Time together always passes quickly. The next day, everyone had a local specialty breakfast at Lian Li, and then the driver took them back to the city one by one, making for hasty goodbyes. Most partings are like this – too rushed for any sense of ceremony. With a wave of hands, each person begins their new journey.
Zhang Shu needed to return to He Yan first for some matters. Sheng Xia had originally wanted to go two days early as well, but Wang Lian Hua kept her home for her birthday. Her birthday was always one or two days before the spring semester started. She had no choice but to obey her mother’s wishes.
The morning of her birthday was no different from usual. When Sheng Xia woke up, she habitually checked her phone, only remembering it was her birthday when she saw the wishes from her friend’s group chat. Everyone remembered to send wishes at midnight, but she had fallen asleep early and missed them. After replying to all the messages and getting up to wash, she suddenly felt something was off. Zhang Shu hadn’t wished her happy birthday, not even by morning. Had he forgotten? That couldn’t be, right? Usually, he was the one more focused on ceremonies while she lived life in a daze, always needing his reminders for anniversaries. But there weren’t any messages. Sheng Xia checked his Moments again – empty. Had he forgotten?
He was recently busy with program testing, which was why he returned to school early. Plus, her birthday followed the lunar calendar, changing every year and not easy to remember. Forgetting in a moment of oversight would be normal. That’s what logic said, but her mood still dropped noticeably. She must have been too obvious about it, as during breakfast, Wang Lian Hua asked, “Does it not taste good?”
Sheng Xia hurriedly stuffed the longevity noodles into her mouth. “No, it’s delicious.”
“Mom will celebrate your birthday at lunch, and take you to meet someone while we’re at it.”
Sheng Xia didn’t think much of it, assuming it was one of Wang Lian Hua’s colleagues or friends. “Okay.”
Wang Lian Hua’s eyes shifted slightly, showing rare hesitation. “He is… Ning Ning’s psychologist. You’ve met him before.”
From her mother’s tone and expression, Sheng Xia sensed this introduction was unusual – this meeting was different from others. “Mom…”
“You’re coming of age today, and A Xuan will be taking college entrance exams in less than two years. You’re all growing up and will have your own lives. I should start considering my matters too. I don’t have any other considerations, just want a companion for daily life. Of course, I want your opinion first. After you meet him, if you think it’s okay, I’ll talk to A Xuan.”
Sheng Xia was stunned, temporarily unable to process this news. It was too sudden, without any signs!
She remembered that the psychologist was a professor at South Li Medical University, a renowned expert in autism, with a scholarly air about him. Even his name had an elegant meaning – Xu Yuan Shan.
“This is good news, Mom. How could I not be okay with it? A Xuan will be even happier than me. Ning Ning…”
In a flash, Sheng Xia suddenly remembered – during the time Zhang Shu was hospitalized after his injury, once when she pretended to go to Tao Zhi Zhi’s house but went to see Zhang Shu, as they were leaving with A Xuan and Ning Ning, Ning Ning had said something to her mother about going on dates.
“Did Ning Ning already know?”
Wang Lian Hua nodded, then shook her head. “What would a child know? She’s always seen Yuan Shan as a second father.”
“Ning Ning is eleven now, she knows,” Sheng Xia said.
Children were often more perceptive than they were at their awkward age.
Wang Lian Hua said, “I’ve known him for six years now, and after getting to know each other for over a year, we’ve both thought it through clearly. I’m not looking for a father for Ning Ning, but if someone can’t accept being Ning Ning’s father, I wouldn’t consider that person. These words, Mom can only say to you.”
Sheng Xia felt a slight tremor in her heart.
Her mother had raised three sisters alone all these years, getting through the most difficult times by herself. Now she had completely emerged from the shadows, finding someone to share the next stage of life with, rather than seeking help to lighten her burden. But no matter what, her three daughters were part of her life, a part she would never give up. So if the other person couldn’t accept this, she would rather stay single.
Fortunately, such a person had appeared.
Sheng Xia understood. “Then I’ll dress up nicely, to support Mom.”
Wang Lian Hua had a faint smile. “Eat your noodles.”
After eating, Sheng Xia started packing her luggage – she would return to school tomorrow and wouldn’t be back until the May Day holiday, so she needed to pack both winter and spring clothes.
A “ding” sound came from her phone notification. She hurriedly dug through the pile of clothes to find her phone.
She had set almost every chat to Do Not Disturb, with only Wang Lian Hua and Zhang Shu as exceptions.
Wang Lian Hua was at home and wouldn’t message her, so it must be Zhang Shu.
Had he remembered?
Sheng Xia eagerly opened the chat, but the message read: “Lazy bug, it’s 9:30, are you up?”
Her smile dropped as she disappointedly tossed the phone aside, then thought better of it – those who don’t know can’t be blamed – and picked it back up to reply: “Been up for ages, already had breakfast. You?”
Zhang Shu: “Then do you have time to help me convert a file format on the computer? I’m out and it’s not convenient.”
He was busy.
Sheng Xia sighed and replied: “Sure, how do I do it?”
Zhang Shu: “The file is too big, sent it to you on QQ.”
He seemed quite urgent, so Sheng Xia quickly turned on her computer and logged into QQ, found his chat window, and saw only a document in an unclear format and one line: “Click receive.”
She quickly clicked to receive the file and opened it.
“Bzzt—” The computer suddenly went black.
What happened?
Sheng Xia was confused – had it crashed from lack of use? Frantically clicking the mouse and keyboard got no response. She looked down at the tower unit, also futile – what could she tell from looking? So she prepared to call Zhang Shu.
Suddenly fluorescent letters began flowing down the computer screen, like flowing code in a sci-fi movie.
She was stunned for several seconds before making out the letters spelled: Happy birthday, my sweetheart, Sheng Xia.
Even if she was slow, she understood by now.
Just when she thought it was over, the flowing letters dimmed to become the background, and a selection appeared in the center of the screen:
[Is Auntie home?]
[y or n]
Sheng Xia had no idea what he was up to, but still honestly selected yes.
A second option appeared on the screen:
[Put on headphones or close the door]
[Confirm]
Sheng Xia glanced at the closed door and clicked confirm.
A brief black screen sent her anticipation soaring.
Accompanied by keyboard typing sounds, words appeared on the screen one by one:
[Our meeting, how to say it… was like a jasmine flower whitening an entire chaotic world]
After the sentence appeared completely for half a second, it gradually faded.
A photo appeared at the bottom of the screen – the small path at the south gate of Wen Bo Yuan, where she had “moon landed and scammed him.”
Next to the image, several lines of text gradually appeared:
[July 28th, Sunny]
[That day you crashed right into me demanding I take responsibility – would the story’s beginning have been much simpler?]
Sheng Xia frowned slightly – this sentimental style didn’t seem like him.
And why did these words seem familiar?
The scene faded, replaced by another photo:
The senior high bike shed, with a row of camphor trees dyed red by the sunset.
[August 1st, Sunny]
[I encountered this city-toppling beauty, and the story developed quite smoothly.]
Sheng Xia looked at these two dates and understood – he was responding to her love letter.
Sure enough, the third photo on screen was Class 6’s classroom, bright and clean, with the sun sparkling through windows. From that angle, he and she used to stand there.
[August 15th, Sunny]
[You said there was no scenery in your eyes. I knew why – because I was looking into your eyes.]
Then came photos of birthday cake, sports meets, Yi Fang Bookstore…
The accompanying text mostly adopted her tone and format but felt somewhat forced, clearly showing his discomfort with this form of expression.
As photos turned page by page on the screen, Sheng Xia’s smile deepened without her realizing it.
[February 27th, Sunny]
[The sunlight at Yi Fang Bookstore was always good. Zhang Shu won’t let Sheng Xia wait anymore.]
He remembered everything.
He knew what happened on every date in her love letter, remembered the events that occurred from her one-sided perspective, and knew the reason for each of her moods.
Finally.
[Today, sunny at South Li, He Yan I don’t care to check, it is probably cloudy.]
[Happy birthday.]
[Click to play]
The image changed to a video. Sheng Xia clicked with the mouse, and guitar sounds came through. The picture gradually cleared.
Zhang Shu sat at his dorm room desk holding a guitar. Judging by the camera shake, his roommate was probably filming.
A happy birthday song.
Not particularly special, but also the most special.
After finishing the song, the video didn’t end. He paused, as if suddenly realizing something, and laughed. “Sheng Xia, I just realized I confess my love every time I sing you a happy birthday. How will I have enough confession words for all these years to come?”
His roommates’ teasing voices came through the video. He smiled, seeming to just remember he was being recorded, said “That’s a wrap,” and the video abruptly ended.
The screen returned to the QQ interface.
She then noticed he had sent the file at midnight.
He hadn’t forgotten – she just hadn’t seen it.
Sheng Xia picked up her phone, about to send him a WeChat message when a call came in. Seeing it was a local South Li number, she answered.
“Your local delivery has arrived. I’m at your door.”
Sheng Xia was puzzled but hurried to open the door. The delivery person handed her a gift box without even asking for a verification code.
The gift box looked familiar to Sheng Xia.
Today was truly strange.
Wang Lian Hua, sitting in the living room, saw her standing dazed with the delivery and asked, “What is it?”
Sheng Xia shook her head and, to be safe went back to her room before opening it.
As soon as she opened it, she instantly knew why the box looked familiar.
It was the gift box she had given Zhang Shu before, the one containing the criminal law provisions!
He had kept it, and it still looked so new.
She was certain this was the one she had given him because of the scratch mark she had accidentally made on the corner.
Inside now lay a rare appreciation book she had been searching for a long time.
Out of print for years, it was so niche that even the second-hand market had no trades.
How did he get it?
Sheng Xia quickly called him, but he didn’t answer. After a while, he sent back a message: “With my advisor, will call back later, don’t get excited, it’s just a small gesture.”
Sheng Xia: …
Show-off.
Sheng Xia couldn’t put the book down and immediately sat at her desk to read, not noticing time slowly moving toward noon.
When Wang Lian Hua came to call her, she found her quietly reading in a room full of clothes waiting to be packed.
“Get ready to go out for lunch,” Wang Lian Hua reminded her.
Sheng Xia quickly closed the book. “Ah, okay,” then hurriedly picked out clothes and got ready.
They didn’t go far – lunch was booked at a nearby hotel, in an elegant private room, nothing too fancy.
On their side were a mother and three daughters; Xu Yuan Shan brought only one boy, about Sheng Xia’s age, but he seemed…
Xu Yuan Shan took the initiative to introduce him: “This is my nephew. He’s lived with me since he was little. His mental age is around 8, quite innocent.”
Sheng Xia was slightly surprised and simultaneously felt goodwill toward Xu Yuan Shan’s introduction.
His nephew was more lively than the quiet Ning Ning. Though it took some getting used to – an adult face speaking children’s words – Sheng Xia could see he had been well taught. He was polite and sincere, and in the end, it was he who kept pestering Ning Ning, saying they should sing the birthday song together and blow out the candles together.
Ning Ning seemed a bit annoyed, yet also resigned, and surprisingly actually joined in singing with him.
It was truly a remarkable chemical reaction.
All in all, lunch was harmonious, and Sheng Xia felt Wang Lian Hua was unprecedentedly gentle.
After lunch, while the mother and daughters were walking to digest their food, Wang Lian Hua brought up Xu Yuan Shan’s nephew. His brother and sister-in-law passed away early, and Xu Yuan Shan had to care for his nephew. Women would have opinions about this, so at the age when he should have been discussing marriage, his marriage prospects weren’t smooth. He didn’t compromise and remained single. When he reached a certain age, gained social status, and his charm became more prominent, people came pursuing him one after another, but his mindset had changed. Even when he met someone willing to treat his nephew as their own, Xu Yuan Shan still refused. He no longer wished to have children of his own, only treating his nephew as his child.
Sheng Xia thought of Zhang Su Jin.
It was hard to imagine that at her age, Zhang Su Jin had already been raising a child alone and was prepared to devote her life to him. What kind of courage and perseverance was that? Although Zhang Shu hadn’t let down her dedication, in others’ eyes, she seemed to have lost her own life.
But just like Xu Yuan Shan, who could say this wasn’t his life?
People always think everyone should max out their skill points, minimize sunk costs, and obtain the best life possible. So those lives that could have been better but weren’t good enough are all called regrets. But good or not good, how can outsiders judge?
They chose their own choices, and only they can judge how their path turned out.
How can you know the fish’s joy if you’re not a fish?
…
It wasn’t until nearly bedtime that Zhang Shu returned her call.
Sheng Xia was still lost in contemplation, her voice somewhat dragging, making her seem depressed.
“What’s wrong?” After just a few words, he noticed something was off. “Are you unhappy that I called back so late? My fault, I should have made the advisor speak faster, and not let him repeat the same thing so many times, and refused his request to test it personally, and…”
“A Shu…” She almost laughed, calling out to interrupt him.
“You have something on your mind. Let’s hang up and switch to video.”
Before he finished speaking, he had already hung up and immediately called back on video.
Sheng Xia was half-lying in bed, a blanket pulled up to her neck, only her small face showing.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just happy.”
“Is this what happiness looks like?” His expression showed clear skepticism.
“Really,” Sheng Xia smiled, “I received special gifts today, from you, and Mom.”
Zhang Shu’s expression relaxed slightly.
He seemed truly busy on his end, chatting with her while still clicking away at his keyboard, mumbling, “Just a few words, I’ll finish replying right away.”
Sheng Xia waited quietly, watching his focused profile on the screen.
“A Shu…” She couldn’t help calling him again.
“Hmm?”
“A Shu.”
“Hmm.”
“A Shu, A Shu!”
Zhang Shu hit enter and turned fully toward her, focusing intently on her. “If you keep calling me like that, don’t think about hanging up the video call tonight – I won’t be able to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep either,” Sheng Xia said.
Zhang Shu propped his chin up, studying her, his gaze questioning.
“A Shu, tonight the moon at South Li is crescent…”
Zhang Shu was stunned for a moment, then broke into a smile. He made a show of glancing out the window before turning back, “Mm, across the world at the same moment, the moon at He Yan is also crescent, very bright, very bright.”
Sheng Xia hugged her phone and turned to lie on her side, video chatting in a casual pose.
Zhang Shu asked, “What did Auntie give you?”
He was still so perceptive, always knowing where the issue lay.
Sheng Xia said, “My mom is in love, and might get married soon.”
Zhang Shu was quite surprised too. “Is he good?”
“Mm.”
“Auntie deserves it.”
“Mm.”
They fell into wordless understanding.
Sheng Xia suddenly remembered his code. “Today your first question is, why did you ask if my mom was home?”
“If she wasn’t home, the delivery person would have brought flowers too. If she was home, better to keep a low profile and not act brazenly.”
His choice of words made Sheng Xia ponder – why did it sound like a secret romance? It felt a bit bitter.
“Weren’t you busy? Could you receive my answers in real time?”
Zhang Shu: “Of course, it was all executed by the computer, different instructions would send different messages to the delivery person, all pre-set and coordinated.”
“Oh, that’s quite elaborate?” Sheng Xia didn’t dwell on it. “But I think my mom is different now, maybe sending flowers would be okay too.”
Zhang Shu nodded, “Message received.”
“I’m not saying I want you to send them, I mean…”
“I know,” Zhang Shu’s gaze became soft and sincere, “I know everything.”
Sheng Xia fell silent too, her arm cushioning her head as she quietly gazed back at him.
Who knows how long passed before Sheng Xia suddenly mused: “A Shu, people say if you had it good in your previous life, you’ll have it bad in this life, and if you have it bad in this life, you’ll have it good in the next life. So in our next life, will we both have complete families?”
In this life, they didn’t have complete, perfect families. It was unfortunate, but fortunately, they still had family members who loved them unconditionally.
Just that this love carried too heavy a burden behind it.
If in the next life, they could both have complete and perfect families, where every member loved each other freely, wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Zhang Shu looked at her deeply and, through the screen, made a gesture of patting her head. “We won’t.”
“Hmm?”
Zhang Shu: “We don’t need to wait for the next life. We can have a complete family in this life.”
Sheng Xia got slightly lost in the words, then instantly understood. Her entire heart felt as if it was being washed by an enormous wave of warmth, scorching hot, an indescribable impact instantly washing away all shadows.
Sheng Xia spoke, her voice low and measured: “A Shu, the moon seems more crescent now…”
I miss you, miss you so much.
Zhang Shu picked up his phone, bringing it very close, and whispered into the microphone: “I know. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow I’ll pick up the adult Sheng Xia.”