Happy birthday
The school bell rang later than usual on Friday. As Li Huaizhou shoved his exercise book into his schoolbag, his fingertips subconsciously glanced to the side. Usually at this time, Xie Mo's black schoolbag would always be leaning against the corner of the table, but today the corner was empty.
"Come on, Huaizhou, let's go eat that new fried noodle place at the corner of the alley?" Ji Jiancheng came over with his schoolbag hooked on his shoulder. Just as his arm touched Li Huaizhou's shoulder, he was gently dodged. Li Huaizhou looked up at the back door of the classroom. Xie Mo's back had just disappeared at the end of the corridor. He didn't even say "see you this weekend". He just patted the back of his hand hurriedly a few minutes ago and whispered, "I have something to do. I'm leaving now." His tone was as anxious as if someone was chasing him.
"I'm not going. Boss Wen won't give me leave." Li Huaizhou zipped up his schoolbag, his voice a little muffled. When he walked out with his bag, he happened to run into Shen Qitang who was also holding his schoolbag. The other party's eyes were evasive, and he only said vaguely "Be careful on the road", and exchanged a strange look with Ji Jiancheng - that look was too obvious, as if he was hiding some secret, but he wanted to pretend that nothing happened. Li Huaizhou frowned, but did not ask any further questions. He was a little absent-minded the whole afternoon, and almost put too much lemon juice when making cocktails for the guests. Until eleven thirty in the evening, he changed his clothes and was about to go to the second floor. Subconsciously, he took out his mobile phone and took a look - the screen was clean, there was no message from Xie Mo, and he didn't even click on the "performance video" sent by Ji Jiancheng.
Just as he lowered his head to turn on the screen to send a message, his phone suddenly vibrated and the caller ID showed "Xie Mo".
"Hello?" Li Huaizhou's voice was a little hoarse, and he was interrupted by the rapid breathing on the other end of the phone. Xie Mo's voice was mixed with the sound of the wind, and it sounded a little vague, but with an unmistakable urgency: "Huaizhou, come out."
"Huh?" Li Huaizhou was stunned. He glanced at his watch. The hands had just passed eleven fifty-five. "Now? I just got off work. Where am I?"
"It's by the river outside Neon, by the stone steps where we sat last time." Xie Mo paused, then added, "Don't wear too little, it's windy." The call ended abruptly, leaving Li Huaizhou standing there, phone clutched in hand. Even the fatigue from his workday had been largely dispelled by this sudden invitation—what on earth had Xie Mo been doing that afternoon? He didn't think much about what was going on now, so he went back to his room to grab a thick coat and walked out. The wind off the river swirled the moisture, rustling the reeds by the roadside. He walked down the stone steps. The place where he and Xie Mo had sat last time was empty. Only the neon lights on the other side of the river cast tiny spots of light on the water.
"Xie Mo?" Li Huaizhou called out, his voice carried away by the wind. He pulled out his phone and was about to light up the screen to send a message when a distant bell rang, muffled yet clear, followed by a second, a third... The twelve o'clock bell slowly echoed across the river. When the last bell fell, the date on the phone screen jumped to November 7th. The "Beginning of Winter" reminder that popped up on the lock screen was like a small stone, gently hitting his heart.
Just then, hurried footsteps, accompanied by a slight breath, echoed behind him. Li Huaizhou turned sharply and saw Xie Mo running towards him from under the streetlight. The hood of his black hoodie had slipped down his head, a light layer of sweat covered his forehead, and his long hair was half combed up. In his hands, he held a square box, wrapped in creamy white wrapping paper and tied with a light blue ribbon. As he ran, the box swayed slightly.
"Happy birthday, baby." Xie Mo stopped in front of him, bent over and panting, with a slightly unstable pause when speaking. He handed the box forward, his fingertips slightly white due to the force, "It seems a little late..."
Li Huaizhou stared at the box, his mind paused for several seconds. It wasn't until the words "Happy Birthday" slowly filled his mind that he suddenly realized it—today was his birthday. This date, which even he had forgotten, was like a bookmark in an old book, long since covered in dust, that Xie Mo carefully dug it out.
His eyes instantly felt hot, a little sore, and a little swollen. Li Huaizhou turned his head and looked at the dark river surface, his fingers clenching the corner of his coat. He hadn't celebrated his birthday since he was five years old, the year his mother left. Later, Li Chengen didn't think of celebrating his birthday, and later, when he lived on his own, he felt that birthdays were just ordinary days, no need to mention them specifically. He had never told Xie Mo...
"You..." Li Huaizhou's voice was a little hoarse, and he paused as soon as he opened his mouth. He wanted to ask, "How did you know?", but he was afraid that if he spoke, the tears in his eyes would fall. He raised his head awkwardly, pretending to look at the lights on the other side of the river, but he couldn't avoid the look Xie Mo gave him - Xie Mo's eyes were bright in the night, with a hint of nervousness and expectation, as if he was afraid that he would be unhappy.
"I went to deliver homework to Teacher Zhou before," Xie Mo reached out and held Li Huaizhuo's face, gently touching the corners of his red eyes, his movements very light, "There were student files spread out on her desk, I glanced at it and saw..." He put the box on the stone steps and opened it carefully - inside was a fancy cream cake with "Happy Birthday" written on it in chocolate sauce and no circle of strawberries on it. It was so cute that it didn't seem like the style Xie Mo would choose.
Xie Mo took out a lighter from his pocket and lit the two candles on the cake. The orange flame flickered gently, reflecting in his eyes and on Li Huaizhou's face. At the moment when the flame stabilized, Xie Mo raised his hand and made a gesture. Suddenly, there was a "bang" on the other side of the river. A golden firework exploded in the night sky, followed by the second and third, red, pink, and purple, as if dyeing the entire night sky into a palette. The tiny fragments of light fell on the surface of the river, swaying with the waves.
Li Huaizhou's eyes lit up instantly. Before he could turn around and talk to Xie Mo, he felt a sudden cool touch on his cheek. Xie Mo dipped his fingertips in some cream and gently rubbed it on his cheek. With a smile, he said, "Happy seventeenth birthday, baby."
"Hey!" Li Huaizhou was a little helpless. He stretched out his hand to wipe it off, but Xie Mo grabbed his wrist. He looked at the smile in Xie Mo's eyes, and the awkwardness in his heart had long since disappeared, leaving only full warmth. "Thank you..." The voice was very small, but very clear.
Xie Mo didn't say anything, but leaned forward slightly and kissed the cream on his cheek. The soft lips rubbed his skin lightly, with a little sweetness of cake and the familiar scent of Xie Mo, like a feather, gently tickling his heart. Li Huaizhou froze for a moment, then relaxed, raised his hand and gently placed it on Xie Mo's shoulder, feeling the warmth of his lips, even the river wind seemed not so cold anymore.
Just as the two were separating, Li Huaizhuo suddenly felt something cold falling on his face, very small and light. He looked up and saw a few small snowflakes floating down from the night sky, swirling and landing on the back of his hand, and melting in an instant. "It's snowing?" Li Huaizhuo was stunned and reached out to catch another snowflake. It rarely snows in this southern city in winter. Last winter, there were only two light snowfalls, and they melted before they even hit the ground. But now, there are more and more snowflakes, like fine cotton wool, gently falling on his hair, shoulders, and Xie Mo's hoodie, dyeing the black fabric light white, more like a special gift.
"It's snowing, let's go to my car." Xie Mo raised his hand, brushed the snowflakes off his hair, and pointed to a place not far away. Li Huaizhuo looked in the direction he pointed, and saw a black Maybach parked under the street light. The body of the car was so bright that it could reflect the shadows of the trees next to it. It was obviously very valuable, and it seemed out of place with the ordinary family cars parked around. The two walked up the stone steps. The snow fell heavier and heavier, landing lightly on their shoulders. Li Huaizhuo breathed a sigh of relief when he got into the back seat. The heater was on in the car, and it was warm, like two different worlds compared to the cold outside. He watched Xie Mo put the cake on the small table in the middle - the table was pulled out from behind the seat, and it still had a bit of metal coolness, but it was wiped clean by Xie Mo.
"You can drive, Mr. Xie?" Li Huaizhou couldn't help but tease, reaching out to touch the armrest on the car door. "Underage driving without a license? That's illegal."
Xie Mo smiled, put the package aside, and pinched his palm with his fingers: "Even if it's... for my boyfriend's birthday, I'll make an exception." He paused, and the smile in his eyes deepened, "There are no traffic police at night. I learned from my family driver before, so I drive steadily."
"That's amazing, Master Xie." Li Huaizhou was happy and leaned back in his chair, watching Xie Mo take out a plastic knife and fork and carefully cut the cake into pieces. The cake was not big, but Xie Mo cut it very neatly. He handed over the piece with strawberries and said, "Try it."
Li Huaizhou took the fork and took a bite of the cake. The cream was not greasy, with a hint of vanilla. The strawberry was not sweet, and the juice spread in his mouth. He looked up at Xie Mo, who was holding a piece of cake without strawberries, eating slowly, frowning slightly. Li Huaizhou knew that Xie Mo did not like sweet food. He would only eat mint candies at most. He gave all the lollipops in his pocket to Li Huaizhou.
“If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.”
"It's okay." Xie Mo swallowed the cake in his mouth, picked up a small piece and put it in his mouth, "It's okay." He looked at the cream on the corner of Li Huaizhou's mouth, reached out and wiped it off with his fingertips, the action was natural as if he had done it a thousand times, "I will spend every birthday with you in the future." Li Huaizhou's heart skipped a beat, and the cake in his mouth seemed to be sweeter. He lowered his head, picked up the strawberry on the cake, and asked in a low voice: "How did you escape the surveillance and security?" Xie Mo paused, and his voice became softer: "I climbed out from the balcony." He looked up at Li Huaizhou and blinked, "I don't think I can wait until tomorrow."
"Stupid..." Li Huaizhou smiled helplessly, "What if we get discovered?" "Don't be afraid." Xie Mo grabbed his hand and placed it on his knee, "I won't let him know." He leaned over and gently touched Li Huaizhou's lips. Li Huaizhou was amused by him and took a bite of the strawberry. Xie Mo stared at his lips, leaned over again and kissed him. The car was very quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner and the sound of snowflakes falling on the glass outside the window. Li Huaizhou leaned on Xie Mo's shoulder, holding a half-eaten cake in his hand, looking at the snow outside the window - the snowflakes were getting bigger and bigger, dyeing the ground of the parking lot white, and the neon lights in the distance became blurry and gentle through the snowflakes.
"Oh right," Li Huaizhou suddenly remembered something and looked up at Xie Mo, "Ji Jiancheng and Shen Qitang were acting strangely this afternoon. Did you say something to them?"
Xie Mo raised his eyebrows and admitted it straightforwardly: "We are going out to eat together tomorrow, it's all planned." He pinched Li Huaizhou's cheek. "No wonder he was so strange this afternoon." Li Huaizhou suddenly realized and was a little amused. "They know too?"
"What else?" Xie Mo smiled and handed the last piece of cake to his mouth, "I can't let my baby stay alone on his birthday."
Li Huaizhou opened his mouth to take it. The sweetness of the cake mixed with the warmth in his heart, slowly spreading. He leaned in Xie Mo's arms, listening to his strong heartbeat, looking at the snowflakes outside the window, and suddenly felt that this winter's night seemed warmer than ever. The fireworks on the other side of the river had long since stopped, and the noise of the city had faded a little, but the temperature in the car was just right, as if it was being carefully held by Xie Mo, and not even a cold wind could get in.
"Xie Mo." Li Huaizhou called him softly.
"Hmm?" Xie Mo looked down at him with soft eyes.
"Next year's birthday, can we come to the riverside again?" Li Huaizhou looked into his eyes and said seriously, "No need to buy a cake, no need to wait for fireworks, just the two of us." Xie Mo smiled, lowered his head and kissed his forehead, his voice was soft but firm: "Okay. Next year, the year after, and every year thereafter, I will be with you."
Snowflakes were still floating outside the window, landing on the glass and slowly turning into water marks. On the small table in the car, the cake box was empty, with only a few clean forks left. Li Huaizhou leaned in Xie Mo's arms, slowly closed his eyes, feeling the other's body temperature, and the warmth from his hands - it turned out that being cared about and remembering birthdays was such a warm feeling. He suddenly felt that the gift God gave him was not just this snow.
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