Chapter 411: Chapter 448
“Mm, Wen Xian, I’m jealous,” he said.
He didn’t want her to look at other men with that kind of gaze.
Wen Xian couldn’t help but curve the corners of her lips when she heard this.
But when she spoke again, she deliberately blinked and said in a deep voice,
“Alright, you should have said so earlier. Had you told me that I’m only allowed to look at you, and that otherwise you would get jealous, I definitely would have listened to you.”
A twinge flickered at the corner of his eye.
How could he, a grown man, act so petty?
Even though that was indeed what he was thinking.
Lu Xiao cleared his throat and shifted his gaze forward, saying solemnly,
“It’s about to start, look.”
His ears were faintly reddening.
Wen Xian also turned her attention in the direction he indicated.
After a long wait by so many, the solemn flag-raising ceremony was about to begin.
On Tiananmen Square, as far as the eye could see, there was a sea of people—an area that could accommodate two hundred thousand individuals.
Even the streets in the distance were filled with people.
“Darling, what time exactly does the flag-raising begin?”
Wen Xian wasn’t wearing a watch, and she wanted to know the precise time.
Lu Xiao stood behind her, protecting her like a mountain.
He watched the honor guard march from Jinshuitai to the flagpole and said in a deep voice,
“The time for the flag-raising ceremony changes every season. It is determined based on Beijing’s sunrise and sunset. The exact time is calculated by the astronomers at the Beijing Observatory.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Xian felt a tremor in her heart.
So, at the moment the sun rises, the national flag also climbs.
Accompanied by the coordinated movements of the escort team, the national flag guarding unit ascended the stairs.
The moment when everyone’s hearts started to pound with excitement and awe had finally arrived.
When the flag guard team entered in march, they shifted from having rifles slung over their shoulders to holding them at the ready.
They took their positions at the flagpole.
With a deep and powerful command, “Salute—!”
In an instant, the three platoon leaders performed the ceremonial sabre salute!
They stood as tall and firm as pine trees, while tens of thousands in the crowd watched them, witnessing the scene unfold.
At that same moment, Lu Xiao removed the hat of his overcoat from his head.
The people below, one by one and then like a tide, all removed their hats on this cold winter day.
A gray knitted hat was clenched in her hand.
She watched the flagpole without blinking, listening as the military band gradually began to play the national anthem.
As the stirring music swelled, at the moment the flag-raiser flung the national flag from the chest-high position into the air—!
The entire solemn ceremony reached the climax of the atmosphere!
With the military band in front of Tiananmen’s tower playing the national anthem, it seemed as though everyone’s breath was held.
Watching the flag unfurl in the air, rising bit by bit with the biting cold winter wind.
The sun too rose slowly from the east, a ray of light piercing the frosty morning air to shine upon the earth.
The golden glow fell on the national flag, and on everyone present.
With the rousing music playing, Wen Xian gazed deeply at the flag being raised slowly by the flag bearers. For some reason, her vision suddenly became a little moist.
But she thought, at this moment, no one’s heart could remain untouched.
This was her motherland.
It was where she was born, where she was nurtured, and it was the roots she held dear.
Without a country, where would she be?
Without the strong backing of a nation, where would each person find their peace and tranquility in life…!