Chapter 27: Remnants
Miss Lu’s disappearance changed nothing. Perhaps because she was just an ordinary stray kitten. Half a month had passed since the posters went up, and Wen Hupo hadn’t received a single response. After that day, she returned to school, but she no longer sat next to Lu Li. Instead, she continued to seclude herself in the activity classroom, painting with steady, almost mechanical strokes. Lu Li had looked for her a few times, but there was always an unspoken distance between them now. Their conversations would end after just a few exchanges.
May 17th was Chu Jingyi’s birthday. Coincidentally, May 18th was Wen Hupo’s birthday. However, not many people knew about Wen Hupo’s birthday. Lu Li was one of them, having learned about it from Wen Hupo herself in his past life.
Silly Goose’s birthday was a grand affair. Lu Li didn’t have to lift a finger. Her classmates had already decorated the classroom and prepared a birthday celebration. Even the principal came to offer his congratulations. The small gifts that Lu Li and An Baili prepared seemed insignificant compared to the expensive presents from the others. The student council even hung a banner in the teaching building: “Happy 17th Birthday to Miss Chu Jingyi, the Chu Family’s Precious Daughter!” It was a bit over the top, but this was the reality of Shenzhou.
Wen Hupo also attended the party. She stood alone on the outskirts of the crowd, no one greeting her, no one guiding her. She held a gift box in her hand, unsure where to go. When Lu Li approached her, Wen Hupo visibly relaxed.
“You can give the gift to me, I’ll pass it on to Jingyi.” Lu Li took the small, light gift box from Wen Hupo. It felt like it contained jewelry. “It’s quite lively, isn’t it? I can’t even squeeze through the crowd. Look, Jingyi’s face is stiff from smiling.”
“She’s a lucky girl,” Wen Hupo commented simply.
“Perhaps not as lucky as you think.” Lu Li was referring to Silly Goose’s fate in his past life. “She represents what we call ‘a beauty’s short life’ in Chinese, perhaps even heaven couldn’t stand to see such a beloved girl suffer,” he thought. “You can just leave the gift and go. Why are you standing here like you’re being punished?”
“This is my first time giving someone a birthday gift.” Wen Hupo smiled, a genuine smile of contentment.
“Have you ever received a birthday gift?”
“I don’t celebrate birthdays.”
A familiar answer. Lu Li saw a reflection of himself in her. No, he saw a reflection of her in himself. Everyone wanted to celebrate their birthday, but to avoid the loneliness of no one caring, they would just pretend they didn’t celebrate birthdays.
“When is your birthday?” Lu Li already knew, but he still asked.
“I don’t celebrate birthdays.” Wen Hupo glanced at him. “I’ve even forgotten when my birthday is.”
That’s a lie. Lu Li thought. No one forgets their own birthday.
He saw Silly Goose waving at him from the crowd. The silly girl was truly enjoying the lively birthday celebration.
“I’ll be going then.” Seeing this, Wen Hupo whispered and quietly slipped away, like a ghost.
Birthday. Of course she celebrated birthdays. She had even received a birthday gift, the palette knife from her adoptive parents, which she still kept. But she didn’t like celebrating her birthday. This special day only highlighted the loneliness and emptiness of her life.
Since arriving in China, she hadn’t told anyone about her birthday, not even the little maid who took care of her.
May 18th. Wen Hupo woke up in her soft, large bed. The shy and introverted maid, as usual, prepared a glass of warm milk and two fried eggs for her. It was Friday, but she wasn’t going to school. Sleeping in for an extra ten minutes would be her birthday present to herself.
The maid, Xiaowen, was still busy bustling around. Wen Hupo watched her with her light-colored eyes. Xiaowen was a clumsy maid, always breaking things, either a porcelain bowl or something from a shelf, sometimes even spilling milk or butter everywhere. Wen Hupo was always curious about what Xiaowen did all day. They were the only two people living in this villa. Besides the daily cleaning, there shouldn’t be any other strenuous tasks.
If she told Xiaowen that today was her birthday, she would probably become even more anxious and busy, wouldn’t she? It was better not to say anything.
Wen Hupo took a bite of the fried egg. Hmm, the yolk was runny, just how she liked it. Xiaowen’s cooking wasn’t bad, at least.
For some reason, she suddenly thought of Chu Jingyi. What did she have for breakfast on her birthday yesterday? Many people must have sent her “Happy Birthday” messages early in the morning, and perhaps Lu Li was one of them. Thinking of this, Wen Hupo’s mood soured. She checked her phone. The only unread message was from the nearby supermarket, reminding her that she could redeem her membership points for an inflatable swimming pool.
“Miss…” The little maid suddenly called out. “I’m sorry, I almost forgot…”
A flicker of something appeared in Wen Hupo’s eyes, then quickly vanished.
“Mrs. Wu next door invited you to her tea party this Saturday.”
“I’m not going.” What could a group of well-dressed, carefree housewives possibly talk about?
The little maid let out a disappointed “oh.” She had actually received a small tip from Mrs. Wu to extend the invitation to Wen Hupo. She also knew that Miss Shirley rarely socialized, except… except for that boy last time. Was he someone Miss Shirley liked? He didn’t look particularly impressive…
Ding-dong. The doorbell rang. The little maid quickly put down the rag she was holding and rushed to the door. A moment later, she returned with a package. “Miss, there’s a package for you.”
A package for me? Was it from Mr. Diplomat? He was the only one in China who knew about her birthday.
Wen Hupo saw the sender’s name on the package: “Chuanhai City’s Outstanding Young Man Representative.” Her heart tightened inexplicably, a mixture of anticipation and fear. She hoped the package was from a certain someone, but she was also afraid that it wasn’t what she expected.
She cut open the package. Inside was a gift box with a small card attached to the ribbon:
“Happy Birthday.”
Wen Hupo’s eyes suddenly welled up, and she chuckled. “How did he know?” Tears streamed down her face as she laughed.
She opened the gift box. Inside was a custom-made glass trophy, the same style as the ones awarded at the sports meet. But the inscription on this trophy was different: “Best Teamwork Award: Wen Hupo / Shirley Amber.”
Her nose tingled, and she wiped away her tears, a smile still lingering on her face. “He’s so narcissistic. Who wants to have teamwork with him…” She felt that with this birthday gift, her trip to China had found its perfect ending.
She held the trophy close, carefully and preciously.
Leave a Reply