MNL Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Birthday, Bump into You.

Shen Yan didn’t know why Liang Yin had inexplicably called him to the office to discuss classical Chinese studies, especially since he was a science student. Meanwhile, Ruan Rong had already collapsed on the desk next to them, sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the time.

Liang Yin herself enjoyed studying classical literature, so she was very engaged in her lecture, almost forgetting the main purpose. Glancing at the time, she hurriedly put down the Analects in her hand and said, “Alright, let’s stop here for tonight.”

At this moment, Ruan Rong groggily raised her head, looking bewildered. “Is it over?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Ruan Rong’s expression changed rapidly. She immediately raised her hand in admiration, her eyes shining, and said, “Yinyin, you’re so amazing! Any sentence you pick out is something I wouldn’t understand. You’re incredible!”

“…”

Shen Yan thought to himself, he didn’t understand a single word either.

“Ms. Liang, can I leave?”

“Go ahead.”

After Shen Yan left, Liang Yin pulled Ruan Rong up and said with a smile, “Let’s go, let’s celebrate a birthday.”

“Whose birthday? Your birthday isn’t for another 186 days, eh…”

Ruan Rong almost tripped over her long legs as she was pulled along.

Actually, a lot of suspicious things had happened today. Although the people around him were intentionally trying to cover it up, Shen Yan still noticed something was amiss. For example, Xu Jing was unusually good-tempered today, able to respond calmly to Cha Fei’ang’s frequent harassment. As soon as class ended, many people flocked to the restroom together, as if they had planned it in advance. Although Xu Jing didn’t participate in them, he went to the toilet at least a dozen times.

Especially just now, Liang Yin actually lectured him on classical Chinese for nearly half an hour. Thinking of this, Shen Yan felt a sharp pain in his trigeminal nerve.

What’s wrong with these people?

The back door of the classroom was ajar. Shen Yan first glanced at the window and found that it was completely dark inside.

In that instant, Shen Yan immediately thought of Xu Jing. The back door was pushed open abruptly, but the classroom was silent. Before Shen Yan could react to what was happening, he heard a “bang” beside his ear, like something exploding in the air.

Fairy lights flickered, casting shadows from all four corners, making Shen Yan the sole focus in the darkness. A shower of confetti burst before his eyes, vibrant and dazzling, almost overwhelming him in that moment.

The next second, colorful ribbons fell from the ceiling, and dazzling lights illuminated the red banner hanging in the center:

“Linhe No.1 High School has no sheltering tree, only God Yan descending upon all things.

Warmly celebrate Shen Yan’s birthday, forever handsome! Forever awesome!!”

—From all members of Class 104

The words “awesome” were written especially large.

The words above constantly stimulated Shen Yan’s eyes. The unsuspecting youth froze on the spot.

“Woo-hoo, God Yan! Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday, may your life be as long as the Southern Mountains, and your power be at full throttle!”

…

Various blessings entered his ears, some familiar, some unfamiliar, mixed with laughter that washed over him. Shen Yan stood very straight, still looking calm, but his lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes held a trace of imperceptible light.

“Shen Yan.”

At the same time, a clear and cool voice came from behind, detached from the noise, carrying a hint of coolness, like snow breaking a pine branch, exceptionally clear.

Shen Yan turned his head abruptly.

He saw his deskmate, who suffered from a severe fear of the dark, standing in the dim light, wearing his school uniform neatly and crisply, his back straight, holding a bouquet of Malta Blue roses in his hands. His usually indifferent face was noticeably tense, but his eyes held a faint smile.

Under the gaze of everyone in the class, Xu Jing walked towards him step by step, until he was close enough that Shen Yan felt he should stop him. Xu Jing stopped and presented the romantic and mysterious flowers with both hands.

“Happy birthday.”

At this moment, Shen Yan finally realized in a daze that today was indeed his birthday.

Today was actually his birthday?

He seemed to have forgotten it a long time ago.

Everything was ready, now it was time for the most important part. Cha Fei’ang looked around and muttered softly, “Where’s Liang Ge? Why hasn’t he brought the cake up yet? He’s failing at the crucial moment.”

Gu Qianqian explained from the side, “He went to the school gate half an hour ago, let’s wait a little longer.”

“I’m here!”

A figure rushed in through the door, pulling a small flatbed cart, taking three steps in two, so anxious that his hair was standing on end.

“Damn, I’m… I’m exhausted. Luckily I made it. God Yan, ha- happy birthday!”

Cha Fei’ang looked shocked. “What happened to you?”

Liang Ge was panting and out of breath, waving his hand, unable to speak. The shop owner actually told him on the way that the electric scooter had run out of power. At that time, there were less than twenty minutes left until the scheduled time, so without a word, he jumped over the wall to get it.

Only Gu Qianqian offered him a bottle of water. Liang Ge was so moved that he almost knelt down and kowtowed to her.

Liang Ge gulped down half the bottle and, after saying “don’t even mention it,” began to unpack the cake that was almost as tall as him. It had seven layers. The people in the class were clearly stunned when they saw it. The cake was beautifully made, and except for the racing car on the top layer, which was a bit childish, it was impossible to find a single fault.

But Shen Yan noticed the racing car at a glance, and subconsciously felt like his heart was stuffed with a soggy cotton ball. A sour emotion slowly fermented within him.

“Damn, this cake must have cost a lot.” A boy next to him couldn’t help but say.

Liang Ge was waiting for someone to ask this question. At this moment, he raised half an eyebrow and smiled handsomely. “Not 999, not 888, my reputation is at stake, one price only, 666.”

“Awesome, this is the most expensive cake I’ve ever eaten.”

“Has it already come to the cake part?” Liang Yin’s voice came from the back door. Although she was as gentle as ever, everyone was still a little nervous because class hadn’t ended yet. The scene quieted down.

“Yes, Teacher,” Gu Qianqian replied.

Seeing that the originally lively atmosphere had become a little subdued because of her arrival, Liang Yin walked forward with a smile and said, “Everyone, don’t worry, even if the sky falls tonight, I’ll be there to hold it up for you.”

As soon as she said that, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time, they once again felt that their homeroom teacher was too good.

Shen Yan took the lighter that Xu Jing gave him and lit the candles. The lights in the classroom were turned off again, and the candlelight reflected on Shen Yan’s face, making his features look unrealistically beautiful.

Amid a bunch of off-key birthday songs and urgings for him to make a wish, Shen Yan closed his eyes.

But after a while, Shen Yan still didn’t open his eyes. Everyone around him stopped talking and just waited quietly, but the atmosphere became a little strange.

No one could see that Shen Yan was in pain at this moment. He was struggling, competing with himself.

At this moment, Shen Yan’s mind was blank. Certain memories he didn’t want to remember quietly invaded. The last time he had a birthday was when Zhong Yiqiu had just finished her second round of chemotherapy. That day, Zhong Yiqiu was very insistent, even wanting to get out of bed to order a cake. Shen Yan couldn’t refuse, so he bought a cake the size of his palm and celebrated her birthday at the hospital. There was no laughter, no blessings, but in the end, he still made a wish, so devout that it was almost a plea. He no longer expected Zhong Yiqiu to live to be a hundred years old. He just wanted his mother to live a few more years, just a few years.

However, after that day, Zhong Yiqiu’s condition gradually began to deteriorate. Sometimes it was in the early morning, sometimes it was late at night, her vital signs would suddenly stop, followed by several hours of emergency treatment. Shen Yan lived this life of fear and anxiety for two whole months, and then Zhong Yiqiu passed away. He dropped out of school and stayed at home for two years. From then on, he no longer celebrated his birthday, and he would never believe in these ethereal things again.

But now, he felt very unwilling, for Zhong Yiqiu’s death, and for everything he had experienced, so he tried desperately to do something at this time, to say something, to try to prove that he would not be trapped in the past forever.

“Have you made your wish?”

The voice beside him was clear, forcefully squeezing into Shen Yan’s blank and despairing brain. At that moment, it was as if all the haze had dissipated, and his heart suddenly had a clear answer.

If he had to believe once more, then may the future be better than the past.

May Xu Jing always like him.

Shen Yan’s eyelashes were a little wet. The imperceptible brokenness was buried deep beneath an otherwise normal exterior. No one noticed it except Xu Jing. They cheered and applauded enthusiastically.

Liang Yin cut the cake, and Ruan Rong distributed it with a smile on her face. Teenage girls were always particularly envious of those beautifully dressed older sisters. Ruan Rong was very popular among the students at Linhe No.1 High School, especially the girls. Now the whole class of girls surrounded the two of them, chatting with their green faces and innocent words, instantly bringing Liang Yin and Ruan Rong back to their student days.

At that time, they had also recklessly charged through this world, eagerly expecting the day when they could completely control their lives. However, youth was fleeting, and when they looked back, they found that without any deliberate effort, it had already been soaked by torrential rain, buried by wind and snow, and then taken root on the ground, becoming an unreturnable regret.

Cha Fei’ang timed it perfectly. The bell rang for the end of class right after he finished cutting the cake, so the boys all went wild in the class like wild horses, and a large part of the seven-layer cake was wasted on their faces.

Cha Fei’ang was the worst. He became the focus of the attack, forcing him to wail and run around like a monkey out of control. Shen Yan and Xu Jing were a little surprised. Cha Fei’ang was strong enough to kill an ox, but he could still be so agile.

Looking at the faint smile on Xu Jing’s face, Shen Yan’s heart stirred. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he reached out, dipped his finger in some cream, and quickly smeared it on his deskmate’s pert nose.

Xu Jing looked back with a blank expression, his eyes full of the words “You’re so boring.”

“Little cake.”

His voice was low and laughing, like flirting.

Xu Jing’s mouth twitched.

So, when Shen Yan looked away, he did the same boring thing. But before the cream could be smeared on Shen Yan’s cheek, the other party suddenly turned his head, his fingertip touching his lips. Shen Yan was slightly stunned, stuck out his tongue and ate the cream, sweet and greasy. When he left, he also licked Xu Jing’s finger, the curve of his eyes upturned, containing a captivating smile, like a fox that had won a battle.

Xu Jing: “…”

Damn it.

This motherfucker.

At this moment, Cha Fei’ang was being besieged by five boys, scaring him into retreating again and again. As a result, he was too anxious when he turned around and directly bumped into Gu Qianqian, who was quietly eating cake behind him. The little girl, whose body was not even half his size, couldn’t withstand this kind of impact. She was almost sent flying, and at this time, Liang Ge, who had just finished talking to a boy about the new hero, turned around and was embraced by Gu Qianqian, who had bumped into him.

Liang Ge: “…”

The girl’s body was soft and light, and a clean and fresh fragrance wafted from her hair. The boisterous northern boy was immediately stunned, and his cheeks flushed red in an instant.

The sharp-eyed boys on the side saw it and immediately started cheering. Everyone’s attention turned to this side.

“Wow~~”

Liang Ge stuttered instantly, “No, I, I, you, this, this…”

Gu Qianqian’s skin was already white, but now her face was even redder. Liang Ge’s school uniform was covered in a large patch of cream. She wanted to apologize, but the cheering sounds from the side were getting louder and louder. The girl panicked, lowered her head, walked to her seat, picked up her bag, and left.

She was also a day student. Liang Ge subconsciously wanted to chase after her, but was stopped by Shen Yan, who came over.

“Don’t go.”

Liang Ge was stunned, confused, and said, “Why?”

Xu Jing appeared on his right side and said quietly, “If you go now, you’ll only make her more embarrassed.”

Liang Ge belatedly realized a fact, and said angrily, “No, who bumped into her in the first place?!”

Xu Jing raised his chin, looking at Cha Fei’ang, who had already escaped to the door.

“Damn! Cha Fei’ang, you bastard, you actually bumped into the class monitor?! I’m going to kill you, give me your life!!”

A burst of rapid running and Cha Fei’ang’s cries for mercy rang out in the corridor.

The lights at Linhe No.1 High School went out early, and many people went back to the dormitory to wash up after not playing for long. Shen Yan and Xu Jing, because they were day students, stayed behind to help clean up the classroom, and finally left the school.

After leaving the school gate, Shen Yan spoke softly, “Was it you who remembered my birthday?”

“Could it be Cha Fei’ang?”

Xu Jing’s voice had a “What are you asking such nonsense?” kind of force, but his expression revealed a kind of “Why aren’t you praising me yet?” arrogance.

Shen Yan didn’t dare to hesitate, afraid that his deskmate would change his face in the next second, so he said thank you very sincerely.

Xu Jing was very satisfied at the moment, and hummed, and said, “But it was indeed him who prepared everything, I just paid.”

“How much?”

“Not much, two thousand.”

For the things tonight, including the cake, it would cost at most a little over a thousand. Cha Fei’ang, this middleman, made a profit difference that was a bit too excessive, but Xu Jing was too lazy to care about this little bit of money, even though this birthday party was a bit chuuni, but overall it was good, just consider it the hard work fee he gave.

Shen Yan touched Xu Jing’s hair and smiled, “You really are a young master.”

Xu Jing found that Shen Yan sometimes liked to add the word “little” in front of a certain title, sometimes “little cake,” sometimes “young master,” and before he even called him “little girl.” However, this person never spoke properly when calling these out, and his tone was obviously trying to tease him.

Because his hair was soft, Xu Jing’s originally perfect hairstyle was messed up all at once.

Xu Jing dodged to the side, dissatisfied and said, “Don’t touch it, you’re making me look like a dog.”

“Ah, then bark once and let me hear it.”

Xu Jing snorted coldly, “I dare to bark, but dare you to listen?”

“You’ll know if you try it?”

Shen Yan’s use of the baiting method was superb, especially when paired with his slightly upturned tone, it was easy to fall into the trap of his rhetoric. Xu Jing used to fall for it every time, but now he had cultivated the ability to deal with it easily.

“I don’t know how, you teach me.”

Shen Yan was silent for two seconds and said, “My voice is too good, I’m afraid you’ll want to pounce on me immediately after listening to it.”

“I really want to pounce on you now.”

After saying that, Xu Jing bumped heavily into the side of the person walking casually beside him. Shen Yan’s attention was all on the words just now, and he was suddenly bumped, and he almost fell into the trash can next to him.

“…”

Xu Jing’s strength was originally not small, and he never softened his heart when he bumped into him every time.

Very good.

Shen Yan’s hand was long. He grabbed Xu Jing’s backpack, which was slung over one shoulder. Xu Jing hadn’t even taken a step before he was pulled back with force.

A dangerous voice came from overhead.

“Deskmate, however you bump into me now, I will definitely bump you back twice as hard in the future.”

“Twice as hard” had a hint of gnashing his teeth.

Their eyes met, and Xu Jing’s eyelashes trembled obviously a few times. He turned his head, and his voice was very soft, but the content was so heavy that Shen Yan had a kind of confusion that he couldn’t tell east from west.

“Who told you there’s a future?”

“…” Shen Yan’s throat tightened, and he said, “Don’t joke like that.”

“Who’s joking with you?”

Hearing these words, the corners of Shen Yan’s forehead throbbed. He asked back, “Are you serious?”

Xu Jing’s side face was reflected in the light, his outline clear and handsome, “Mmm.”

“There’s a supermarket up ahead, are you going?”

Shen Yan: “…”

When the two of them passed by later, they really went in as if possessed.

They both knew what they wanted to buy, and they were also placed in the most conspicuous position. They saw them as soon as they entered the supermarket, but neither of them took the initiative to reach out to get them. The two usually decisive and efficient youths stood in front of the shelf full of condoms for at least ten minutes. It was obviously embarrassing, but there was also an unspeakable subtlety.

The boss was originally half-asleep on the lounge chair. He opened his eyes several times in a daze, but found that the two people who had entered the supermarket ten minutes ago were still standing there. He subconsciously thought they were going to steal or rob, so he widened his eyes and woke up instantly.

“Hey, you two, what do you want to buy?”

The boss’s sudden voice startled the two people who were already thinking about things in their hearts. They immediately turned their heads to look at the shelves next to them, pretending to be seriously picking things.

Shen Yan replied, “Just looking around.”

“Oh.” Looking at the two people wearing school uniforms and having the faces of good students, the boss was relieved a lot and reminded, “I’m closing soon, what do you want to buy? Hurry up.”

Shen Yan turned his head again, and saw a clean and slender hand quickly taking two boxes from the XXL shelf, and then walking to the front desk without looking back, his back looking like he was bravely going to die.

Shen Yan: “…”

“Hey, you, you paid too much.”

The boss hadn’t had time to give him the change yet. He looked up and found that even Xu Jing’s back couldn’t be seen. Then Shen Yan walked out again. He was just about to open his mouth when he was interrupted.

“Don’t ask.”

Boss: “…”

Ask what? What could he ask? He had been running this store for so many years. He had seen all kinds of combinations, such as extravagant, heavily made-up middle-aged women and young, innocent male college students, pure and clean female high school students and pot-bellied middle-aged men, just kidding.

Wait.

The boss, who suddenly realized something, froze in place.

The two just now were, they were both fucking men.

The boss was so frightened that he fell back into his chair, and finally looked at the various styles of condoms in front of him, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Has the outside world developed to this extent?