Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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It was the last day of 2015.
By the time Chloe finished her tasks for the day, the library was completely empty.
Even the bookworms weren't here to celebrate New Year's Eve.
Chloe closed her book, turned off her tablet, and stretched her aching body.
Her thin beige knit top perfectly highlighted her graceful and slender figure, and her long legs, encased in jeans, stretched out under the table.
She leant languidly back in her chair, forming a beautiful picture, but unfortunately, there was no one to appreciate it at that moment.
Her crystal-clear blue eyes looked out at the night sky, her long, Barbie-like eyelashes fluttering.
Logically, a young, pretty girl with such high Appearance (looks) would be thinking about shopping and fashion, or idol chasing and celebrity gossip.
No one would have expected the girl to be muttering these things to herself:
"There's a league match on January 2nd, and the Copa del Rey on the 6th."
"He'll have two matches a week after New Year's, it must be very tiring for him."
"I hope he doesn't get too drunk tonight by his teammates and can go back to rest early."
"Or, should I call him?"
"Never mind... I'll wait until midnight, or send a New Year's greeting tomorrow morning."
She picked up her phone, hesitated repeatedly, but Chloe still put it down.
It was already 23:43, with only about ten minutes left until the end of the year.
She might as well go back to the room, take a shower, and go to bed early.
Anyway, it was just an ordinary day; there was nothing special about tonight.
"Darling, there are so many handsome guys at the party!"
"I saw that senior from the business school!"
"He just asked about you! Why don't you come over and join the fun, I'll introduce you two!"
"ASAP!"
Laila sent several messages in a row, urging Chloe to hurry up.
She also sent a selfie; it seemed the senior's party was indeed lively.
The big villa was ablaze with lights and wine, and Laila, holding a beer glass, looked slightly tipsy.
Behind her was a typical handsome Western man, tall and strong, very much like a young Klinsmann.
No girl could refuse such an occasion, but Chloe still smiled faintly.
"You have fun, I'm really not going."
Rather than constantly refusing advances at a party and being harassed by various men pretending to be gentlemen, she'd rather lie in bed and watch Lance's show.
The Sports1 channel would definitely do a detailed review of the recently concluded match.
Watching the hosts and guests lavishly praise Lance was much more interesting than a noisy party.
Chloe knew how to enjoy herself.
After tidying up her belongings, Chloe put on her fluffy pink fur coat and walked out of the library.
Snowflakes were gently falling from the sky, and a cold wind blew in through her collar, making the girl shiver involuntarily.
"So cold."
There was quite a long walk from the library to the room area.
Normally, there were many people studying, and the streetlights were bright, so Chloe wouldn't be afraid.
But on New Year's Eve, all the students had gone out to celebrate, and the quiet, empty campus made her feel uneasy.
The girl tightened her coat and hurried out of the library, jogging towards the halls.
There were no pedestrians along the way, and the dim lights brought no sense of security.
Chloe even had the illusion that faint footsteps were following her from behind.
"There wouldn't be a pervert, would there?"
Hiss—
The more she thought about it, the more scared she became, and Chloe quickly sped up, wishing she could sprint back to her room.
Clap, clap, clap—
Who would have thought that she really heard clear footsteps following her from behind!
The girl's hair stood on end, and a chill ran down her spine.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me..."
Chloe, like a frightened little rabbit, ran whilst reciting a prayer from the Book of Psalms in the Bible.
Feeling the footsteps getting closer and closer, Chloe realised that continuing along the road would make it easy for the "pervert" to catch up.
With a sudden resolve, she turned left into the beer garden.
Next to the University of Munich was the city's largest park, the English Garden.
Inside, there was a Chinese Tower, a Chinese-style building designed and built by the German Joseph Frey.
The prototype of the tower body referenced the Porcelain Pagoda of the Great Bao'en Temple in Nanjing, but the main structure adopted traditional Bavarian wooden craftsmanship, making it an authentic "German-style" Chinese Tower.
It was like authentic Anhui beef noodles from Hebei.
Normally, when Chloe got tired from studying, she would come to the base of the tower in the park, find a patch of grass, and sit down to rest and sunbathe.
For some reason, in her panic, the girl instinctively ran towards the Chinese Tower, as if there was a barrier around the Chinese Tower, and she would be safe once she got close.
Logically, at night, students would also be dating and strolling around the tower.
But on New Year's Eve, it was completely deserted.
The girl, panting, finally reached the streetlight at the base of the tower, and under the illumination of the light, the tower, with its Chinese charm, appeared solemn and majestic, which made Chloe feel a little more at ease.
Listening intently, the footsteps also disappeared; perhaps she had shaken off the pervert, or perhaps she had misunderstood, and it was just an ordinary passerby behind her.
Whew—
After being suspicious for a long time, Chloe sat on a long bench under the tower, catching her breath.
"I guess I scared myself."
Munich's public safety is relatively good, making it one of the safer cities in Europe.
Chloe smiled self-deprecatingly after her mood calmed down, and was about to pick up her bag and leave.
As she stood up, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a dark figure in the shadows, right beside her!
Chloe's heart almost stopped at that instant, and a chill suddenly shot through her entire body!
"Ah ah ah ah!!!"
The moment she instinctively pulled out her self-defence spray from her bag, a hand reached out and grabbed her delicate wrist.
It was over!
"Just take it! Don't hurt me!"
In that moment of crisis, Chloe only hoped the assailant would take the money and leave.
But the person kept holding her wrist, standing silently in place.
Just as the girl was about to despair.
"Pfft..."
The other party seemed unable to hold back a laugh.
Eh?
Chloe finally opened her eyes and, illuminated by the streetlight, clearly saw the other person's face.
He, whom she usually only saw on screen, he, who occasionally popped into her mind, was now standing in front of her with a smile.
"You!!!"
Bang—
"Wait? Holy shit!"
Lance's vision went black.
Who would have thought that such a seemingly delicate girl would suddenly launch a headbutt attack?
He almost got knocked out.
Are you Zidane?
"Is this fun?"
At 170cm, she was considered tall amongst girls, but still half a head shorter than Lance.
The girl's exquisite and beautiful face was full of anger, her cheeks flushed red.
He had originally only wanted to give her a surprise, but it seemed he had overdone it.
Romantic scenes in TV dramas always have a greatly reduced effect when implemented in reality.
Lance finally understood why it was romantic.
Without filters, without the ambiance of background music, standing in the park on a chilly night, it wasn't romantic at all!
"I'm sorry, I wanted to give you a surprise, I scared you."
The girl didn't speak, just stared at him with red eyes.
The atmosphere was a bit cold, and Lance, also inexperienced, was racking his brain for words to comfort her.
Chloe, however, took another step forward.
Only this time, it wasn't a headbutt, but the girl's slender, delicate body.
"Wuwuwuwu—"
"Du Bösewicht!! Nervt mich total!!"
Chloe's voice was usually soft enough, and the girl, nestled in his arms, was now complaining in an even sweeter, softer, and slightly tearful voice.
A tingling sensation spread from his feet throughout his body, and Lance couldn't help but put his arms around her.
It was the first time he had met someone who could speak German so sweetly.
That sentence probably meant "You're bad, I hate you!" in Chinese.
On a cold winter night, the young man and woman embraced tightly under the deserted Chinese Tower.
The scent of Chanel on her, accompanied by the fragrant sweat from her run, wafted directly into Lance's nose.
This moment seemed to be just an instant, yet also eternal.
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps Chloe also felt she was being a bit overly emotional, and she pushed Lance away with slight embarrassment, stepping back half a pace, and once again gazed at the man.
"You, how did you get here? Logically, it's impossible, you just played a match this afternoon."
"I flew over right after the match ended, thankfully I made it."
He raised his wrist and looked at the TAG Heuer watch he endorsed; the hands were infinitely close to midnight.
"Specifically... for me?"
The girl froze, her eyes brimming with disbelief as she looked at him.
"What else?"
Lance looked at her with eyes full of tenderness.
As a result, the girl's eyes couldn't help but turn red again, and little pearls seemed ready to fall at any moment.
"Hey, don't... it's New Year's Eve, be happy, look what I brought."
Lance quickly pulled out the sparklers he had prepared from his pocket.
He had wanted to buy some magnificent fireworks, but they were prohibited in downtown Munich.
After wandering around for a long time, Lance could only buy some sparklers at the large German supermarket Lidl before the shopping street closed.
Flying from Madrid and then going through all this trouble, it was already quite late.
Lance had originally wanted to take her for a candlelight dinner and then find a more romantic place to celebrate New Year's Eve.
Now it felt a bit shabby, like poor students dating.
"Unfortunately, there's only this much, let's make do with it."
The girl wiped away her tears, silently took the sparklers and lighter from Lance's hand, and lit them.
In the dim park under the Chinese Tower, a light suddenly shone.
Amidst the colourful flames of the sparklers, the two-dimensional girl, as if stepping out of a manga, bloomed with a brilliant smile that words could not describe.
Lance wished he could forever freeze this scene in his memory.
"I'm already very happy with this!"
Just then, the church bells in the distance rang, their leisurely sound echoing in the night sky.
"Happy New Year, Lance."
"Happy New Year."
Although the flames in front of them gradually weakened, the fireworks in Chloe's heart had already ascended, exploded, and were vibrant and colourful.
Thank you, I will always remember this night.