Marcus found himself speechless, looking at Nora’s matter-of-fact expression, he had no choice but to comply, turning back to the living room with the shopping bags to put things in order. Pedro Langley said, "Let’s join the fun." The whole courtyard, besides their family, everyone else had moved out. What fun could there be to see? Pedro stood tall and elegant, laughing lightly, leisurely watching her, "I heard that someone nearby has a popcorn machine, and today it’s free popcorn for the residents." "To watch the popcorn machine make popcorn." Nora felt like her ears were playing tricks on her, "Say that again." "You heard right, it’s to watch the popcorn machine make popcorn." Pedro repeated patiently, word by word. Nora’s mind froze for a moment, looking at him as if he were crazy, "You came all the way here just to see some popcorn?" "It’s to see the popcorn machine—" Before Pedro could repeat the tongue twister, Nora interrupted him with a tingling scalp. So, Pedro really stopped. After a slight pause, Pedro lowered his eyes, carefully examining her, turning the tongue twister into straightforward words, "Mainly to see you." The abrupt shift caught Nora off-guard, startling her momentarily. As the dusk set in, the air was cool in this quiet, serene world, and the tall figure standing in the old courtyard also carried its unique charm. The only difference was, only he had warmth, with deep, affectionate eyes and a graceful, lively smile. Marcus, having put away the shopping bags, came out, lacking the ability to sense the atmosphere, awkwardly asked. The surprising brilliance in her eyes vanished, Nora turned her head, knitting her brows, "Are you going too?" He also hadn’t seen an old-fashioned popcorn machine before. Nora glanced at Marcus, then at Pedro, muttering to herself: In terms of boredom, these two are really a match. "Let’s all go together," Pedro suddenly suggested. Agreeing without thinking. Damn... When the realization hit her, Nora wished she could bite her tongue off. Orıginal content can be found at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁 Pedro’s smile deepened at the corners of his mouth. Marcus didn’t notice, assuming that for Nora and Pedro, agreeing was natural. What he cared about was— "Do we need to bring corn?" With a twitch of her brow, Nora replied speechlessly. Nora was quite familiar with the popcorn machine and its owner, whom Pedro and Marcus wanted to see. It’s an elderly man in his eighties, robust and healthy, who used to make a living popping popcorn. His three sons now have happy families and successful careers, and the grandchildren are promising and filial. The old man has a big family, he could have moved out to live with his children to enjoy his later years, but having lived here all his life, he doesn’t want to leave. The children don’t force him, coming to see him often. Every year before the New Year, he takes out the popcorn machine, sets up a fire, and skillfully uses the machine to pop popcorn, sharing it with those who are present. Some bring their own corn, and he helps pop it. But generally, he prepares the corn himself, pops the popcorn, and neighbors bring some food to share, taking some popcorn in return, not much, just enough to have a taste and reminisce. It’s like a tradition that must be followed during the New Year. Much like how every household must get spring couplets from the Quinn Family. To those living here, completing these rituals is what they call truly "celebrating the New Year." Leaving the courtyard, Nora fished out a candy from her pocket, casually handing it to Pedro. This was given by Laura Collins. Pedro naturally took the candy. Following behind, Marcus, seeing this scene, felt an urge to turn around and go home to review his studies. His phone in his pocket vibrated, Marcus pulled it out to see it was a message from Oliver Scott. [Oliver]: Record a video! [Oliver]: Record a video! [Oliver]: Record a video! Oliver’s demand was because Marcus just told him about going to see the old-fashioned popcorn machine, the traditional craftsmanship. None of them had seen it firsthand, so naturally, they were curious about it now. [Marcus]: Wait for it. [Oliver]: Is sis there? Marcus glanced ahead, didn’t reply, and tossed his phone back into his pocket. By now, he was immune to Oliver calling Nora "sis," feeling no ripples inside. Walking on the bluestone path, Nora kept her hands in her pockets, leisurely introducing them, "In a couple of days, there’s also a shadow puppet show and old movies arranged at night. If there’s no issue, coming early might get you a free sugar painting, all organized by nearby elders." With the warmth of sugar on his tongue, feeling the milk candy’s aroma, Pedro picked up the conversation, asking, "It’s every year?" "Yeah," Nora answered, "There used to be more activities, going on endlessly." Marcus questioned, "Why have they decreased?" A slight pause, Nora didn’t turn back, spoke calmly, "Because the elders passed away." Startled, Marcus had a moment of revelation, then understood, lowering his gaze with a faint sense of meaning. Nora, however, had no such reservations, started introducing other things, "Over ten years ago, a group of people stayed here for two years. They were from Warm Spring Town, where there’s a tradition called ’Da Shuhua.’ During those two years, they also joined in. Trees turning into fireworks, nights never ending." In Nora’s words, this common alley seemed to take on the colors of the Martial World. People from all over, bringing skills from far and wide, craftsmen not for profit, just for fun... It’s hard to imagine, in such a profit-driven, materialistic world, here felt like an earthly paradise, hidden within the mundane. Pedro and Marcus listened quietly. For a moment, as if stepping through decades of time, into another world. A sudden loud noise interrupted Nora’s introduction. "I want some, I want some!" "Don’t jump so high, what does it look like." Following the clamor into a courtyard, seeing it filled with people, layer upon layer, including all walks of life, noisy and bustling. A head poked out from the crowd, Eleanor Taylor waving with two handfuls of popcorn in delight. "Nora! Mr. Lucas! Shaw!" She was so happy she could jump up. Her shout drew more eyes towards them, though Pedro and Marcus were unfamiliar, everyone knew Nora and greeted her warmly. "Nora, come here, come here, a fresh batch just came out, still warm." Pedro lowered his head, teasingly, "So popular?" "Being good-looking is enough." Pedro, surprised by her vanity, then helplessly chuckled. This reason, from her lips, was persuasive. One batch out of the pot, quickly divided among many, Nora, Pedro, and Marcus managed to grab a few while it was hot. Everyone patiently awaited the next round. Eleanor leaned towards Nora’s ear, quietly handing her a handful, whispering, "Not that I’m playing favorites, but this is all that’s left." She didn’t take much, and giving some to Pedro and Marcus would have left too little. Nora accepted this favoritism without hesitation. Next to her, Pedro and Marcus, witnessing this, turned their heads in tacit understanding, pretending to have seen nothing. Nora asked, "Free today?" "Told my family I’m out with classmates, need to head back later," Eleanor replied, "I heard there’ll be lots of activities these days, I’m so envious, too bad I can’t come every day." Sharing half the popcorn into another hand, Nora reached over, her hand half clenched, index finger slightly extended, tugging on someone’s sleeve. Pedro, looking at the crowd, suddenly felt his sleeve gently tugged, puzzled by it, when his hand’s back was playfully scratched twice. Soft tender fingers, like a cat’s paw, scratched gently, with a cool, soft touch.