"Hello? Can you hear me?" Perhaps not hearing her response clearly, Zhou You moved to another place, where it was much quieter.
"I can hear you," Jiang Jianhuan repeated.
"Haha..." Zhou You chuckled awkwardly after hearing her reply, before tactfully getting to the point.
"Well, it's like this, today is my birthday, so I'd like to sincerely invite you to attend... Hey! We're all old classmates, you can't refuse me." Zhou You's style was always like this, unreasonable and domineering. Jiang Jianhuan had a headache and thought of a reason to refuse.
"Not today, I have to work overtime. We'll celebrate your birthday another time." This is utterly insincere. Another birthday? Next year, perhaps!
Zhou You rolled her eyes at the sky, thinking that after all these years, Jiang Jianhuan hadn't changed at all; he was still so straightforward and didn't know how to be subtle.
"There's no next time, next time won't be until next year!" Zhou You exposed her without any mercy, and then unleashed today's trump card.
"Lili is here today too. She's been excited about your return to China for the past two weeks, talking about you every day. I'm so annoyed with her. I heard she even prepared a special gift for you. I don't even get this kind of treatment as the birthday person!"
As soon as Zhou You finished speaking, a little girl's clear and lively voice came from the other end of the line.
"Sister Jianhuan! When are you coming? I miss you so much! Have you missed me? I begged Brother Zhou You for so long before he finally brought me out. Please come quickly, I have a very important gift for you!"
Jiang Jianhuan pressed his forehead and smiled bitterly, thinking that he couldn't escape this time. When he spoke again, his tone was very gentle.
"I miss you too. Your sister will be here soon."
Zhou You had probably turned on speakerphone on the other end. He immediately leaned over and said he would send the address to her phone. Jiang Jianhuan talked to the girl for a while before ending the call.
Zhou Li is Zhou You's younger cousin. Jiang Jianhuan met her when she was only eight years old. Zhou You's uncle is also a legendary figure. He had a daughter at the age of twenty-one. It is said that the woman was older than him. After giving birth to Zhou Li, she went abroad and never had any contact with him again.
Zhou Li was precocious. His father was rarely home and he had no mother. He loved to stick with Zhou You, and over time his personality became somewhat similar to Zhou You's. He was very clever and mischievous.
When Jiang Jianhuan first saw her, the little girl rushed over and hugged his waist, calling him "Fairy Sister" repeatedly, which made Jiang Jianhuan very embarrassed.
Zhou Li liked her very much. Because of Su Mo, Jiang Jianhuan often met with his roommates. Whenever Zhou You was around, he would bring Li Li along. The girl would always give her all sorts of little gifts.
Although Zhou Li was neither loved by her father nor her mother, she was born into such a family and received a lot of pocket money from her elders, making her a veritable little rich girl.
Although the things she gave Jiang Jianhuan were all trinkets, they were not cheap, and many were even limited editions sold worldwide. Zhou You was always jealous when she saw them, and kept saying that her own cousin was not as good as an outsider.
Jiang Jianhuan is the kind of person who will repay even the smallest kindness tenfold. She knows that although Zhou Li seems carefree, she is actually still a child, and a child who pretends that she is not lonely, not alone, and does not crave maternal love.
Therefore, I often take her out to play and go shopping for clothes and shoes when I have time. Although I can't cook, I love making all kinds of small cakes and cookies, and I always make an extra batch and ask Zhou You to bring it to her.
She even attended parent-teacher meetings on behalf of the little girl.
Later, Zhou Li started calling her "Mom".
Although Zhou You strictly forbade him to call her name in private, Jiang Jianhuan could still feel her affection.
On the way back, Jiang Jianhuan kept thinking about the past. In the past few years, she had never wronged anyone, except for Li Li, whom she felt guilty about in the few memories she occasionally recalled.
-
After hanging up the phone, Zhou You tossed the phone to Lili to play with. The little girl had been caught secretly playing on her phone during class recently, and the teacher had confiscated it. Her uncle was furious and forbade anyone else from buying her a new one.
To be honest, this uncle doesn't usually get involved in things, but he's best at annoying people when it really matters.
Jian Ziming chuckled beside him, his eyes clearly understanding as he looked at him.
"nailed it?'
"Hmm." Zhou You lay back on the sofa with his hands outstretched, looking completely relaxed.
"You can tell whether someone's good or bad as soon as they make a move."
"Didn't you just have your birthday last month?" Bai Qiu glanced at him sideways and asked speechlessly. Zhou You lifted his eyelids and said confidently.
"My birthday was according to the Gregorian calendar last month, but it's according to the lunar calendar this month!"
"That's shameless." Bai Qiu retorted directly. Zhou You shook his head, ignoring him, and instead looked directly at Su Mo, who was sitting in the corner drinking alone, and kicked the air with his toes.
"How's it going? Jiang Jianhuan is coming over soon, do you want to go to the restroom to fix your hair or something?"
Su Mo raised her head and gave him a look as if he were an idiot. Zhou You, feeling awkward, reached out and touched his nose.
-
When Jiang Jianhuan arrived at the location Zhou You had sent her, it was already dark, and the surrounding neon lights were flashing brightly. She found the room number and politely knocked on it.
The door opened from the inside, and Su Mo stood in front of her, her forehead hair wet as if she had just washed it, and her face was excessively pale.
"Huh? What's wrong with you?" Even though she had a rough idea that he was there, Jiang Jianhuan's eyes widened in surprise as she asked the question.
"What's wrong?" Su Mo turned around and led her inside, his tone casual.
"Your hair. Why is it wet?"
As soon as Jiang Jianhuan asked the question, she saw Zhou You and the others in the room, all of whom were suppressing their laughter. Li Li, who was sitting on the sofa, immediately stood up and pounced on her.
"elder sister!"
The little girl was already up to her chest. Jiang Jianhuan patted her head, a gentle smile on her lips.
“Lili…”
"I missed you so much! How could you leave the country without a word? I couldn't get through to your phone, and you didn't reply to my messages..." the girl said pitifully, resting her chin on her and looking up at her with her eyes as big as two juicy grapes.
Jiang Jianhuan touched her face.
"I'm so sorry, something unexpected happened at my sister's house. I'm so sorry, Lili."