The doorbell rang at 11:39, the delivery time shown on the software, and Gu Yueji immediately went to open the door.
When she saw the person outside the door, for some reason, she didn't feel surprised, but rather had a strange sense of familiarity.
He wasn't wearing a helmet tonight, and his mask was pulled down to catch his breath. This was the first time Gu Yueji had seen Ren Jin's full appearance.
With his clean-cut buzz cut, the lower half of his face didn't detract from his thick eyebrows, deep-set eyes, high nose, thin, dark lips, and clear, taut jawline—a rugged and heroic face.
Ren Jin was somewhat surprised to see Gu Yueji's appearance. Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, with a few strands sticking to her face. Her eyes were red, and she looked rather haggard, lacking the vibrancy and energy she had shown during the previous two arguments.
"What? You lost an argument?" Ren Jin teased.
Gu Yueji frowned; this person was still as familiar and annoying as ever.
Ren Jin noticed that Gu Yueji's glare at him wasn't as forceful as before, and he wondered what had happened to her.
"I've never met anyone who argues more than you," Ren Jin muttered under his breath.
Gu Yueji opened her mouth, not quite figuring out how to reply, when Ren Jin waved the cake in his hand and handed it to her, saying, "Alright, I won't argue with you today. Happy birthday."
He was very casual, and his "Happy Birthday" was just something he said offhand.
Gu Yueji stared at him blankly.
He hung the cake ribbon in her hand, his fingers inadvertently brushing against her palm, the rough yet warm touch.
Gu Yueji looked down at the birthday cake in her hand, a box with colorful candles on it, and suddenly remembered something. She asked him, "Do you have a lighter?"
Ren Jin paused in his steps, glanced at the cake with her gaze, and took a lighter out of his pocket and handed it to her.
Gu Yueji asked, "How can I pay you back?"
Ren Jin joked, "This is a birthday present for you."
The lighter was placed in her palm, pressed against his skin, its surface as warm as his fingers had been.
She gripped the lighter and, almost as if possessed, asked, "Want to come in and have some cake?"
Ren Jin was taken aback and looked up at Gu Yueji in surprise.
Gu Yueji was stunned when she said those words. In the middle of the night, a woman invited a man to her home.
She couldn't quite articulate her thoughts. Perhaps it was his "Happy Birthday," or perhaps it was the fact that she usually had someone with her at this time. She understood the surprise and contemplation in Ren Jin's gaze, but she didn't take back her words. She felt it didn't matter what; she simply didn't want to be alone tonight.
Ren Jin's gaze swept over Gu Yueji from head to toe. Her sharkskin pants hugged her straight and firm legs, and the flowing long T-shirt accentuated her shapely curves, slender and graceful collarbone, and pointed chin that outlined her oval face.
Further up, Ren Jin met Gu Yueji's gaze. Her eyes held a frankness that even carried a hint of provocation, as if she were mocking his reluctance to go in.
He raised an eyebrow, smiled, and nodded. "Okay."
Ren Jin entered the house and stood at the door to change his shoes. His tall figure almost filled the entire entrance hall. Ye Zurong was rather thin and not as tall as Ren Jin, so Gu Yueji had never imagined that a man could be so strong.
Gu Yueji suddenly remembered something, "You don't have a girlfriend or wife, do you?" She hated men who cheated and would never get entangled with a married man.
Ren Jin's lips curled up upon hearing this, and he turned his head to give her a meaningful look. "No, you can do whatever you want to me."
Gu Yueji's face flushed, and she turned and walked into the house, ignoring him.
Ren Jin took off his shoes to change, but saw that the only men's slippers on the shoe rack were covered in dust, so he went in wearing only his socks.
Gu Yueji's house is not big, with one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen and one bathroom. In the living room, which can be seen from one end to the other, there are several single clothes racks placed haphazardly, each of which is full of clothes. There are also shoes and various odds and ends on the floor.
In the middle of these things, there was an empty space where a phone stand and a fill light were placed.
Ren Jin silently scanned the area and could roughly guess what Gu Yueji did.
Gu Yueji glanced at the clock on the wall; it would be past midnight in five minutes. She cleared a space on the coffee table, which was full of things, to place the cake.
Ren Jin looked at Gu Yueji sitting on the floor next to the coffee table. Behind her was a two-seater sofa, but it was piled with clothes and there was no room to sit on it. There wasn't a single other chair in the room.
He strolled over and sat down next to her.
On the coffee table sat a black cup and a razor. The room was full of men's things, but they all looked like they hadn't been used in a long time. The cup was dry, and the razor was covered in stubble.
Gu Yueji opened a bottle of beer and placed it in front of him. "There are no glasses at home, so you can drink this."
Ren Jin didn't care. Beer was like water to him. He was thirsty, so he raised the bottle and drank half of it in one gulp.
Gu Yueji brought out the cake, lit the candles, and was about to light them when she turned to Ren Jin and asked, "Do you know how to sing 'Happy Birthday'?"
Ren Jin thought for two seconds but couldn't remember how to sing it, and he wasn't interested in singing either, so he decisively refused, "I can't."
Gu Yueji's eyes widened. "How could you not know?"
Ren Jin countered, "Who says everyone has to know it?"
No one sang to him when he was a child, and he never sang for anyone else either; if he didn't know how, he simply didn't know how.
Gu Yueji glanced at the clock. "Never mind, it's almost 12 o'clock. I'll just make a wish."
She clasped her hands together in prayer, closed her eyes in the dim candlelight, and made a wish with an exceptionally devout expression, which made Ren Jin want to laugh.
Does anyone actually believe that birthday wishes come true?
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