I'm alive ya'll. Probably anyway

After they ran a couple blocks to escape Yifan’s manager, Emily was already out of breath. Yifan slowed down to a walk but did not let go of her hand, something Emily didn’t fail to notice.

It was only about 6:00, so there were still plenty of people out on the streets. Yifan distinctly pulled his hood over his head to hide his face. “Are you hungry? There’s a pretty good restaurant not far from here,” he said.

Emily nodded, her stomach growling. She and Yifan got into a taxi, and about fifteen minutes later, arrived in front of a small, somewhat crowded restaurant. They were still able to get a table fairly quickly, but Yifan kept his hood up.

Emily didn’t mind and started browsing the menu. It contained a variety of food, from traditional Chinese to more Americanized dishes. She settled on a noodle dish she’d never heard of but the picture looked yummy. Then, she looked around the restaurant. The inside was decorated minimalistically, but still had a friendly atmosphere. The other customers ranged from elderly couples to families to groups of teenagers hanging out.

She and Yifan made light small talk. Compared to the last dinner they had together, this one went much more smoothly, and the atmosphere was much lighter.

After they paid - well, Yifan paid, despite Emily’s protests - they went outside to find it almost dark. They wandered the streets around the restaurant before coming to a block that was closed off to cars. Apparently some sort of festival was going on, and people were milling about playing games and eating street food. Music was playing and colorful lanterns lit up the night.

Excited Emily tugged Yifan’s jacket and asked, “Can we check it out? It looks so fun!”

Yifan hesitated, unsure about walking around so many people, but Emily looked so excited that he eventually said, “Sure. Maybe I can win you something!”

Emily snorted and said, “I’ll win myself something, thank you very much.” And she marched off towards a booth, an amused Yifan trailing after her. She spotted a game where you had to guess which bowl the rock was under after the lady switched them around.

“This game’s pretty hard,” said Yifan. “Are you sure you can do it?”

“Naturally,” said Emily, settling herself down on the cushion in front of the table. The lady grinned and showed her the rock. She moved the bowls around incredibly fast, and Emily was starting to get dizzy. By the time the woman stopped, Emily had completely lost the correct bowl. Still, she didn’t falter and chose the one on the right. She lifted it up and - much to Emily’s surprise - there was the rock!

Yifan’s mouth fell open and he stared at her in shock. Emily grinned widely and stood up to choose her prize. Her eyes landed on a cute purple-colored alpaca. She pointed to it and the lady grabbed it for her.

Emily handed the alpaca to a still-stunned Yifan. “Here, now Ace can have a girlfriend.”

Yifan remembered how to speak and laughed, “I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear that.”

Then, he spotted a basketball game and his eyes lit up. He took Emily’s hand and dragged her over. “Now it’s my turn to be cool,” he said, handing her the alpaca.

Then, after paying and learning the rules,  he grabbed the basketball and began to shoot. He was given ten shots to try to make from behind a white line. He made every single one. The employee’s smile was a little forced as he gestured to the wall behind him. “You can choose any of these.”

Yifan smirked and pointed to a cute deer plushie. The employee got it for him, and Yifan handed it to Emily while taking back his alpaca. “There. Now we’re even.”

Emily rolled her eyes, but smiled at the little stuffed animal. It was very cute and soft, and she knew it would come in handy around exam time when she was stressed.

Suddenly, people all around them began to talk excitedly and the crowd starting moving toward an empty park that was right next to the festival.

Curious, Emily asked, “What’s going on?”
 

Someone next to them answered her, “The fireworks are going to start in about five minutes.”

She and Yifan decided to stay for the fireworks and moved along with the crowd in an attempt to find a good spot. They discovered a small patch of grass somewhat detached from the main crowd and decided to settle there and wait.

As they made light small talk, Emily became increasingly aware of how close Yifan was to her. His hand found his way to hers again, and suddenly she was glad it was getting dark because she was sure her cheeks were bright pink.

The fireworks started up and for a little while she was distracted. However, when she turned to tell Yifan how pretty they were, she found he was not looking at the sky but looking at her instead.

They made eye contact and his face lit up in a smile. “Guess what,” he said. “I really like you.”

Then he leaned in, and before Emily could properly process what he’d just said, he kissed her. She gasped, but didn’t pull away. The kiss couldn’t have lasted for more than a few seconds, but it was enough to leave them both breathless and red-faced.

Instead of saying anything, Emily just smiled at Yifan and laid her head on his shoulder. Neither of them knew what the future would bring, but they wanted to enjoy this time together for as long as they could.

Endings are hard. But anyway, here we are! At the end!! I hope you all enjoyed this little present I wrote for my dear friend. It was very fun to write and I honestly didn't expect too many subscribers. Thank you all so much!!

Also, be on the lookout for a possible epilogue around Christmas~ ;D

Also keep a lookout for my next story. I have several ideas and can't wait to share them with you all! Until next time, then <3