Chapter 29

——Happy Birthday, Lin Huayan!

Hearing her own name from Lou Yixuan’s lips again after eight years, hearing that “Happy Birthday, Lin Huayan,” made her heart tremble fiercely.

It trembled until it went numb, until even her hands and feet lost all sensation.

But Lou Yixuan mistook her frozen stillness for indifference.

She chuckled lightly. “It’s not a ring, and it’s not expensive either. I’ve become financially independent now, Teacher Lin.”

So, no need to be so suspicious.

“Thank you.”

Lin Huayan exerted great effort to make her voice sound normal, slightly turning to take the box while keeping her face pressed low.

She gripped the box tightly in her hand and continued opening the door, eager to get out of the car as quickly as possible.

One more second, and her vulnerability, her disarray, would be exposed.

But just as her right foot stepped out of the car door and touched the ground, Lou Yixuan spoke again from behind her. “If we keep going like this, if it makes you uncomfortable, will you run away again?”

A simple “yes” or “no” question, seemingly easy to answer—just pick one.

But Lou Yixuan didn’t get Lin Huayan’s reply.

What she got instead was, after Lin Huayan got out of the car: “Drive safely.”

She knew Lin Huayan’s temperament all too well.

What Lin Huayan could say out loud was “yes”; what she couldn’t say was “no.”

“OK, I understand.”

“You once said that after I graduated, we could be friends. I’m sorry—it was my youthful ignorance that ruined everything. Thank you, Teacher Lin, for your magnanimity in giving me another chance to be your colleague. Really, thank you.”

Lou Yixuan pretended to accept it lightly, smiling as if a weight had been lifted, even waving goodbye. “See you, Teacher Lin. Get some rest early. Good night.”

After bidding good night, she stepped on the accelerator and drove off without a hint of reluctance.

…

In the garage of Tianmu Middle School.

Qin Fengru was half-reclining in her seat, hugging a bucket of popcorn while sipping black coffee and watching a trashy soap opera, utterly relaxed.

The popcorn was just for atmosphere—she’d been dieting like mad, and eating this whole bucket would ruin her.

Her phone rang on the passenger seat. It was her “lookout,” Old Man Zhang. “Miss Qin, Teacher Lin’s back. Hurry up and come over.”

Lin Huayan’s lips were sealed tight; she couldn’t pry them open, so she had to lie in wait and catch her in the act.

Bribing Old Man Zhang with a pack of cigarettes was no big deal.

Truth be told, given how chummy she was with Old Man Zhang, she could’ve gotten the intel without the smokes—but etiquette was etiquette. Better to keep things proper and buy peace of mind.

After getting the tip-off, Qin Fengru hastily shut her tablet, spilling uneaten popcorn all over the floor.

But she didn’t care.

Interrogating Lin Huayan came first.

She snatched her phone, slipped on a pair of fluffy slippers with low heels, and rushed impatiently to the dormitory building to ambush Lin Huayan. She got her ambush, all right.

But it wasn’t the glowing, radiant-with-joy look she’d imagined.

Not at all.

“Old Lin, your face…”

“We’ll talk upstairs.”

Seeing Lin Huayan like this—listless and soulless—Qin Fengru’s gossip itch vanished.

In its place surged deep worry.

What scared her even more, leaving her at a loss, was that the moment they entered the room—without even turning on the light—Lin Huayan hugged her… and cried!

Twenty-odd years, and in all that time, she’d never seen Lin Huayan cry.

Back when she’d been forced onto the operating table, not a single tear had fallen—and now she was crying! Crying so aggrieved, so heartbroken.

“Who’s the bastard who dared bully you? Tell me, and I’ll go settle the score!”

Qin Fengru burned with anxiety and rage, patting Lin Huayan’s back nonstop. “Was it your second aunt’s family? Did they come hounding you again? What do they want this time? Your life?”

When she got feisty, she didn’t care god or demon—she was ready to charge out and throw down with that family right then.

“You’re too soft-hearted, too kind. What are they, a bunch of scumbags? Next time they have the nerve to make demands, let me handle it. I’ll bring a knife and see if they…”

“It’s not them.”

Lin Huayan broke into laughter through her tears. “If you call them scumbags, then what am I?”

She didn’t blame Qin Fengru for the cursing—she thought the same.

But Qin Fengru’s fiery temper was something only she could rein in. If she didn’t, Qin Fengru might really do something stupid for her sake.

“Fine, fine, spit spit spit—I take it back, take it back.” Qin Fengru hugged her tighter, sighing repeatedly, heartbroken.

“You got all dressed up so carefully. I thought you were off on a date.”

“Old Man Zhang said you didn’t drive, so someone must’ve picked you up. Said you looked in great spirits when you left. So what happened? How’d you come back like this… like you’d just gotten dumped?”

She hemmed and hawed, then gritted her teeth and steered back to the romance topic.

Family matters tied her hands; romance was where she could really flex.

Lin Huayan badly wanted to wipe all her tears on Qin Fengru’s clothes, but thinking of the layers of makeup on her face, she held back.

Ruining the clothes was secondary—this would give Qin Fengru years of teasing material.

Better to save some face, spare some jokes.

She wriggled free from Qin Fengru’s arms with some effort, wiping tears as she headed to the bathroom on the balcony. “Turn on the light after I get to the balcony. And don’t follow.”

“I won’t, I won’t. Who’s got time to see that smeared panda face of yours? It’s scary enough.”

Scary? It had scared her soul right out of her.

Qin Fengru touched the shoulder where Lin Huayan had leaned—damn, in just minutes, she’d soaked through her wool coat. How many tears was that?

She touched it again—no extras, good. She’d half-feared the contacts had cried out too.

Not that scumbag family—who else could make Lin Huayan cry?

Could it really be romance gone wrong? Confession failed on her birthday, instant breakup?

Which blind idiot deserved a thousand cuts for passing up Lin Huayan!

How easy was it for her old friend to catch feelings?

And she hadn’t even glimpsed the guy before the romance tanked…

In the bathroom, Lin Huayan wiped her face clean with makeup remover wipes, then sat on the toilet lid and pulled the purple brocade box from her pocket.

Her heart still ached.

Her eyes ached too.

Lou Yixuan’s “not a ring” meant no ulterior motives, no gift with special implications.

She “has someone she likes”—maybe Xu Yaning, maybe not.

But definitely someone.

Because she’d said it so gently, so firmly.

And “not expensive” meant no fancy brand.

Indeed, no logo on the box, no label inside—priceless.

Yet it was precisely this thing that drew fresh tears from Lin Huayan.

Maybe, just maybe, the person Lou Yixuan likes… is still me?

Is that possible?

Eight years.

Is it?

She would. But she didn’t know if Lou Yixuan would.

After all, eight years ago, she’d been the deserter. She’d pushed Lou Yixuan away with her own hands.

Even if Lou Yixuan didn’t hate her, she wouldn’t love her like before.

She didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t right.

…

The drive from Tianmu Middle School to the apartment was one Lou Yixuan knew well by now—no nav needed; she could drive it with ease.

She’d anticipated the answer to that question.

So she wasn’t particularly heartbroken.

If Lin Huayan didn’t need love, didn’t need a lover, then what was wrong with being colleagues?

In time, maybe they could be closer than colleagues, not quite friends.

Better than seeing and hearing nothing at all.

Good colleagues at least gave her a position to care, to check in.

Before getting out, she grabbed both throat lozenges from the cup holder, hesitating which to take upstairs.

As she looked, she spotted something off—the watermelon-flavored one’s production date had changed.

She always checked dates and expiration when buying.

That day at the convenience store, the two different flavors she’d bought had matching production dates.

But this watermelon one was earlier than the pomelo one.

What did that mean?

It wasn’t the one she’d bought. It was one Lin Huayan bought herself.

And likely earlier.

How much earlier?

With Old Man Zhang’s batch?

Old Man Zhang knew Teacher Lin loved watermelon lozenges because she’d bought his.

So she hadn’t been wrong—Lin Huayan had picked up the watermelon lozenge habit over the years.

Lin Huayan hadn’t returned her spring; she’d kept it safe.

Her spring was still there. It hadn’t been discarded.

Suddenly, Lou Yixuan seemed to hear the sound of snow melting, spring colors emerging bit by bit from under the blanket of white.

Warmth flooded her inside and out.

In high spirits—better even than when she’d eaten the stomach pills Lin Huayan bought just for her—Lou Yixuan sat in the car and called Lu Lingxuan back.

“Hey, you home?”

“Lu Lingxuan, what does it mean if someone turns another person’s habit into their own, and keeps it for years without changing?”

“What does it mean? Means they can’t forget. Hey, this is about your Teacher Lin, right?”

“And if someone suddenly changes their style of dress for another person, alters their whole look based on a casual comment?”

“Tsk, I get it—you’re just bragging to me, huh?”

Lu Lingxuan teased on the surface but was thrilled for her bestie. “Don’t ask—just know she cares about you, likes you! No doubt!”

Lou Yixuan wouldn’t get this worked up over baseless guesses. If she was saying it, she had conviction.

How could she not be happy?

How could she not celebrate for Lou Yixuan!

“She even abused her power to get me a school card, loaded it with a thousand yuan, remembers my food likes and dislikes…”

Lou Yixuan was delighted by Lu Lingxuan’s sharp insight.

But at the same time, she felt lost in fog.

Why did Lin Huayan treat her like an enemy one moment—guarding her door like a fortress—then shower her with care the next, even prepping those post-meal stomach pills she needed? What was the reason?

“Yixuan, I guarantee it—she likes you, one hundred percent. My advice? Go straight for it, strike while the iron’s hot. Corner her tonight and ask…”

“No way! I can’t risk it.” Lou Yixuan shot it down. “Lingxuan, I won’t push her into a corner again. I can’t…”

A corner?

Quitting a job counts as a “corner”?

Lu Lingxuan didn’t force her views— she and Lou Yixuan were different, Lin Huayan and Xu Yaning too. Their romances weren’t one-size-fits-all.

“Alright then. I’m the aggressive type in love; don’t let me sway you. Do what you think best. I won’t push. Whatever you need, just say. Remember, our whole family is your support, your backup. You’re not alone.”

“Yeah, I know. Lu Lingxuan, thanks for always being there, and for understanding. It makes me feel like I’m not just groaning over nothing.”

“What’re you doing, hitting me with some epic sisterly bond? Giving me chills. Today you confirmed she likes you—that’s huge cause for celebration. If you’re crying, cry in her arms, not mine. Have some dignity.”

“I’m not crying.”

Lou Yixuan lied. Her nose stung, her eyes burned.

To hold back happy tears, she switched to speaker and shook out two watermelon lozenges.

These were Lin Huayan’s—no wonder she’d said “no need to return them.”

She meant to take two as usual, but the second rolled halfway out, then back in with a shake.

This bottle was her “anchor” now—had to ration it.

“Oh, guess I underestimated you.”

“Since you want to thank me so much, how about giving me one of those matching rings we bought together last night to wear? It’s not like only couples can wear them—good sisters can too, right?”

“You already have wedding rings.”

“So what if I do? Wedding rings and bestie rings can coexist just fine. I’ve got ten fingers! Heh, I see you’re just being stingy.”

“Yeah, I am stingy. So stingy that yesterday, I bought a certain someone a bag.”

“That’s your compensation to me… my ‘gift for finally getting out of singledom.’” Lu Lingxuan quickly came up with an excuse on the spot.

Lou Yixuan and Lu Lingxuan didn’t exchange gifts often. Their friendship ran so deep that they saw no you or me, and they found the back-and-forth hassle unnecessary.

But they frequently sent each other money—big or small amounts, no holds barred. Whenever there was good news, they’d send a red envelope for luck and fun. Everyone understood the joy of receiving cash.

Last night, when Lu Lingxuan asked Lou Yixuan for a gift, it was pure jealousy.

Jealousy that Lou Yixuan had bought matching rings for “someone else.”

Even though that “someone else” was definitely Lin Huayan—the woman Lou Yixuan had loved for eleven years—as Lou Yixuan’s best friend who had witnessed all her ordeals, Lu Lingxuan harbored a bit of unreasonable prejudice against Lin Huayan.

With this bag, she had given herself a way to back down gracefully.

Now, with this new excuse, if Lou Yixuan ever succeeded in winning Lin Huayan over and she truly became her sister-in-law, Lu Lingxuan could ask Lin Huayan for a proper meet-and-greet gift!

It wouldn’t be in vain for the immense psychological pressure she’d borne lately over their saga.

Putting herself in their shoes, she truly had no face or courage to admit the “good deed” she’d done to her godparents.

She understood Lou Yixuan’s love, and she understood the hearts of parents too. They had the right to know everything about their daughter, but no obligation to accept it all.

Especially since their family had developed irreparable rifts because of it.

How could they accept something that had caused destruction and harm to their family? And how could Lou Yixuan forgive herself as the very person at the center of it all?

Truth be told, she couldn’t fully empathize with Lou Yixuan’s pain.

She had met Xu Yaning after same-sex marriage became legal, and she had come out to her parents before reuniting with Xu Yaning.

Her parents jointly ran a small company, managing sixty or seventy employees and hundreds of business partners.

Among the employees were same-sex couples, and among her close collaborators were friends whose children were gay.

Her coming out didn’t exactly go smoothly, but at least it didn’t turn the house into total chaos.

Moreover, after that period of unrequited longing, her growth, her realizations, her changes—her parents had all seen it with their own eyes.

So when she later “reunited” with Xu Yaning and brought her home to meet the parents, the whole process couldn’t be called trouble-free, but it had fallen into place naturally.

She hoped her own happiness could bring Lou Yixuan a little more luck.

“Gift for getting out of singledom?”

“What about it?”

“Nothing, I’ve got it noted.”

After hanging up, Lou Yixuan saw light at the end of the tunnel, her spirits lifted. Before she even opened the car door, Lu Lingxuan sent two “great luck ahead” red envelopes.

She smiled and tapped them open. The first was 66.66 yuan, the second 99.99 yuan.

What a stingy woman.

What a sweet woman.

She knew Lu Lingxuan was telling her: First things smooth sailing, then forever and always.