The festival lights painted the evening sky in soft colors.
Katie stood among the crowd, her hand resting on the strap of her bag as she watched the city sparkle below. The giant Ferris wheel turned slowly in the distance, its lights reflecting in her eyes.
Beside her stood Tian.
For a moment, it felt like they were alone in the world.
Then voices called out from behind.
"Katie!"
She turned and saw her friends hurrying toward them.
"We searched everywhere for you!"
The cheerful atmosphere returned instantly.
Everyone began talking at once, laughing and sharing stories from the evening.
Katie smiled politely.
But something caught her attention.
Xing fei had quietly moved closer to Tian.
The two of them exchanged a few words.
Then xngfei reached for his hand.
Katie's smile faded.
She wasn't sure why.
Perhaps it was because she had grown used to standing beside him.
Perhaps it was because she suddenly realized how important he had become to her.
Xing fei looked up at Tian with a bright smile.
"Let's go eat. I'm so hungry."
Tian nodded.
Without hesitation, he walked away with her.
Hand in hand.
Katie remained where she was.
The festival lights that had seemed so beautiful moments ago now felt distant.
A strange ache settled in her chest.
She lowered her eyes.
"Why does this bother me so much?"
For the first time, she couldn't answer her own question.
Ahead of her, Tian's figure slowly disappeared into the crowd.
The girl beside him glanced back briefly.
Katie looked away.
She didn't want anyone to see the sadness in her eyes.
A few minutes later, she found herself walking alone down a quiet street.
The laughter of the festival grew fainter behind her.
The night breeze brushed against her hair.
She stopped beneath the glowing streetlights and stared at the road ahead.
Only then did she finally understand.
The feeling wasn't jealousy.
It wasn't anger.
It was fear.
Fear that the person she wanted to spend time with...
might someday choose someone else.
And that realization frightened her more than anything.