It was finally the day of the New Year celebration, held on the night before the new year began.
Everyone was given a day off in the public sector. The only exception was a few soldiers who were paid extra to stay at the wall as garrisons.
As the night approached, Xiaoyun and four other girls were walking between the stalls, getting ready to check out the events as the clock hit five.
"Man, the streets are so crowded, it's not even Chinese New Year," Nami commented as she held Lily's hand.
"Well, it's the second holiday of the town, or the first holiday for most people in the town," Yuqi murmured as she held Xiaoyun's left arm tightly.
"Yeah, and I planned most of it! I didn't expect this many people to show up, though..."
Yueyue quickly responded next, holding onto her husband's right arm as her chin was held high as if she was waiting for his praises.
"Where's Leyan? Didn't she leave home at noon?" Xiaoyun curiously asked, not really paying attention to either of them.
"She's busy managing the food tables... We had set it up to be a buffet in advance, so she should be free by the time the event starts."
"I see..."
"Hey! Let's go play that one!"
As Yueyue dragged the two of them to the carnival game, Nami and Lily quickly turned around to run back towards them.
"A shooting booth?"
The four of them waited in line as a group of people were already in the front. Just from watching on the side, they could understand the rule.
It was as plain as the name describes. A shooting practice with a BB gun, allowing you to get a toy if you hit all the targets.
After waiting for a bit, it was finally their turn.
Yueyue was the first to step up to play. She perfectly landed all five of the moving targets with ease as the booth worker looked a little surprised
"Yes, I got it! I-I want the teddy bear!"
As the worker handed Yueyue the teddy bear from the prize pool, Yuqi had already stepped up next to play.
Unfortunately, she managed to miss every single shot. Yuqi's shots didn't come close as the target moved way too fast for her to aim properly.
"I want one too!"
Yuqi demanded as she pushed her husband forward, her eyes filled with jealousy as she watched Yueyue hug the teddy bear over and over again.
"Fine, fine."
Grabbing the BB gun, Xiaoyun felt something was a little off. But he didn't question it as he fired all five of his shots towards the target.
"Shit... I really need to go back to practice." Xiaoyun murmured as only four of the targets were hit.
"How unfortunate."
Yueyue started laughing out loud as the carnival worker handed them only a participation stress ball.
"Hmph! Whatever. Looks like just some toys for children anyway." Yuqi angrily murmured as she squishes the stress ball.
"Mhm..."
"Hey, hey! I want to try next!"
Nami and Lily quickly stepped up to the front as they took their turn to play, but they only manage to land two targets.
"Nice try."
As the worker handed them the same stress ball, neither of them minded at all as they happily took the gift and moved on.
However, Yuqi's face remained grumpier than ever as she watches the two of them throw the stress ball at each other.
"Come on, create one for her," Yueyue quietly whispered as she slowly slided her teddy bear into his hand.
Xiaoyun thought about it for a second before a newly created copy of the teddy bear appeared in his other hand.
"Yuqi, look! We got something that you wanted."
"What? Oh my god! Where did you get that?"
Yuqi excitely grabbed the new teddy bear out of Xiaoyun's hand as she tightly held it inside her arms.
"Yueyue gave it to me, and I created another one for you." Xiaoyun replied as he didn't bother hiding the effort at all.
"Aww, thank you Yueyue... I am so sorry I was just in the heat of the moment, I didn't meant to look so jealous."
Yuqi apologizes, feeling a little embarassed inside for being grumpy over such a small little toy and having it noticed by her younger sister.
"It's all good, I shouldn't have poked fun at you first." Yueyue apologized back as Xiaoyun handed her the original teddy bear.
As the two of them both reached a common understand, Nami and Lily finally decided to stop and turn around.
"Geez, Xiaoyun, you're so lucky... Normally this is where a rift breaks between them as they get jealous of each other," Nami mumbled.
"Yeah, like that anime we watched!" Lily pointed it.
"Leyan should had limited your internet access——"
"Blah! Lily lets go somewhere else, away from them showing off."
Nami quickly grabbed onto Lily's hand once again, blending right into the crowds of people as both Yuqi's and Yueyue's eye were glued to a nearby stall.
"Hey! T-They just ran off!" Xiaoyun pointed out as the two of them didn't seem to care about their sister's missing.
"They probably got glued to some food. Nami's almost an adult now anyway, no need to worry about them."
Just as Yuqi responded and let go of Xiaoyun's arm, Yueyue forcefully grabbed onto both of their arms and dragged them along.
"Oo, let's go play that game!"
---
Meanwhile, over on the other side of the street block...
"Hey Shuli, do you like Xiaoyun?" Wuli suddenly asked as the two sat on the stool waiting for their food at a stall.
"W-What? No! He's married to them already." Shuli replied, her face looking a little surprise by the question.
"But what if? Lets just say what if he isn't married to Leyan? Would you marry him? He's the one who saved you at the casino ring after all.
Don't you have any feelings toward him? Not even the kind of feeling that might make you feel attracted to him?" Wuli asked again.
"W-well, feeling yes, but its just gratitude. It's not love or anything."
The stall chef hands the two a tray of fried squid on a stick as they quickly got up from the stool, walking off to let others get their food.
"Shuli, we had been together for so long, I know when you are lying." Wuli murmured as she started eating the cooked squid.
"Okay fine, maybe I have a little feeling for him. But how about you then? You don't have any feeling for him?"
As Shuli pushed the conversation back to Wuli, she quickly started to eat the cooked squid as well to avoid answering the question fully.
"Me? Why would I have feelings for him? He hasn't done anything for me. He didn't save me from being held hostage." Wuli argued.
"Uh huh, says the one who got drunk a few days ago and said 'I wish I were the one marrying Songming in the past, he's so handsome and rich!
I don't want to work anymore! I am forty year old women with no men! Why can't god just appoint me a handsome husband?'"
Shuli's attempt in mimic of her friend's voice was met with a instant elbow on the stomach as Wuli couldn't handle the embarassment.
"Hey, shut up! I was drunk, okay? I just got a little frustrated working for my entire life... Is it wrong for me to wanting an easy way out?"
"Well, I'm sure Xiaoyun and Leyan wouldn't mind accepting you into their family if you really want an easy way out."
As Shuli finished the food and threw it in the trashcan, Wuli's brain quickly realize what she was trying to imply.
"What! I-I am not going to do that. I can't leave you behind like this." Wuli suddenly got emotional as she threw her own empty stick into the bin.
"I'm just joking, geez, you really think Yuqi and Yueyue are going to accept you? Keep dreaming."
The laughter made Wuli's face boil red in anger this time as she quickly realize she had taken Shuli's comment way too seriously.
"How dare you make fun of me!" Wuli yelled out loud as her hands reached down to her sides, tickling her.
"Hahaha! Okay, okay, stop, let's go play something."
Shuli quickly pushed Wuli's hand away before grabbing it, bringing her to a nearby stall as both of their faces blushed at the same time.
---
Meanwhile, the five foreigners walked on the street, slightly confused as they walked through the stalls.
They kept walking until they ran into someone they knew. It was no other than Yezi with his wife, Huayi.
"Mister Yezi, do you know what's happening?" Kate asked in English.
Yezi looked confused at her as he had no clue what she was saying. Forunately, Huayi was able to understand it.
"It's a New Year celebration. You don't know? There's also going to be a speech and dining later... Here's an extra ticket for you guys."
As Huayi replied in English and handed them five tickets, they were a little surprised before bowing down in gratitude.
"Thank you... Is it already the end of the year? It felt like only a few months." Kate murmured as she handed back the ticket to the other four.
"Yeah, time flies... Anyway, we're going to get going now. See ya."
Huayi quickly waved goodbye as she walked off with Yezi, leaving the five of them in the middle of the streets.
"They look like a lovely couple," Anna commented in German.
"Yeah, they do."
"Where's the alcohol?" One of the Russians asked as he looked around, only to see none of them in any of the nearby stalls.
"I think they serve it at the dining table later." Kate replied.
"Let's go play that one, that looks like some sort of drink." The second Russians murmured as he spotted something in the distant.
---
Meanwhile, back at the wall, soldiers were in pairs standing several meters apart, staying on duty patrolling the walls.
"Hey Jixi, why are we staying at the garrison today? We could have asked for a break and joined in the celebration." Gantian asked.
"Too many people... you can go join them." Jixi murmured, leaning back onto the battlement as he took out a picture from his wallet.
From the side, Gantian could see it was a family picture of a young Jixi with a young woman and a kid in her arms.
"Nah, I don't even have a girlfriend to go like most people there. Besides, it's double pay to stay here."
After sitting on the wall for a whole minute, Gantian finally couldn't hold in his curiosity in his mind.
"Jixi, was that a family picture?" Gantian curiously asked as Jixi started putting the picture back into his wallet.
"Yeah... I lost contact with them since the outbreak." Jixi murmured as his face suddenly looked a little emotional.
The night fell into silence as Gantian didn't know how to comfort him. He could only patted him on the shoulder as he sat down next to him.
"At least you are still alive... there's always hope that they are still alive out there." Gantian finally muttered a few words out of his mouth.
"There's always hope..." Jixi murmured to himself as he suddenly pulled out his canteen and drank a few sip.
"Hey, I thought we can't drink alcohol while on duty."
Gantian immediately noticed the color of the liquid was a little off, almost as if it was some sort of alcohol inside.
"Yiming isn't here anyway... Here, have a sip."
As Jixi handed him the canteen, Gantian hesitated for a second, but he took a sip in the end as the burning sensation tingled his tongue.
"Shit, this is strong."
"I saved up for a week to buy this... You better not split it out." Jixi warned as he took back the canteen and took another sip.
The two fell into silence as they looked up. A clear sky with no clouds blocking it in the slightest.
"Man, the stars are so bright today... We can even see the entire full moon." Gantian murmured.
"Yeah..."
The two fell back into silence once again until Gantian couldn't resist the urge to ask another question.
"Hey Jixi, do you want to go back to the military?"
"Nope, I like it here. It feels a lot more welcoming than the military." Jixi replied.
The two fell into silence again as the cold wind breezes past them. The defeafening silence soon made Gantian speak up once again.
"I just realized, if Major didn't got injured, we probably would have never come here for help, right?"
"Yep."
Jixi murmured as he took another sip, gulping down the last few drops as this time, the silence lasted for the entire night.