Chapter 31: Osmanthus Blooms and Falls (Part 2)
The first thing Lu Li heard when he woke up in the morning was “Happy birthday.” It was An Baili who said it. Her eyes weren’t even open; sensing Lu Li get up, she spoke in a daze. Wen Hupo, sleeping on Lu Li’s left, turned over, rubbed her eyes, and also said, “Happy birthday, Outstanding Representative.”
He washed his face, pushed open the door, and saw Yameng returning from her morning run. The first thing she said upon seeing him was also: “Lizi, happy birthday!” Lu Li felt quite overwhelmed by the favor. He was a bit unused to the feeling of being the center of attention for so many outstanding women. He figured he must have a masochistic streak. Yameng gave him a good morning kiss. “Come home early today, okay? I have a surprise for you.”
Before leaving, An Baili took a small red box out of her schoolbag. “Li, this is my birthday present for you. Open it and see.” Lu Li opened the box and saw a brand new silver ring inside. Lu Li’s gaze went blank for a moment, as if the ring had transported him back to his distant past life. “This ring…?”
“I had it custom-made with the money you sent me,” An Baili said. Her smile wasn’t the usual cheerful grin of an optimist, but a deep and quiet smile. For a moment, Lu Li realized that the carefree person who joked around with him was Baili, but this deep and reserved person was also An Baili.
The silver ring’s style was plain and unremarkable, but only Lu Li knew that it was an exact replica of the wedding ring he and Baili had in their previous life, right down to the inscription on the inner band.
“Actually, I could never bear to part with that pair of rings…” An Baili’s eyes reddened. “To me, they were a unique treasure. But there’s nothing I can do now, so I can only give you a substitute.”
Lu Li caressed the smooth surface of the ring and said seriously, “This time, there will be new rings. I promise.”
“Mm.” An Baili nodded repeatedly. “Happy birthday, Lu Li!”
Lu Li looked at Wen Hupo, who was standing to the side. “Hupo, do you have a gift for me?”
“Who asks for gifts so proactively?” Wen Hupo said, amused. “I left the gift in the school activity room. Come get it after morning reading. I can’t move it.”
“Can’t move it? Is it something big?”
“You’ll know when you get there.” Wen Hupo winked mysteriously.
Yameng’s gift was a mysterious surprise, An Baili’s gift was a ring, and Wen Hupo’s gift seemed to be something large. What about the Silly Goose’s gift for him? Lu Li couldn’t help but look forward to it. He casually took out his phone and only then discovered that Chen Jianing had sent a “Happy birthday” message right at midnight last night. She had timed it perfectly, but unfortunately, Lu Li had been asleep. At 12:15 AM, Chen Jianing sent another “Happy birthday,” but still got no reply.
[Lu Li: Sorry, I went to bed early last night and didn’t see it. Thank you for your well wishes!]
Chen Jianing still replied quickly:
[Annoying Ghost: Can you not reply so formally! Besides, I’m used to you taking several days to reply to messages anyway, you busy man! I’ll owe you a birthday present for now. I’ll make it up to you when you get into Mulan University.]
[Lu Li: Thank you, Senior.]
The word “Senior” seemed to have hit a spot with Chen Jianing; she sent three laughing emojis in a row. Lu Li smiled. The Little Tiger didn’t look like a senior at all. When he went out with her, people always thought they were brother and sister.
After arriving at school, Lu Li first went with Wen Hupo to the activity room. In the corner of the room stood a canvas, as tall as a person, leaning against the wall. When the curtain was pulled back, the work that Wen Hupo had poured months of effort into was revealed to Lu Li: In the painting, a young man was frowning in deep thought. Behind him, a golden-haired woman holding a cup of water looked at him gently. Next to the golden-haired woman, two other young women were gathered around the young man, pointing at something… Lu Li’s heart felt as if it had been struck by something. Fragmented memories in his brain were rapidly reassembling. He felt as if he had seen this painting somewhere before, yet it was also slightly different from the one in his memory…
The young man was, of course, Lu Li. The golden-haired woman was Hupo, and the two other young women were An Baili and Chu Jingyi. This painting told the story of four people, the four of them in their school life as seen through Wen Hupo’s eyes. This was the scene of their group discussing the game’s plot back then.
“Hupo… how long did you spend on this?” Lu Li asked.
“I started before the summer vacation,” Wen Hupo said, stroking the frame with emotion. “I thought I was going to leave Shenzhou back then, so I almost threw this painting away on the day I left school. This painting carries my memories of you, An Baili, and Jingyi, and it’s one of the reasons I decided to stay in Shenzhou.”
She looked at Lu Li with a slightly mischievous expression. “It’s not just because of you that I stayed, you know, Outstanding Representative.”
Lu Li stared at the painting, lost in thought. “I really like this gift… Hupo… I feel like… I feel like I’m remembering something, but it’s not specific enough…” Just as Lu Li was about to touch upon something, the bell for class rang, ending the morning break. Lu Li had to return to the classroom.
Back in the classroom, Lu Li was still thinking about the painting. He felt strongly that he had seen it somewhere before. The intense feeling of déjà vu washed over him like a tide, stimulating his nerves. He didn’t notice the Silly Goose sitting behind him, looking like she wanted to say something but was holding back.
In Chu Jingyi’s desk drawer lay an exquisite gift box. It was the birthday present she had prepared for Lu Li. Inside the pencil case was a photo from their date—and for that very reason, she was too shy to give the gift in public. Her hands were pressed firmly on the wooden desk as she agonized over when to give it. Maybe during the lunch break, when there were fewer people… But Lu Li went to find Hupo during lunch. Maybe after school, when there were the fewest people… If Lu Li actively asked, she would just casually give it to him…
The young girl’s thoughts were like a tangled spider web, twisting back and forth, becoming more and more muddled. But after the lunch break, Lu Li went straight to the activity room and didn’t ask her about the gift. The Silly Goose was a little disappointed, thinking it would be better to give it after school. If only she had waited for him on his way to school like she did last year…
Waiting is always an agonizing affair. After the lunch break, afternoon finally arrived, but then a surprise exam was suddenly organized, and Lu Li had no chance to talk to the girls. When the final bell rang, Chu Jingyi was determined to solemnly hand the gift to Lu Li, but he just bid her a hasty goodbye and flew out of the classroom.
From morning until lunch, and from lunch until after school, the conflicted little girl ultimately failed to give her gift. The Silly Goose could only run to the activity room to find Wen Hupo, who hadn’t gone home yet, and confide her girlish troubles to her.
Wen Hupo was tidying up the painting frames. Hearing this, she smiled. “The Outstanding Representative is in a hurry to go home for his birthday surprise. Why didn’t you give it to him in the afternoon?”
“We had an exam in the afternoon, there was no chance to talk…”
“Then why not at noon?”
“At noon… there were too many people at noon…” Chu Jingyi’s little face was full of grievance. She hadn’t been this conflicted last year.
“Then just give it to him tomorrow,” Wen Hupo said. “The Outstanding Representative won’t mind. He doesn’t even care about his own birthday; it’s normal for him to forget about a gift.” Wen Hupo had originally wanted to tell her to chase after Lu Li now, but she was afraid Jingyi would stumble upon Lu Li and Zou Yameng’s sordid affair, so she changed her words to “give it to him tomorrow.”
“Okay…” Chu Jingyi lowered her head in disappointment.
As the Silly Goose walked out of the school gate alone, feeling the heavy gift box in her bag, she thought: Is a birthday present given a day late still a birthday present? She looked at the bright yellow school bus outside the school and suddenly made up her mind:
Chu Jingyi, you can’t be so shy anymore!
