“November 19th, Saturday, sunny weather, birthday. Ji Ran’s birthday gift is ready. Happy birthday! Hope good things happen!”
Xu Yan wrote these words in his diary, then closed it and placed it back on the wobbly bookshelf.
“Brother, aren’t you leaving yet? Breakfast is ready.” Xu Yao gently pushed open her brother’s door, peeking her head inside, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum. She handed him a boiled egg.
“Coming!” Xu Yan carefully placed the diary, then pushed open the window to glance at the howling cold wind outside. Without hesitation, he pulled a white turtleneck sweater from the wardrobe over his head and took the egg from Xu Yao’s hand.
He ruffled Xu Yao’s hair and smiled at her. “Let’s go, brother’s off to celebrate his birthday.”
Xu Yao looked up, somewhat bewildered, watching her brother stride away with such energy, feeling that he seemed unusually happy this morning. Leaning on the balcony railing, she watched Xu Yan’s retreating figure and thought with a hint of confusion: Why is brother celebrating his birthday today?
Walking to school today, Xu Yan felt exceptionally lighthearted. The cold wind no longer seemed biting, the withered branches along the roadside appeared full of life, even the usually noisy and sharp-tongued auntie seemed gentler. The sky was beautiful too, with the sun just beginning to peek out. Birthdays really are wonderful days.
He wanted to see Ji Ran quickly, to see the 18-year-old Ji Ran. As he walked, he began running against the cold wind, the breeze tousling his hair and fluttering his open school uniform. Xu Yan strode into No. 3 High School, heading straight for Ji Ran.
“Ji Ran!” Xu Yan entered the classroom. According to his calculations, if everything was on time, Ji Ran would have just sat down. Sure enough, as he expected, Ji Ran was already in his seat and looked up at the sound of his voice.
Xu Yan waved with a smile, ran over, leaned close to Ji Ran’s ear, and whispered, “Happy birthday! Happy birthday! Happy birthday!”
Ji Ran touched his ear and replied, “Same to you.”
“I have a gift for you, but I’ll give it to you this afternoon,” Xu Yan said with a mysterious smile. Ji Ran lowered his head and softly replied, “Okay.”
“You’re not embarrassed, are you?” Xu Yan, seeing Ji Ran lower his head, suddenly felt like teasing him. Smiling, he lifted Ji Ran’s chin again.
Ji Ran lowered his eyes, carefully avoiding Xu Yan’s gaze. From this angle, he could clearly see a mole on Xu Yan’s throat. He couldn’t handle it.
“Really embarrassed?” Xu Yan lowered his hand. “It’s normal for friends to give birthday gifts. No need to be shy.”
As soon as Xu Yan finished speaking, Ji Ran’s eyes visibly dimmed. “So, Qiu Muyang and Sun Rui will get gifts too, right?”
“Huh?” Xu Yan was taken aback by the question and explained, “I’ll give each person a different gift.”
“Then am I the special one?” Ji Ran lowered his eyes. “If not, I don’t want the gift.”
Xu Yan was completely stunned, his mind swirling with large subtitles: Is Ji Ran the special friend?
The 18-year-old Ji Ran was really different. How could he ask such a powerful question?
But he quickly found the answer: Ji Ran was the most special friend to him. He was the friend Xu Yan wanted to approach at first sight, the first friend he had ever completely opened his heart to, and he even wanted to be friends with Ji Ran for a lifetime.
So, blushing, Xu Yan poured out the words in his heart: “You are special. Among my friends, you are the most special! Very special. I want to be friends with you for a lifetime!”
When these words reached Ji Ran’s ears, they automatically translated into: You are special. I want to be with you forever. Ji Ran’s heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Xu Yan also liked him? Did Xu Yan know he liked him?
But the next second, Ji Ran saw Qiu Muyang turn his head and say gloomily, “Yanzi, so my two months of friendship with you were all in vain. You’re so cheesy. Only the top student is special, huh? Want to be friends for a lifetime? Anyone who doesn’t know better would think you’re confessing to him!”
Xu Yan quickly waved his hands to explain, “What confession? We’re just friends! Besides, Ji Ran is a guy. Why would I confess to a guy? Who are you trying to disgust so early in the morning, Qiu Muyang?”
Qiu Muyang gave a disdainful look. “Who’s as disgusting as you early in the morning? ‘I want to be friends with you for a lifetime'”
“Shut up.” Ji Ran’s cool voice spoke directly, making Qiu Muyang sneeze on this early winter morning.
“Alright, alright, I was just joking,” Qiu Muyang teased with a laugh and turned back around. Having someone as simple and sincere as Xu Yan in the dull and tedious high school life was actually quite nice—meeting someone and immediately wanting to be friends for a lifetime. A lifetime, how long would that be?
Qiu Muyang thought this to himself but happily hummed a tune: “If being friends in this lifetime isn’t enough for you, will the next lifetime do? I still want a friend like you”
Listening to Qiu Muyang’s singing, Xu Yan said quietly, “Yang’er, you’re off-key.”
Qiu Muyang: “Give me back the emotion I just felt.”
Since the entire second-year grade at No. 3 High School had a half-day off this Saturday afternoon, the minds of everyone in Class 2 were wandering during the morning classes. Especially in the back rows, notes were flying everywhere.
Qiu Muyang, the leader of the note-passing in the back rows, swiftly and skillfully tossed a note he had written onto Xu Yan’s desk. Xu Yan covered it with his hand and carefully opened it.
[QMY]: Starting a group chat—where are we hanging out this afternoon? (Give it to Xu Yan first, then Sun Rui. Follow the order and pass it back to me!!)
Staring at the three huge exclamation marks Qiu Muyang had handwritten, Xu Yan firmly remembered the order and wrote on the note: [XY]: It’s Ji Ran’s birthday. I’m planning to celebrate it for him.
Xu Yan folded the note, skillfully avoided the teacher’s line of sight, and threw a perfect parabola, landing it neatly on Sun Rui’s desk.
Sun Rui secretly took it, glanced at it, and looked back at Xu Yan and Ji Ran with confusion before slowly writing a question mark on the note.
The moment Qiu Muyang received the note, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and stared intently at Xu Yan. His eyes drifted toward Ji Ran, who was solving problems, and he raised an eyebrow at Xu Yan.
Xu Yan understood Qiu Muyang’s “eye language.” Qiu Muyang was asking, “Is it really the top student’s birthday?” Seeing this, Xu Yan immediately nodded. Qiu Muyang pursed his lips, turned back, and scrawled something on the note before tossing it perfectly back onto Xu Yan’s desk.
Xu Yan took it and opened it to see:
[sr]: ?
[qmy]: Damn it, Xu Yan, if you don’t spend my birthday with me this summer, you’re dead! I, Qiu Muyang, will definitely cut ties with you! Also, I’m going to the top student’s birthday too. Have you decided where you’re going? Did you order the birthday cake? Are we going to KTV? Your Yang-ge wants to sing a birthday song for the top student.
Only after taking the note did Xu Yan realize how poorly he had planned Ji Ran’s birthday. He hadn’t thought at all about where to go or that a birthday cake was even necessary. All his memories of birthdays stopped before the age of six. It had been so long since he celebrated one that he only remembered buying gifts.
Annoyed, he tapped his head. After replying to Qiu Muyang, the note accidentally veered off course and landed squarely on the corner of Ji Ran’s desk.
Ji Ran stared silently at the note, glancing sideways at the awkward Xu Yan. He picked it up, tilted his head, and raised an eyebrow. “Yours?”
Xu Yan nodded, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture. “Ran-ge, could you please throw it to Sun Rui for me? Please?” He even tugged lightly at Ji Ran’s sleeve.
Ji Ran’s hand holding the note paused slightly. His slender fingers twirled in the air as if aiming, then he flicked it. The note brushed past Sun Rui’s face and landed straight on his desk.
Ji Ran looked coldly at Xu Yan and emphasized, “Just this once.” Xu Yan nodded with a smile.
Seeing this, Ji Ran thought to himself that he now had another person to dislike: Sun Rui.
Time flew by, and the morning passed quickly for Xu Yan and the others.
Qiu Muyang, the social butterfly, began gathering people in the class: “Hey, friends, where are we going this afternoon?” But most already had plans after the holiday. In the end, the only one who joined was their class’s sports and arts committee member—Shu Ning.
Rather than saying Shu Ning joined voluntarily, it was more accurate to say Qiu Muyang shamelessly begged her to come. He straightforwardly told her, “It’s the top student’s birthday today, and we’re all going to celebrate. Sis, we need you! Because we’re all tone-deaf. Will you come?”
Shu Ning brushed her short hair aside and rolled her eyes at Qiu Muyang. “I’ll go, but not for your sake—for the top student’s.”
“Great!” Qiu Muyang agreed readily, then quickly booked a small KTV room on his phone. Meanwhile, Xu Yan secretly ordered a fruit cake. Everything was ready; all they needed was Ji Ran, the final piece.
“I’ll go with Ji Ran first. You guys head to the KTV and get settled. I’ll message you when we arrive, and you can start playing the birthday song,” Xu Yan instructed with a smile. Qiu Muyang nodded eagerly.
Shu Ning stood coolly to the side and replied, “Don’t worry, I’m more reliable than him.”
Sun Rui just laughed cheerfully, like a supporting comedian.
After arranging everything, Xu Yan returned to his seat and saw Ji Ran still solving problems. He gently tapped on Ji Ran’s desk. “It’s your birthday today, and you’re still studying?”
The moment Ji Ran looked up, a beautifully wrapped gift box appeared before him. On it was written in elegant calligraphy: “Ji Ran, 18th Birthday and Coming-of-Age Gift.”
“Stop using that smartwatch. You’re not a kid anymore, are you?” Xu Yan teased with a smile. “I bet from now on, whenever I see a smartwatch, I’ll only think of you—the kid who was still using one even in his second year of high school?”
“This box contains a phone for you. I don’t have much money, so I got it from the secondhand market. I checked, and it works.”
Ji Ran didn’t understand Xu Yan’s sense of humor, but the corners of his mouth still lifted involuntarily. He gently unwrapped the gift, revealing a smartphone resting quietly inside.
Everything Xu Yan had done before now formed a complete loop—had he been saving money for him? Ji Ran didn’t understand. They had only known each other for two and a half months, so why had he fallen for him? And why was Xu Yan so good to him? Were they really just friends?
Ji Ran picked up the phone but suddenly frowned, as if remembering something. “It’s too expensive. I’m afraid it’ll get confiscated.”
Xu Yan had previously made some guesses about Ji Ran’s family situation but still probed cautiously, “Afraid Old Du will take it? Don’t worry about that at all. Look at me in class—”
“No,” Ji Ran interrupted Xu Yan’s words. “My dad will take it. He confiscated the last one.”
“Don’t worry. Just hide the phone. If it really comes down to it, fight him.” Xu Yan offered his sincere advice. He saw nothing wrong with this approach. Whenever he was dissatisfied with Xu Guodong, he often resolved it by fighting.
Ji Ran silently accepted Xu Yan’s suggestion.
Xu Yan took Ji Ran to the service center to get a new prepaid SIM card with data, ensuring Ji Ran could use the internet freely and making it easier for them to chat in the future.
After everything was settled, Ji Ran suddenly whispered in his ear, “Why are you so good to me? This card is expensive”
“Ah, it doesn’t matter. You can owe me for now and pay me back later. Why bother keeping track of such things between friends? Qiu Muyang and I never do, and it’s the same with you.” Xu Yan had just cut off Ji Ran’s words but was immediately silenced by his next sentence. He heard Ji Ran say, “You treat me better than my own dad. Are we really just friends?”
Xu Yan was puzzled. If not friends, then what? He replied coldly, “Not friends. Father and son.”
Ji Ran: “…”
“Ji Ran, let’s go to KTV. I want to sing a song for you.” Xu Yan tilted his head slightly with a smile, his body inadvertently brushing against Ji Ran’s arm. Instantly, Ji Ran’s relaxed fingers curled slightly.
“Okay.” Ji Ran’s voice was soft, like a helpless sigh carried by the early winter chill.
Xu Yan took Ji Ran by taxi to the KTV Qiu Muyang had booked. Sitting in the car, Xu Yan secretly messaged Qiu Muyang behind Ji Ran’s back: “Almost there, about ten minutes away. Get ready!”
[Qiu Muyang]: Don’t worry, following the organization’s arrangements! All set! (Fist pump)
Seeing the message, Xu Yan couldn’t help but smile. Everything was ready, and good things were about to happen.
Ji Ran leaned against the car window, resting his elbow, and watched Xu Yan’s bright smile. A warmth rose in his heart, like withered wood meeting spring.
After getting out of the car, Xu Yan instinctively grabbed Ji Ran’s hand and headed straight for the KTV room.
Ji Ran was pulled along, feeling dazed, his breathing growing hurried. He tensed up and followed slowly behind Xu Yan. The moment the room door opened, Ji Ran heard a birthday song teetering on the edge of being off-key: “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you”
Qiu Muyang stood on the KTV stage, cheerfully finishing the off-key birthday song before taking on the role of the atmosphere host: “Let’s welcome today’s star, Ji Ran!”
Soon, Xu Yan and Qiu Muyang brought out the birthday cake they had prepared earlier. Shu Ning and Sun Rui helped light the candles, and the group gathered around Ji Ran, holding the cake as they chorused, “Happy birthday, top student!”
Ji Ran froze in embarrassment, standing stiffly in place. Surrounded by everyone, he hesitantly accepted the birthday cake handed to him by Xu Yan.
He felt a bit nervous, his gaze drifting restlessly. He hadn’t expected his high school life to gradually veer further and further from what he had imagined, but now, this path was filled with a group of wonderfully foolish friends.
“Make a wish, Ji Ran,” Xu Yan said gently, carefully holding the cake. Under the flickering candlelight, Xu Yan’s eyes shone brightly, like the sun.
Ji Ran had always been a firm materialist, but this time, he clasped his hands together and made a sincere wish: at eighteen, he hoped to win Xu Yan’s heart.
After the cake was shared, Ji Ran was excitedly pulled by Qiu Muyang to sit in the center of the soft leather sofa. After enduring an entire evening of Qiu Muyang’s off-key singing, Ji Ran couldn’t help but tease, “Stop singing, you’re out of tune.”
Qiu Muyang looked shocked. “Top student, you—you—Ji Ran is actually joking with me!”
Ji Ran simply smiled without a word. He thought, among friends, a little teasing didn’t seem so bad.
In his surprise, Qiu Muyang accidentally let Shu Ning, who was sitting in the corner, snatch the microphone. Shu Ning shot him a disdainful look and said, “Let me.”
Soon, the once cacophonous room was filled with Shu Ning’s clear and melodious voice: “And everyone endures day after day Without you, life is black and white, so this is what love feels like I want to say it every day, tell you every day how much I love you.”
The private room was dimly lit. Even with the colorful ambient lights overhead, it was hard to make out anyone’s expression. Ji Ran boldly gazed at Xu Yan, who was gently swaying and humming along, his eyes filled with tender affection.
Just like the lyrics, he too was enduring. He wanted to whisper in Xu Yan’s ear every day that he had liked him for a very long time.