Xu Chacha picked up the box and pushed it open along the seam in the middle. There really was another layer underneath, with the same style, just a bit bigger.
She ran her hand over the pitted, hammered marks on the surface, a feeling she couldn't quite describe welling up inside her.
"Put it on for me." She stretched out her arm, palm up, and several winding bluish-purple veins lay beneath her skin on the inside of her slender wrist.
It's like a kitten rolling over to its owner, exposing its belly and offering its softest spot to her.
Wen Mubai let out a soft "hmm" through his nose and removed the original bracelet from her wrist.
Wearing it for too long leaves faint marks on the skin, and the feeling of loss when the rope is untied is quickly dispelled by the heavy bracelet that covers it.
She raised her arm and shook it, causing the bracelet to move as well. "Beautiful."
"Will it be uncomfortable? I've polished the inside many times, but it's still a bit rough."
Xu Chacha pulled on the bracelet with her fingers to examine its inside. She originally just wanted to see if there were any uneven spots, but she saw a string of slender characters there. It was the words in the lower right corner of the sketch.
She immediately understood why the circle on the bracelet was a golden sun.
Xu Chacha smiled and said, "It's fine."
"Okay, that's fine then."
She picked up the remaining one and put it on herself, stretching out her arm to lean closer to Xu Chacha, her eyes softening as she smiled, "It looks quite nice."
"Are you really that narcissistic?" Xu Chacha grabbed her arm, trying to see the words on the inside of her hand, but Wen Mubai dodged her by using the advantage of her arm length.
She patted Xu Chacha's forehead, "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping? Why are you moving around like that?"
"I'm so excited about your gift that I can't sleep." If someone else said this, it would sound a bit like flattery, but it sounded very natural coming from Xu Chacha.
Because that's really what she thought, and Wen Mubai understood her.
"Will we pass by Honeymoon Dessert later? I'd like to buy some cakes."
"Just passing by." Wen Mubai said this, and the driver had no choice but to pass by, even if he wasn't going to.
Half an hour later, the driver finally found a branch of Honeymoon Dessert following the navigation and parked the car.
"You stay in the car, I'll go."
"Why? I'm not drunk." Xu Chacha opened her eyes wide indignantly, then suddenly let out a burp. She immediately covered her mouth, looking like she had gotten into trouble. "Doesn't it smell bad?"
"Didn't you say that even fairies' farts taste like strawberries?" Wen Mubai ruffled her hair. "I'll be quick. You wait here; it's windy outside."
"Alright then." Xu Chacha could accept this reason. "I'll have a chocolate mille-feuille, a matcha cream puff, red bean finger mochi, and... milk toast."
"Can you eat it?"
"You can save it for breakfast tomorrow."
"OK."
Wen Mubai is usually so strict with the diets of his contracted models that he would even criticize them for drinking an extra glass of juice, but when it came to this, he only had one sentence to compromise.
She straightened up, closed the car door, and went to buy everything Xu Chacha wanted. Because it was almost closing time, and they were worried that the cakes would go unsold and have to be thrown away, the waiter enthusiastically promoted other popular items.
Wen Mubai didn't even look at them and said generously, "Take them all."
Anyway, some people like to eat it.
When she got back to the car, Xu Chacha was already asleep. She took off her coat and covered her with it before sitting in the passenger seat.
"Drive slowly, don't go too steep."
The driver didn't dare to say anything, but nodded to indicate that he understood.
She drove all the way to Wen Mubai's apartment building, got out of the car and helped Xu Chacha, who was still drowsy in the back seat, to her feet.
Xu Chacha was so sleepy and her head was heavy. Although she was conscious, she was too lazy to move and hung limply on Wen Mubai's shoulder like a sack, being dragged along by her.
I don't even know how many years it's been since I last visited this apartment, but surprisingly, the furnishings and decor haven't changed at all.
Black, white, and gray; apart from the essential furniture, there's nothing else.
Unlike her, who has a room full of fancy plush toys she brings back from claw machines.
"Drink some water first, and take a shower when you're more awake." Wen Mubai took off her coat and handed her a cup of hot water.
Xu Chacha frowned as she finished drinking, then asked her, "Can I have some cake now?"
"It's not good to eat too many sweets at night." But Wen Mubai still gave her the bag. "You can only eat one. I'll put the rest in the refrigerator."
"This one." She picked out the chocolate mille-feuille, then got up and reached into her coat pocket, pulling out a crooked, almost broken candle.
She picked this up while eating cake at a restaurant, put it in her pocket, and after a lot of fiddling around with it, she never expected it to end up like this.
"How could this happen..."
"Didn't you eat your birthday cake tonight?" Wen Mubai sensed her intentions.
"I ate, I ate with Zhu Zhu and the others." She pouted, "But I wanted to eat with you."
Its submissive appearance made it look like a pitiful pet.
“I have a candle.”
Wen Mubai got up and went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out a cake box. She hadn't expected to be called home when she ordered the cake, and later asked the cleaning lady to help her receive the package.
Wen Mubai didn't bring the cake over, but instead took out the candle pack that came with the cake box, which contained two candles with the numbers "1" and "8" written on them.
When she went back, she grabbed a lighter and handed the candle to Xu Chacha.
The two candles, almost the size of a mini mille-feuille cake, were placed to one side, but Xu Chacha carefully and steadily inserted them with a serious expression.
"The ceremony is essential."
Wen Mubai lit the fire for her and then turned off the light. "Okay, make a wish."
The curtains in the room were drawn, and once the lights were off, it was pitch black; only the two candles were the sole source of light.
Xu Chacha approached the candle, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes. The candlelight flickered on her face, casting distorted shadows of her eyelashes and nose.
"I hope that next year, the year after next, and the year after that... my aunt can be by my side to celebrate my birthday."
"Wishes won't come true if you say them out loud, you fool." Wen Mubai curled the corners of his lips.
"So what? I was just telling you. You're more efficient than any god or demon in this matter." Her eyes widened when she glared at me. "You're not going to reject me on my birthday, are you?"
"No, you're kidding." Wen Mubai raised his chin slightly to indicate to her, "I, a mere mortal, will grant you this wish, okay?"
“Okay.” Xu Chacha smiled, then blew out the candle.
As a faint smell of burning filled the room, darkness fell. At that moment, Wen Mubai heard a very soft voice. Because it didn't sound like Xu Chacha's usual tone, she almost wondered if she was hallucinating.
"You'll always be by my side, won't you?"
In the darkness, Xu Chacha couldn't see Wen Mubai's unusual expression for a moment, nor did she see her right hand cover the bracelet on her left hand and turn it slightly.
"Um."
The next second, the lights came on, and Xu Chacha, already smiling, held up a spoon, saying, "Now we can eat cake, right?"
"Eat up." Wen Mubai removed the candles and pushed the mille-feuille pastry towards her.
Xu Chacha handed her a spoon, saying, "Auntie, you can eat too."
Wen Mubai took the spoon, scooped out a bite and put it in her mouth. She remembered that she also ate this cake on her eighteenth birthday.
I never imagined that ten years later, even though the cake shop has become a popular online store, it could still maintain its original taste.
It's still as sweet as ever.
After finishing the cake, Xu Chacha went in and took a quick shower. She felt sleepy while showering, and when she came out, her eyes were almost closed.
She was wearing Wen Mubai's nightgown; the silk fabric felt so smooth against her skin that she could hardly feel that she was wearing clothes.
The pajamas were nice, but they were also really thin. She breathed heavily as she rushed toward the bed.
Wen Mubai saw her about to fall onto the bed with her long, dripping hair still hanging down, so he went over and pulled her up by the arm.
"You're the one who told me that sleeping with wet hair can easily lead to illness."
"If you don't take care of your health today, you can make up for it by drinking some goji berry tea tomorrow," Xu Chacha said, her eyes still half-closed with sleep.
Wen Mubai ignored her bizarre excuses, pressed her down onto the sofa, wrapped a blanket around her, and brought a hairdryer to dry her hair.
"Sleep if you're sleepy, I'll carry you to bed later."
"oh."
Despite saying that, with the hairdryer whirring in her ear, Xu Chacha was not sleepy at all; in fact, she became a little more awake.
She could feel Wen Mubai's slender fingers inserting into her long hair, gently moving it little by little. He was using the same technique he had learned from her, starting with the roots.
Her fingertips brushed against her scalp, sending a tingling, electric-like sensation through her, and she shuddered, her shoulders hunched.
"Are my hands too cold?"
Wen Mubai squeezed his hands together a few times and felt that his fingertips were a little cold, so he used a hairdryer to warm them up before putting them on Xu Chacha's head.
"No, it's itchy." Xu Chacha sat cross-legged, tilting her head back to look at the person behind her.
From Wen Mubai's perspective, her long, fluffy hair was styled on top of her head, and half of her smooth shoulder was visible under the blanket. Her face had an obedient expression, making her look like a large Chow Chow.
What's your bust size?
Wen Mubai paused, "Why are you asking this?"
"It's so strange. We're about the same height and weight, and our clothes fit us well, but when I wear this, it feels loose."
She hooked her finger around the neckline of her pajamas and tugged at it. Wen Mubai caught a glimpse of a patch of fair skin and then turned his head away.
"I forgot."
"What do you mean you forgot? You just don't want to tell me."
Wen Mubai pressed his palm down on her head, then turned on the hairdryer and continued drying her hair.
"You know what you're planning."
"Oh, that's true." There's not much we can do right now.
Since Xu Chacha was barefoot, after she finished drying her hair, Wen Mubai simply picked her up along with the blanket and carried her to the bed in the master bedroom.
"Go to sleep, I'm going to take a shower and then go to sleep too."
Xu Chacha hid under the covers, peeking out with her eyes and winking at her, "Go quickly and come back quickly."