Talking to these two is truly exhausting.
Now even Song Xiaojing’s face darkened, though luckily the night concealed it from view.
"And as for the Liu family’s threshold, I don’t know if it’s difficult to enter, but the two of you can give up on that in this lifetime."
Hao Yun’s expression drastically changed—turns out Gao Yuyue had heard her words earlier.
Her face immediately flushed with shame and anger.
As they spoke, the group arrived at the stargazing platform. Song Xiaojing had made arrangements in advance, informing the staff there so they could have a platform all to themselves, complete with drinks and fruit.
Song Xiaojing thoughtfully reminded everyone: "Tonight is the Mars-Moon meteor shower, the duration is very short, so don’t miss it."
Hao Yun suddenly said, "Didn’t you claim it was the Orionid meteor shower?"
Song Xiaojing laughed and shook her head, "I made a mistake. The Orionid meteor shower is next month, around October 22nd. The Orionid is one of the world’s seven most spectacular meteor showers—stunning and beautiful. By then, we’ll have just finished the math exams, and I’ll invite everyone to watch it then. However, tonight’s Mars-Moon meteor shower is a celestial event where a planet accompanies the moon—magical and gorgeous. I’m sure none of you have seen it before."
Zhao Haotian heard this and suddenly asked, "Mars-Moon phenomenon? Is there any significance to it?"
The crowd turned towards the source of the voice, only to see a few blurry silhouettes standing in the darkness.
To adjust their eyes to the dark for better viewing of celestial phenomena, no lights were installed on the stargazing platform. Thus, it was pitch black, and people could only make out silhouettes under faint shadows.
Song Qi coughed lightly, "Xiaojing, President Zhao asked you a question."
Zhao Haotian said in surprise, "Manager Song, you recognize her?"
Song Qi smiled, replying, "Song Xiaojing, my niece. She attends Lanya High School. I didn’t expect to see her here tonight."
This question stumped Song Xiaojing, as her knowledge of celestial phenomena was limited.
"President Zhao, Mars-Moon... it’s... it’s a magical celestial phenomenon, where Mars and the moon align together..."
Clearly, such a response didn’t satisfy Zhao Haotian.
At this moment, a cold, clear female voice emerged from the darkness.
"In ancient astrology, Mars symbolizes death, disease, loss, famine, and plagues—ill omens. Ancient people believed this star governed divine judgment and punishment. Later, when observing Mars, they noted its brightness and position often remained inconsistent, thus calling it Yinghuo, also known as Punishment Star. It represents the essence of the South’s Fire element, associated with the Vermilion Bird. Its deity is Zhu Rong; its emperor, Yan Emperor; its trigram is Li. Hence, with Yinghuo’s observation comes the notion of heaven dispensing disaster and judgment. Ancient people called this celestial phenomenon Yinghuo guarding the Moon."
Applause echoed in the darkness, with Zhao Haotian praising, "This student is truly knowledgeable! I’ve learned something remarkable tonight!"
Song Xiaojing’s face turned even darker.
Zhang Jian, who stood beside Zhao Haotian, felt puzzled—why did this voice sound so familiar?
Why does it sound like An’an?
Ren Chong whispered to Zhu Ci, "Didn’t expect the goddess to be so versed in celestial events. Truly deserving of the term ’academic genius.’"
Zhu Ci pursed his lips and glanced toward Shen You’an’s direction, this time choosing to remain silent.
This clearly touched upon everyone’s blind spot in knowledge.
At this moment, a calm and gentle male voice broke the silence: "A more scientific explanation would be that Mars and the Moon align at a point on the celestial equator. From Earth, the two appear on the same line, like a crescent moon embedded in red Mars—magical and breathtaking. This phenomenon only lasts for about 10 to 20 minutes."
It was Gu Bichen’s voice.
"Haha, I see, I’ve learned something new!" Zhao Haotian said with a hearty laugh.
Just then, Hao Yun suddenly pointed at the sky and shouted excitedly, "Look...!"
Everyone was immediately captivated by the distant anomaly in the sky, their gazes fixed upon the celestial wonder.
Shen You’an yawned, leaning lazily against the railing, feeling a bit uninterested.
A gentle voice drifted into her ears, "Tired?"
Shen You’an noticed a shadow quietly approaching her, and the corners of her lips curled faintly.
"Gu Bichen, I forgot to mention something. Yinghuo guarding the Moon—the Fire God warns of impending disasters."
"Hmm?" Gu Bichen instinctively asked.
"Someone’s walking the path to their own demise."
Shen You’an clapped her hands and said, "Enjoy yourselves, I’m heading out for a bit."
With that, she walked off the stargazing platform through a side passage.
The silhouette followed Shen You’an closely as she descended the platform, personally witnessing her enter the restroom.
The shadow let out a cold laugh—truly heaven’s favor—then lowered their head to send a message to Song Qi.
At that moment, someone suddenly tapped the shadow’s shoulder from behind.
In the darkness, the shadow’s scalp instantly went numb.
A chilling and playful voice whispered close behind her neck, like the murmurs of a ghost.