eighteen
With the sports meet over, all major events for senior high school students this semester have come to an end, and the next long holiday after National Day will have to wait until next year.
The already monotonous study life seemed to suddenly lack any reference points, with only the ever-increasing number of test papers in the drawer and the increasingly bare branches of the trees outside the window proclaiming the passage of time in the howling wind.
End of December.
It was already very cold in Zhuzhou at this time.
At 5:50, outside the window it was pitch black. Although the air conditioner was on inside, it was nowhere near as comfortable as being in bed.
But Lu Yunian still got up very early thanks to his strong will.
They waited at the door for several minutes without any sound from next door—ever since Ning Yi'en took those few days off in September, they hadn't made any plans to go to school together. If they could go to school at roughly the same time, they would go together.
Lu Yunian still can't shake his habit of sleeping in, and arriving at the classroom right on time is a regular occurrence for him. As for Ning Yi'en, she usually goes to school very early, but sometimes when she's not feeling well, she'll simply ask for two classes to skip before going to school.
"Then let's just go with the flow," Lu Yunian (the version without long johns) said, carrying a gift bag of apples and braving the howling wind at six o'clock as he walked towards school.
My hands are so sore, I feel so cold, and my heart is in the Arctic.
Even more tragic things happened—because I arrived at the classroom very early, the first one ever, and when I opened the door, I was greeted not by the warmth of the air conditioner, but by a different kind of cold.
I will never get up this early again.
Lu Yunian turned on the air conditioner and slumped into a chair. A minute later, he remembered that the apples hadn't been put away properly, so he got up and put the apples from the bag and the cards on Yan Ting's table into the corresponding seats.
Today is December 24th, Christmas Eve.
However, Lu Yunian is clearly not the type of person who would specifically prepare apples.
He was only thinking about giving Ning Yi'en a special apple.
This big bag is because a few days ago, when a group of them were secretly playing Werewolf during evening self-study, he and Yanting made a bet on whether the first night would be Christmas Eve.
The result was an inevitable loss—and quite unlucky, as Yan Ting got the Witch card.
Although the bet was lost, the game was won, so it doesn't seem like a huge loss—getting the werewolf card and then self-harming to bait out the antidote was a very successful move.
Ning Yi'en arrived after the second period and was catching up on sleep at his desk when the long break ended.
"Oh my god, Yan Yan, did you go kill someone last night? Your dark circles are so big." The preparatory bell rang, and Ning Yi'en turned her head to look at the books on Lu Yunian's desk. She mechanically pulled out the same textbook from the drawer and placed it in a corner, then closed her eyes again.
Ning Yi'en's mind raced for a second, and perhaps that wasn't wrong. She gave a weak "hmm."
Lu Yunian wanted to say something more, but the teacher on the podium had already started class, and Ning Yi'en didn't seem to want to talk to anyone, so he silently turned his body around and started listening to the lesson.
After fishing for three consecutive periods and having lunch, Ning Yi'en finally returned to his usual state—specifically, he was twirling a pen while thinking about physics.
"Clang! Clang!" Lu Yunian leaned over and mysteriously handed him a gift box. "Although it's not night yet, I wish you a Merry Christmas Eve and peace."
"Thank you." Ning Yi'en put down her pen and took the pen with both hands. "I didn't even realize it, and I didn't prepare anything for you."
"Don't be so formal with me, no need for thanks." Lu Yunian pouted, but quickly grinned, his left canine tooth particularly prominent, giving him a cool and handsome look mixed with a touch of childish silliness. "Hurry up and open it."
"Green apple?"
"Just as delicious as red apples, I tried several kinds of apples I selected a few days ago. I think green apples would be more unique."
Even if many people give you apples, you can tell at a glance which one is from me.
"It's really unique, this is the first time I've ever received one, x..."
"You're welcome, no need to thank me, please don't thank me anymore," Lu Yunian said before Ning Yi'en could utter a single word.
“Okay, Star.” Ning Yi’en tilted her head and looked at him, a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth.
At one point, Lu Yunian suddenly felt that Ning Yi'en was very much like...
Caring for children with intellectual disabilities.
"Alright, remember to eat." Lu Yunian pushed the apple towards Ning Yi'en again, deciding to skip the topic.
"Okay, wishing you a safe and peaceful year, my dear classmate."
"Yes, let me tell you, I went to the convenience store last night to buy something, and when I came back I saw a handsome guy with blond hair downstairs carrying a cake and a suitcase. So I opened the door for him and helped him with the suitcase."
"Great."
"That's not what I meant." Although he said that, Lu Yunian's tone clearly carried a hint of arrogance.
"After the access control was unlocked, he sat in the lobby. When asked why he didn't just go upstairs, he said he wanted to give the birthday person a surprise and wanted to do it at midnight. I think that's pretty sweet."
"really."
"I'm getting off-topic. Actually, I wanted to ask when your birthday is. I've never asked you before. I'll prepare a gift for you on your birthday."
"today."
"when?!"
December 24th.
December 23rd evening
10:40
Ning Yi'en tidied everything up, heated up a cup of milk, and nestled on the small sofa on the balcony to read a novel.
It's a suspense novel that I was very interested in before.
Thump thump thump thump thump
Around 11:20.
Ning Yi'en was actually quite sleepy, but she forced herself to keep her eyes open and try to finish reading this chapter. It would be even better if she could stay up until midnight, but she didn't force herself.
Ning Yi'en got up, yawned loudly, and walked straight to the door without wiping away the tears streaming down her face.
I thought Lu Yunian had ordered takeout again and I wanted to share with him "what I ordered today..."
——“Surprise!!!”
Suddenly a head popped out from beside the door, along with a cake held high in front of it.
“How could you…” Ning Yi’en was a little dazed, countless thoughts flooding her mind, but she couldn’t say a word.
"Aren't you moved, Ning Yi'en?" Song Moxiao smiled and opened his arms to hug Ning Yi'en. "No need to be moved to tears."
"..."
"Can't you at least pretend a little? You're really not giving me any face." Song Moxiao said as he led the cake inside. "Help me with this box, I'm freezing."
Why are you back?
A few minutes later, the two sat cross-legged in front of the coffee table, with a steaming bowl of egg noodles in front of Song Moxiao.
— He said he was hungry and wanted to eat something, so Ning Yi'en asked him to cut the cake. However, Song Moxiao insisted on waiting until after midnight to eat. Ning Yi'en couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she started cooking a bowl of noodles.
"Who wants to spend Christmas with my dad?" Song Moxiao picked up a mouthful of noodles and kept blowing on it. "And it'll also be a good opportunity to celebrate your birthday with him."
"Will your dad let you go?" Ning Yi'en asked, looking at the book she hadn't finished reading earlier, sitting next to him.
"Of course not. Our daily routine consists of arguing every day," Song Moxiao said nonchalantly.
“I told him I wanted to come back to see my mom, and he said he wanted to come with me. My mom definitely didn’t want to see him, and he realized that himself, so he told me to apologize to him properly, and then he bought me a business class ticket back.”
"Has your relationship improved?"
"Of course not, his dad just finds him annoying. But it's much better than before, and I even moved back in." He rolled his eyes at the air. "You have no idea how difficult it was for me there. It felt like everyone for miles around was an English speaker. You had to go to school, and Qi Yun ignored me."
Song Moxiao kept chewing, and his speech was a little unclear. "Speaking of this, in order to keep you from knowing my plan, I even asked Qi Yun to help me find out your new home address. You have no idea how difficult it is to chat across servers."
"Cross-server?"
"Crossing time zones. Three people in three different time zones. What's the value of that? Only I know the hardships involved."
"You're amazing." Ning Yi'en smiled and patted his shoulder twice.
"Don't try that on me, I'm not buying it. You're trying to fool me."
"Next time, I'll crack two more eggs for you downstairs."
"And I've been deliberately reducing how often we chat lately, afraid you'd find out, but Ning Yi'en, you don't care at all!" Song Moxiao solemnly put down his chopsticks and faced Ning Yi'en. "Ning Yi'en! I'm angry!!!"
Before Ning Yi'en could answer, he realized something and said, "Okay, you always seem to be like this. Sigh! I really should stay away from you blockheads."
He moved the bowl to the corner of the coffee table, lowered his head to eat his noodles, and ignored Ning Yi'en.
However, the silence only lasted a few minutes.
At 11:50, Song Moxiao's alarm clock rang, its abstract rooster-like clucking echoing throughout the living room.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry," Song Moxiao said while turning off the alarm clock, instructing Ning Yi'en, "Set up the cake and put in the candles, the atmosphere has to be perfect, it has to be a great shot."
He was in a hurry, but his hands and mouth never stopped moving, "Have you thought of a caption for your WeChat Moments? Read it to me."
"Song Moxiao," Ning Yi'en said, unpacking the cake and finding it somewhat amusing, "is it your birthday or mine, huh?"
"Whether you pass or I pass... This copywriting is not approved."
"What the hell?"
“I’m going,” Song Moxiao stopped, “I’m so dizzy, why am I in such a hurry for your birthday?”
In the end, we managed to get everything set up before midnight.
Song Moxiao snapped a series of photos of the exquisite cake and the birthday girl, Ning Yi'en, saying, "Send them all to Qi Yun, it'll make her furious."
"Childish, like two three-year-olds."
"You think you're that much older? You're at most three and a half years older."
"It's your birthday, you'll be four soon."
"Okay, little rascal."
At midnight on December 24th, under Song Moxiao's supervision, Ning Yien's WeChat Moments page, which was practically empty, had an additional post.
"Today"
Plain text.
Although it seems to have nothing to do with birthdays, it is indeed a birthday message.
It's okay, as long as the people around us know, it's fine. There's no need to announce it to the world. That's what Ning Yi'en told Song Moxiao.
"Happy birthday!!!" Although it was just the two of them, Song Moxiao did an excellent job of creating a festive atmosphere.
After the process of lighting candles, making a wish, and singing the birthday song was over, the two of them (mainly Song Moxiao) looked at the cake and started to make trouble.
"Why is this six-inch size so big?" Song Moxiao gestured with his hand.
"Six inches has always been this size."
"That shouldn't be the case. Last time for your birthday, I also bought a six-inch one, and it wasn't enough for you."
Do you know how many of us there were last time?
"Isn't that so..." he said, then suddenly remembered something, and lowered his eyes in silence for a long while, "So it turns out that it's just the two of us this year."
"Forget it, it's not like we'll never see each other again, why am I being so sentimental?" He quickly composed himself. "Birthday star, eat your cake."
Another ten minutes
Under Song Moxiao's eager gaze, Ning Yi'en silently pushed the cake, which was missing a large piece, further and further away.
It's not good to eat so much at night.
"We can't waste food, wasting food is shameful." Song Moxiao took a big bite himself and glared fiercely at Ning Yi'en.
"Sigh." Ning Yi'en looked at the cake with a troubled expression.
In the end, of course, we didn't finish it.
The two lay on the sofa, heads facing each other, chatting.
Perhaps he was naturally full of energy, or perhaps he had slept enough on the plane. In addition, the two hadn't seen each other for more than half a year, so Song Moxiao had a lot to say tonight.
His father, whom he had only known for less than a year, the white food he couldn't get used to from abroad, a bunch of bizarre things happening at school, and a sudden longing for his childhood...
"If there's someone you really like, but the outcome of confessing is too uncertain, would you take the initiative to confess?" In the end, the topic still veered towards Song Moxiao's unresolved emotional issues.
"Won't."
"Right! I knew it. So it's fine if things just fade away like this between us."
"These are not the same concept. Stop trying to confuse yourselves with this misleading explanation."
"Sigh, it's all the same. I shouldn't have held him back. There are better options, for both of us."
A long silence followed.
"Holy crap!" Song Moxiao suddenly sat up, raised his phone and glanced at the time—3:03 AM. "I just remembered, you're still a senior in high school, Ning Yi'en."
"Mmm." Ning Yi'en, who was almost asleep, answered weakly.
“You have to get up at six o’clock to go to school, but you’re not in bed yet.”
"Um."
"Then why didn't you stop me from chatting with you?"
"I don't know when I'll see you again. You can't always come back like that. It's okay, I messaged my grandma and asked her to ask for two classes off for me."
"I didn't expect you to be such a nice person." Song Moxiao lay back down on the sofa. "Let's just treat you to the whole day, consider it a birthday reward for myself."
"They'll also invite you to evening self-study sessions."
"Oh, so Ning Yien, the school-averse boy, has fallen for Jiannan."
"Get out of here, go to sleep."
"Ugh, this is boring. Goodnight."
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