Happy birthday, Zhou Junchang.
The weather has already turned deep into winter.
Temperatures are dropping, and everyone on the street is bundled up in thick down jackets. According to the weather forecast, it may snow in the next few days.
Ah Feng propped his legs up on the table, cracking sunflower seeds: "Jun Chang, your birthday is coming up, isn't it?"
Zhou Junchang dislikes celebrating his birthday and is unwilling to mention it, because he himself doesn't know if it's actually his birthday.
Zhou Jun often learned from his grandfather that the old man had entered his later years and was living in a nursing home. He was almost completely out of his mind, and when he was lucid, he would just sit and look out the window.
Therefore, what he said was half true and half false, and Zhou Junchang didn't know whether it was true or false.
Watching his classmates celebrate their birthdays and boast about eating birthday cake, Zhou Junchang also wondered when he would be able to celebrate his birthday and eat cake.
Then, Xiao Zhoujun often held his grandfather's rough hand and asked in a soft voice, "Grandpa, when was I born?"
The old man looked out the window for a long, long time before finally saying a date.
At that time, Zhou Junchang believed it to be true and always remembered the date, but he never received a birthday cake of his own.
As a child, Zhou Jun often didn't understand what Alzheimer's was, nor did he understand why his grandfather could see anything outside the window. He also couldn't understand why the nursing home caregivers said his grandfather was prone to getting lost and wouldn't let him go out. He was the one who was more likely to get lost, so why was he asked to watch over his grandfather?
Even though Zhou Junchang didn't understand at that time, he would still pat his chest and proudly accept the task of taking care of his grandfather.
Later, Zhou Junchang grew up and learned many lessons, but his grandfather passed away.
Therefore, Zhou Junchang still doesn't know when or where he came into this world. As for his childhood memories, he either remembers them or he doesn't, and no one will remember them for him anymore.
Perhaps on some ordinary day, he simply spent his birthday quietly.
Zhou Junchang had always kept this date in his heart since he was a child. Perhaps it was because he looked forward to it so much that it had almost become Zhou Junchang's subconscious belief in his real birthday, and Zhou Junchang had always regarded this date as his birthday.
Some things can be overlooked by simply not thinking about them too much, and the regrets and pain hidden within them can be ignored.
"Um."
Ah Feng stroked his chin: "Then we have to eat something good!"
"I won't eat."
Why does your birthday only come once a year?
"I have no money."
"You're lying! Your salary is much higher than mine."
...
In winter, people seem to go out less because of the temperature, and even bars don't do as well as when the weather is warm.
On that very day, Zhou Ji arrived under the bright moonlight.
When the brothers heard that their boss was coming, they all rushed over to Mingyue Night in high spirits, creating a lively atmosphere that seemed out of place for this time of day.
A group of people entered and jokingly called out to Zhou Junchang, the boss, and even Zhou Ji joined in the teasing.
Zhou Junchang poured drinks for his brothers in the shop, smiled, and said nothing.
It was too cold; the Skylight Hall wasn't much better than the Moonlit Night.
Hearing the commotion, Xu Li came downstairs and called out, "Don't just focus on the bright moonlit night, come upstairs to play too."
"Okay, okay."
Feeling bored, Xu Li also stayed under the bright moonlight.
A group of people were playing games and drinking. At the dinner table, Ah Feng suddenly blurted out Zhou Junchang's birthday.
Zhou Ji turned to Zhou Junchang and asked, "Is it really going to be my birthday?"
This question really stumped Zhou Junchang. Not wanting to explain further, he nodded: "More or less!"
Ah Feng added, "Jun Chang said he had no money and wouldn't celebrate his birthday."
A group of people burst into laughter.
Zhou Ji stood up and jokingly asked, "Is Mingyue Night so unprofitable? Then I'll treat you!"
A group of people kept saying it was good.
Zhou Jun smiled often, but inside he was somewhat at a loss.
Because I wasn't sure myself.
Afterwards, Zhou Ji seemed to remember something and asked, "When exactly?"
In a way that was somewhat self-deceptive, Zhou Jun would often say, "My ID card says I'm still three days short," in order to make his statement more convincing.
Zhou Ji pondered for a while: "I have some things to do that day, how about we reschedule?"
At that time, Zhou Junchang thought, why not just skip it? He never planned to celebrate his birthday anyway, and he was a little unaccustomed to having so many people around this time.
Someone nearby said, "It's okay, birthdays don't necessarily have to be on the same day. We haven't gotten together in a long time anyway."
Zhou Ji looked at Zhou Junchang and respected his opinion, because he was the main person celebrating his birthday, so it wouldn't matter much if Zhou Ji didn't come.
Zhou Junchang initially wanted to refuse, but now the words of refusal were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say them.
Zhou Junchang finally relented: "I'm fine."
A group of people started thinking about when to get together, and finally decided to just have it today. They would drink downstairs, play ball upstairs, and then go out for dinner.
A group of people could play all day long, they just went completely crazy.
Xu Li was also smiling happily in the crowd. She glanced at Zhou Junchang unintentionally, who was looking down and seemed to be thinking about something.
When the group arrived at the restaurant, the boys were carefree and didn't prepare any gifts. It wasn't just because they had arrived in such a hurry that they didn't prepare anything; even if they came a few days later, they might not be able to bring anything.
Giving gifts on birthdays is considered a bit pretentious by boys, at least in their eyes.
A group of people surrounded Zhou Junchang, offering him toasts, and Zhou Junchang drank quite a bit.
Some wished Zhou Junchang to make a lot of money and said he should remember to help his brothers when the time came. Others wished him to smile more and not have a long face all day long. Still others wished him to have a son soon. Zhou Junchang laughed and scolded them back.
Zhou Jun often drinks, but rarely drinks alone. He has a good alcohol tolerance, but tonight he was forced to drink a lot, and his face was a little red, indicating that he was somewhat drunk.
Xu Li watched as a group of people toasted Zhou Junchang one by one. Xu Li initially wanted to go up as well, but seeing that Zhou Junchang seemed a bit tipsy and drunk, she ultimately decided not to go up.
Several people in the group were so drunk they could barely walk. Perhaps they had anticipated this, because Zhou Ji had booked an all-nighter, and no staff came to urge them to hurry up.
There were also rooms available next door, where people would sleep when they were too drunk to move.
Zhou Junchang saw that the group of people had drunk enough, so he prepared to leave.
Ah Feng was quite drunk and disoriented. He was surprised to see Zhou Junchang get up to go home. He thought Zhou Junchang was too drunk to go home today. He squinted and asked, "You're going home?"
"Um."
Zhou Jun often disliked spending the night in other places, always feeling more at ease returning to his own home.
When Zhou Junchang left, he glanced at the dining table but didn't see Xu Li. Zhou Junchang hadn't seen Xu Li drink much today and assumed she had already gone home.
Zhou Junchang silently closed the door.
What's the point of celebrating his birthday? In the end, everything will be the same as before. After the excitement fades, everything will return to normal.
The wind was blowing hard outside, so Zhou Jun often put on the hood of his clothes, as if he wanted to hide inside them, leaving only his eyes to see where he was going.
It's really cold; the wind is blowing so hard it feels like knives are cutting your face.
There wasn't a soul on the street until nearly midnight.
Slowly, snowflakes began to fall around us.
The first snow of the year has arrived.
It seems the weather forecast was right; it really did snow.
Zhou Junchang walked alone, welcoming the first snowfall in Yangzhou.
People were asleep at midnight, and no one in the entire city noticed the beautiful scenery before them.
Zhou Jun often wore black clothes, as if he were about to blend into the night.
Zhou Junchang walked quickly, only thinking about getting back as soon as possible.
"Zhou Junchang!"
Suddenly a sound came from behind him, and Zhou Junchang stopped in his tracks, turned around and turned his head.
Xu Li was only wearing a thin sweater, her hair loose, standing in the snow, her eyes red from the cold. Xu Li had just gone to the restroom, and when she came out, Zhou Junchang was gone.
Xu Li wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, or if she didn't know Zhou Junchang well enough, but she felt that Zhou Junchang wasn't very happy today. Several times when Xu Li looked at Zhou Junchang, there was no smile on his face.
To catch up with Zhou Junchang, Xu Li was still running in her high heels, panting heavily. Her breath condensed into white vapor as it cooled, swirling around her mouth.
Happy birthday, Zhou Junchang.
Xu Li didn't know why she wished Zhou Junchang a happy birthday. When she came back from the bathroom and didn't see Zhou Junchang, her heart tightened. Before she even realized it, she had already turned around and gone out to chase after Zhou Junchang.
Xu Li didn't know which way Zhou Jun usually went, so she followed him based on her intuition.
Fortunately, she was following the same path that Zhou Jun often took.
Xu Li caught up with him and personally wished him a happy birthday.
Zhou Junchang was taken aback. Was she just saying "Happy Birthday" to him?
These words gave Zhou Junchang a jolt.
Many people wished him a happy birthday today, but none of them moved him as much as this one sentence.
The others were laughing or making noise, but at this moment, as he looked at Xu Li, in the quiet of the night, she spoke only to him, and belonged only to him.
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and Zhou Junchang watched Xu Li silently through the darkness and snow.
If you were to ask Zhou Junchang when he is at his quietest, it would be right now. He can even hear the snowflakes melting on his clothes.
Zhou Jun couldn't help but hold his breath.
Snowflakes were falling all over the sky, but Zhou Junchang felt that none of them were as moving as Xu Li.
Xu Li came out in such a hurry that she didn't even wear a coat.
It was so hot at the dinner table that people took off their coats, but now that Xu Li has been outside for a short while, her hands and feet are already freezing cold.
There was a distance of about ten meters between Zhou Junchang and Xu Li. Zhou Junchang walked towards Xu Li first.
Zhou Junchang took off his clothes, patted the snow off Xu Li's shoulders and hair, and then put his clothes on Xu Li's back.
Xu Li lowered her head slightly, silently feeling the lingering warmth on Zhou Junchang's clothes and the scent he carried so close to her.
It's faint and cold.
Perhaps it was because of the snow, but Xu Li thought it smelled somewhat like cedar.
Zhou Junchang: "It's snowing."
Xu Li: "Okay, I'm going back."
Zhou Junchang nodded: "Mm."
Xu Li took two steps back, putting some distance between herself and Zhou Junchang.
But neither of them made a move for a long time.
Finally, Zhou Junchang spoke first: "Let's go back."
Xu Li wanted to return the clothes to Zhou Junchang, but was stopped by his gaze.
Zhou Junchang put his hands in his pockets, turned around, and left.
On his way home, Zhou Junchang was smiling.
It seems he wasn't alone as he walked into the night, nor was he the only one who knew about the first snowfall in Yangzhou.
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