Chapter 300 - 177: Race Against Time! Nine Heavens Dragon Dance

Chapter 300: Chapter 177: Race Against Time! Nine Heavens Dragon Dance

"Thank you, Sister Fan," Xiaoyu said sweetly, her mouth full of food, making her words muffled.

Wan Ze sat across from Sun Fan, eating quietly and occasionally placing a piece of food on his sister’s plate.

Zhou Xianchuan had his head down, tackling the plate of spicy chicken. He rummaged through the pile of chili peppers for bits of chicken, letting out a satisfied grunt with every piece he found... ’Gold strike!’

Halfway through the meal, a group of people came in, talking and laughing loudly.

"What a coincidence. We meet again."

Wan Ze looked up and saw the class president, Liu Yu, standing at the door. Behind him were six or seven people—the same group of his classmates.

Five girls walked in front, chattering away about the parade floats they had just seen. Two boys followed behind them.

Zhao Hexiang was clearly a bit reserved, while Liu Xi, on the other hand, was in his element. He would occasionally interject with a comment, making the girls up front glance back at him.

Wan Ze was cutting a steak for his sister. He looked up, glanced at them, and gave a small smile as a greeting.

’This kind of situation is best left to Zhou Xianchuan.’

Sure enough, Zhou Xianchuan didn’t disappoint. He immediately stood up with a broad smile, greeting them enthusiastically. "Class President! What a coincidence! You guys are eating here too?"

"We looked around but didn’t find anything good to eat. We heard this place was pretty good," Liu Yu explained.

Just then, a table next to them became free. They went over and sat down, just an aisle away from Wan Ze’s group.

Zhou Xianchuan turned around and chatted with them for a bit, smiling.

Zhao Hexiang sat nearby without saying a word, his gaze just occasionally darting toward Song Wanqing. But Song Wanqing was completely focused on Liu Xi, asking if he ate spicy food, if he liked sour fish soup, and even asking that bastard if he wanted to order a cold dish to start.

Every question Song Wanqing asked was another pang in Zhao Hexiang’s heart.

He had refilled Song Wanqing’s tea three times already, each time right after she had taken a single sip. He was being extremely attentive.

But Song Wanqing’s attention remained fixed on Liu Xi. When he poured the tea, she didn’t even glance at him, her mouth still moving as she said something to Liu Xi, as if he were completely invisible.

Zhao Hexiang was miserable. He sullenly picked up a menu, pretending to study the dishes, but his eyes kept darting to the side.

Liu Xi, however, did notice Zhao Hexiang’s attentiveness but didn’t say anything at all. He just occasionally smiled at Song Wanqing—not too warm, but not cold either. Every time Song Wanqing saw him smile, she would lower her head to smooth her hair, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.

As an outsider to the situation, Zhou Xianchuan patted Zhao Hexiang’s shoulder, then quietly went back to his own meal. He didn’t like that show-off Liu Xi either; the guy’s act was just cringeworthy.

When Wan Ze saw him finally deign to return, he gave him a strange look.

Zhou Xianchuan immediately put on an expression that said ’I’ve had it.’ With his back to the others, he pointed toward Liu Xi and mouthed one word: "Asshole."

This made Wan Ze and Sun Fan shake their heads and laugh.

...

Halfway through their meal, the music from the plaza outside suddenly grew louder.

Someone outside shouted, "It’s starting! It’s starting!"

The people in the restaurant all stood up and rushed to the windows.

The parade floats in the plaza began their procession.

The first float’s theme was the "Flower Goddess." Its body was covered in bright red rose petals—they were silk flowers, but under the lights, they looked identical to real roses.

On the float stood a woman in ancient-style clothing. Her long, crimson dress trailed on the floor, its hem embroidered with a golden Phoenix that glittered under the lights.

The Flower Goddess wore a dignified smile, her gaze fixed forward. She held a bouquet of fresh flowers and waved slowly to the crowd.

The crowd burst into cheers.

The next float had a "Four Seasons" theme. Its body was divided into four sections, decorated with motifs of spring peaches, summer lotuses, autumn chrysanthemums, and winter plums, respectively.

Four women in different colored dresses stood in their respective sections, each holding a prop that represented her season.

The final float’s theme was "A Hundred Birds Pay Homage to the Phoenix."

The body of the float was covered with figures of all kinds of birds. At the very top was a giant Phoenix, its golden wings spread so wide they nearly spanned the entire float. Its tail feathers trailed down, creating a long, colorful waterfall at the rear.

The crowd’s cheers rose in wave after wave, each one louder than the last.

Then, the fire-breathing performance began.

A bare-chested man walked into an open space in the center of the plaza. He held a torch in his hand, his body glistening with oil.

The man took a deep breath, tilted his head back, and chugged a large mouthful of liquid. Then, he sprayed it forcefully toward the torch.

"FWOOSH!"

A huge ball of fire shot out of his mouth and exploded in the air, like an orange flower blooming in an instant.

The heat wave from the flames could be felt even from over ten meters away. The crowd let out a collective gasp, followed by a deafening round of applause.

The man sprayed another mouthful. This time, he turned his head, and the flames drew a circle in the air like a burning halo.

For the third mouthful, he bent down, and the flame swept across the ground, leaving a scorched black mark. Then he abruptly straightened up, sending the fire shooting upward like a soaring fire dragon.

Xiaoyu was leaning on the windowsill, her mouth wide open, her eyes glued to the scene below without blinking.

Her little face was illuminated by the flickering lights from below, alternating between light and shadow.

Zhou Xianchuan stood beside her, both hands propped on the windowsill, muttering nonstop, "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, this is insane! What the hell is he holding in his mouth? Alcohol? Kerosene? Won’t he burn himself?"

No one answered him.

Everyone was captivated by the performance below.

Afterward, the large screen in the plaza lit up and began a countdown.

Giant numbers flashed on the screen...

10... 9... 8...

The crowd in the plaza chanted along, their voices merging into a torrent of sound that rose from the ground, passed through the floors, and penetrated the glass windows.

7... 6... 5...

Wan Ze stood at the window, looking down at the dense sea of people below.

Their faces were lit by the glow of the screen, each one filled with the same excitement and anticipation.

He suddenly remembered what he was doing last New Year’s Eve. He thought he had been at home, taken a call from Zhou Xianchuan, exchanged a "Happy New Year," and then gone to sleep.

Back then, he was just like the people below, standing at the tail end of the year for a moment, letting out a sigh, and then turning to walk into the next one.

’But things are different now.’

...

"Three... Two... One!"

"BOOM!"

A massive red firework shot a hundred meters into the sky and suddenly exploded.

In that instant, the sky was torn asunder.

Red light spread out from the center of the explosion like a blooming peony, its petals unfurling layer by layer, each one carrying fine, golden sparks.

Just as the peony was about to fade, countless smaller fireworks burst from its core, like a handful of golden seeds scattered into the sky, drawing dense arcs across the night.

Those arcs intertwined and tangled together. Suddenly, thousands of points of light lit up at once, connecting to form a crimson fire dragon.

The dragon snaked through the sky, its head constantly changing direction as if chasing its own tail.

Every scale on the dragon’s body was clearly visible. Its whiskers drifted in the wind, its claws appeared and disappeared among the clouds, and its tail left a long trail of light, as if it had torn a gash across the sky.

"WOOOW!!!" came a collective cry of amazement.

The people in the plaza tilted their heads back, mouths agape and eyes shining, staring blankly like a crowd of enchanted statues.

Xiaoyu quickly closed her eyes, clasped her hands together against her chest, and made a devout wish toward the fireworks. It was impossible to know what she was murmuring, but her expression was so earnest that no one had the heart to disturb her.

Caught up in the excitement, the group watched the Nine Heavens Dragon Dance for a while. The dragon swam through the sky for nearly a minute before it gradually dissipated, turning into countless fine specks of light that slowly drifted down and vanished into the night.

It took a long time for the crowd’s cheers to die down.

Everyone gradually returned to their seats, still buzzing with excitement. Liu Xi was still discussing the dragon that had soared through the sky, and somehow the topic shifted to his own worldly knowledge. The guy started showing off like crazy, his voice growing several notches louder.

"So damn loud. It’s like they’ve never seen a New Year’s before."

Suddenly, an impatient voice came from a corner table.

The group’s laughter died, and they turned to look.

...

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