LRAPTC Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Birthday (1)

Ever since that day, Shen Jue felt as if time had frozen. Ji Yuanan hadn’t called him again. Shen Jue continued to send him photos of the forget-me-not seedlings, fulfilling his duty to the end, even though they hadn’t changed much.

Each time after sending them and putting down his phone, Shen Jue would be enveloped by a nameless sense of loss, not knowing where it came from. Shen Jue couldn’t find the reason.

Maybe the forget-me-nots were growing secretly, he comforted himself.

Once again carrying the flower pots inside, Shen Jue paused for a moment, staring at the flowers. He wished he could hear the flowers talking. The whole room was still too big and quiet. Even when Ji Yuanan was there, they didn’t talk much, each minding their own business. But after Ji Yuanan left, the already empty room was completely devoid of life, and Shen Jue occasionally felt a little lonely.

“Brother—stop spacing out!” Shen Wei said with dissatisfaction.

Shen Jue snapped back to reality, turning to look at Shen Wei, who was looking at him with a displeased expression. On the game screen, the character Shen Jue was controlling had strayed from the path and was wandering aimlessly, eventually blocked by a dense forest.

At first, Shen Wei had only gently reminded him when he was heading towards the forest. But Shen Jue was completely oblivious, still manipulating the character to move forward. The little figure was stuck, stepping in place, unable to move forward or backward. Shen Wei simply dropped the controller, staring at Shen Jue resentfully.

“Sorry, I was distracted just now,” Shen Jue apologized to him.

Seeing his absent-minded appearance, Shen Wei couldn’t help but feel a little worried. He leaned closer and whispered in his ear, “Brother, are you okay? I feel like you’re not yourself today… Or is it that you find this game too boring? Should we switch to another one?”

Although he said that, he thought this game was perfect for Shen Jue. It was easy to operate and didn’t require players to fight. They just needed to work together to pass the levels. At this moment, the little figure controlled by Shen Wei was standing on the shore, waiting for his companion. They had to cross the river together to continue. The river was flowing slowly, not rapidly.

Shen Jue shook his head upon hearing this, making it impossible for Shen Wei to discern what Shen Jue wanted to convey—whether he was okay or whether the game wasn’t boring and didn’t need to be changed.

Shen Jue looked at Shen Wei again and asked, “Do you still want to play? We seem to be almost finished.”

So he still knows we’re playing a game, Shen Wei thought to himself. He didn’t answer, but said hesitantly, “Brother, you’re really not acting right today.” He guessed, “…Did something happen between you and Ji Yuanan? You can tell me.”

If only it were that simple, Shen Jue thought. In fact, not only hadn’t they had any conflicts, but they had also gotten along very well. Shen Jue realized that he had actually gotten used to Ji Yuanan’s presence. Shen Jue had once heard somewhere that it only takes twenty-one days to form a habit. Twenty-one days—Ji Yuanan had become a part of his habit.

So it was normal for Shen Jue to feel uncomfortable when the habit suddenly changed.

Shen Jue looked away and replied, “No.”

He casually brushed it off with a sentence: “Maybe I went to bed too late yesterday, so I’m a little tired today.”

“You weren’t staying up late working again, were you?” Shen Wei asked him again.

Actually, Shen Jue had just been reading a novel, so engrossed that he had lost track of time. By the time he finished reading, it had been a long time, so he had gone to bed a little later than usual. Shen Jue quickly denied Shen Wei’s accusation.

Shen Wei was still skeptical. He stared at Shen Jue’s face for a while. The dark circles under Shen Jue’s eyes didn’t seem as serious as before. At least, he could be sure that Shen Jue hadn’t been staying up too late recently.

“Then, brother, do you want to sleep for a while now? I can reluctantly let you have my big bed.”

Shen Jue smiled, saying helplessly, “…I’m not so sleepy that I need to fall asleep.”

They finished the last small part of the game. After successfully completing the level, these words popped up in the center of the screen. Shen Wei selected the exit button, clicked, and logged out of the game.

Just then, Shen Jue’s phone vibrated without warning. Ji Yuanan had sent him a message:

[Returning tomorrow night.]

[S: Do you want to have dinner at home?]

After sending the message, Shen Jue waited quietly for Ji Yuanan’s reply. The second before the phone screen went dark, Ji Yuanan finally replied:

[No need, I won’t arrive until the early morning.]

Shen Jue’s mood visibly improved. After replying to Ji Yuanan’s message, even Shen Jue himself didn’t notice. Shen Wei, who was next to him, quit the game and watched Shen Jue cross-legged, looking down at the phone screen, typing words, his expression no longer as listless as before.

After Shen Jue finished replying to the message, Shen Wei pulled him over again. Shen Wei stuffed a beautifully patterned paper bag into his hands. Shen Jue opened it, and inside were two hardcover books. They felt heavy when he picked them up. Shen Jue then took out the greeting card tucked inside. Below the cartoon cake pattern, Shen Wei wrote in black pen, stroke by stroke: Happy 25th birthday, with a small smiley face doodle at the end, smiling brightly at Shen Jue.

Seeing this, Shen Wei wanted to step forward and stop Shen Jue, but it was too late. Shen Jue had already read the birthday message. Then, he said seriously to Shen Wei, “Thank you for the birthday gift.” He glanced at the two books, smiled, and said, “I like them very much. I’m also very happy.”

“I have a full day of classes on your birthday, so I’m giving you the gift in advance.”

“I also prepared a small cake for you. Do you want to try it now?” Shen Wei asked him.

Later, Shen Wei magically produced a palm-sized fruit cake, with a circle of cream piled around it and different fruits lying quietly in the center. Shen Jue obediently finished the entire cake.

That day, Shen Wei celebrated Shen Jue’s birthday in advance. The two of them huddled together to relive the first game they had ever played together, still with the familiar pixel style. But this time, they were already very familiar with it and wouldn’t be as helpless as the first time, so they passed the level smoothly.

In the end, it was completely dark. Shen Jue, who had been empty-handed, boarded the bus with the bag of books. The couple at the bus stop got on the same bus. The two sat side by side, the girl holding up her phone, taking selfies of the two of them.

Shen Jue looked out the window, holding the paper bag. When he turned his head, he inadvertently glanced forward, forced to witness a small part of the couple’s intimate interaction. The bus happened to pass through a sparsely populated area, and the inside of the bus instantly darkened. Shen Jue’s shadow was clearly reflected on the glass window. He looked at his lonely figure and suddenly thought of Ji Yuanan for some reason.

Perhaps it was because there weren’t many people on the bus, and the couple made him seem too alone, that Shen Jue thought of him. He lowered his head, looking at the books in his arms, trying hard to drive Ji Yuanan out of his mind.

When Ji Yuanan returned, Shen Jue was already asleep. Ji Yuanan glanced at the time. Past midnight, a new day had arrived, and Shen Jue was also celebrating his birthday. As long as Ji Yuanan wanted, he could send Shen Jue a birthday greeting with his phone now, effortlessly becoming the first person to wish Shen Jue a happy birthday, but he didn’t want to.

There were some words he wanted to wait for Shen Jue to wake up and say to him personally. That simple happy birthday.

The long journey had exhausted too much of Ji Yuanan’s energy. Ji Yuanan brushed his teeth and washed his face hastily before going to sleep. When he got up and went downstairs, Shen Jue was preparing to eat the last bite of his breakfast. Shen Jue was wearing a bright red knitted cardigan, standing out among the cold-colored furniture. He sat at the dining table, looking up, drinking the milk in the glass.

Ji Yuanan consciously walked to his side and tidied Shen Jue’s hair. Shen Jue felt his touch, and his hand holding the glass didn’t dare to move. Ji Yuanan quickly put down his hand and took the initiative to sit opposite him, saying, “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Shen Jue put down the glass, somewhat surprised. “I thought you would sleep in even later.” After all, Ji Yuanan had returned very late.

Ji Yuanan shook his head and said, “I’m used to it.”

Shen Jue got up and walked towards the kitchen, saying as he walked, “I made breakfast. I’ll go get it for you.”

A few seconds later, Shen Jue handed the breakfast to Ji Yuanan. He didn’t leave immediately, but stood there for a while. As if finally making up his mind, he announced in the next second, “I might not be back at noon.”

Without waiting for Ji Yuanan to reply, Shen Jue continued, “I’m going out with friends. I’ll probably be back in the afternoon, so you don’t have to prepare my meal for lunch.”

Ji Yuanan took a bite of the sandwich. The sour taste of the ketchup immediately spread in his mouth. He swallowed it and said softly, “Okay.”

At ten o’clock, Shen Jue left the house on time. Before leaving, Ji Yuanan said to him, “Have fun.”

“Thank you.” Shen Jue showed him a smile.

Ji Yuanan stood at the gate, watching Shen Jue walk away, that deep red color gradually disappearing from his sight.

As soon as Shen Jue entered the door, he was covered in ribbons. Before he was completely surrounded by ribbons, he heard Yu Zhuo’s voice ringing out not far away: “Surprise!” The tone was slightly raised.

The attack finally stopped, and Shen Jue began to clean up all the messy ribbons on his body, glancing at the culprit standing on the side, smiling and looking at him. Then he heard Yu Zhuo say, “Specially prepared birthday limited edition for you. Surprised?”

This kind of plot had been staged every year since he met Yu Zhuo. Shen Jue was already used to it and not surprised at all. He cleared the ribbons off his arms and smiled very cooperatively, replying, “Very surprised.”

“Eh.” After Shen Jue came in completely, Yu Zhuo seemed to have discovered something strange and asked doubtfully, “Are you the only one? I thought you would bring some special person here.”

“Unfortunately, it’s really just me.”

Shen Jue walked straight to Zhao Youming and sat down next to him. Yu Zhuo also turned around and walked over, stopping in front of Shen Jue, and then respectfully said, “Now, please let our birthday star order.”

That noon, Shen Jue had a simple hot pot buffet with his friends, and additionally ordered some desserts to save for the end. From early morning until now, Shen Jue had received many birthday wishes from many people, but none from Ji Yuanan. Shen Jue wasn’t surprised. After all, a month ago, they were complete strangers. Ji Yuanan didn’t need to remember the birthday of an unimportant person.

When they were almost finished with the hot pot, they strolled around the mall. Yu Zhuo was attracted by the claw machine in the corner and insisted on catching one before he would leave, so Shen Jue and Zhao Youming could only stand by and watch Yu Zhuo operate.

The claw was loose and shaky. Yu Zhuo spent all his game coins to barely catch one, and in the end, he gave the caught brown teddy bear to Shen Jue. Shen Jue put the little bear with the red bow tie into the gift bag, leaving only a small head so it could enjoy the scenery outside.

Shen Jue still drank a little wine when they ate lunch. Zhao Youming and Yu Zhuo put him in a taxi. Shen Jue finally had time to start looking at the gifts he had received. He looked at the little bear that only showed a head and couldn’t help but grab it. He didn’t expect it to be surprisingly soft and fluffy, and Shen Jue gently rubbed it a few more times before stopping.

Yu Zhuo had packed him a bunch of strange snacks, and the painting he had given to Shen Jue was pressed to the very bottom. Shen Jue pulled it out, passing over the snacks. Yu Zhuo had drawn a colorful birthday cake on scratch paper, still with a familiar signature in the lower left corner.

Just as Shen Jue was about to put the painting back, he suddenly noticed a note attached to the back. He tore it off and saw Yu Zhuo had written a sentence on it: Don’t take this one to sell, okay?

Shen Jue looked at the crying emoticon at the end of the sentence, smiled very softly, and then stuck the note back on.

After returning, Shen Jue found that no one was home, so he went upstairs with the gifts.

After going out for a trip, Shen Jue quickly fell asleep. In the blink of an eye, he entered another dream. He sat on the dark playground, with a very delicate cake in front of him. The faint candlelight kept burning, illuminating the surrounding open space, and also illuminating the person opposite him.

Shen Jue lowered his eyes, staring at the clusters of candlelight flickering in the evening wind, thinking that according to the usual practice, it should now be the candle-blowing stage, so he slowly moved closer, planning to silently count one, two, three, and then blow out all the lit candles in one breath.

Before he counted to three, he was interrupted. In the dream, he heard a familiar voice asking him, “Do you want to make a wish now?”

[Author’s words]

Missing person returns. Probably will slowly finish updating later.

Wish everyone a happy Saturday in advance.