Chapter 40: Will I occasionally think of her years after her birthday...?
"Brother, did a girl give you this cake?"
When she asked the question, it sounded casual, but her fingers unconsciously tightened, and the half-eaten rice ball deformed in her hand.
Cheng Mingdu calmly peeled off the outermost layer of exquisite packaging, his tone indifferent: "So what if it is?"
The lower part of his tone always makes you feel like you're in a formal setting; even when he's talking about life, this tone makes you unconsciously serious.
She never looked for the possibility of a joke in that tone.
She stared at his profile for two seconds, her tone not harsh, and before she spoke, she had already suppressed her stubbornness: "If that's the case, I'd better not eat it."
"After all, it was their kind intention." She even felt that this explanation was somewhat superfluous; if she had nothing to hide, she shouldn't have made such a deliberate attempt to explain.
But when she looked at Cheng Mingdu, she found that he was so clearly a grown man, while she seemed to still be a child.
The appearance of a child became her protective shield, completely concealing all the evil and good thoughts in her heart without filtering them.
Ye Yuying turned her head and looked at her somewhat bewildered reflection in the midnight floor-to-ceiling window.
After all, what bad intentions could a child possibly have?
The child... just wanted to blaspheme the gods...
Cheng Mingdu paused, looked up at her, and his eyes seemed to deepen in the moonlight.
She felt uneasy at first glance.
"Do kids have so many thoughts?"
Upon hearing Cheng Mingdu's words, Ye Yuying instantly felt her facial skin lose its warmth; visually, it appeared somewhat pale.
"Eat up, I bought it myself." In those three silent, deathly seconds, Cheng Mingdu finally brought a turn of events, and Ye Yuying breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked up, as if she had just remembered something, "...What day is it today? Is it your birthday?"
"Um."
His tone was as usual, neither loud nor soft, and it seemed as if neither sadness nor joy could be detected.
Ye Yuying was just guessing randomly, but she didn't expect Cheng Mingdu to admit it without any beating around the bush, which rendered the clichés she had prepared useless.
She had originally planned to wait for Cheng Mingdu to deny it so she could bring up the topic of whether or not he liked sweets, but at this moment, she sensed that the atmosphere in the air was somewhat heavy, and she felt helpless.
"Happy...birthday..."
She spoke those four words slower than anyone else, as if something was choking her, and she squeezed them out little by little from her throat.
She spoke somewhat cautiously, as if unsure of what to say, since not everyone's birthday is a cause for celebration.
Cheng Mingdu hummed in response, his tone remaining calm, but the cake knife in his hand paused for a moment before he cut down without hesitation.
Ye Yuying asked, "Don't you want to light a candle and make a wish?"
"It's too complicated, and I don't have any particular desires."
Indeed, Cheng Mingdu has everything. From birth, it was destined that no matter how depraved he became, he would never fall into mediocrity. Moreover, he has never fallen into depravity.
An eerie silence fell between the two.
Ye Yuying sensed that Cheng Mingdu's mood was somewhat unusual today. Usually, he was like a quiet, snow-covered mountain, but today it seemed as if a part of the mountain had collapsed.
Looking at the cake that Cheng Mingdu had already divided into six equal parts, she shamelessly asked, "If you don't have any wishes... could you lend me yours?"
Cheng Mingdu released the plate he had picked up, lifted his eyelids to look at her, and asked, "What is your wish?"
Ye Yuying lowered her head, her ears slightly red, but it wasn't very noticeable in the light.
"I can't say..."
Cheng Mingdu's eyes were unreadable, but he said frankly, "Alright, if you want to make a wish, then hurry up and make it."
She quickly put her hands together, closed her eyes, and made a sincere wish.
After she opened her eyes, Cheng Mingdu plated the cake and pushed it in front of her.
She used a dessert fork to cut a corner of the cake and put it in her mouth. The milk flavor was rich but not greasy, and the sweetness was not too high.
Cheng Mingdu has a good eye for desserts, although he doesn't seem to be obsessed with them.
Holding the cake plate, Ye Yuying looked down at the overly neat cream patterns on it and suddenly blurted out:
"Wasn't I going out to celebrate my birthday with friends today?"
He shook his head. "I don't like people celebrating my birthday. Birthdays are very private for me."
This sentence was spoken very slowly, yet it carried an unquestionable sense of boundaries and discretion.
Ye Yuying murmured "Oh," without asking any further questions, but the faint sense of loneliness seemed to be gently brushed aside, spreading between the two of them.
She scooped a piece of cake off with her fork and asked, "So you celebrate every year by yourself?"
“No,” he said. “I had a sense of ritual when I was a child, but it disappeared later.”
She suddenly felt something press on her heart; it wasn't pain, but a kind of indescribable soreness.
She keenly guessed what was going on, and after considering her words for a while, she asked with a hint of shame, "Is it because...my mother..."
“Not entirely,” he replied casually, with complete rationality. “Forcing two people who have no feelings for each other to be together will inevitably lead to separation.”
"Is it like a family marriage?" She wasn't sure if that was the right way to put it, but she remembered that it was probably like that in many TV dramas.
Cheng Mingdu nodded, offering no further explanation.
Ye Yuying suddenly started talking, "So today... if I hadn't happened to be downstairs, were you planning to finish your meal and go upstairs by yourself?"
"Hmm," he replied casually, but his tone was too calm, as if he were just giving her a perfunctory answer.
Ye Yuying felt she couldn't eat anymore, but she still pretended to be natural and put the last small piece of cake into her mouth, then swallowed it very slowly.
She dared not say anything more, but she suddenly felt that this night might have become an "exception" in some sense.
She didn't actually celebrate his birthday with him; she just physically ate a piece of cake with him and got one of his birthday wishes for free.
And this birthday, among all his private and solitary birthdays, may leave a little trace, quietly remembered.
Will I ever think of her again years later...?
Cheng Mingdu stood up, interrupting her thoughts. He closed the cake box and took her empty plate with him as he stood up.
Ye Yuying turned to look at his tall back, then looked away. Her eyes stung, so she quickly closed them and took a deep breath.
Years later, she may have already left the Cheng family, perhaps because of other developments, or perhaps because she was forcibly sent away by Jiang Xinxue, but no matter what, they were destined to part ways.
After their separation, on every lonely birthday that followed, would she still have a name in his mind?
But she thought she would silently remember this day, and if next year, he was still alive, and she was still alive, would she still have the privilege of sharing his birthday...?
*
The school sports meet lasted only a week, and everyone was reluctant to return to the classroom, their mood still restless.
Everyone is reluctant to participate in the school sports meet, but they also wish that the school sports meet could be held every day.
During large-scale events, countless emotions quietly ferment under the scorching sun.
Some people who would never normally speak to each other in class ended up sitting together during the school sports meet, chatting about everything under the sun.
Motivational speeches are always being submitted to the school sports meet. The names of those with brilliant writing skills will be quietly remembered. If there happens to be a handsome boy silently waiting on the sidelines during the sports meet, he might become someone's youthful memory.
No one in this school became part of Ye Yuying's youthful memories. She always felt that no matter how outstanding a person was in the eyes of others, they all seemed too immature, like sweet wine that had been opened too early. It was cold and sweet, but the taste was monotonous. It was okay at first, but after a few more sips, it became boring.
On the first day back in the classroom, a well-behaved girl with a ponytail, not wearing a school uniform, stood in the corridor as her homeroom teacher led her into the classroom.
"This is Ji Zi, who transferred to our school from No. 16 Middle School."
The homeroom teacher stood on the podium, speaking calmly, "Everyone, please welcome the new student and let him/her introduce himself/herself."
The applause was sparse, but it wasn't exactly awkward either; everyone seemed to anticipate what was about to happen to the new student.
Ji Zi stood on the podium, backlit, her skin so white it almost glowed, her eyes gentle yet reserved. A gentle smile played on her lips, perfectly embodying many people's ideal of a quiet, demure girl.
"My name is Ji Zi, Ji as in commemoration, Zi as in purple." Her voice was soft, like water droplets falling on the windowsill in the early morning, clean and light. She didn't exchange many pleasantries, but she was poised and generous. "I hope we can get along well."
There was a brief silence in the classroom as soon as the words were spoken.
Some people laughed, saying the name sounded like a Japanese person.
I don't know if Ji Zi heard it or not; she probably didn't.
Ye Yuying was sitting by the window, not intending to look ahead, but when Ji Zi's voice came down, she unconsciously raised her eyes.
It was an inconspicuous moment—but she suddenly had a feeling.
This new classmate seems to be somewhat similar to me. She wasn't as gentle and polite as Ji Zi back then. When she introduced herself, she only said her name and didn't say anything formal.
However, she seemed to sense that Ji Zi might also be subject to Ge Jie's discipline, after all, she had already resisted countless times to reach this standoff.
The homeroom teacher flipped through the seating chart and said, "Ji Zi can sit next to Ye Yuying for now. The empty seat will be there for the time being."
A few ambiguous hums suddenly rose in the classroom.
But Ji Zi didn't hesitate at all, nodded "okay", and then dragged her schoolbag to the row closest to the window in the classroom, as if she hadn't heard those voices at all.
As she sat down, her gaze met Ye Yuying's.
"Hello," Ji Zi said first, her tone sincere and calm.
Ye Yuying paused for two seconds, then replied softly, "Hello."
This "hello" is more than just politeness; it's the beginning of a tacit understanding.
The arrival of the new classmate was like a drop of juice falling silently into the cup of life, which was calm yet turbulent.
She didn't look at Ji Zi again, but just lowered her head and continued to do her homework, the handwriting under her fingertips still neat.
She wasn't sure whether Ji Zi was friend or foe, and she wouldn't make a judgment based on appearance alone; she needed to observe for a while longer.
From that day on, the homeroom teacher announced that Ye Yuying would be exempted from her duties, because she would be going to training after school to become a reserve member of the school's track and field team.
There were constant complaints, but no one dared to say anything.
Ye Yuying didn't dislike sprint training at all, and from then on, every day she trained, she would stay away from the after-school fights. She also began to understand the benefits of being noticed.
The more attention you attract, the less likely monsters and demons will dare to approach you, because every mistake you make is related to the honor of the school team or the school's college admissions publicity.
*
Ye Yuying built a towering wall around Ji Zi's heart. She didn't want to have too much to do with anyone in the class, always feeling that they might cause trouble in her life from some angle.
At first, she didn't take Ji Zi seriously at all, just seeing her as an extra face that had transferred to the school—obedient, gentle, and the first thing she said was "hello," with a bookish and well-behaved appearance, neither outstanding nor unremarkable.
She was understanding and seemed to possess an innocent charm that came from never having left the ivory tower, unlike the other students in the class who had been steeped in corruption.
When she picked up her fallen exercise book, she didn't expect a "thank you"; for example, on rainy days, she would quietly collect her pencil case that she had left on the windowsill to prevent it from getting wet; and when she was asked to stand in the classroom as punishment by the teacher because she was framed, she would ask her in her ear during the break, "Are you okay?" as softly as the wind.
Ye Yuying did hesitate a bit at that time.
She didn't dislike Ji Zi that much. In fact, one afternoon on the rooftop, she saw Ji Zi huddled in a corner reciting history, her face buried in the sunlight. She wondered if it would be less unbearable if this person were really a friend.
She remembered that she had brought two drinks with her when she came back from the convenience store that day, knowing full well that Ji Zi might not like carbonated drinks, but she still handed them to her. Ji Zi took them, smiled, and said, "Thank you."
Her smile was pure and clean, like a freshly unwrapped orange jelly, soft and sweet.
Ye Yuying had fantasized about having a friend.
Unlike others who would go to the convenience store in a lively group and take photos in matching outfits on weekends, she only wanted one friend—someone she didn't need to talk to all the time, but someone she could sit in the same corner of the rooftop on a quiet afternoon without feeling awkward.
Ji Zi is that kind of person.
She was so quiet that she didn't even seem to belong to the class. She would only say two or three sentences during a class, and sometimes she would write too slowly to copy notes, so she would just copy Ye Yuying's notes instead.
Her handwriting is as clean as she is; each stroke is neat and precise, without any unnecessary pauses, making it appear so orderly that it evokes pity.
That day after school, it suddenly started raining again.
The corridor was crowded with students holding umbrellas. Some were shouting, some were running, and their shoes made an unpleasant squeaking sound as they stepped on the puddles. She stood at the classroom door waiting for the rain to subside before leaving, when Ji Zi suddenly said, "I brought an umbrella."
Ye Yuying shook her head subconsciously, "I'll leave in a bit."
Ji Zi stubbornly held the umbrella over her head.
Ye Yuying paused for a moment, then did not refuse again.
The two shared an umbrella and walked silently to the school gate. Rainwater slid down the edge of the umbrella and dripped into the cracks between the bricks of the school path.
In the rain, the two girls leaned on each other, and Ji Zi suddenly spoke: "Ye Yuying."
"Um?"
Are you sometimes... unhappy?
Ye Yuying did not answer.
She hadn't expected Ji Zi to ask that, and she certainly hadn't expected her to use such a tone, devoid of curiosity or probing—as if she were carefully protecting a secret that was about to spill out.
She should have pretended not to hear, but the rain was so heavy that day, and the world was so gentle, that she gave in.
She was already bursting with pent-up frustration.
Have you ever... liked someone you shouldn't have liked?
Her tone was so soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing something. She even held her breath the moment she spoke.
Ji Zi didn't laugh, nor did she show even the slightest surprise. She paused for two seconds, then softly said:
"Yes, but I don't know if it counts."
Ye Yuying suddenly looked up at her.
Ji Zi didn't continue speaking, but just stared ahead, where a blurry gray mist stretched at the end of the road.
“That kind of liking isn’t the kind you can talk about. He might be too outstanding, a bit unattainable…” She paused, then added softly, “That sense of distance is like… not asking about the outcome, just knowing it yourself is enough.”
"You dare not possess him, but you can't help but want to get close, even if it's just touching something related to him, or catching a glimpse of his back out of the corner of your eye."
At that moment, that figure appeared in Ye Yuying's mind, hazy and without a specific appearance, but she knew who she was thinking of.
She never imagined that anyone could express her unspeakable emotions so quietly and cleanly.
They walked on like that, and neither of them said anything more.
But from that day on, Ye Yuying felt that Ji Zi understood her.
Even though she never revealed who that person was.
She finally found someone she could trust.
A friend who doesn't laugh at her, talk behind her back, or treat her as an "oddball".
They would occasionally exchange sticky notes, pass notes under their desks, and whisper secrets.
Sometimes it's a sentence that Ji Zi copied from a beautiful article in a magazine, and sometimes it's a sentence from Ye Yuying: "I want to eat fried chicken cutlet after school today."
Ji Zihui replied, "You can't eat too much oily food during running training. I'll bring you yogurt tomorrow."
She always remembered every word she said, even the small wishes she mentioned casually.
However, Ge Jie remained motionless for a long time. She was like a snake lurking in the darkness, silent yet impossible to ignore.
Ye Yuying found it hard to believe that Ge Jie had changed her personality; she thought she might be up to no good.
She wasn't worried about herself, but rather about Ji Zi, who was gentle, innocent, and kind.
In addition, several boys from other classes secretly slipped love letters to Ji Zi, which led to a lot of ridicule and sarcasm in the class.
However, Ji Zi remained kind to everyone, seemingly unaware of any potential danger.
*
The city organized a district-level test on short notice, and the school sent out only three or four reserve team members, Ye Yuying being one of them.
She was a little dazed when she received the notification in the morning, as this was her first competition since she started training.
"It's good for her to get some exercise," Teacher Yang said, without putting any pressure on her.
That afternoon, Ji Zi told her, "I'll come cheer you on after school."
Ye Yuying nodded, without saying thank you. She wasn't good at saying those kinds of things, but she remembered feeling a sense of anticipation at that moment—she had never seen a figure come for her at the finish line before, and this time, perhaps, was the first time she would have one.
Before the competition started, she looked around in the crowd several times, but Ji Zi never appeared.
She even wondered if Ji Zi had gotten lost or been stopped by security, but with the competition imminent, she couldn't go and check for herself.
The wind rushed into her ears as she stood on the starting line, the sun shining on her eyelids. She didn't have time to think much.
The starting gun fired.
She plunged headfirst into the air, cutting straight through the crimson track, just as always.
After a period of training, her progress is obvious to all, and she personally feels that the competition did not put much physical pressure on her.
She ran the 400 meters almost frantically. Even sprinters are known for their explosive speed. Teacher Yang said that it depends a lot on physical ability and talent, which she just happens to have.
She was skeptical about this.
Whether it was to prove herself or to hide some emotion, she maintained almost full speed and could even accelerate. At the last moment before crossing the finish line, she hadn't exhausted her strength, but she was already in first place.
This first place is a no-brainer.
Teacher Yang's brows relaxed, and he walked over, patted her on the shoulder, and praised her generously: "Well done."
She didn't smile, but looked at the audience seats where Ji Zi wasn't, hurriedly went to receive her award, took a picture, and immediately said to her teacher, "Teacher Yang, I forgot something at school, I need to go back first."
When she ran back to school, the school gate was already half closed, and the cleaning ladies were finishing up.
There were only a few teachers on duty at the entrance of the teaching building, who were about to lock up and leave. She pushed open the classroom door and found that Ji Zi's schoolbag was still there, with an exercise book sticking out of the desk drawer.
A sense of unease welled up inside her, and guided by some terrible intuition, she headed towards the alley behind the mountain.
—That blind spot in the school was where she had been forced to witness bullying.
The sunlight was partially blocked by the mountains, and the light on the back slope was also partially blocked, making it look gloomy and dark, but she could hear the noise from afar.
The girl's laughter was tinged with malicious excitement.
She turned the corner and, sure enough, saw it—
Ji Zi sat on the ground, her meticulously styled ponytail gone, her long hair disheveled on her back. She hugged her legs and curled up into a ball, her white school trousers stained with blood, which she desperately tried to cover with the hem of her school uniform. Her eyes were red and her face still bore traces of tears, as if she had been crying.
Several girls in school uniforms blocked her way, laughing and saying, "Didn't you say you were going to cheer her on? What's wrong? Why are you sitting on the ground now? Aren't you disgusted?"
"We won't let you go to the toilet? Why don't you just squeeze through yourself? Nobody's stopping you!"
Their tone was flippant and full of mockery.
One of them wasn't involved; instead, she sat by the wall, legs swinging, licking an ice pop, seemingly unconcerned. This was Ge Jie.
They watched the scene like it was a play, too lazy to get involved, but with an attitude of "you guys play, I don't care."
Ye Yuying's vision went black for a moment. She didn't have time to think or call out to anyone.
She rushed forward.
Perhaps the grievances have their perpetrators and the debtors their accomplices. It wasn't Ge Jie who attacked Ji Zi. She rarely takes matters into her own hands, after all, countless people follow her lead, so she doesn't need to lift a finger.
However, Ye Yuying didn't want to rush into the crowd and die today. Instead, she focused her attention on Ge Jie, which was the most effective approach.
Taking advantage of Ge Jie's momentary lapse in vigilance, Ye Yuying took a running start and, with all her might, launched herself into a flying kick that struck Ge Jie in the back.
Before Ge Jie could react, she was kicked hard from behind, staggering and falling to the ground. Her popsicle flew out of her hand, and her face was instantly covered in ice shards.
"ah--"
Before her scream had even subsided, Ye Yuying had already walked over, grabbed her by the collar, and said in a terrifyingly low voice, "Try laughing again?"
The others were intimidated by the scene and wanted to help, but when they saw Ye Yuying lift Ge Jie up like a sparrow and look at them with a threatening gaze, no one dared to move.
Ye Yuying didn't make another move, but stared into her eyes and said, word by word, "Do you think you're a queen? That everyone has to revolve around you?"
You're not even qualified to be a human being.
Ge Jie's face flushed red, she trembled with anger, her lips opened but she couldn't utter a single word. She instinctively wanted to retaliate fiercely, but Ye Yuying seized the initiative. In addition, Ye Yuying had recently been training at a high intensity, and her strength had improved even further than before.
"Tell me, do you still dare to bully my friend?"
Her eyes were full of fire.
The real fire, hidden and suppressed for too long, finally found its outlet at this moment.
Ge Jie's back was still numb. Her hair was grabbed by her, not with great force, but with precision, and several strands of hair fell out.
She despises the act of pulling hair, but she learned it from them.
Ge Jie let out an "Ah" sound, but dared not move. She had never been so embarrassed in front of others.
"Say something!" Ye Yuying lowered her head, her angry breath hitting the other person's face. "Aren't you the most talkative one?"
"No... I wouldn't dare..." Despite her pain, Ge Jie suppressed her anger and gave in, though it was unclear whether she meant it sincerely.
Upon hearing this, she suddenly let go, and Ge Jie fell heavily to the ground, half of her face scraping against the floor tiles, and several dirty marks appearing on her sleeves.
She wanted to curse, but received a warning look from Ye Yuying—
"You try it." She looked at her coldly, her voice not loud, but every word felt like it was grinding on her bones.
Several girls around took a step back, the air felt cold, and no one dared to speak or try to salvage the situation.
The short-haired girl who had just been mocking Ji Zi chickened out and stammered, "We didn't...we didn't hit her..."
"You didn't hit her?" Ye Yuying sneered, turning to look at Ji Zi, her voice hoarse, "Did the blood on her pants just appear out of thin air?"
“She was on her period then, we didn’t hit her,” another girl argued from the side.
She approached the short-haired girl step by step. The girl tried to dodge but she grabbed her shoulder. "Tell me, were you the ones who stopped her from going to the toilet?"
The girl's face paled, and she gritted her teeth, remaining silent.
"Listen carefully." Ye Yuying slowly looked around, her voice calm to the point of being cold, "From today onwards, no one will dare to lay a finger on her again."
"I will settle accounts with each and every one of them." As she said this, her eyes did not tremble at all, and there was no extra emotion on her lips.
"I'm not afraid of being expelled or disciplined. I've long since stopped being afraid of anything."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and pulled Ji Zi up. The other person was trembling violently, and her eyes were filled with fear. While supporting her, she pulled a thin jacket from her schoolbag and tied it around Ji Zi's waist to cover the embarrassing bloodstain.
“Come on, I’ll take you home,” she said softly.
Ji Zi's face was streaked with tears, and her eyes still held fear. She nodded slightly.
They walked away step by step, and the remaining people were busy caring about Ge Jie, so no one chased after them.
*
That evening, Ye Yuying mustered up her courage and went to find Cheng Mingdu, carrying all the questions in her heart.
"Brother, can you answer something for me? The wickedness in human nature shouldn't be related to age, right? Even minors, even little children, can still be demons, right? Or... are these young devils just my illusion?"
-----------------------
Author's note: 50 red envelopes! [Laughing out loud]
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