Chapter 19
Unable to find out why he was in a bad mood, Shen Li gave up and, as usual, patted his head to comfort him. Unexpectedly, when she lowered her hand, her fingertips accidentally touched his lips.
Feeling the warm breath, Shen Li raised her hand as if she had been electrocuted: "I didn't mean to."
In an instant, Luo Mingxiu grabbed her hand, his eyes suddenly deepening, and after letting go, his face turned unusually red.
"I'm going back."
He uttered three words, hurried away, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
As Shen Li entered the suite, Xiao Yu, who was about to leave, was slightly taken aback when she saw her: "Sister, you...have you eaten something?"
"What?"
"Look at yourself in the mirror, I'm going to get my food."
Xiao Yu closed the door, and Shen Li took two steps to the full-length mirror. She finally understood why. After Luo Mingxiu had wiped her lips so hard, her lip makeup was indeed smudged, and the area around her lips was red, like she had eaten something spicy.
Upon closer inspection, the corner of his mouth was cut, and a little blood was seeping out.
Shen Li belatedly realized the pain and took out her phone to scold the culprit: "You brat, you scraped your skin! You don't know how to be careful!"
At this moment, Luo Mingxiu was in the bathroom, calming his rapid breathing and heartbeat. He tried to ignore the heat and was about to wash off the lipstick on his hands.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He turned on the tap with one hand, took out his phone with the other, and opened it to see a message from Shen Li.
You little rascal, you got a scrape, don't you know how to be careful?
My skin is scraped.
The skin is broken.
Luo Mingxiu stared at those words, her red lips flashing through his mind. He glanced at the crimson stain on his right hand and his mouth went dry.
The icy water was flowing, but he felt his body getting hotter and hotter.
He kept inhaling and exhaling, unable to calm down.
In the end, he turned off the tap, reluctant to wash away the two red stains, and leaned against the door, reaching his arm inside.
He bit his shirt, his eyes welling up with tears, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
The image of Shen Li flashed through my mind, and I was overwhelmed by a tremendous sense of shame.
...
...
Ever since that day when he offended her by wiping his mouth, Shen Li felt that Luo Mingxiu had been behaving himself these past few days, and even seemed to be avoiding her.
Whatever, it's hard to guess what my brother is thinking.
She took advantage of his inattention to prepare a surprise. Next Friday was the day of Minor Snow, which was also Luo Mingxiu's birthday.
She had already discussed it with the director, Yuan Haoxuan, Sun Qi, and others, and they booked a restaurant in advance under the pretext of a get-together. They then split up to make their own plans.
After finishing work, she and Sun Qi went to the private room to set it up. Yuan Haoxuan, who was filming with Luo Mingxiu that afternoon, was responsible for bringing the people over.
I even asked Liang Jin via WeChat. Luo Mingxiu hasn't had the habit of celebrating his birthday in recent years, so he probably doesn't remember the date, which will surely be a pleasant surprise.
No matter how busy she and her parents were, they would celebrate her birthday every year. If Luo Mingxiu had never left the Shen family, even if he didn't want to celebrate, his parents would definitely prepare a table full of dishes to celebrate his birthday.
This sense of ritual is still necessary, otherwise time flies by and you won't remember how old you are when you grow a year older.
Once she made up her mind, as soon as she finished work, she would take out her phone to choose a gift for Luo Mingxiu.
What should I give as a gift?
Has this person ever been particularly interested in anything since childhood? Since it's a surprise, she can't just ask directly.
Shen Li looked at her wrist with some worry, glancing at the pear blossom bracelet that Luo Mingxiu had given her.
Without his skillful hands, I'd rather not consider DIY.
However, she remembered that the last time he gave her a gift, there was a puppy keychain in the pear-shaped bag, which he said was his.
Suddenly, Shen Li remembered that Luo Mingxiu had posted photos of his dog on his WeChat Moments. Luo Mingxiu seemed to really like dogs, otherwise he wouldn't have keychains shaped like puppies.
Thinking about this, Shen Li felt that her guess was correct, and she swiped her finger on the screen to place an order.
Friday, around 5 p.m.
Shen Li and Sun Qi took a van to the restaurant, not daring to make a big fuss. They only asked the director to call three staff members and the other two actors who were filming that day.
When they arrived, the restaurant staff had already prepared balloons, ribbons, flowers, and other decorations, and the manager sent employees over to help them set it up.
After discussing the dishes and music with the waiter, a message from Yuan Haoxuan popped up on my phone: We're almost at the door, are you ready?
Shen Li sent an OK message, then looked up at everyone and said, "Turn off the lights."
The lights went out, and the group of them walked behind the cart with the cake and waited quietly.
Outside the door, Luo Mingxiu stopped, looking at the tightly closed door of the private room.
Yuan Haoxuan turned his head: "You go in first."
Luo Mingxiu: "Didn't Director Liu say that a group of people had already arrived? Why is it so quiet?"
"Go inside." Yuan Haoxuan opened the door and gave him a push.
In the darkness, the candlelight slowly approached, and then the birthday song began to play, sung in a disorderly manner.
Shen Li's voice was the loudest, standing out prominently among the others.
Luo Mingxiu looked astonished, then glanced at his phone screen: November 22nd.
He stopped celebrating his birthday after he turned 18 because he didn't want to remind himself of his age every year, reminding himself that he was eight years younger than Shen Li.
But Shen Li didn't know that she still remembered his birthday and would celebrate it for him as before.
He had been avoiding her these past few days because he was too ashamed to face her. He had assumed that since Shen Li hadn't sent any messages to inquire about him, she didn't care about him and didn't want to talk to him anymore.
Little did he know that she was secretly preparing a birthday surprise for him.
After the birthday song ended, everyone urged him to make a wish.
Luo Mingxiu closed his eyes, opened them ten seconds later, and blew out the candle.
Chenli, may you have peace and joy.
His wish was only related to her.
As the lights in the private room came on and everyone cheered, Shen Li came up to him and whispered, "Happy birthday. Remember to come back and get your present."
"Mmm." Luo Mingxiu's chest heaved as he raised his hand, wanting to pull her into his arms.
At this moment, Director Liu walked over with a wine glass in his hand.
"Come on, come on, why aren't you sitting at the table, birthday boy? We've been taking pictures for so long, let's treat your birthday party as our own dinner party."
Director Liu put his arm around Luo Mingxiu's shoulder, walked to the dining table, cleared his throat, and said, "Cheers, everyone! Happy birthday to Luo Mingxiu, and may our entire cast sit at the table after this show airs!"
Everyone stood up and raised their glasses: "Everyone to the table! May the ratings soar!"
At 8:30, the birthday party was almost over. After Shen Li cut the cake, a few girls ate a few bites, and the rest was ruined by Yuan Haoxuan, that drunkard.
He was the worst drinker at the party. After finishing his drink, he grabbed a cake and smeared it on people's faces, while running around laughing and joking like a mad concubine in the cold palace.
After Director Liu organized everyone to take a group photo, Shen Li went to pay the bill, and when she came back, she pulled Xiao Yu along to leave.
I glanced in Luo Mingxiu's direction and saw him being supported by Xiao Wen.
Is he drunk?
He had been drinking with his dad when he went home before, and he seemed to be able to hold his liquor well, so Shen Li let him drink today without paying attention to how much he drank.
She went over to check on him. Luo Mingxiu smelled strongly of alcohol, indicating that he had drunk quite a bit, and his eyes were glazed over.
Her face didn't turn very red, maybe she doesn't blush?
Upon seeing her, Luo Mingxiu immediately let go of Xiaowen's hand and tried to walk independently, but he stumbled after only a few steps.
Seeing this, Shen Li quickly reached out to help him, but the boy clung to her and wouldn't let go, drunk and muttering her name.
"I'll take it back." Thinking that she still had to give him a gift anyway, Shen Li said helplessly to Xiao Wen.
"Thank you for your help, Teacher Shen," Xiao Wen said.
Luo Mingxiu leaned his entire weight on her, and Shen Li asked Xiao Yu to help him. The two of them helped him into the car.
On the way, Luo Mingxiu leaned his head against Chen Li, his breath reeking of alcohol, and she rolled down the car window to ventilate the room.
I was afraid of making people catch a cold, so I turned it on for a while and then turned it off.
Seeing that he was squinting, Shen Li moved her body slightly, trying to move him to the other side of the car seat.
As soon as she moved away, Luo Mingxiu's eyelashes fluttered, and he lay down, resting his head on her thigh.
"Are you not asleep?" Shen Li reached out and patted his face.
Luo Mingxiu opened his eyes, took her hand, and rubbed it against his face: "It's hot."
He ripped open the heavy collar of his costume and pulled her hand up to his neck.
Shen Li quickly pulled away, nudged him with her knee, and scolded, "Who taught you to be like this, acting like a hooligan when you're drunk?"
“No,” Luo Mingxiu exhaled, “You’re not casual, you’re not.”
"What are you saying, all sticky and gooey?" Shen Li got up and sat in the front row, giving him the entire back seat, too lazy to bother with her anymore.
Behind him, Luo Ming opened his eyes again, his gaze falling on Shen Li's smooth nape for a long time until he felt his eyes welling up with tears.
He turned his head to the side, tears streaming down his face.
Actually, he wasn't drunk at all. He can drink, but he hates the smell of alcohol and would never let himself get drunk.
He simply spilled the wine on himself when no one was looking, hoping to pretend to be drunk and have more intimate contact with Shen Li.
But after using this method, he felt that he was too despicable.
He can't do that.
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