"Cynthia and I will wash the dishes today, tomorrow you guys can do it," Yue said as she cleared the table after dinner.
Cyan was helping her right behind her.
Lin Ling stretched as he rested on the sofa.
Damn... my body feels so heavy...
"I can see you really enjoyed yourself today." Wang Ming commented as he sat down on the other side of the sofa.
"Yeah... you're right." Lin Ling confessed as he watched Yan play with Jake in the backyard.
Wang Ming picked up the TV remote and turned it on, hoping to find something interesting.
Meanwhile, Yue and Cyan were absentmindedly washing the dishes, unaware that Cyan had started singing a tune.
"So you like music?"
Cyan jumped a little when she heard the question, she had gotten too comfortable.
"Yeah... I can say that music has helped me a lot..." Cyan tried to explain without revealing too much.
"I assume you're a fan of Lucky Cyan, am I right?" Yue looked at Cyan amusedly.
"Y-yes... I've always loved her songs."
"Yeah... such a young and talented girl, it's a shame she suffered at the hands of those kinds of people. I guess not even luck can prevent us from going through these misfortunes in life." Yue commented melancholically.
Cyan, who was drying a plate, began to stare at her own reflection in it.
"Luck isn't always 100% certain..." Cyan began to speak calmly. Sometimes you think that with luck you can do anything, sometimes you think that luck is worthless, but sometimes you realize that you were lucky in the most essential moments." Cyan began to remember all the friends she had made to date, without realizing it, she ended up discreetly looking at Lin Ling. "It's up to you to make that luck worthwhile..." Cyan let a little smile appear on her face.
Yue blinked a few times after hearing that.
"I didn't imagine you were the type to have that opinion." Yue laughed softly at Cyan.
Cyan froze comically when she realized what she had said.
"W-well, I—" She tried to explain awkwardly.
"No... it's okay, I'm just surprised that even someone like her can suffer like that, but you're right, luck is only luck if you make it worthwhile." Yue smiled sincerely at Cyan.
Cyan calmed down after that.
"Mom..." Yan appeared behind the two of them, rubbing her eyes. "I'm sleepy..."
Yue quickly dried her hands and picked up her daughter.
"You can go, I'll finish up." Cyan said as she continued with the dishes.
"Okay... time for bed." Yue walked towards the second floor.
Cyan went back to singing a tune as she continued.
"Let me help you." She turned around and found Lin Ling standing beside her.
"No need, you can rest, I'll—"
"Now it's your turn to refuse help?" Lin Ling asked with a cheeky smile.
"Ah..." Cyan felt awkward after that. "Yeah... thanks."
"It's the least I can do... and besides, on TV, the comedian keeps making jokes about how Firm Man does No. 2." Lin Ling said with a grimace.
Cyan laughed slightly at that.
"I'd rather not think about it too much..." Cyan said with a slight smile.
"Something we can agree on." Lin Ling smiled back as they both continued the task together.
Mighty Glory Agency - Yan Mo/Rock's Office (CEO)
Rock walked out of the secret door of his office, deep in thought.
"Hey."
Rock looked a little surprised at the unexpected voice, but quickly assumed a neutral expression when he saw who it was.
"I didn't call you."
"I'm bored..."
This was Dragon Boy, currently ranked 13th, a hero personally trained by Rock since childhood.
Dragon Boy was lying on the office desk bored, wearing the same clothes as always.
Rock sighed at this behavior, walked over to the office aquarium, and watched the piranhas moving around.
"The music video for your song should be released in the next few days."
Dragon Boy now looked curious. "Actually, I liked it... it captured my personality well."
"Even so, it won't be enough for you to make it into the top 10. It's more of a precaution so that you won't be negatively affected by this competition," Rock explained calmly.
"With the failure of your plan, even Ghostblade rose in the rankings after the incident in the ruins. So... would this be a good time for us to do that?" commented Dragon Boy, anxiously.
"The Johnnies have risen dramatically, and with the attention Loli is receiving, she is expected to reach the top 10 soon. Even if they are in the tournament, you can benefit from it." The piranhas began to approach Rock. "Worms are worms, this commotion brings popularity, but it can also be their downfall."
"What matters is that I reach the top 10." Dragon Boy smiled confidently.
"Number 10 in the rankings, Firm Man is a pillar for the association. Getting involved with him would only put them on alert."
"And then there's X. We still have no clues about him..." Dragon Boy commented disappointedly.
"Almost everyone in the current top 10 is in the spotlight, so it's impossible to get involved with them, except for two..." Rock approached the table, picked up a remote, and turned on the office TV, showing the profile and data of a hero.
"Oh... the old man." Dragon Boy stood up, looking intently at the TV.
"We're still finishing collecting accurate information about him... we already know that he meets secretly with someone as a hobby, we just need to find something that will make him lose his composure." Rock explained emotionlessly.
"The other would be..." Rock pressed a button showing the profile of the other hero.
"Seriously?" Dragon Boy asked curiously about this choice. The weird one with green hair? The lucky one?"
"Your question is understandable. In fact, she is very popular, but not entirely in a positive way... Doubt is one of the first steps for fans to start losing trust in someone. If we use this to our advantage, we can take a strong opponent out of the tournament."
"Right... but isn't she on a secluded vacation? How are we going to get to her?"
Rock allowed himself a slight smile after that question.
"Apparently Mickey made a mistake. At this moment, he has no control or knowledge of where she is."
"I think we're the lucky ones here." Dragon Boy began to get excited.
"Almost, but we still don't have any useful information about where she is."
"Then we should make her show up. We could get that friend from the orphanage—"
"Not a bad idea..." Rock interrupted him calmly. "However, I think we should wait until the upcoming event is over to be sure of our target."
"Ah..." Dragon Boy became discouraged upon hearing this. "Why does it matter? You never cared whether we participated or not."
"Unfortunately, the worms care, and I doubt Mickey doesn't have a plan to use at the event... we should be cautious and act at the right moment."
"I myself am not interested in participating in this event..." Dragon Boy already wanted to sleep to forget this disappointment.
"I never said you would participate in the event, at least not as a hero..."
Dragon Boy smiled again upon hearing these words.
"...What about E-Soul? He dropped in the rankings after that failure, wouldn't it be better for him to participate?" said Dragon Boy, as he discreetly glanced at the half-open office door.
"E-Soul had his chance, he should keep a low profile so he doesn't drop even further in the rankings. Now it's your turn, I hope you're ready..." said Rock emotionlessly.
"I'm always ready to exterminate any trash that gets in my way." Dragon Boy got up from the table, stretching as he smiled.
Outside the office, a person wearing armor was leaning against the hallway wall, clenching his fists tightly as sparks of electricity circled around him.
Lin Ling let out a yawn as he sat on the sofa, the TV really couldn't cheer him up.
"Finally ready to sleep?" Wang Ming said with a smug smile at him.
"Yes..." Lin Ling said slightly irritated, Wang Ming never missed a chance.
"If we want to enjoy tomorrow more, we'd better go to sleep soon," Yue commented as she got up from the sofa.
Cyan, who was next to her, noticed something.
"We haven't taken our bags to the bedroom yet."
"Don't worry, I've already taken your bags to your room," Wang Ming said as he got up to accompany his wife.
"Thank you—"
"Wait..." Lin Ling stood up and interrupted, a little alarmed. "What do you mean, our room?"
"Didn't we tell you?" Yue put her hand to her mouth in a dramatic gesture.
"There are only three rooms, one for me and Yue, one for Yan, and the last one is for you two." Wang Ming explained calmly as if it were obvious.
"What!?" Lin Ling and Cyan let out their surprise.
"It's okay, right? After all, you already live together." Wang Ming smiled innocently.
Lin Ling immediately regretted giving him that information.
I should have known he would do something like this...
Lin Ling sighed as he tried to calm his nerves.
"Okay... I'll sleep here on the sofa, it won't be a problem—"
"About that..." Wang Ming interrupted Lin Ling while maintaining the same smile.
"Jake always sleeps on the sofa, and he's not the type to share that comfort."
Jake calmly walked past Lin Ling as he climbed onto the sofa to sleep. Lin Ling swore he saw him smirking at him, but just like before, he dismissed the idea.
"But—"
"Good night." Yue and Wang Ming said cheerfully as they went up to their own room.
Lin Ling and Cyan were left alone in an awkward silence.
It's okay... it's no big deal, we're guests, I'm sure the room has more than one bed.
Lin Ling reassured himself, thinking that he was overthinking it..
.
.
.
.
IT'S ONLY ONE BED!?
Both of them were now standing in front of the double bed in their room, both with a slight blush on their faces.
This is ridiculous...
"I'll sleep in the bathtub, it'll be better for both of us—" Lin Ling was about to walk out of the room when he felt someone grab his arm.
He turned around, a little surprised, to face this person.
"Cyan...?"
She had her head down, so Lin Ling couldn't see her expression.
"I don't mind..."
She spoke softly, but with the silence in the room, Lin Ling could hear her clearly.
"...What?"
"Let's just go to sleep, we both need to rest." She let go of his arm and quickly lay down on one side of the bed.
Lin Ling ended up accepting this and lay down on the other side of the bed, both with their backs to each other, a silence spreading throughout the room.
"So, what do you think?" Lin Ling asked after a while, unable to tell whether seconds or minutes had passed before asking the question.
"Think what?" Cyan was curious about this question, the blush on her face already fading.
"About this vacation... you know, living like an ordinary person..." Lin Ling said hesitantly.
"...it's not exactly what I expected... but it's not bad, it's even... exciting."
"Exciting?" Now Lin Ling was curious.
"Well, I've learned and am learning things I've always been curious about, I can see things with different eyes."
Lin Ling took on a slightly melancholic expression as a specific thought crossed his mind.
"You miss them, don't you?"
Cyan was silent for a few seconds before answering.
"...Yes... I just don't know what I'm going to say to them yet... I just don't know if I'm making the right choice in the end..."
"Isn't the right choice the one that makes you happiest?" Lin Ling said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"That's the problem... even with all the bad things I've been through, there were moments when I was truly happy." Cyan remembered the moments she spent with Luo, Queen, and The Jonhhies. "Being Lucky Cyan was something that really made me feel fulfilled, being someone who could bring joy by doing what I love." Cyan remembered how Luo taught her to play the guitar, remembered her showing previews of her songs to Queen and The Jonhhies.
"I don't want to act like all of that was forgettable, like everything I've lived through was bad, I can't do that..."
"I understand..." Lin Ling said somewhat emotionlessly, he seemed to be worrying about something.
"Hey..." Cyan turned around, now looking at his back. "Can you turn around?"
"Why?"
"Let's go."
Lin Ling turned around, trying to understand why this was necessary.
He froze slightly when he saw Cyan looking at him with a warm smile.
"It's thanks to you that I feel special even though I'm an ordinary person. It's thanks to you that I'm experiencing something special even though it's simple for many people."
"...I didn't plan any of this."
"Thank you, I'm so happy I met you. It's in moments like these that I feel like the luckiest person in the world, and I don't want to forget anything I'm going through right now. You are someone unforgettable to me, and I hope you feel the same way." Cyan confessed sincerely.
Lin Ling turned away quickly before Cyan could see any expression on his face.
"We're friends. If I forgot you... I could never forgive myself."
Now it was Lin Ling who confessed sincerely.
Cyan laughed softly at that.
"You're so dramatic sometimes." Cyan turned away again, looking the other way.
The smile did not disappear from her face.
"Good night, Lin Ling."
Lin Ling had the same kind of smile on his face.
"Good night, Cyan."
The next day
"Yes! You're doing it right." Cyan cheered happily as Lin Ling rose from the water.
"Finally..." He sighed with relief. Cyan hadn't left him alone since they arrived at the beach; she really wanted him to learn this.
After stopping to catch his breath, he ended up noticing something around him.
"Isn't the beach more crowded than yesterday?" Lin Ling asked as he observed many more people around them.
"Now that you mention it..." Cyan ended up looking around curiously as well. Yesterday, she hadn't even noticed other people on the beach, but today it was hard not to notice them.
Wait... isn't it close to-
"Hey!"
Cyan's thoughts were interrupted after hearing someone call them.
Yan was with her mother carrying a bucket that seemed to be full of shells.
"We're collecting shells to make some necklaces, do you want to join us?" Yue said loudly to both of them.
"Sure." Cyan replied enthusiastically, but she noticed that Lin Ling was literally floating in the water.
"Are you coming?"
"No, I'm going to enjoy myself and stay here..." He commented in a relaxed tone.
"Okay." Cyan swam back to the beach and joined Yue and Yan.
Lin Ling thought he would finally relax on the beach, but he was interrupted by a beach ball suddenly hitting him.
"Hey!" He got up, a little annoyed by this.
"Want to play?" Wang Ming appeared, smiling as he held the ball.
Lin Ling narrowed his eyes at him with a slight grimace.
"Even if I refuse, will you leave me alone?"
"No," Wang Ming replied, a little too cheerfully for Lin Ling's liking.
Lin Ling sighed, accepting the situation.
A good amount of time passed as everyone enjoyed the day in their own ways until.
"DADDY!"
Yan shouted to Wang Ming, who was now trying to relax in his chair.
He got up and ran worriedly to his daughter.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes," Yan smiled happily at him. "But Jake found something strange." She pointed to a more isolated area where Jake was digging something.
"What did you find now?" Wang Ming approached, a little exasperated by Jake's actions.
"That's—"
"What happened?" Lin Ling, who approached after noticing the situation, asked as Cyan and Yue arrived right behind him.
"Come see."
"Hey, isn't that—"
"A turtle nest!" Cyan exclaimed in surprise.
"I've never seen anything like this," Lin Ling commented thoughtfully.
"These things have become more difficult and impressive to see after Dawnfall," Wang Ming said as he looked at the nest.
"I remember learning about this in school... the destruction that Zero caused did great damage throughout the world, and all the world's wildlife was drastically affected..." Lin Ling said as he recalled some of the lessons he had learned.
"Yes..." Wang Ming continued. "The catastrophe that Zero caused was unprecedented. City X became the epicenter of the world, and the association that took over as the government initiated projects to restore the fauna. Thanks to the power of trust, this quickly yielded positive results." Wang Ming.
"The Johnnies participate a lot in events and initiatives for the environment," Cyan said happily, remembering how one day Little Johnny told her about when he had trouble stopping Big Johnny from fighting a hippopotamus over a watermelon when they were at an environmental reserve.
"Yes, heroes like them are constantly fighting and representing this cause, but they can't always be involved in everything." Wang Ming finished by taking one last look at the nest.
"Turtle hatchlings are one of the least likely to survive, aren't they?" Lin Ling asked, but quickly regretted it when he saw the sad look on Yan's face.
"Do they die?" she asked with tears welling up in her eyes.
"No, dear, he meant that they are the ones we see grow up the least because they are always in the sea." Yue picked up her daughter and began to calm her down.
"How about some ice cream?" Yue walked away with her to do something more cheerful.
"I'm sorry..." Lin Ling said regretfully.
"It's okay, you're not wrong after all." Wang Ming smiled slightly. "Few turtle hatchlings survive, they are prey to many other species, even to reach the sea after they are born... only a few survive to continue, it's the kind of thing that unfortunately is normal."
Lin Ling and Cyan fell silent after hearing this.
"I know you probably don't like this very much, or at all, but this is a natural cycle. Some manage to continue, others don't." Wang Ming finished speaking calmly.
Cyan suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She ended up looking in one direction and saw what appeared to be the peak of a mountain in the forest at the back of the small town.
She ended up staring at it without realizing it.
"Are you okay?" Lin Ling asked when she noticed how she was acting.
"Y-yes... I'm just distracted." She replied awkwardly.
Lin Ling looked in the same direction she was looking and saw what she was seeing.
"The mountain...?"
Wang Ming, who had been watching silently, let a small smile appear on his face.
"The mountain is Big Sun Mountain."
Now Lin Ling and Cyan looked at him curiously.
"Big Sun?" Lin Ling was skeptical about this.
"Yes... it is said that if you can complete the challenge of climbing its difficult trail at night and watch the sunrise from its peak, you can make a wish come true."
"A wish?" Now it was Cyan who asked more curiously.
"Yes... it started after Dawnfall, the sight of the sunrise from its peak represents a new dawn for whatever you wish to achieve in a new world reborn." Wang Ming finished explaining with a certain enthusiasm in his voice.
"Strange... something like that would be quite famous..." Lin Ling wondered why he hadn't seen anything like that before.
"That's because few people reach its peak, but rest assured that when you get there, your wish will come true."
"You talk as if we were going to climb up there." Lin Ling was still skeptical of this story.
"Well, I have nothing to wish for, but you guys... I don't know." Wang Ming stood up with a slight smile.
"Well... we'd better tell the lifeguard about this nest. We don't know when they'll hatch, but it's good for responsible people to know so they can avoid any problems." Wang Ming walked back to the more populated part of the beach, accompanied by Jake, who had been sitting nearby watching the whole time.
Lin Ling and Cyan remained silent, still absorbing this story.
Later that night
Everyone was gathered in the living room playing games, except for Yan, who was already asleep.
"I won!" Cyan celebrated as she won another round of Uno.
"Aaaahhh... come on, that's the fifth time in a row." Yue let out her disappointment at this result.
Lin Ling laughed lightly at this.
She has no idea who's winning.
Wang Ming let out a long yawn as he got up.
"We'd better go to sleep, we have to hit the road early tomorrow. It wasn't much, but at least we got some rest."
He started up the stairs while Yue followed close behind, wishing Cyan and Lin Ling good night.
Cyan got up and stretched, she liked this idea.
"Aren't you coming?" Cyan asked Lin Ling, who was still sitting with the deck in his hand.
"Go ahead... I'm going to practice a little," he said with a smile.
But Cyan ended up narrowing her eyes slightly at him. She couldn't say why, but something seemed strange.
"Okay..." she said as she climbed the stairs.
Lin Ling waited until he heard the bedroom door close before suddenly standing up.
"Right... it's 10:25 p.m., there's time."
Lin Ling carefully left the house, now wearing his yellow sweatshirt again.
I don't know anything about any trail maps for this mountain...
Lin Ling thought as he walked through the streets toward the forest with his cell phone in his hand.
At least I have this map with a bird's-eye view of the place... it's better than nothing.
Lin Ling didn't notice, but a figure hidden in the darkness was watching him a few streets away.
Hours later
This can't be possible.
Lin Ling thought irritably and wearily.
Am I lost!?
Now he was on a part of the mountainside on a path where, on the other side, you could see a drop that would not end well if you fell. However, even though the path seemed simple at the moment, he felt that he was not making any significant progress.
"Useless map..." he muttered as he looked at his cell phone in irritation.
But unfortunately for him, the cell phone turned off immediately.
"What!? No, no, no..."
I should have charged it.
Lin Ling collapsed in discouragement.
Why am I doing this? ... I don't even know for sure what I would wish for.
Suddenly, Lin Ling heard a strange noise nearby.
He quickly looked around and felt a little scared by the situation. The only light he had was from the full moon, which had already set quite a bit.
I must be hearing things—
He heard the noise again and this time began to take a few steps back in fear.
He continued to walk slowly backward until he felt his back hit something.
"AAAAAHHH!" "AAAAAHHH!"
He jumped with a scream, but apparently someone screamed along with him.
Looking scared at the person who screamed with him, he was surprised to see who it was.
"Cyan?!"
Cyan, who was calming down after the scare, smiled nervously.
"What are you doing here!?" Lin Ling asked louder than he intended.
"I could say the same thing to you. You didn't seem like someone who believed in this challenge," Cyan said firmly to him.
"I thought... it couldn't hurt to try," Lin Ling said awkwardly.
Cyan smiled when she heard that.
"Then why don't we continue together?"
Lin Ling noticed that this time she was wearing a white sweatshirt similar to his.
"That's a good idea..." Lin Ling accepted at once, he couldn't refuse.
After joining forces, a long time passed as they followed the trail, but no conversation took place. For some reason, neither of them knew what to talk about at that moment.
"So what is your wish?" Cyan asked Lin Ling curiously.
"What? I'm not telling you."
"Why?"
"Because then it would lose its effect."
"But Wang Ming didn't say anything about that."
Lin Ling paused slightly when he heard this.
"He really didn't say anything about that..."
"Then tell me what your wish is." Cyan seemed eager about this idea.
"All right... but only if you tell me first." Lin Ling smiled slightly at her.
"That's not fair! I get to ask first."
"Fine... that's my deal."
Cyan sighed discontentedly at this.
"Okay... my wish is—"
Before Cyan could continue, she heard a noise coming from the top of the mountain.
She stopped to look up in order to find something.
"What is it?" Lin Ling asked, a little worried.
Cyan watched for a few seconds until her eyes widened and she pushed Lin Ling forward.
A large rock fell right behind them.
"What!? A landslide!?" Lin Ling asked, alarmed by what had happened.
Cyan heard more of the same noise as before and quickly grabbed Lin Ling's arm as they ran down the trail.
More of these large rocks began to fall behind them.
Suddenly, one of the rocks fell in front of them, blocking the path.
They both looked up and saw more rocks sliding toward them.
"Shit" Lin Ling said in despair.
Cyan was looking at her own wrist thoughtfully, until she pulled Lin Ling so that he looked directly into her eyes.
"Do you trust me?" she asked firmly.
"Of course I do!" Lin Ling replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The rocks were getting closer.
Cyan then closed her eyes and took a few steps back until she reached the edge, then jumped backward while holding Lin Ling's arm, taking him with her as she fell.
Lin Ling had an expression of pure shock as he absorbed what was happening.
"CYAN!?" Lin Ling looked at her, but she still had her eyes closed as they fell.
Lin Ling then closed his own eyes, accepting the worst, but then he felt Cyan hugging him tightly.
A few seconds passed and Lin Ling still had his eyes closed.
"Hey... you can open your eyes."
Lin Ling heard Cyan's calm voice, so he slowly opened his eyes, only to widen them at the sight before him.
Bright cyan wings were on Cyan's back as they now flew toward the mountain peak.
Like an angel...
Lin Ling still watched the whole situation in shock.
Reaching the peak, Cyan gently set Lin Ling down on the ground as she landed and her wings disappeared like particles into the air.
"You... can fly...?" Lin Ling looked around in shock, realizing that none of this was a dream.
"Yes." Cyan was catching her breath.
"That's amazing!" Lin Ling's eyes sparkled as he looked back at her. "I've seen people discussing this, but I didn't think it was real—"
Cyan fell to her knees on the ground, taking Lin Ling by surprise.
"Are you okay!?" He crouched down to her level, concern visible in his eyes.
"Yes...." Cyan looked visibly more tired. "This was supposed to be my trump card to use in the tournament, so I've been practicing in secret. I'm still not used to it, and my confidence is unstable, so it ended up wearing me out more than I imagined."
Lin Ling reached out his hand to help her up.
Cyan accepted it with a smile as she stood up, but her attention quickly turned to the sunrise forming in the sky.
Lin Ling looked back when he realized what she was looking at and smiled at the sight.
They both approached the edge of the peak and silently admired the view. Compared to what they could see from the beach, the view of the sunrise at this height allowed them to see the entire horizon across the sea as it glowed with the beginning of another day.
"So... what did you wish for?" Lin Ling broke the silence, continuing the conversation from before.
"Well..." Cyan put her hand to her chin in a thoughtful gesture. "I wished that all those turtles could live the best lives they could." She smiled at him as she finished her answer.
"I'm not surprised." Lin Ling laughed softly when she heard that.
"What about you? What did you wish for?" Cyan looked at him with slight anxiety and curiosity.
Lin Ling looked at her, but then immediately turned his gaze back to the rising sun.
"I wished for a raise at work," Lin Ling replied, smiling confidently at her.
Cyan looked at him in surprise.
"Really?"
"What? It's a good wish."
"I just expected something different." Cyan said, somewhat uncertain about what she was thinking.
A few seconds passed before Cyan caught his attention once again.
"Hey..." She reached into her sweatshirt pocket and pulled something out.
Lin Ling looked at it curiously.
"This is for you." She was holding a shell necklace in her hand.
Lin Ling remembered that earlier she had joined Yan and Yue on a hunt for these things.
"You didn't have to." Lin Ling smiled happily.
"This kind of thing is more normal for me than you might think..." Cyan said with a slight smile.
Lin Ling then took the necklace and put it around his neck. He noticed that some of the shells were crooked, but it was no big deal.
"For me, this isn't normal..." he whispered to himself.
"What?"
"N-nothing." He quickly turned away and stared at the sunrise for a few seconds.
"I have a question," Lin Ling said, now calmer.
Cyan tilted her head curiously, waiting for him to speak.
"How are we going to get down?"
A silence stretched out until Cyan smiled smugly and grabbed Lin Ling's arm.
"You still ask?"
Lin Ling began to sweat comically from nervousness, already knowing what was going to happen.
Later
A black minivan drove down the road on its way out of the small coastal town.
"I can't believe she stayed up late watching TV secretly," Yue whispered to her husband, who was driving.
"We let our guard down, but it's okay... she had a lot of fun," Wang Ming replied in a whisper to his wife.
They didn't want to wake the other passengers.
"Sometimes you're too soft on her." Yue sighed a little tiredly.
"And those two..." Yue looked at Cyan and Lin Ling who were asleep next to each other, both still wearing the clothes from before that were visibly dirty. "What were they doing out all night?"
"Well..." Wang Ming began to sweat comically from nervousness.
Yue narrowed her eyes at him.
"What did you do?"
Wang Ming swallowed hard before answering.
"I may have told a story about a challenge to climb that mountain at night to see the sunrise, and you could make a wish to come true."
"You made up a story like that!?"
"Made up is a strong word, I'd say I embellished it, just like my job does." Wang Ming defended himself confidently.
"I'm glad they're okay." Yue brought her hand to her forehead, feeling exasperated with her husband's antics. "And you say I cross the line?"
"Okay... I may have exaggerated, but what's the problem?"
"That the story is false?"
"I don't see a problem with that." Wang Ming replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Huh?"
"In a world where belief can create incredible things, just believing that a wish will come true should be enough for it to happen," Wang Ming explained, smiling sincerely at his wife.
"It's moments like these that remind me why I married you..." Yue commented as she relaxed happily after hearing this.
Looking out the window, she noticed how many other cars were following the same route as them.
"I had forgotten, but it's close... isn't it?" Yue asked her husband, who quickly realized the same thing.
"Yes, the event that is second only to the heroes' tournament..." Wang Ming glanced briefly to the side where he saw a themed event tour bus.
IT'S TIME! DON'T MISS THE CHANCE TO MEET YOUR FAVORITE HERO AT HEROCOM!
From afar, at the peak of Big Sun Mountain, a hooded figure watched the minivan until the figure itself suddenly disappeared.