Flash Marriage: She becomes Mrs. CEO after the Failed Dowry Talk

Chapter 586: Fireworks in a Flourishing Age

Finnian Lawrence noticed Lily Sloan’s furrowed brow and hesitated for a second before extinguishing his cigarette.

He said, "Any man would."

Lily Sloan pondered the hint of humor in his tone and pursued, "Do you smoke often?"

He raised his chin, symbolically contemplating, "Occasionally."

He tossed the cigarette butt into the trash can casually, changing the subject, "Let’s go inside, there are too many people outside, too many prying eyes."

Lily Sloan didn’t move. Tonight, she was like a curious book, "It seems like you’re not very happy."

Finnian Lawrence paused abruptly, acknowledging her observation, yet not directly admitting it, instead lightly retorting, "How did you notice?"

"You talk less, even though you don’t usually talk much, but when I’m with you, it’s never awkwardly silent, unlike tonight."

Lily Sloan couldn’t quite pinpoint when this feeling emerged.

Suddenly, Finnian Lawrence laughed.

Perhaps it was the effect of smoking, his laughter mixed with coughing, haltingly.

Once he finished laughing, the coughing stopped too, "Manager Sloan knows me well."

Upon hearing this, Lily Sloan’s eyes curved with a hint of innocence, "Just average, I’m pretty good at understanding people."

When they returned inside, the stereo was playing a song in Minnan dialect, the lyrics indistinct, but the melody was prolonged, as if narrating a girl’s sentiments.

The others were gathered on the balcony, seen from the back, leaning on the railing’s edge, leaving space for them.

"The fireworks are about to start, let’s go have a look."

"Fireworks? There will be fireworks tonight?" Lily Sloan was still clueless, oblivious to the scene about to unfold.

Finnian Lawrence gazed at her bright and obedient eyes, and for the first time took her wrist, joining the lively crowd.

The moment their skin touched, it felt like a current surged through Lily Sloan’s body, rushing wildly from top to bottom.

She deeply gazed at that distinct, defined hand, at this moment utterly captivated.

She thought: Perhaps he understood her feelings.

...

At twenty-one fifty-nine, Jasper Sinclair said to Nora Northwood, "I’m giving you a display of fireworks, hoping that each year you can be as brilliant as fireworks."

Nora Northwood abruptly replied with something dispiriting, "Fireworks, aren’t they meant to be fleeting?"

Jasper Sinclair did not find her words dispiriting, instead looking at her with tender eyes, "Yours aren’t."

The man’s tenderness almost overflowing from his eyes.

As their eyes met, the sound of fireworks cracking echoed by their ears, then the pitch-black night turned as bright as day.

Indeed, fireworks are fleeting, but wave after wave of fireworks are not.

Those nearby all took out their phones to take pictures and videos, except for Nora Northwood, whose eyes brimmed with tears.

From a long time ago.

She had told Jasper Sinclair that she liked sparklers, but May Lawrence didn’t have money to buy them for her, so every year, when New Year came around, she would hide in the corner and watch other children play.

The surrounding exclamations were deafening, yet they did not reach her ears.

"Thank you, Jasper."

Thank you for appearing in my life and filling the void of my childhood.

Nora Northwood was unaware that the ten-plus minutes of fireworks was a meticulously planned masterpiece spanning over two months.

In the city, flammable items are prohibited, Jasper Sinclair had to utilize numerous connections for this fireworks to bloom.

Fortunately, none of his efforts were in vain.

"Now, do you still think they’re fleeting?"

"Perhaps this will be the most unforgettable day of my life."