"I know it's because I didn't tell you about my birthday beforehand," Su Jinning said, her voice even sounding aggrieved. "It was my fault, so, can you come for dinner now?"
Shen Moyu glanced at him, then looked at Su Jinning, who was tugging at her hand with a pitiful expression, and her anger suddenly dissipated by half: "Hmm, that's all?"
"No, of course not." Fearing that Shen Moyu wouldn't like to hear it and would turn away, Su Jinning clenched her fists a little tighter: "I really forgot, it's not that I didn't want to tell you."
"Then how can I trust you?" Shen Moyu placed her free hand on her other arm, as if waiting for him to give her a satisfactory answer.
Su Jinning sighed, seemingly hesitant. After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke with a troubled expression: "My mother has always remembered my birthday. I have a bad memory and often can't distinguish between the lunar and solar calendars. Usually, my parents decide when to celebrate, and that's when I celebrate. Actually, I never liked celebrating my birthday when I was little; I didn't think it was anything special."
He stared straight at Shen Moyu, as if afraid that he wouldn't believe him: "Later, my mother passed away, and my father was busy with work. It was these friends who remembered me. When I arrived, we would just have a meal and receive a gift. Actually, when you think about it, it's just a day like any other. There's nothing special about it."
That being said, he simply didn't want to sit in an empty room on his birthday reading Su Yi's message on WeChat: "I'm not going back tonight, happy birthday."
So even if he remembers the dates, he doesn't like living them.
At this point, Shen Moyu suddenly froze, feeling the hand he was holding growing increasingly hot.
He lowered his head and finally let go of his hand.
Su Jinning pursed her lips and looked at him again: "I'm telling the truth. If I remembered, I would definitely tell you. It's really not that I didn't want to."
He took another step closer to Shen Moyu, as if to discuss, "So, can you come have dinner with me tomorrow?" He touched the tip of his nose, playfully revealing two small tiger teeth, "It's okay if you can't get off work, I'll pick you up. It's just one meal, no rush."
It was supposed to be his birthday, but he was trying his best to cheer himself up. Shen Moyu sighed and looked up at him with some heartache: "Can you not be so indifferent? Tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday."
Su Jinning was jolted by his words, but quickly regained her composure: "What do you mean by 'ten or eighteen'?" Su Jinning tilted her head and smiled: "It's just getting a year older, what does that mean?"
Shen Moyu felt a pang of sadness welling up in his heart. He knew Su Jinning was lying. Who wouldn't like their own birthday? It was just that there was no one left who liked to celebrate his birthday with him.
Su Jinning wasn't good at acting, and Shen Moyu could clearly see the disappointment in his eyes.
"Su Jinning." Shen Moyu looked up at him slightly, took a step forward, and in an instant, the distance between the two was only two fists' width apart: "Do you like flowers?"
Shen Moyu's breath, sprayed on the bridge of her nose, burned Su Jinning's cheeks.
He smiled and asked, "What kind of flower are you referring to?"
"Like, varieties and such."
"I see." Su Jinning smiled freely. "Does the gift you gave me count as a variety?"
Shen Moyu lowered her head, and perhaps out of embarrassment, her tone suddenly became erratic: "Come pick me up tomorrow afternoon."
The sudden tenderness in his gaze when he looked up still captivated Su Jinning.
He began to look forward to what kind of birthday it would be and what Shen Moyu would say.
He never expected that after so many years, he would look forward to that birthday he had long been tired of celebrating again.
——
It was early morning, before seven o'clock, and Su Jinning was still asleep when her phone rang several times.
He's a light sleeper and wakes up at the slightest sound. Having no other option, he picked up his phone to check. He opened WeChat, which was constantly buzzing, and saw a screen full of unread messages—fifty to a hundred.
The messages were mostly wishing him a happy 18th birthday.
He instantly snapped to his senses. He'd forgotten about his birthday, let alone told his classmates, so there was no need to wonder who had done it.
He checked his WeChat Moments and, sure enough, it was true.
At midnight last night, Chen Hang posted a message on his WeChat Moments wishing him a happy birthday.
The above content made Su Jinning furious just thinking about it.
[Ning, today is your 18th birthday. The moment you turn on your phone, it's your first birthday wish.]
That wasn't all; when Su Jinning got to the end, she felt like her head was about to explode.
[Ning is eighteen now, wishing you all the best as you grow up.]
"..."
Su Jinning gasped for breath, wondering if he had misread it, but when he scrolled to the replies on the message board, he was completely dumbfounded.
Not fish: You typed it wrong, it means getting better and better.
He nearly died, and in that instant he felt like he was the one who had made the typo; his face turned pale and then red...
There were hardly any blessings left; it was mostly just: What? Getting bigger and bigger?
"I secretly saw Ning change his jersey last time, and I think it doesn't need to get any longer."
b replied to a: "What? Why didn't you ask me to watch it with you!"
c replied to a: By the way, is it really that big?
The airline replied to c: "Really."
“…” Su Jinning.
He couldn't stand it anymore; the comments below were enough to send him to live on another planet in one step.
He gripped his phone tightly and closed his eyes.
He didn't know if Chen Hang did it on purpose, but he guessed Chen Hang wouldn't have the guts.
However, it was Shen Moyu who corrected the use of the word "big".
He couldn't imagine what Shen Moyu's feelings would be if she saw this post on her WeChat Moments, and he couldn't figure out why he wanted to correct it.
But he probably already guessed it.
Shen Moyu could laugh, and he laughed very unrestrainedly.
He barely managed to stay calm as he clicked on Chen Hang's chat interface, opened it, and pressed "talk": "Go to hell with your ancestors, Chen Hang! Don't you know how to retract a typo? What the hell? Delete it right now!"
Chen Hang replied very quickly.
General Manager: I won't allow you to say you're small.
"..."
--------------------
Author's Note: