Chapter 114: Happy Birthday, Jiejie.
On Monday in Haicheng, the sky was blue and the clouds were white. It was a very good day. Huai Xing arrived at the company on time in the morning.
The big show had ended successfully, and the cooperation with the few temporary designers had also expired. But they had been at “Silk Season” for so long, and all the departments had cooperated with each other and had received a lot of care. Therefore, they felt that saying goodbye at the celebration dinner was not enough, and they had arranged to come to this two-story small building to formally say goodbye to everyone.
Huai Xing and Lu Xianyue were not spoilsports and had ordered many desserts at their own expense to be distributed.
Everyone was gathered in the public area on the second floor, holding desserts, and the atmosphere was very harmonious. The designers talked about their feelings in the past two or three months, and the company’s employees also responded, all of them happy for this short-term cooperation.
But the sadness of parting could not be dispelled. Mo Mo had a low tear point and wiped away her own tears. “It’s a pity. I’ve gotten used to a free life. Otherwise, I really want to ask President Huai and President Lu if I can stay and work here.”
“You’re welcome,” Huai Xing answered with a smile.
Lu Xianyue was next to Huai Xing and also smiled. “Our company is planning to recruit fashion designers later. If you want to come, remember to submit your resume. We still have to screen them carefully.”
Mo Mo smiled through her tears and then said with some regret, “It’s a pity that Director Chu is not here on such an occasion today.”
As soon as she said that, some people finally realized that Chu Wantang was not there.
“That’s right. Where’s Director Chu?” someone from the marketing department raised their hand. “Why isn’t she here today?”
This question popped up, and everyone looked at Huai Xing. Everyone in the company knew that Huai Xing and Chu Wantang had a good relationship.
Huai Xing met everyone’s curious gazes and answered with a calm expression, “She’s still ‘Lan Ling’s’ President Chu. She’s gone back to Jingcheng.” She held the dessert in her hand with some difficulty, and her smile became a little brighter. “There’s a time for everything. I wish everyone good weather like today in the future.”
With that, she retreated to her own president’s office.
The dessert was on the coffee table. She had no appetite, and the complexion that had been covered by makeup seemed to have returned to its original state at this moment, revealing her fatigue.
The employees outside the door were still chatting reluctantly, and occasional laughter came in.
She looked up at the window and saw the small succulent that was still there. A few seconds later, she stood up and stood by the window.
At this moment, the sound of the door opening sounded.
Soon, she heard Lu Xianyue ask, “Is it really over, Xiao Xing?”
Huai Xing lowered her eyes and looked at the succulent. The sun was shining on her, and her expression was very calm. “Yes.” She still smiled. “The cooperation with ‘Lan Ling’ will continue, but she will hand it over to someone else to be in charge, and she will no longer lead the team.”
“She was leading the team for you in the first place,” Lu Xianyue said, sitting down on the sofa and looking at her friend’s back, and sighed lightly. “‘Lan Ling’ is much larger than us. At her level, she would have long since not been in charge of such a project, right?”
Huai Xing: “Mm.”
She blinked her long lashes with difficulty. After her breathing had calmed down, she turned around and asked, “Did you come in just to tell me this?”
“I didn’t come in to tell you this. I wanted to confirm how you’re feeling now.”
“I’m fine. I’m doing very well.”
Lu Xianyue raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Alright,” Lu Xianyue said, standing up and wrapping her arm around her shoulder. “Then I’ll go back to my office first. You don’t have any social engagements tonight, right? Then how about we go and explore a restaurant? I got a recommendation for a restaurant from a fan in the comments section and I’m planning to try it. Just the two of us, without Wen Shiwei and my sister.”
Huai Xing shook her head and refused. “The big show was too busy and too tiring. I want to go back and get some good rest tonight. When I’ve recovered for a while, I’ll film a restaurant exploration video with you again.”
“Okay.”
After Lu Xianyue had left the office, Huai Xing finally sat down in her chair.
She looked at the calendar on her desk. It was September 15th today, and on the 13th of September, the day before yesterday, she had drawn a conspicuous “x.”
She stared at this “x,” and her eyes were dry and sore again.
After a long while, she closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and only when she felt that it was about time did she throw herself back into her work.
But not many people knew that she had broken up with Chu Wantang, and the many netizens who were shipping their CP were even more unaware.
After the last video was released, and with the scene of them holding hands in the live broadcast, everyone was shipping them so hard that they didn’t know what was what.
[How can two civilians make me ship them like this… am I hopeless or are they too sweet?]
[@Silk Season, tell your President Huai to open a personal account! @Lan Ling, tell your President Chu to open a personal account!]
[Wait, why am I crying watching this last video…]
[Why is this the last issue? Will I still have food to eat in the future? Mommy, Mommy, can you please not leave me, this little girl, wuwuwu!]
…
Although a week had passed, the number of views of the video was still soaring.
Huai Xing was scrolling through the comments section and even saw someone saying goodbye to them: [Goodbye! Tian Xing Ruan Tang! I believe you are secretly happy in your real life! But if you can! You can also occasionally come online and let us know~*~~]
This comment had been echoed by many people.
In the past, everyone had gathered together because of them and had gained continuous happiness from their happiness. There were especially many people who sincerely wished them a long and lasting relationship.
Now, as the person involved, Huai Xing could only look up and look at the note in her hand.
They were not secretly happy. They would never see each other again. The last video was a farewell poem, a witness and record of their last bit of beauty.
And on the night before they had separated this time, they had been very calm. They had not deleted their contact information, and they had not blocked each other. But the phone ringtone for the other party would no longer ring, and the other party’s message would not appear in the WeChat message bar.
But their separation had nothing to do with Su Qiao. Huai Xing still often video-called Su Qiao, but it was very obvious that Chu Wantang had told Su Qiao, and the little girl had never mentioned Chu Wantang in front of Huai Xing again.
Would time dilute everything? Huai Xing didn’t know.
She just once again made herself as busy as a spinning top. Drinking was bad for her health, so she used work therapy to heal herself.
Doing projects, socializing, going on business trips…
She had not shed any more tears for her separation from Chu Wantang, but when she saw the number “11” as the elevator went up, she would stare at it for a moment in a daze.
The landlord had long since put up the apartment with a rent of twenty thousand for rent, and someone in the building’s residents’ group was greeting everyone with the number of this apartment.
She would not go to the eleventh floor again, and the traces of Chu Wantang in her life were disappearing bit by bit.
After September, Haicheng was much cooler in October. It was already autumn here, and the fallen leaves were lightly fluttering and falling.
On a certain weekend in late October, on her way to record a restaurant exploration video with Lu Xianyue and Wen Shiwei, she looked at the fallen leaves on the ground and bent down to pick one up.
She looked at the lines on it in a daze.
Lu Xianyue at the side looked at her like this and asked with a smile, “What are you picking up fallen leaves for? Are you going to take them back as a bookmark? I picked one up and put it in a book when I was a child, and later the words on those two pages were hard to read.”
Wen Shiwei echoed, “I’ve also done that.”
“No,” Huai Xing said, her eyes curving. “I just think the lines on the fallen leaves are very ingenious.”
Lu Xianyue: “That’s right. There are no two leaves or snowflakes with the same lines in the world. Nature is so magical.”
She glanced at her watch. “Oops, it’s almost time. Don’t let my sister wait too long, or she’ll kill us.”
Lu Zhenyue was still in Haicheng in charge of the theater. She was rehearsing a new play again and was very busy.
This was also the first time Huai Xing had seen her since the big show.
Lu Zhenyue had already learned from Lu Xianyue about Huai Xing and Chu Wantang’s “breakup,” but she had not mentioned anything about feelings in front of Huai Xing.
Whether it was between Huai Xing and Chu Wantang, or between her and Huai Xing, she kept her mouth shut.
They clinked their glasses, and Lu Zhenyue said gently to Huai Xing, “Xiao Xing, remember to smile more.”
Huai Xing forced a smile. “I will, Sister Suisui.”
Now it seemed much better than five years ago. At least after she had separated from Chu Wantang, she still had friends to chat and eat with, and she didn’t have to adapt to a new relationship.
She seemed to be gradually getting better, although it was not a good day every day.
Time passed bit by bit. When the pedestrians on the street put on thicker clothes, it meant that winter had come to Haicheng.
The winter in Haicheng was milder than in Jingcheng, but it would also snow. Coincidentally, the first snow of this year fell on December 28th.
Dusk fell, and the prosperity of the city and the quietness of the snow were intertwined. The lights of the office buildings where people were working overtime were plated with a soft light filter by the snow.
After a dinner party, Huai Xing did not let Uncle Tai drive directly into the garage. She stopped at the entrance of the complex.
The snow in Jingcheng was very dry and could be shaken off when it fell on you. But the snow in Haicheng was wet, and it would turn into water when it fell on you, which was bone-chillingly cold. Pedestrians would hold umbrellas.
The first snow was not big or small, and many people were excited about it. The residents of Chengshan Mansion were no exception. Some children opened their palms to let the snowflakes fall on them, but when the snowflakes touched their warm palms, they would quickly melt.
Huai Xing stood under the dim yellow streetlight and also tentatively reached out her hand.
Her fingertips were a little cold from the cold, and there were also traces of melted snow on her hair and long lashes.
After an unknown amount of time, she returned to her apartment with a blank expression.
After taking a shower and drying her hair, she leaned against the head of the bed and chatted with Lu Xianyue on WeChat. In a few days, it would be New Year’s Day, and Lu Xianyue was asking her if she wanted to go to Xicheng to play.
The weather in Xicheng was very good all year round, and the wet and cold weather in Haicheng now was a little unbearable for Lu Xianyue.
Huai Xing: [You and Sister Shiwei can go. I’m not going.]
Huai Xing: [I just want to stay at home and watch movies.]
[What movie are you watching? Is it ‘Robot Dreams’ again?]
[Yes.]
[Why don’t we watch it tonight? I’ll come and find you, or you can come and find me. You’ve been watching this movie all this time, and I still haven’t seen it.]
Huai Xing: [Okay.]
A few minutes later, Lu Xianyue came to Huai Xing’s room.
She had also brought wine. “It’s the first snow today. It’s so nice to have a little drink.”
Huai Xing looked at the wine in her glass and nodded. “Alright.”
The snow was still falling outside the window. The movie started, and Huai Xing stared at the screen.
In the past three months, she had watched this movie countless times, and she remembered the plot very clearly.
As she was watching, she picked up her wine glass and tilted her head back to finish the glass.
Lu Xianyue was startled. “Drink slowly. Your alcohol tolerance is not that good.” After she finished speaking, she thought for a moment. “Forget it. You can drink as much as you want.”
Huai Xing drank one glass after another. She got flushed easily when she drank, and soon her cheeks were dyed pink.
Lu Xianyue watched with trepidation and did not stop her.
When the movie was halfway through, Huai Xing took out her phone.
The date was displayed on the lock screen. She took a breath, opened WeChat, and scrolled through her list. In a drunken state, she pulled up her chat with Chu Wantang.
Before today, she had never opened it, nor had she seen Chu Wantang’s posts on her Moments. Now, when she opened it again, in the blink of an eye, her phone belatedly updated Chu Wantang’s new profile picture.
It was no longer the withered “spring letter,” but the wooden carved flower she had given her.
She didn’t know when Chu Wantang had changed it, but when she opened the big picture and saw this strange-looking wooden carved flower, her nasal cavity was as sore as if it had been soaked in lemon water.
Calmly, she turned on airplane mode on her phone, then tapped the screen, typed “happy birthday, Jiejie,” and sent it.
As she had wished, it was not sent successfully.
Huai Xing looked at the red exclamation mark, and her long lashes could not bear the weight of her tears.
Under the influence of alcohol, she covered her face, and tears overflowed from between her fingers. She really wanted to cry softly so that her friend would not notice.
But Lu Xianyue could hear and see everything.
Seeing her like this, Lu Xianyue was both sad and relieved. She remembered Wen Shiwei’s reminder and had been paying attention to Huai Xing’s emotions in the past. And now, seeing her finally cry, she opened her arms and held her gently, patting her on the back, and said nothing.
Huai Xing hugged her back, and her tears flowed out.
Her emotions were delayed and then they broke through. A dull pain came from her chest, and all her pretense in these days was shattered at this moment.
The tide of memories broke through the floodgates, and the memories of the night before they had separated were now like sharp instruments, repeatedly stabbing her heart. She felt as if her whole person was about to be torn apart.
“It’s her birthday today…” Huai Xing’s sobs burst out from the depths of her chest. Her vision was blurry, and she buried her head in Lu Xianyue’s shoulder. “I can’t wish her a happy birthday.”
She repeated in pain, “I can’t wish her a happy birthday…” It was she who had said that they would never see each other again.
Why was the process of accepting regret so long and tormenting?
Lu Xianyue held Huai Xing tighter and could only comfort her weakly, “You’ll get through it… Xiao Xing.”
The quiet movie amplified Huai Xing’s suffocation and collapse.
The saltiness of her tears was mixed with heartache. Her throat was choked, and when she swallowed, it was as if there were broken glass pricking her.
But her thoughts took the initiative to fall into the vortex of memories, making her think of the scenes from before.
In Haicheng, she and Chu Wantang had also had many beautiful memories.
When the movie was over, her emotions had eased a little. As she wiped her tears, she said to Lu Xianyue in a muffled voice, “I want to go to that barbecue restaurant tomorrow night.”
“Okay, we’ll go.”
Her head was still a little dizzy. Huai Xing turned her head to the side and looked at the still-falling snow outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
Had she had a good birthday this time?
Chu Wantang.
…
The next day, the first snow in Haicheng had long since stopped.
The cold air shamelessly drilled in wherever there was a gap. “Silk Season” had never been stingy with electricity, and the heating of the air conditioner was turned up very high for everyone.
Huai Xing took a cup and came to the pantry to make coffee for herself.
The windows were closed, and everyone had taken off their jackets.
She was wearing a black high-necked sweater and standing in front of the coffee machine. Just as she was about to operate the equipment, Ding Rong, who had been out for work, happened to come back and said to her with a smile, “President Huai, I bought an extra cup of coffee. Do you want it? It’s heated.”
“Extra?” Huai Xing said, looking at the cup that Ding Rong had handed over. On it was a familiar shop name logo, and she took it.
Ding Rong sat down on the high stool. “This coffee shop is the one you recommended before, but it used to be a little far from our company. Now it’s not far. It’s moved to the street opposite our company, and it’s having a new and old customer event.”
Huai Xing, who had just taken a sip of coffee, was slightly stunned.
