In the blink of an eye, it was already the end of December. In the Imperial Capital, thanks to air purification help from Iridium Star, the visible smog had disappeared, and the air quality hovered between good and excellent.
The people of the Imperial Capital had gradually gotten used to the giant spacecraft patrolling the sky like municipal water-spraying trucks, to the point where few people bothered to take photos with their phones anymore.
On the 24th, when retailers in the streets and alleys put out Christmas trees and reindeer decorations, a holiday that was not very significant to the locals, filled the entire city with atmosphere. The people didn't have much interest in the essence of the holiday; they just looked for an excuse to have fun, especially the young n and won, who managed to turn this into another Valentine's Day.
The foreign festival gave rise to various localized customs, such as giving apples, or booking hotel rooms—which were bizarre and interesting and made quite a spectacle.
It seed as if to add atmosphere to the day, in the late afternoon, a few delicate snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. By the ti it got completely dark, the snow had beco heavier. Though the temperature was not too low and there was no biting north wind, the snowflakes fell gently like feathers, covering the ground with a layer.
Even though it wasn't a public holiday, Han Jiaxue's bookstore did quite well, due to the tenuous holiday connection, which kept the young proprietor quite busy. She tied her hair into a ponytail and wore an apron as she busied herself behind the counter. Watching the couples co and go, Han Jiaxue felt a tinge of envy.
They might all be hustling for life, facing all sorts of difficulties and conflicts, yet they could still date serenely, enjoying simplicity and tranquility.
"It's been almost a month now," Han Jiaxue thought, her mind wandering slightly.
A month ago, she was still attending school in San Francisco, United States, living next to a senior student she fancied and who also had a secret crush on her. Life was extrely boring and uninteresting. However, such monotonous and dull life ca to an abrupt end after the visit of the Iridium Star people.
The ordinary and dull senior had beco the Iridium Star Chancellor, and she herself got involved, becoming one of the Earthlings with the closest contact with Iridium Star.
She hadn't finished her final exams because the school was shut down. She was sent back ho on a spaceship and now stayed in her bookstore in the Imperial Capital, living a different kind of life every day. Occasionally, her boyfriend, the Iridium Star Chancellor, would send her ssages to chat, and the rascal even tried to video call her, but the sowhat shy Han Jiaxue always refused.
The store finally started to quiet down, with restless young n pulling their girls along. From their animated expressions and the girls' shy yet coquettish deanor, it wasn't hard to guess where these fellows might end up afterwards.
Even the young attendant in the shop ca to Han Jiaxue shyly at this ti: "Sis, can I leave a bit early today?"
Han Jiaxue, always amiable, understandingly let the young attendant go early, leaving herself to close the shop alone. She was a girl with a gentle exterior but an incredibly strong and opinionated heart. Once she set her mind on sothing, it was hard for others to influence her to change it.
Gazing at the drifting snowflakes outside the glass door and the figures of couples passing by the comrcial street, Han Jiaxue felt a slight sourness in her heart.
She took out her phone, not the "plastic glass board" Bai Zhongqi had given her, but the one she used to use. She carried this phone when going out to avoid standing out. There was nothing on the phone's screen, which made Han Jiaxue pout.
By the ti she turned off the lights in the store and pulled down the roller shutter, there were hardly any people on the street, and the snow outside was quite thick. Han Jiaxue felt a bit cold, tightened her scarf, and turned around intending to head to the subway station. (BGM: "Silent Night - Harbor Christmas - Night": Wang Yi Cloud Music)
As she took a step forward, she saw under the street light outside the store, a man in a long coat with a few snowflakes on his head, standing there. He had a smile on his face, holding a gift box wrapped in bright wrapping paper, looking sowhat dazed.
Han Jiaxue shook her head and walked over. She used her little hand, covered in a knitted glove, to brush the snowflakes off his head and chided, "Why didn't you co in after arriving?"
Bai Zhongqi replied playfully, "I just arrived a mont ago, and I was afraid of dirtying your shop's floor again, which you would need to clean."
Han Jiaxue gave him a look and said, "You didn't even send a ssage."
Bai Zhongqi smiled, "I wanted to surprise you."
He was like an excited little child, holding the gift with both hands and flaunting it in front of Han Jiaxue's eyes, seemingly with a touch of show-off.
"Open it and take a look."
Han Jiaxue glanced at him with sultry eyes, then lowered her head and took off her gloves. She touched the hand holding the box, and unlike the chill she expected, the hands were warm, even warr than her own.
She unwrapped the outside packaging of the box with a smile.
Inside the box was sothing like a crystal ball, with a base inlaid with gems of various colors; it had a light source underneath, which shone through the gems, decorating the crystal ball in a kaleidoscope of colors.
In the center of the crystal ball was a flower Han Jiaxue had never seen before, crystal clear as ice and snow, twinkling with enchanting colors under the illumination of the gems. Each petal was perfectly ford, and as they unfolded, they seed like a beautiful person dancing. The petals swayed in the light one after the other, a breathtaking sight.
Bai Zhongqi smiled and said, "This is a true living being, from a distant icy planet, known as the Yaoxue Huà. It's not like the usual plants that perform photosynthesis. Its body is made of a silicon compound, containing massive amounts of light signals.
On its ho planet, whenever a new Yaoxue Huà blooms, the nearby ones transfer light signals into it, creating a silicon-based life form, distinct from carbon-based ones. Although we still don't understand the aning of its life and other mysteries, it's a beautiful form of life, isn't it?"
Caught in the dazzle of the dancing Yaoxue Huà, Han Jiaxue couldn't help but say, "This is truly incredible, I wonder what the planet filled with these wonderful flowers looks like?"
Bai Zhongqi held her hand and said, "There are countless planets filled with all sorts of magical and dreamy wonders, and if you wish, I can take you to see each one."
With a sly smile, Han Jiaxue looked at him and asked, "In that little ship of yours that can see the stars?"
Bai Zhongqi laughed heartily and said, "Yes, I'll build many many little ships, and we'll drift along the Galaxy, float and float, to places far away..."
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