As the sun sets in the west, the crimson sunset paints the sky with vibrant colors, creating a breathtakingly romantic scene against the backdrop of a garden full of roses.
Flower-shaped cupcakes are arranged in clusters, the cool air is mixed with the fragrance of various flowers, and the breeze carries the sweetness wherever it goes.
The cuffed sleeves held the blade hidden inside, and Xu Shiyue slowly loosened her clenched hands.
She stared at the rare, clear point of light in her field of vision, finding it hard to believe what she was seeing.
She said she could only see light, so now all she sees is light.
As Xu Shiyue watched the light shimmering in her vision, she could roughly imagine how beautiful the rose garden must be at that moment.
To destroy the roses she cherished so dearly just for this one scene—truly something Lu Shizhen is capable of doing.
In the past, Xu Shiyue found it incredible that people forgot their own birthdays, since it was the day she looked forward to most every year.
But that fire burned away all her innocence and naivety, and she became the person she found unbelievable—someone who forgot her own birthday.
She never expected that someone would remember her.
Lu Shizhen had arranged this matter long ago; it was a surprise she had prepared for Xu Shiyue without her knowledge.
She still remembered that after Xu Shiyue's family was destroyed in the original story, she was not happy on any of her birthdays. She also regretted that even when Xu Shiyue was with her official partner in the end, she still did not have a good birthday because of the unexpected events.
Since Xu Shiyue had given her a plaster, Lu Shizhen thought she might as well use her money to make up for it by celebrating her birthday early.
Even if her birthdays later on are still as unpleasant as in the book, she will still have a perfect birthday in her adult life.
That's good enough.
As the sunset and roses burned together, Lu Shizhen walked up to Xu Shiyue with a large cluster of shimmering balloons in her hand.
Just as she was about to ask Xu Shiyue if she liked the surprise she had given her, she heard two announcements.
-10
+50
The two numbers, one negative and one positive, crashed cleanly into Lu Shizhen's brain.
None of them were what she expected.
In order to give Xu Shiyue a birthday surprise, Lu Shizhen was prepared that the excuse she gave Aunt Sun would displease Xu Shiyue.
I never expected to lose so much weight all at once.
What surprised her even more was that Xu Shiyue actually gave her an extra fifty points for such a birthday surprise.
It was a clean and decisive fifty points, without the slightest hesitation in waiting for the points to slowly accumulate.
"Host~ We've gained points~~" Qiuqiu floated over slowly, holding a beautiful flower cake.
The cupcake had whiskey in it, and this little ball, who claimed that human food wouldn't affect her, looked a bit drunk.
Excitedly, it sat on Lu Shizhen's head, its speech becoming less clear: "Yes, yes, yes, ten points!!"
Without needing to ask any further, Lu Shizhen knew that Xu Shiyue really liked the gift she had given her.
The exhaustion and busyness of personally overseeing the situation these past few days all turned into a sense of accomplishment, along with a slightly indescribable feeling that lingered in the girl's heart, blowing through her mind like a breeze, making her lips involuntarily curl into a smile.
“I don’t like crowds, and I didn’t invite anyone else today. These are all people from our villa who came to help. You know them all.” Lu Shizhen tried her best to maintain the original owner’s persona, and with a touch of the original owner’s domineering nature, she took the initiative to introduce them to Xu Shiyue.
Having not received kindness from this world for a long time, Xu Shiyue was somewhat unsure of how she should feel.
The cool scabbard rested against the inside of her wrist as she gazed at the bright specks of light and said, "You don't need to worry about me."
“How can this be? This is your first birthday after you come of age. I have to give you enough of a sense of ceremony.” Lu Shizhen disagreed. She always believed in optimism and positivity. “When you’re alive, you have to create the greatest sense of ceremony for yourself with limited resources. That’s how you have something to look forward to.”
Hope.
Xu Shiyue paused almost imperceptibly upon hearing the last word in Lu Shizhen's words.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of the little girl who looked out the window in her dream.
The window was clearly fake, and the view was fake too.
But she looked at it so intently, her dark pupils sparkling as if she could really see the outside world through the paper window.
So that's what she's hoping for, right?
A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling Xu Shiyue's long hair at her temples.
She didn't know why she suddenly thought of this. Could it be that she really knew this little girl before?
But even if she knew such a special person, she would never forget him.
The sun gradually sank below the horizon, and the wind grew fierce.
Before Xu Shiyue could figure it out, a soft sneeze reached her ears: "Achoo..."
Lu Shizhen rubbed her nose, looked at the sky that was about to set, and said, "It will get cold after the sun sets. After you make your wish, we'll go in for dinner. The banquet is set in the reception room on the first floor. It's all your favorite food. Aunt Sun and the others have been busy all day."
After saying that, the servants pushed the cake over at Lu Shizhen's signal.
A hazy shadow slowly entered Xu Shiyue's field of vision. She couldn't see what the cake looked like, and she lost some of her interest in this part that she used to look forward to the most.
Before she could lower her eyes, a flickering light appeared in her vision.
Lu Shizhen personally took the lighter from the maid and lit the candles on the cake.
As the intense red of the setting sun faded, two faint candlelight beams rose in Xu Shiyue's sight.
Xu Shiyue thought it was over and was prepared to blow it out and pull it back, but unexpectedly, another beam of light appeared in her sight.
Then came the fourth, the fifth...
Swaying slightly, nineteen candlelight beams gradually lit up in Xu Shiyue's vision.
Xu Shiyue had almost forgotten that birthday candles had such an old and simple way of counting.
Actually, she really liked having candles lit all over cakes when she was little, but ever since the maid accidentally burned her hand when she lit five candles for her when she was five, her mother never let anyone put candles on cakes like that again, and instead used number candles.
Now, she can't see the numbers on the cake, but she can see them again.
Nineteen, no more, no less.
That's the age she just reached today.
An indescribable feeling surged within Xu Shiyue, struggling weakly to grow in her barren land.
She watched, and then heard Lu Shizhen's voice prompting her: "Alright, you can make a wish now. But you only have three wishes, you can't be greedy."
As she spoke, Lu Shizhen gestured to the people around her to turn off the small lights on the balloons they were holding.
In an instant, Xu Shiyue's vision was filled only with the nineteen beams of light swaying gently in the breeze.
Perhaps to conform to the so-called sense of ritual mentioned by the person in front of her, Xu Shiyue, who was already blind, still put her hands together and closed her eyes, thinking about her wish in her heart.
Regarding her eyes, regarding reclaiming what belonged to her, Xu Shiyue didn't want to make any promises.
What she can do is not a wish.
But she had no way to pray to God to bless the health of the person she loved.
Heaven will not send the deceased back to her side just because she has a wish.
Upon reflection, she didn't have many wishes.
Or perhaps there was no desire at all.
The wind rustled through the low-lying rose bushes, spreading the coolness of the sunset over the world.
The balloons tied together crowded together, making soft noises as they were pushed, creating a lively and bustling scene.
Xu Shiyue still remembers that a year ago she was also surrounded by such excitement, even more grand and luxurious than this.
Times have changed, and those who applauded her have turned away and stood behind another person, applauding him with flattery and sycophancy.
So, will she do it too?
Perhaps the wind blowing across her cheeks at sunset was too harsh, for the girl's lowered eyelashes furrowed slightly.
The surroundings were quiet, and in the silence, Xu Shiyue heard a faint sniffling sound.
It is Lu Shizhen.
In Xu Shiyue's mind, this person was always the image of a spoiled madman who couldn't wear his school uniform properly.
The behavior of a spoiled madman is the most unpredictable.
After a pause, Xu Shiyue seemed to have thought of a wish. She took a deep breath and said in her heart, "I hope... that the people I trust will not betray my trust."
As soon as she finished speaking, she lowered her head and blew out the candle.
Nineteen sticks, not one missing.
Just as Lu Shizhen had told Xu Shiyue, the banquet was incredibly lavish and abundant.
Lu Shizhen rushed to the back garden after school and didn't notice the banquet in the reception room. She was still surprised when she sat down.
She originally thought the original owner was already eating very well, but she didn't expect the dishes at the birthday banquet to be even better.
She actually copied all the foods that Xu Shiyue liked to eat that she had listed for Aunt Sun, and they were even more exquisite and delicious than she had imagined when she read the story.
Lu Shizhen admitted that it was her, the Crown Prince's Consort, who made the pancakes.
Lu Shizhen never expected that she would get a free meal while celebrating Xu Shiyue's birthday.
In addition, she had just scored two digits in points again, and happily opened a bottle of fruit wine behind Aunt Sun's back.
Before she could even take a few sips, her cheeks started to feel hot, and towards the end of the banquet, she felt the lights above her head start to sway.
Lu Shizhen never expected that the original owner's body, which had been working out for many years, was still so weak, with such a low tolerance for alcohol.
Great, it fits the crazy, perverted physical character perfectly.
"Achoo!" Lu Shizhen thought to herself, not knowing if she had cursed herself, she sneezed loudly while sitting in the chair.
The banquet was already halfway over when Lu Shizhen looked up and realized that Aunt Sun and Xu Shiyue were nowhere to be found.
Unsteady on her feet, Lu Shizhen used the table for support to stand up and began walking towards the cabinet where Aunt Sun kept her medicine.
She didn't have any particular thoughts.
I just heard myself sneezing again and thought I was catching a cold, so I instinctively went to find some medicine.
From childhood to adulthood, Lu Shizhen's biggest fear has been being sick.
When she gets sick, she has to stay in bed for many days. She can't go here or there. The IV bags hanging from the ceiling deliver different kinds of medicine to her body every day. They are cold, and her whole arm is numb.
She hates being sick and hates getting injections.
Her body cannot get sick.
Absolutely not!
It was this strong belief that led Lu Shizhen to stumble and fall all the way to the cabinet where Aunt Sun kept the medicine.
Perhaps because she had been drinking, her strength was weakened, because Lu Shizhen actually carried out the medicine box, which wasn't very big.
Unable to find it immediately, Lu Shizhen simply sat down on the ground, her brows furrowed as she muttered, "Cephalexin...cephalosporin..."
Finally, the shadow reflected on the wall raised its head.
Lu Shizhen looked at the medicine box she had just taken out and a silly smile appeared on her face: "Found it!"
"One cephalosporin, two cephalosporins..."
Counting them, Lu Shizhen placed the two blue and white capsules in her hand.
I don’t know if you should say she was careful or not, but the cup she used to take medicine was placed next to her when she arrived, but it contained the wine she hadn’t finished drinking earlier.
With practiced ease, Lu Shizhen put the medicine into her mouth.
But before she could even raise her hand to take the wine glass, her outstretched hand was grabbed.
Then, Lu Shizhen felt a pair of icy hands pinch her face, restraining her from raising her head.
Xu Shiyue appeared out of nowhere and commanded in a low voice, "Spit it out."
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