The taxi driver waited for a while then said a little impatiently, "Miss, I still have business to make! I can't waste my time here..."
Ji Yi wasn't in a hurry to bother with the taxi driver. Her eyes blinked as she stared at the YC building and looked for about ten minutes. Then she withdrew her gaze and said to the taxi driver, "Go to Houhai."
There were many people at Houhai, so the taxi couldn't get through. All he could do was stop by the Drum Tower.
Ji Yi paid her cab fare, got out of the car then walked down the alley for about ten minutes. At Houhai, she raised her wrist and glanced at the time. There was about ten minutes before midnight.
She wasn't looking for the best viewing spot like everyone else who was there to watch the fireworks. Instead, she headed for the area with the least people.
She stopped at the spot where she and He Jichen stood two years ago and looked out at the landscape like before. However, this time, the person who watched the fireworks with her back then was no longer standing beside her.
The moment the drum tower rang, everyone by Lake Houhai counted along with the countdown.
"Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven..."
Just like two years ago, Ji Yi counted down silently in her heart.
The moment they cried "One!", Ji Yi looked over at the empty space beside her. "Happy new year, He Jichen."
As her voice fell, the sky in front of her erupted with endless dazzling firework displays, just like the magnificent show two years ago.
The fireworks continued to soar and lit up the entire night sky. Ji Yi raised her head up at the skyline and waited for the fireworks to simmer down. She waited like before but didn't get to hear the words He Jichen said to her two years ago: "Ji Yi, Happy new year."
After the fireworks were over, the group of people at Houhai quickly erupted in an outroar.
Soon after, people filed out of the lakeside.
Ji Yi didn't leave. She pulled out her phone, which she barely charged in the car. She clicked AliPay and found He Jichen's name. She found the records of their red envelopes from two years ago which hadn't been deleted yet. There it was: 8888 in Yuan, with the three words beneath it: New Year's Money.
Two years ago, she dreamed of this whole picture with a smile on her face, but two years later, her eyes were slightly wet when she saw the red envelope.
Another year has gone by. The drum tower rang again and fireworks shot into the sky again, but you still haven't come back.
The final words you told me were: "I wish you all the best."
But how's a "me" without you going to be well?
Ji Yi didn't leave until there was practically no one else at Houhai.
She took a different route from how she got there. This time, she walked down the street of the bars.
Because it was Chinese new year, most bars weren't open. There were only a few scattered bars that were still open, but they only had a few customers inside.
Just as Ji Yi was about to emerge from the street of bars, she heard music coming out from one of the bars still open for business.
Actually, all the open bars were playing music, but she heard a voice which sounded quite similar to He Jichen coming from one of them.
She instinctively stopped walking. Ji Yi knew she had work the next day, but her feet couldn't help walking into that bar.
In the bar, besides the singer and the boss behind the counter playing on their phone, there was no one else around.
The boss saw her come in and immediately greeted her, but the singer held the microphone and continued to sing like he hadn't noticed her.