On a weekend with drizzling rain, it should have been perfect for sleeping in at home. But at this moment, Fu Xueli had heavy dark circles under her eyes. She squinted slightly as the makeup artist held a powder brush to set her makeup.

She had been drinking all last night and was now forcing herself not to throw up.

“You must be exhausted lately, your spirits don’t look good.” The makeup artist steadied Fu Xueli’s shoulders, nodded appreciatively, then gently lifted her chin with a hand, indicating she should look in the mirror. “Tsk tsk, look at this beauty, all done.”

The woman in the mirror had a heaving bosom and red lips, a face of pure and stunning beauty. The peach-colored off-shoulder gown revealed skin like fresh snow—she truly seemed like a glowing jewel. Pure with a touch of allure, soft but not coquettish, every gesture exuding charm. Even in the entertainment industry where flowers bloomed everywhere, such exquisite looks could rank among the best.

Hearing this, Fu Xueli only gave a perfunctory glance, smiled, picked up her phone from the table to check messages, and casually unwrapped a candy to eat.

Appearing on this variety show was actually just to promote the upcoming new movie and generate some buzz. A large group of people on stage followed the routine, interacting with the host. Fu Xueli would catch any jokes thrown her way. She wasn’t the female lead anyway, so she didn’t deliberately try to steal the spotlight—she just quietly served as background.

But even wanting to be background, someone wouldn’t let her be comfortable. Because of a reality show she had previously participated in, the CP pairing of Fu Xueli and He Lu was currently being hyped up and was very popular, so the host kept bringing it up for laughs.

All for those damn ratings…

Fu Xueli smiled on the surface, laughing it off and pretending not to understand. She really wasn’t deliberately being evasive or playing dumb, but Ming Heqi standing beside her must have rolled her eyes about ten thousand times.

Actually, most people in the industry knew about Ming Heqi and He Lu’s relationship, it just couldn’t be said openly. Now the rumored girlfriend and the official girlfriend were standing together, and the host kept teasing Fu Xueli relentlessly—it was genuinely awkward to death.

Throughout, Fu Xueli held back her anger, dealing with and answering the questions, not engaging with anything about He Lu. She thought that finally they were entering the game segment, but unexpectedly the first thing was to have two female guests stand on tumbler toys and push each other.

Fu Xueli tidied up the sportswear she had just changed into, clipped the microphone to her collar, and gestured to indicate she was ready. The smile on Ming Heqi’s face deepened as she also turned and nodded to the control room behind.

Both were women without much strength. In this kind of public setting game, Fu Xueli spread her hands, cooperating with light playful pushing, gently going back and forth in a probing manner.

The audience below began to cheer and heckle.

Fu Xueli looked behind her and suddenly felt force pushing toward her. She instinctively retreated a few steps. Suddenly, Ming Heqi let out a sharp scream.

As soon as she turned around, she saw Ming Heqi lose her balance, falling sideways, knees hitting the ground first, flesh colliding with the floor with a dull thud.

Her heart skipped a beat. She instinctively met Ming Heqi’s gaze. Tears had already welled up in the latter’s eyes, appearing very frail, but when her eyes fell on Fu Xueli, they couldn’t hide a flash of loathing.

People around immediately gathered to check the situation. Fu Xueli cursed inwardly, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on her back, and immediately got down from the tumbler toy.

An incident occurred on site, chaos everywhere, and recording had to be suspended. Everything was captured by the cameras in the corners.

After Ming Heqi rested for half an hour, following this small incident, the program resumed recording. After playing two or three more games, the atmosphere was quickly stirred up again. A civilian guest arrived midway—pretty by ordinary standards, but standing next to a group of stars, the contrast was immediately apparent.

The fourth segment had all the guests sitting together, taking turns flipping cards to either tell the truth or take a dare. When it was Fu Xueli’s turn, she really didn’t want to fuss anymore and without much hesitation chose truth.

Just two questions—she could make up answers anyway, which was less trouble than playing dare.

The host revealed the question card:

Q1. What kind of boys did you like during your student days?

Q2. Did you do anything crazy when you were young?

These questions were suggestive and caused a bit of commotion as soon as they were revealed. Everyone’s eyes fell on Fu Xueli. She bent her arm, holding the microphone against her chin with her head tilted, her ponytail bouncing—looking both playful and beautiful.

Student days?

In front of the camera, Fu Xueli frowned, thinking deeply.

This kind of question… the only person she could think of seemed to be Xu Xingchun.

In her memory, Xu Xingchun didn’t really like to smile and was always silent. Because he had good grades and was class monitor, he was especially popular with classmates and teachers. He always had a lonely feeling about him, detached from everyone else—anyway, he had a particularly cold temperament.

“Xueli hasn’t thought of an answer yet?” The host joked, barely bringing Fu Xueli back to her senses.

She made a couple of acknowledgment sounds, put on a thoughtful expression for two seconds, then after a brief silence said very sincerely, “Me? I liked a relatively introverted top student.”

The person sitting beside her thought they had misheard for a moment and seized the conversation to tease: “Tsk tsk, you actually like that type? Couldn’t tell.”

“Then what type did you think I liked?” Fu Xueli turned her head, frowning as she looked at him.

The person answered, “Wild type.”

The atmosphere on site was lively. The host, saving time, asked the second question.

Because of the first question, Fu Xueli’s mind was still thinking about matters concerning Xu Xingchun. She thought for a moment, slightly raised her eyes, and slowly said, “Yes, I once celebrated a birthday for a boy. I felt it was quite thrilling.”

The host seemed very interested. “Oh? Can you be more specific? That sounds very romantic—what was so crazy about it?”

Fu Xueli very frankly refused. “I was quite wild when I was younger. Better not say it and lead the youngsters astray, otherwise I’ll end up as the trending headline.”

She was naturally rebellious by nature, and even after becoming a public figure, she never concealed her bad girl past.

The host didn’t force her, laughed it off, and continued questioning the next person. People around her, because of this segment’s questions, all began reminiscing about interesting events from their school days. The recording studio was filled with laughter and joy. Fu Xueli spoke less afterward, casually listening to others share while old scenes replayed in her mind.

Back then in high school, she was surrounded by friends like Song Yifan and Xie Ci. Everyone was idle, all not studying properly, happily wasting time without feeling it was a waste.

Once it was Xie Ci helping Xu You celebrate her birthday on the playground. A group of people rushed over after hearing about it, and things got rowdy. Everyone knew Xie Ci had put in considerable effort pursuing this transfer student with excellent grades. Xie Ci had a bad temper, and people usually didn’t dare casually tease the two of them, but encountering such a rare good opportunity, who would easily let it pass?

They surrounded Xu You, trapping her in the middle, insisting that Xie Ci personally smash cake on her face. Saying this was the only way to create atmosphere.

Although Xu You was helpless, she smiled good-naturedly, not wanting to spoil everyone’s fun, and didn’t refuse—just stood in place waiting.

Xie Ci stood in front of her swaying back and forth nonchalantly, holding the cake in his hands, looking at her face for a while as if carefully studying where to smash it, then teasing with his mouth, “Xu You, you don’t object? I’m really going to do it—don’t cry, okay?”

Xu You responded perfunctorily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xie Ci raise his hand toward her and still reflexively closed her eyes in fear.

After waiting a long time, she suddenly heard the surrounding people explode in noise.

“Holy crap—Brother Ci is awesome, Brother Ci!”

“Damn dude, are you crazy hahahaha?!”

Xu You didn’t experience the expected prank. Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes in confusion.

Others were laughing and making noise, all following along with the commotion. The sky behind the playground was like burning clouds.

Standing in front of her, Xie Ci had cream all over his handsome face. Lazily, he casually had his hands in his pockets, looking at her with a smile.

He threw away the plate he had just used to smash his own face, his eyes full of playful laughter. He bent down slightly, leaning close, looking at the area behind her ear with lowered eyes, and blew a breath. “Would I bear to touch you?”

This incident caused quite a stir throughout the grade. Everyone bragged about how they celebrated birthdays for their partners.

Xu Xingchun and Fu Xueli’s relationship was very low-key. Not many people around them knew about it. She watched them talk enthusiastically, feeling sour, unable to insert a single word. Then she reflected—she seemed to have always been very inattentive to him…

It just so happened that Xu Xingchun’s birthday was coming up. That day after school, Fu Xueli suddenly remembered this matter. Sitting in her seat, she called out to Xu Xingchun, “Hey, Xu Xingchun, let me tell you something.”

She pointed at herself, then snapped her fingers, saying boldly: “Tonight, I’ll give you an unforgettable birthday.”

Xu Xingchun was explaining a problem to someone else, holding his pen, he froze, clearly caught off guard.

After reacting for a moment, he remembered to nod. He originally wanted to ask something, but after thinking about it, still didn’t speak.

Fu Xueli rarely took the initiative to talk to him in class.

The person beside him was surprised, secretly looking at him, asking in a small voice, “Class monitor, is it your birthday today?”

“Yes.”

“Then… what’s your relationship with Fu Xueli?”

This question ultimately received no answer.

Actually, that birthday wasn’t particularly memorable when you think about it—could even be called chaotic.

Originally the day had been fine, but at past ten o’clock at night, an unexpected autumn rain suddenly started.

After evening self-study in senior year, the campus lights were sparse and it was very quiet. Fu Xueli only worried for a moment before decisively pulling Xu Xingchun, taking him to climb over the wall through the back door of the girls’ dormitory.

Casually picking smooth stones from the ground, throwing them up and setting them in place, nimbly stepping on them and flipping over.

The light drizzle dampened both their hair and jackets. The streetlights were dim. Fu Xueli leading the way ahead was full of energy, constantly poking her head out to check whether there were any security guards patrolling the campus at night with flashlights.

Xu Xingchun watched her back for a while, lowered his eyes, and smiled.

Later she brought him to the flagpole on the plaza in front of the teaching building. Standing on the steps looking down from above, Fu Xueli looked left and right, pressed on his thin shoulder blade, and seriously instructed, “Just stay here and don’t move. I’ll come find you right away.”

Xu Xingchun reached back to support her arm, afraid she might accidentally fall, gently reminding: “Run slowly, the road is slippery.”

He stood in a circle of light, eyes full of smiles, a dimple slightly indenting his right cheek.

“Come come come, just stand like this.” Fu Xueli adjusted where he was standing, pointing across the way, “Face the teaching building, just like this, good, don’t move.”

His cheeks were thin. In the night he kept looking at her quietly. His eyes held something people couldn’t understand.

“Fu Xueli.”

Xu Xingchun restrained his smile, softly calling her name. It was strangely frightening. Fu Xueli stepped back two steps, inexplicably nervous. “What?”

Every time he stared at her like this in detail, her back felt prickly, her whole body wet and cold and uncomfortable. Fu Xueli impatiently suddenly shoved Xu Xingchun, always feeling his hand was gripping a bit painfully. “Let go of me, I’ll be right back.”

“Mm.” Xu Xingchun’s lower lip tightened, his lowered voice a bit hoarse, hiding emotions he couldn’t conceal. After agreeing, he released her wrist.

Fu Xueli ran off in a flash.

A few minutes later, the campus broadcast suddenly blared with the rousing athletes’ march, then switched to the birthday song after two or three seconds, the commotion even waking the boarding students in the school who were preparing to sleep.

Late at night, rain and cool wind rustled in his ears. In the empty campus, strange and odd songs suddenly rang out.

Suddenly, very suddenly, on the fourth floor of the teaching building in the dark corridor, snap snap snap, a row of white lights lit up one by one in sequence. Xu Xingchun heard the sound, his heart stirred, and he looked up at the sound. The scene that fell into his eyes was just right, not a second off.

Colorful fireworks suddenly exploded at the top of the teaching building!

Scattered crystal lights fell like half the night sky was burning, illuminating that patch of dark night transparently bright. Immediately after, on the fourth floor, swish swish swish, a red banner reading ‘Happy Birthday’ unfurled in an instant with the wind!

“Xu Xingchun—”

From far away, Fu Xueli laughed loudly calling him, holding a megaphone, bending her spine, leaning on the corridor edge waving. Both proud and free.

She opened her voice, with the unbridled spirit of one not yet worldly-wise, her shout almost splitting half the flag plaza, carried by the wind to his ears.

“—Are you happy on your birthday today?!!”

What kind of feeling should it be described as?

At the instant of seeing this scene.

Xu Xingchun looked up quietly at the distant her. Just at that moment, his heart crashed down heavily from the high building.