking her left foot over it in the exact same manner as before. Now the "curvature" was symmetrical.
*Childish,* Jinyue thought.
"Yueyue, what are our plans for today?" Chen Fang asked.
"Nothing much. We'll eat at the hotel and stay until tonight to watch the New Year's fireworks."
"I see. Then I'll go soak up some sun on the beach this afternoon."
"Sure, I'll go with you," Jinyue said, pouring herself a cup of tea and washing down the egg with it.
Lin Yunsheng pulled out her phone, scrolled for a moment, and said, "I won't join you. I have some work matters to handle."
Jinyue frowned. It was New Year's Eve, and she was still busy. *Yi Ping, just what kind of job do you have?*
Her displeasure was written all over her face, so Lin Yunsheng added, "I'll come find you as soon as I'm done."
Only then did Jinyue feel a bit better, taking a large bite out of a now-softened sesame biscuit.
Breakfast lasted over half an hour at a languid pace. Lin Yunsheng stood opposite her the entire time, sipping her tea so slowly that the cup never seemed to empty.
The winter in Nancheng felt somewhat warm. Tucked away in the shadow cast by her sister’s body, Jinyue watched the distant palm leaves sway in the breeze. She felt herself growing drowsy again.
She tilted her head back and let out a yawn.
"If you're tired, go back to sleep for a bit."
She looked up at her sister. "It's already eleven-thirty. Forget it."
Lin Yunsheng chuckled, a sound full of lazy nonchalance. She tapped her phone screen and held it out in front of Jinyue.
[09:46]
Chen Jinyue took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She blamed herself—she really should have known better than to trust Chen Fang’s timekeeping. She stood up, left the two of them on the balcony, and headed back to the room.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Chen Fang called out from behind.
Jinyue ignored her, leaving the question far behind.
She slept all the way until lunchtime before finally getting up listlessly. The three of them went to the hotel's standard buffet lunch. Jinyue hadn't expected much, so she wasn't exactly disappointed—at least they didn't need a reservation, she told herself.
When they returned to the room, Lin Yunsheng went straight to her laptop to start working. Jinyue helped her mother apply sunscreen, changed into beach-appropriate clothes, and headed downstairs with a towel.
Beaches were mostly the same: fine sand and white waves, parasols and coconut juice.
She and her mother left their shoes by the lounge chairs and switched to flip-flops to walk on the sand—otherwise, it really would have scorched their feet.
Chen Fang spotted a woman wearing a "facekini" and looked left and right, thinking it seemed like a good idea. Just as she was about to ask her daughter where she could buy one, Jinyue cut her off.
"No. If you buy that, I'm disowning you." No one knew a mother better than her daughter; she severed that path before it could even be taken.
"Oh," Chen Fang muttered, thinking that if Shengsheng were here, she certainly wouldn't speak to her like that.
The two walked for a few hundred meters, but finding nothing new, they circled back to their original lounge chairs and sat down comfortably.
Chen Jinyue handed a towel to her mother to use as a cushion or a cover. She rolled up her own towel and tucked it behind her neck as a small pillow.
"Yueyue."
"Hmm?"
"Your birthday is coming up. How do you want to spend it this year?"
"Whatever is fine. I'm almost twenty-five; I don't really care for birthdays," Jinyue answered somewhat coldly.
She wasn't lying; she truly didn't care anymore. Mentioning her birthday inevitably brought back memories of Lin Yunsheng from that time. However happy and moved she had been then was exactly how much she avoided and resented it now.
But Chen Fang likely didn't see it that way. She felt that before she could give the two children a proper birthday, they had already grown up. Yueyue had even spent six years abroad, where they couldn't even see each other on her birthday, losing even the simplest form of companionship.
Now that her daughter was finally back—regardless of how long she stayed—since it happened to coincide with her birthday, there was no reason not to celebrate.
At this thought, she asked, "You've been back for a month now. How is your work over there?"
"It's okay. I took two months of leave."
But time was flying; a month had passed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Fang didn't press further, but the topic kept bouncing around in Jinyue's mind.
One month left. If—and she meant *if*—she could talk things through with Lin Yunsheng, would she still have to leave?
At worst, she could resign and move back to China, finding a new job with her "returnee" credentials.
Even if the events of six years ago hadn't been cleared up, six years had passed. She had been eighteen then; now she was twenty-four—the same age Lin Yunsheng had been back then. Perhaps she could understand Lin Yunsheng now?
—If Lin Yunsheng was willing to let her understand.
Then they could live together just like six years ago... or even better. She was an adult now; she could rent an apartment and move out on her own, so even the factor of her mother wouldn't be a major concern anymore.
Hugs, kisses, and even more intimate things—they would have all the time in the world to slowly fill the gaps of the past six years.
—If Lin Yunsheng was willing...
Chen Jinyue hid herself in the shadow of the parasol and slid her sunglasses down from her head. Her mother’s voice chatting with friends on a video call hummed in her ear, while the distant waves sounded like the ocean’s breath, layering one over another and leaving white foam on the shore.
*It would be nice if it could be like that.*
With that thought, she tilted her head and took an afternoon nap.
When she finally woke, it was because of Lin Yunsheng’s mischievous streak. Her sister’s index finger was tracing light circles in Jinyue’s open palm, tickling her so much that she had to shift positions in her sleep. After a few repetitions, the person before her finally opened her eyes.
The newly awakened Chen Jinyue pushed her sunglasses up to the bridge of her nose. Her gaze was still clouded with a sea-mist daze, and her throat felt sticky. She swallowed hard.
She remembered Lin Yunsheng saying she would come find them after work, and here she was. She had even brought two opened coconuts.
Jinyue’s breath carried the lingering fatigue of sleep. She turned her head to look at her mother, who was still fast asleep.
She looked at Lin Yunsheng and let out two muffled words: "Hug me..."
Her voice was groggy and blurred, making everything she said sound like she was acting spoiled. Though, in truth, she was.
But Lin Yunsheng only smiled, like a warm coastal breeze, and did not respond. She tapped her sister’s nose and slid the sunglasses back into place on top of her head. Then, she turned to wake their mother.
Chen Fang probably hadn't expected to fall asleep herself. When she was woken, she jolted awake and hurriedly asked, "Oh my, how did I fall asleep? What time is it?"
"Six-thirty," Chen Jinyue sat up and answered with a straight face, picking up a coconut to drink.
"What? It's that late? We need to get going then." She hurriedly threw off the large towel covering her and stood up.
Lin Yunsheng gave her sister a helpless look and said, "No, Mom, it's only four."
Chen Fang, towel still half-folded, stopped what she was doing upon hearing this. She whipped the towel toward Chen Jinyue. "Hey, you brat! Why are you always teasing your mother?"
Jinyue just giggled even after being swatted, thinking, *Didn't I learn it from you?*
But she was wise enough not to say it aloud. She picked up the other coconut and handed it to her mother as a peace offering to soothe her anger.
There were two New Year's firework displays in Nancheng. One was at the central beach, starting at 9:00 PM and lasting for half an hour. The second was by the Cross-Sea Bridge at midnight, visible from the high-rise buildings in the city center.
Chen Jinyue and her mother returned to the room, showered, and changed clothes, preparing to head to the central beach to wander around while waiting for the first show.
New Year's Eve in Nancheng was different from other places. Being a tourist city, it was a popular winter retreat. Combined with the New Year holiday, while streets elsewhere might be deserted, this place was bustling, celebrating in its own unique way.
By the time Lin Yunsheng and the others drove to the central beach, the streets were already packed. It took over ten minutes just to find a parking spot. Between the parking area and the beach was a long street less than two kilometers long; a commercial street by day, it transformed into a night market by evening.
Lin Yunsheng walked with her arms linked between the two of them. They found a small stall to sit down for dinner, then meandered their way toward the beach, stopping here and there. Since all the prime spots were already taken, they decided to take it easy.
Eventually, they found a spot on a small grassy slope near some palm trees. It wasn't the best vantage point, but it was quiet and away from the crowds.
With half an hour left before the fireworks, Lin Yunsheng told her sister and Chen Fang to wait there while she went to buy some cut fruit. By the time she returned, the fireworks were just about to begin.
Lin Yunsheng opened a small box of pineapple and handed it to her mother. The other container of sliced guava sprinkled with sour plum powder was for herself and her sister.
When the first cluster of fireworks erupted, Chen Jinyue was just putting a piece of fruit into her mouth. She jumped in surprise, then quickly looked up at the golden trails of light in the sky.
The thunderous booms of the fireworks, the clamor of the crowd—even in such a noisy environment, she acutely caught Lin Yunsheng’s soft chuckle.
She turned her head to look at her. The brilliant red and green lights flickered across her sister's face. The fireworks bloomed in her bright pupils, making Jinyue feel that the view here was even more beautiful than the one in the sky.
She was staring so intently that her sister eventually noticed.
Lin Yunsheng smiled faintly and reached out to gently nudge Jinyue’s chin upward. "Look at the sky," she said with a laugh. "Don't look at me."
*But nothing in the sky is as beautiful as you.*
Chen Fang was holding up her phone to record a video. In front of them, a couple was kissing under the brilliant display. Chen Jinyue’s heart was entirely filled with Lin Yunsheng.
She reached out secretly to touch her. Lin Yunsheng squeezed her index finger joint, then leaned in after a moment to ask, "Want to go over there to watch?"
"Okay..." Jinyue didn't know where "over there" was, but it didn't matter. She would follow her sister anywhere.
Lin Yunsheng led her through the crowd to a coconut tree dozens of meters away. She leaned against the trunk, looking at her younger sister. Then, she slowly opened her arms and smiled.
Chen Jinyue lunged into her embrace immediately. "You're several hours late..." she complained in a soft, sweet tone.
She was referring to the "hug" she had failed to get on the beach lounge chair that afternoon.
"Holding a grudge, I see," Lin Yunsheng chuckled, burying her head in the crook of Jinyue’s neck.
"Lin Yunsheng..." Jinyue couldn't help but nuzzle against her. She knew this wasn't a good place for a kiss, but in this atmosphere, the longing was becoming unbearable.
She lifted her head to look at her. *Just once,* she thought.
With Lin Yunsheng’s silent permission in her eyes, Jinyue pressed against her soft lips. The moment they touched, she became greedy again.
How could once be enough? She licked her lips gently, like a whimpering small animal unwilling to leave.
Fireworks exploded in their ears, but neither cared for the magnificent annual spectacle in the sky. What was blooming were the fireworks; what was burning was the long-ignited desire in Chen Jinyue’s heart to stay by her sister’s side forever.
She tasted the sour plum powder on the corner of Lin Yunsheng’s lips—sour and sweet, just like the person before her.
Chen Jinyue pulled back slightly, biting her own lip before returning to that embrace until the fireworks ended.
She spoke very little for the rest of the night. On the way back through the surging crowds, she simply held onto Lin Yunsheng’s arm, her mind unable to hold anything else.
Back at the hotel, the three of them sat on the sofa, counting down to the New Year with the Spring Festival Gala—something they hadn't watched in years. Chen Fang let out a yawn and went to the bathroom to shower. Jinyue could no longer sit still. She gravitated toward Lin Yunsheng once more, her eyes sending out an invitation.
Lin Yunsheng led her to her own room and locked the door.
The second firework display of Nancheng began outside the window.
Chen Jinyue couldn't hold back for another second. She kissed her urgently, pushing her toward the window as they kissed. Lin Yunsheng was breathless from her passion; she created a small gap and whispered, "Xiao Jin... only, only ten minutes."
"Then kiss me for ten minutes..." Jinyue answered quickly. She didn't want to waste any more time. *I've already waited long enough.*
She sealed her lips again.
She took the lead with Lin Yunsheng. The fireworks outside seemed even more intense and grand than the previous show; the flashes of white light always reached her eyes before the sound did.
As she kissed Lin Yunsheng with total abandon, she inexplicably thought of that night of thunder and lightning—a night just like this, where the light fell before the thunder.
On that night, she had understood the undercurrents that had always existed but had never been acknowledged.
So now, Lin Yunsheng, this time, can we turn the "if" I thought of this afternoon into "reality"?
Turn the longing in my dreams into the gasps of this moment. Seal the love that has only grown over the last six years into this lingering kiss.
The sourness of the plum powder was gone. Only the sweetness remained.
Lin Yunsheng.
The fireworks are brilliant, year after year.
—If you are willing.
***
