LRAPTC Chapter 19

Chapter 19 Birthday (2)

It was Ji Yuanan’s voice, one Shen Jue knew all too well.

Shen Jue silently counted to three before raising his eyes to look at the person sitting across from him. Ji Yuanan was wearing the same school uniform as him, staring at the birthday cake in the middle along with him.

He wasn’t sure why he was dreaming such a bizarre scene – Ji Yuanan celebrating his birthday with him. But perhaps dreams themselves didn’t make any sense. So, in the dream, after hearing the question, he just shook his head and said, “There’s nothing I really want to come true.”

So there was no wish to make. Shen Jue quickly blew out the candles. The empty sports field became even darker. Shen Jue used the faint light from not far away to cut the cake. He divided the cake in half.

Half the cake was a generous portion. Shen Jue worried that Ji Yuanan wouldn’t be able to finish it, so when handing it over, he considerately said, “It’s okay if you can’t finish it. You can just throw it away.”

The light was too dim. Shen Jue couldn’t see Ji Yuanan’s expression clearly, only vaguely making out that he seemed to shake his head. Immediately afterward, he firmly said, word by word, “I won’t throw it away. I’ll finish it all.”

There was really no need. Shen Jue thought this, but Ji Yuanan’s tone was too serious, giving Shen Jue the illusion that he would definitely do what he said, making Shen Jue suddenly unable to speak.

Ji Yuanan continued on his own, “Shen Jue, I’m very happy that you invited me.” After speaking, he revealed a smile to Shen Jue.

Shen Jue slept until it was dark. When he opened his eyes, night had fallen, and he could no longer see the sun. He habitually opened his phone and found that Ji Yuanan had sent him a message not long ago:

[Are you home now?]

[S: Yes. I’m very sorry, I accidentally fell asleep after returning, and I just woke up.]

[S: I’m upstairs now.]

[S: Do you want me to come down now?]

Ji Yuanan replied almost immediately:

[Yes. Come down now.]

So Shen Jue went downstairs. He pushed open the door, and it was pitch black outside. Not a single light was on. He looked to the end of his line of sight, but no light penetrated through. The paintings hanging on the wall had been completely swallowed by the darkness. Shen Jue felt strange. He walked to the stairwell, called out Ji Yuanan’s name, and asked, “Where are you?”

Shen Jue stepped down the stairs, wandering alone in the darkness for a while, and then Ji Yuanan, who had suddenly approached, grabbed his hand. The next second, Ji Yuanan’s voice rang out in the darkness. He called Shen Jue’s name and said, “Hold on tight to me.” Shen Jue was caught off guard and subconsciously followed Ji Yuanan down the stairs in a daze.

Shen Jue returned to the ground. He looked at Ji Yuanan’s profile from the side, and a beam of light happened to shine gently on it. After a moment of absentmindedness, Shen Jue belatedly felt the warmth coming from his wrist, Ji Yuanan’s body temperature. The aftereffects of the wine he had in the afternoon seemed to finally arrive late. Shen Jue felt that he was starting to become dizzy, his steps unsteady, and his whole body was floating. He had no idea what Ji Yuanan’s intention was, nor did he want to think about it. He just let Ji Yuanan lead him in an unknown direction.

They wandered around like ghosts. Ji Yuanan led him through most of the living room and finally arrived at the dining room.

The first thing he saw was the birthday cake placed in the center. Even if he was slow on the uptake, Shen Jue realized at this moment that Ji Yuanan was celebrating his birthday for him.

For a moment, many questions flashed through Shen Jue’s mind, all of which he wanted to ask Ji Yuanan.

Like why he knew his birthday.

Why he wanted to celebrate his birthday for him.

Did he need to be so serious with a substitute? If this was also part of the act.

But Shen Jue ultimately didn’t ask anything. He silently watched Ji Yuanan put candles on the cake and then light them one by one with a lighter. The dim yellow candlelight instantly illuminated the surroundings. Shen Jue saw Ji Yuanan hidden behind the cake. Half of Ji Yuanan’s face, illuminated by the candlelight, shone like it was glowing. Even the light favored him, Shen Jue silently exclaimed.

Then Shen Jue saw the whole cake clearly. The cake was shaped like open book pages, with several blooming flowers piled in the corner of the pages. Those flames were still burning. The room was quiet, and no one spoke.

Ji Yuanan was the first to break the silence. He gently said to Shen Jue, “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” Shen Jue glanced at Ji Yuanan, then quickly averted his gaze and said, “This cake is very pretty.”

Ji Yuanan asked him, “Then do you like it?”

For some reason, Shen Jue was stirred up by Ji Yuanan’s inquiry and just wanted to end this quickly, so he responded vaguely.

This was truly a very dreamlike scene. Shen Jue looked at the words “Happy Birthday” in the lower left corner of the cake and felt increasingly unreal. He recalled the dream he had before waking up and couldn’t help but guess that he might still be in a dream and hadn’t woken up.

After all, this kind of scene couldn’t appear in reality.

Thinking this, Shen Jue decided to blow out the candles and quickly end this absurd dream. He walked closer to the edge of the table, approached the cake, and was about to blow when he heard Ji Yuanan ask a familiar line in the next second.

“Do you want to make a wish now?”

Shen Jue didn’t expect Ji Yuanan to ask this question. It took him several seconds to react. He didn’t answer like he did in his dream, saying “There’s nothing I really want to come true,” nor did he shake his head at Ji Yuanan. Instead, he obediently closed his eyes and pretended to make a wish, letting his mind go blank for a few seconds. Then he opened his eyes and blew out the candles in front of him.

The room instantly darkened. Shen Jue quietly watched the remaining sparks fade and disappear, and the room returned to darkness. A few seconds later, Ji Yuanan turned on the dining room lights.

The sudden light made Shen Jue squint subconsciously. He adapted for a while before opening his eyes. Ji Yuanan had already returned to the dining table. He looked at Shen Jue, seeming to be waiting for Shen Jue to do something.

Seeing this, Shen Jue picked up the cutting knife at hand and began to cut the cake. He cut vertically, cutting the book in half.

He stopped and asked, “Wouldn’t it be too much for the two of us to eat?”

“It seems… it is a little.” Ji Yuanan paused for a few seconds and said, “Sorry, I didn’t consider this. If you can’t finish it, just throw it in the trash.” He said it lightly, as if he didn’t feel sorry for the cake that was about to be wasted.

Shen Jue really couldn’t bear to do it, so he said, “It’s okay, I can finish it. I just didn’t expect… you to prepare this cake for me.” Finally, he muttered softly, “I didn’t expect you to know my birthday.” His voice was too soft, and Ji Yuanan didn’t hear him.

Shen Jue put the cut cake in front of Ji Yuanan. Then he smiled. “Thank you for the cake, and I wish you happiness every day too.”

Ji Yuanan didn’t immediately eat the cake. He said to Shen Jue, “I also prepared a gift.”

Shen Jue finished eating the cake, picked up the gift, and planned to leave. Ji Yuanan raised his hand and wiped away the cream left on the corner of his mouth, and said “Good night” to Shen Jue.

In the instant his finger slipped over, Ji Yuanan’s fingertip inadvertently touched Shen Jue’s lips. In a daze, Shen Jue felt that his drunken symptoms seemed to become more serious, and he subconsciously wanted to step back. Fortunately, Ji Yuanan quickly withdrew his hand. Shen Jue absentmindedly said goodbye to him and slowly returned to his room with the gift.

Everything that happened tonight was like a dream. His hand hesitated when it touched the light switch, as if as soon as he pressed it, the room would light up, and everything just now would vanish into thin air and become an illusion.

He held the handmade ceramic cup that Ji Yuanan gave him tightly in his hand, slowly becoming more stable, but after a while, he suddenly felt a little sad.

At first, he didn’t know where this sadness came from, that very strong sadness, like a tide gradually passing over his head, swallowing him. Until the moment before falling asleep, he truly understood that he was sad because at the same time as he fell in love with Ji Yuanan, he also forever lost the chance to make Ji Yuanan fall in love with him.

[The author has something to say]

Shen Jue’s heartbeat progress is one hundred percent.