Two kilometers away from Dazui Village lies a vast expanse of alpine grassland.
The night sky at this moment resembles a deep black velvet, studded with countless twinkling stars like cosmic beacons illuminating every corner of the grassland.
Moonlight spills gently across the grass, draping the earth in a thin silver veil. In the distance, the outlines of mountain ranges loom vaguely in the night, like a serene yet mysterious ink wash painting.
The breeze on the grassland carries a hint of chill, gently sweeping past as the tips of the grass sway in the wind, producing a rustling sound that blends with the occasional low chirping of birds and insects in the distance to form a natural symphony.
The air is filled with the fresh scent of earth and green grass, refreshing the mind and spirit.
On such a night, time seems to stand still, all worries blown away by the wind, leaving only peace in the soul and a sense of awe for nature.
"Wow, gorgeous!"
An impassioned voice shatters the tranquility. Holding a low-resolution phone, Huo Ge films the starry night sky.
"Slap, slap!"
Beside him, Qi Tongwei is locked in a continuous battle with the mosquitoes swarming around him, wondering why on earth none of them are biting Huo Ge.
Qi Tongwei could slap himself twice; he was supposed to be resting, but Huo Ge dragged him out here by force.
Huo Ge said he wanted to catch some fireflies as a gift for Liu Yifei, and that there was going to be a meteor shower tonight so they could make wishes together—and he had foolishly tagged along!
He has been dragged out since midnight, and now it is almost two o'clock. No fireflies caught, no meteors seen, but he has seen plenty of mosquitoes!
He feels thoroughly depressed. Why are two grown men out looking at a meteor shower?
If Huo Ge has the chops, why didn't he invite Liu Yifei to watch it together, wouldn't it be even better if some romance happened between them?!
"Wow, a shooting star! Make a wish, quick!"
As the night deepens, a meteor streaks across the southern sky, like a red flash of lightning, brief and dazzling.
Immediately following, more meteors arrive in succession, tracing beautiful arcs across the night sky like brushstrokes on a canvas, painting a moving picture.
Qi Tongwei marvels at the magnificent sight, sparing the annoying mosquitoes.
After a flurry of manic photography, Huo Ge stops looking at the brilliant spectacle above, lowers his head to play with his phone, selects a decent photo, and sends out a multimedia message.
"So late, who are you sending that to?"
Just as Qi Tongwei finishes making a silent wish in his heart and opens his eyes to look at Huo Ge, he sees him sending a multimedia message to a contact saved as "Fairy Sister".
"Sending it to Liu Yifei, telling her to wake up and watch the meteor shower together!"
Huo Ge holds his phone aloft, running toward a high point on the grassland to search for a signal.
"It's past two in the morning right now, aren't you afraid of getting beaten up for texting her?"
Qi Tongwei checks the time. Huo Ge messaging a girl in the middle of the night like this is bound to get him cursed out thoroughly.
"It doesn't matter. A beautiful view like this must be shared with a beauty."
...
Meanwhile, inside the Jingrui Hotel—the only four-star hotel in Wanchuan County—Liu Yifei has not yet fallen asleep.
Before going to bed, she had taken out Huo Ge's script to read through it again.
Being a movie heroine holds a strong attraction for her, even if this is a low-budget production with a budget of only one hundred thousand.
As she reads, an inexplicable sense of dread wells up inside her. The surroundings are silent, save for the night wind blowing the curtains through a half-open window.
Combining this with some of the horror scenes in the script, she suddenly feels as though she is in a place of grave danger.
This fear leaves her tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Even the notification chime of her phone receiving a text message nearly makes her shriek.
Gathering her courage, she picks up her phone and sees that the text is from Huo Ge, which lets her heave a soft sigh of relief.
"Hello!", Liu Yifei dials Huo Ge's number, intent on calling him to account.
Huo Ge's voice, however, is exceptionally excited. "Hey, you're not asleep yet? Come on out and watch the meteor shower!"
"What meteor shower?", Liu Yifei's intended words are cut short by Huo Ge.
"Look to the east! The Leonids meteor shower, there are so many of them, hurry up and get up to watch!"
The window of Liu Yifei's room happens to face east. She kicks off her shoes, jumps barefoot out of bed, and pulls back the curtains. Sure enough, she spots a red meteor dragging a long tail across the sky as it falls.
"There really are shooting stars!", Liu Yifei hurries back to her cabinet, takes out her camera, and prepares to capture the beauty of the meteor shower.
By now, the eastern sky is blanketed by incessantly falling meteors, tracing unimaginably gorgeous trajectories.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, thousands and tens of thousands, countless shooting stars falling to the ground and vanishing!"
Huo Ge is struck by a sudden surge of poetic inspiration and composes a poem on the spot.
"As expected of a talented Director Huo!", Liu Yifei puts her phone on speaker, holding her camera and continuously snapping photos of the sky, not even caring if they turn out well!
"Yifei, make a wish! Wish to become Best Actress!"
"You still haven't given up? You still want me to be the female lead in your movie?!"
"Right! This script was written specifically for you!"
"Liar!"
"I swear to the shooting stars, everything I said is true!"
"I've made my wish. What did you wish for?"
On the alpine grassland, Huo Ge excitedly points to the largest shooting star appearing in the sky and shouts at the top of his lungs: "My name is Huo Ge, and I'm going to be a great director who dominates the entertainment industry!"
Liu Yifei rushes to stop him. "Don't say it! If you say it out loud, it won't come true. Hurry up and make another wish!"
Joy and excitement radiate across Huo Ge's face. He raises his arms toward the sky as if waiting for the meteors to rush toward him so he can give them a hug!
Everything around them grows quiet, leaving only the sound of meteors streaking across the firmament, making one feel the vastness and wonder of the universe.
"Yifei, one must drink to the full extent of joy in life, and announce one's grand wishes to the world! Haha!"
Huo Ge laughs wildly toward the starry sky, looking somewhat unhinged.
"What nonsense are you babbling about?"
Liu Yifei has no idea where Huo Ge is watching the meteor shower, but she feels that his voice sounds not quite right. "Where are you?!"
"I am at~"
Before Huo Ge can finish his sentence, the call drops. Liu Yifei checks her phone and realizes her battery has died. She doesn't care, simply picking her camera back up to continue photographing the meteor shower.
When Huo Ge calls Liu Yifei back and gets no answer, he trots over and gives Qi Tongwei a big hug. "Let's go, brother is taking you to eat meat!"
"Get lost!"
Qi Tongwei shoves him away and plants a kick on Huo Ge's backside. "What kind of madness are you on, snap out of it!"
"Haha!"
Huo Ge rolls gracefully on the ground, then leaps back to his feet. "Brother Wei laughs at me for being too crazy; I laugh at Brother Wei for failing to see through it!"
Running a few paces away, he turns back to face Qi Tongwei, holding his left hand up in the gesture of raising a toast. "Brother Wei, heroes emerge when the winds of the world blow; stepping into the rivers and lakes hurries the years along. Imperial ambitions and grand hegemonies are discussed amidst laughter and chats; nothing beats a good drunken spell in life! I toast you, drink!"
"Drink your grandpa's drink! Drinking, drinking, not even drunk and you're acting like a drunk madman!"
Qi Tongwei picks up a dead branch from the ground and chases after Huo Ge. "You pest, look at me brandishing my sword across the saddle amidst ghostly rain, with bones like mountains and birds startled into flight. Dust and affairs surge like tides while people flow like water, sighing only at how few return from the rivers and lakes! Demon, taste my sword!"
"Take my Huo family fist, ha! ha! ha!"
"What the fuck, you play dirty, throwing sand?!"
"To deal with a sword-man like you, one has to do this!"
"A sword-man? I am The Great Swordsman!"
"..."
The two of them tussle and jest, leaving a string of hearty laughter echoing over the empty grassland.