It's said that birthday wishes won't come true if you say them out loud.
So Pei Xi didn't ask. She simply removed the candles from the cake, took out the cutlery, and began to cut the cake.
Pei Xi cut out a triangular piece, placed it on a plate, and handed it to Jiang Cheng like a treasure, smiling as she said, "Here you go, birthday boy, eat first."
Jiang Cheng took it, forked a piece, and sipped the cream.
The cream is not too sweet or greasy, but rather smooth and silky, melting in your mouth.
Pei Xi blinked and asked him, "Is it good?"
Jiang Cheng nodded and said softly, "It's delicious."
This was the first time he had ever eaten cake.
He didn't know what other cakes tasted like, but he was sure none of them were as delicious as this one.
He put down the plate, picked up a knife, cut a piece, and handed it to Pei Xi.
“You eat too,” he said.
Pei Xi smiled and accepted it, saying thank you.
She took a bite, and this cake was always delicious; the one she chose was indeed a good one.
After taking a few bites, Pei Xi suddenly felt playful and picked up a piece of cream with her fingertip, quickly smearing it on Jiang Cheng's cheek.
Jiang Cheng was visibly stunned for a moment.
He turned his head and looked at Pei Xi, his expression unusually bewildered.
Pei Xi's hand froze in mid-air, stunned.
She stared at Jiang Cheng's face, which was so close to hers, and remained motionless, lost in thought.
Dark, sharp eyebrows, a straight nose, thin red lips, and fair cheeks smeared with pale blue cream...
It's such a beautiful, vibrant, and warm face.
His face showed a hint of bewilderment from being tricked, and the depth in his eyes was gone, replaced by a rare clarity that belonged to a teenager.
Pei Xi was stunned.
She recalled Jiang Cheng in her dream; he had become mature and profound, his deep eyes seeming to hold a thousand unspoken words, his obsession tinged with pain.
That was Jiang Cheng in his early twenties.
He was very successful, but he didn't seem happy.
In the dream, he said that he died young in a car accident on the bridge.
Pei Xi's fingers curled up unconsciously.
She already knew that the person in her dream wasn't the real her, and that the person in her dream didn't like Jiang Cheng.
However, the details in the dream matched those in reality.
A bold guess arose in Pei Xi's mind: the scene in the dream was like a parallel universe.
All the objective conditions were the same; the only difference was the relationship between her and Jiang Cheng.
At this moment, she loves Jiang Cheng, but in her dream, she sees him as a stranger.
Therefore, the resulting series of events will also be different.
In this world, Jiang Cheng wouldn't do those things, so naturally he wouldn't have died in that car accident.
But... the reason why Jiang Cheng did those things in the dream, designed that exquisite princess room according to her preferences, and begged her to stay with him for five days, was it because... he liked her?
If Jiang Cheng likes her...
So, what about Jiang Cheng now?
Pei Xi stared intently at Jiang Cheng's features, momentarily lost in thought.
Jiang Cheng didn't move. He didn't know why Pei Xi was looking at him like that, with a strange sense of melancholy and a hint of probing.
He swallowed hard, his voice carrying a gentle reassurance, and looked at Pei Xi, asking softly, "What's wrong?"
Pei Xi suddenly snapped out of her daze and shook her head, saying, "It's nothing."
Seeing the cream on his cheek, she smiled sheepishly and reached for a tissue. "Sorry, I wiped it off quickly. I'll wipe it off for you right away."
Then she raised her hand and touched Jiang Cheng's face with a tissue.
Jiang Cheng didn't move, letting her do as she pleased. When the tissue touched his skin, his brow twitched slightly.
Her movements were gentle, as if she were afraid of hurting him, and each rub brought a ticklish sensation.
But she didn't know that sometimes, this gentleness is precisely a torment of willpower.
Jiang Cheng subconsciously held his breath.
Beneath his clothes, his back was taut in a straight line, his muscles as hard as iron.
But he dared not move, nor did he dare urge her to hurry up; he could only endure it.
Pei Xi was completely unaware.
He just focused intently on wiping the cream off the surface.
Only after she finally wiped it clean and took back the tissue, and the sensation on his face disappeared, did Jiang Cheng's muscles, which had been aching from holding back the pain, finally relax.
"Okay, it's clean now." Pei Xi, completely unaware of what was happening, threw the tissue into the nearby trash can.
Just as he stepped inside, his phone suddenly rang. Pei Xi took out his phone, saw the caller ID, and his mind went blank.
She made a shushing gesture to Jiang Cheng, then answered the phone: "Hello, brother?"
The room was quiet. Pei Zhi's voice came through the receiver: "Where did you go? Why aren't you home yet?"
Pei Xi paused for a moment, then immediately replied, "...I'm outside."
Pei Zhi clicked his tongue, seemingly thinking she had said something pointless. He smiled and said, "I know, I'm home right now. I'm asking where you are now and when you're coming back?"
Pei Xi glanced at Jiang Cheng and saw that he had no expression on his face. He simply picked up his fork and slowly took a bite of cake.
She cleared her throat and mumbled, "...I'm celebrating my birthday with my friends right now, I'll be going back soon."
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhi hummed in agreement, without suspecting anything. "Do you need me to pick you up?"
Pei Xi immediately refused: "No need."
Pei Zhi seemed a little uneasy, "It's already dark, I should..."
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