After Chi Yao finished that sentence, he opened his arms and asked if she wanted a hug.

Lin Zhexia’s eyes felt hot for some reason.

It was clear that the “stolen topic” was just a small matter.

The embrace of that summer was long and passionate. The evening breeze gently blew.

That night, she went back and slept, a dreamless sleep. The next day, her department had an early class. Early in the morning, she received another message from Chi Yao—

Are you up?

Lin Zhexia wasn’t surprised because Chi Yao almost always asked her to go to the cafeteria for breakfast together. Sometimes when she stayed up late at night and couldn’t get up early, he would buy breakfast and bring it to her.

At first, she found it incredible: “How did you know I wouldn’t have time to eat at the cafeteria today?”

Chi Yao unlocked his phone and opened their chat history from the night before.

His finger lightly tapped on the time stamp of her last message: 2:30.

“If you sleep at this hour,” Chi Yao said, “anyone would know you can’t get up early.”

“…”

So she thought when Chi Yao sent the message “Are you up?”, he was asking her to have breakfast together.

She wasn’t wrong; the two of them had breakfast at the cafeteria as usual.

However, normally after breakfast, they would each go to their respective classes.

Lin Zhexia walked toward the lecture hall, and halfway there, she noticed that Chi Yao, who should have turned at the corner, was still following behind her.

“Aren’t you going to class?” Lin Zhexia was a bit confused. “You’re going the wrong way. Your classroom is on the other side.”

Chi Yao: “I’ll go later.”

Lin Zhexia: “Where are you going now?”

Chi Yao casually said, “I’ve become interested in language recently. I want to sit in on your class.”

“?”

“What about your class?” she asked.

“Tired of it. Skipping once won’t hurt.”

Lin Zhexia couldn’t help thinking that this person must be crazy.

She initially thought Chi Yao was just joking, but he followed her into the teaching building. Then at the lecture hall entrance, he stood behind her, raised his hand to tug at her collar, and pulled her back slightly, signaling her to stop.

Then he lifted his chin slightly and asked: “Which one? Point her out.”

Lin Zhexia didn’t understand: “What?”

“Person.”

Chi Yao spoke as if each word jumped out individually, his face expressionless, “The one who changed the topic.”

There were already quite a few students in the lecture hall.

Chi Yao looked like the type who normally stands aloof from everyone else but would bring people along to confront others at critical moments. Right now, he looked exactly like that—dressed all in black, black T-shirt, ripped jeans, standing there looking quite intimidating.

“You’re not going to… hit her, are you?”

Lin Zhexia’s expression was complicated. “I think hitting someone might not be a good idea.”

She glanced at the people sitting in the classroom, then added, “Besides, she’s not here yet.”

A few minutes later.

Lin Zhexia was pulled from the classroom door to the stairwell by him.

Lin Zhexia stood at the stairwell, feeling a bit lost: “What are we doing here?”

Chi Yao leaned against the wall and uttered two words: “Ambushing her.”

“…”

Before Chi Yao dragged her to the stairwell to ambush someone, Lin Zhexia had planned to let the topic-stealing incident go. First, she didn’t want to argue about it, and second, they were classmates after all, seeing each other every day, so confronting her would inevitably be awkward.

Most importantly, she subconsciously believed that adults should handle matters this way.

She should be more “sensible.”

Grow up a little.

The kind of impulsive recklessness of childhood seemed not to be allowed to exist in the world of twenty-year-olds.

Even if she planned to say something to Zhou Tong, it shouldn’t be in such a shocking manner.

But when Chi Yao said “ambush her,” he said it with such conviction.

She momentarily dismissed many of her concerns. Under Chi Yao’s influence, Lin Zhexia, who was about to turn twenty, did something during class break at the stairwell that was completely unbecoming of a college student—she ambushed Zhou Tong at the stairs’ corner.

Zhou Tong hadn’t expected to be caught at the stairwell just as she was about to enter the classroom.

The girl called out to her with a cold “Hey.”

She looked up and saw the usually gentle and weak Lin Zhexia standing at the corner. Someone was standing behind her, like a “big brother,” specifically there to protect her. The young man had a sharp jawline, indifferent eyes, and leaned against the wall, glancing at her.

Lin Zhexia’s “Hey” was full of spirit.

It instantly brought back memories of fighting all over Nanxiang Street in the past.

But after saying “Hey,” she was stumped again: “What should I say next?”

The person behind her whispered, “Say whatever you want to say. Don’t you have something to tell her?”

Yes, she did.

Lin Zhexia looked at Zhou Tong, imitating scenes she had seen on TV, trying her best to act like a boss: “Zhou Tong, right?”

“…I know you changed your topic later. The reason I didn’t tell the teacher that day was that I didn’t want to bother you. I hope you won’t do something like this again.”

She felt that her words might not be harsh enough, so she paused, then added, “I’ll let it go this time, but next time, things won’t be so simple.”

At this age, doing such things was very “childish.”

But the moment these words came out, she experienced a feeling she had never felt before.

Before this day, she thought the adult world should be very different.

But on this day.

She suddenly realized that maybe it wasn’t like that—

Coincidentally, the speech competition was the day before Chi Yao’s birthday.

Lin Zhexia had her new topic well-prepared. After refining it, she had practiced it several times without notes in front of him at his home. After Chi Yao told her “don’t be nervous,” she clutched her speech draft and gathered with the other members of her group to go to the school auditorium for the competition.

The audience watching the competition were all students from the language department. There were too many college majors to allow students from every department to attend, so they specifically limited the scope.

But before going on stage, she still received a picture from Chi Yao.

Boyfriend: [Picture]

She opened it briefly before the competition. The photo was taken from the audience’s perspective, extending from the seats to the stage.

Lin Zhexia put away her phone. When she stood on stage and placed her hand on the microphone, she looked down at the audience and, just like before, she immediately located a certain person in the audience based on the angle of the photo.

Time seemed to come full circle in that moment.

The speech went without a hitch. After she smoothly delivered it without notes and came down from the stage, returning backstage, Chi Yao presented her with a bouquet.

A large bunch of roses.

Wrapped in white and pink decorative paper.

She accepted it, and Chi Yao very gently rubbed her head and said: “Well done, girlfriend.”—

On her twentieth birthday.

That day happened to be a weekend, and neither of them went out to celebrate.

The birthday location was chosen to be Chi Yao’s home.

“Just buying a cake is fine,” Lin Zhexia reminded him, “Don’t go to too much trouble. I’m already very happy just spending my birthday with you this year.”

But that day, when she went to Chi Yao’s apartment, turned the key in the lock and opened the door, she saw candles all over the room.

The whole apartment had no lights on, and the blackout curtains blocked out all the outside light.

Only the flickering candlelight remained.

The faint candlelight extended from the entrance to the living room, onto the coffee table and shelves, like another man-made “firefly” scene.

The cake was quietly placed on the dining table, with a ribbon-tied gift box beside it.

Lin Zhexia stood at the door for a long time: “…When did you set this up?”

Chi Yao said, “Last night.”

“It’s beautiful,” she wanted to take a photo with her phone, “but it doesn’t seem like something you would do.”

After all, a room full of candles was something usually only girls would like.

Guys might find it hard to see the romance in it.

“Found it online.”

Chi Yao looked at the room full of candles, “I honestly don’t really understand it, but as long as you like it.”

Then, Chi Yao asked her: “Cut the cake first or open the gift first?”

Lin Zhexia unhesitatingly said, “Open the gift.”

The two sat around the dining table, exchanging gifts.

Then she discovered… this year, the gifts they gave each other were both a bit old-fashioned.

They had really given each other too many things over the years, and the range of choices was becoming smaller and smaller.

Lin Zhexia opened her gift and found a box of preserved flowers inside.

Chi Yao sat across from her. They almost unwrapped their gift boxes at the same time. His gift was even more outrageous—another piece of stainless steel: “…”

A small, palm-sized piece of stainless steel gleamed with metallic luster.

Their names were engraved on it, with a large heart in the middle.

“…” Chi Yao raised his hand and pressed his brow bone, asking her, “Do you have anything you want to tell me, like, explain this gift?”

Lin Zhexia laughed awkwardly: “This piece of stainless steel is different from the previous one. The previous one represented friendship, but this year’s has been upgraded.” She enthusiastically pointed it out to him, “Look, this time it represents our love!”

It took Chi Yao a long time to force a smile, though that smile was closer to a sneer: “Thank you, I love it.”

Lin Zhexia put away the preserved flowers and also said, “Your gift isn’t that great either, but I like it very much too.”

The two faced each other, silently meeting each other’s gaze for a few moments.

Then Lin Zhexia took the initiative: “Why don’t we make wishes now?”

Chi Yao nodded slightly in agreement.

While Chi Yao was busy placing candles, Lin Zhexia suddenly remembered how they celebrated their first birthday together: “Do you remember our first birthday celebration?”

Chi Yao: “Yes, you told me a month in advance that you wanted a set of comic books.”

“…” Lin Zhexia was a bit embarrassed. “Well, since you were going to give me a gift anyway, I was afraid you’d choose something I didn’t like.”

“Besides, obviously, someone as honest as me is easier to get along with. Not like you, refusing to say when your birthday is,” Lin Zhexia complained, “I had to keep asking you for ages.”

Chi Yao’s memory followed her words back to their childhood.

He was used to being alone at home, spending all holidays and birthdays by himself.

The childish pride at that time gradually made him begin to resist and reject these dates.

From not getting to transforming into “I don’t need.”

—I don’t need to celebrate these holidays, and I don’t need to celebrate my birthday.

So when Lin Zhexia first talked to him about “birthdays,” he kept a cold face and didn’t answer her.

“My birthday is coming soon. When is your birthday?”

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“…”

The Lin Zhexia of that time pestered him with a lot of words, the last one being: “Tell me, and I can celebrate your birthday with you when the time comes.”

He suppressed the urge to drive her away and slowly asked: “Why would you want to celebrate my birthday?”

“Because we’re friends.”

From that day on, those holidays he used to spend alone had another person’s presence.

That person would carefully prepare gifts for him and earnestly write all kinds of birthday wishes: Happy birthday, hope you won’t have to take medicine next year.

Hope you stay healthy.

God probably didn’t hear last year’s wish, so let’s make it again this year—I hope you won’t have to go to the hospital anymore.

…

And then on his eighteenth birthday, wish you all the best and happiness every day. Hope you’ll have endless courage in whatever you do from now on.

Finally, Lin Zhexia pulled him out of his memories with one sentence: “Alright, let’s make wishes together, close your eyes.”

As she spoke, she eagerly closed her eyes and pressed her palms together.

But this year’s wish was a bit difficult to make. Perhaps because Chi Yao was by her side, she didn’t seem to have any other wishes.

She was racking her brain trying to think of what wish to make when, in those few seconds, suddenly and unexpectedly, a familiar warm sensation touched her lips. She opened her eyes with a delayed reaction and saw Chi Yao’s face up close.

The young man had one hand braced on the dining table, leaning his whole body toward her, across the table, kissing her in the few seconds of candlelight and wish-making.

Her heart suddenly accelerated.

Amid confused thoughts, she held onto the last bit of clarity and made a wish: no matter how long the road ahead, may they always walk side by side.

After a few seconds, Chi Yao released her and reminded her: “Blow out the candles.”

Before blowing out the candles, Lin Zhexia casually asked: “What wish did you just make?”

She thought Chi Yao would act mysterious and refuse to answer her question.

However, in the soft candlelight, Chi Yao said:

“You don’t need to grow up.”

“…Huh?”

“With me, you don’t need to grow up, don’t need to become an ‘adult’ who has to digest problems on your own, and you don’t need to follow adult rules,” his voice was still cool but with a gentleness only she could hear, a gentleness exclusively for her, “Whether you’re twenty or thirty, you can always be that Lin Zhexia who never grows up.”

“That’s my wish for this year.”

In Chi Yao’s pupils, Lin Zhexia saw herself, along with the flickering candlelight that resembled stars fallen to earth.

This was their twentieth birthday.

They should have been becoming more mature.

She thought about the day Chi Yao took her to confront someone.

She remembered that in the end, Zhou Tong awkwardly apologized to her that day.

In the process of growing up, she would experience countless moments of losing courage.

But it seemed that every time, Chi Yao would help her find it again.

As long as she was by his side, in this world that constantly urged people to grow up, she could be the Lin Zhexia who never grows up.