LRTH - 8

When Fang Nanzhi heard Xu Tingyou mention Xu Yuanhe’s birthday, her first thought wasn’t about the birthday boy himself.

Instead, it was... that he would probably be there.

She never forgot what Li Yizhou had said to her in the art studio before the final exams.

He said he wanted to see the finished product of her painting. So, for the next few days, she went to the art studio every day at noon, but she never ran into him again.

Maybe he was very busy with the upcoming final exams. Or perhaps he had just said it casually, and she had taken it too seriously.

“Get Xu Yuanhe’s gift ready, Liaoliao. It’s almost time, let’s go.”

On the night of Xu Yuanhe’s birthday, Zhao Liyun came to her room to hurry her up.

Standing by her window, Fang Nanzhi could already see many people going into Xu Yuanhe’s house.

She suddenly wanted to back out. After all, there were so many people, and she didn’t know any of them.

[Where are you? You’re not here yet? Let me know when you arrive.]

Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Xu Tingyou. The two of them had exchanged contact information that day at the doorstep.

Fang Nanzhi’s desire to back out faded a lot when she saw this message.

After all, Xu Tingyou had invited her and was waiting for her.

And besides, wouldn’t she get to see him if she went?

Xu Yuanhe’s house had a similar layout to her own. The only difference was that they had bought two houses and connected them during the design phase, so their two gardens became one. They had also installed a family karaoke room and a movie theater in the other house, making for a very spacious activity area.

At this time, housekeepers were coming and going, making the final preparations for their “young master’s” birthday party.

When Fang Nanzhi arrived, a few boys were sitting in the living room. Xu Yuanhe had a good relationship with most of his classmates and had invited a lot of them. Besides the ones sitting here, many others were coming and going, moving between the two villas.

Seeing someone enter, the boys in the living room naturally looked over and realized that the person was not a classmate of theirs.

Short hair, bangs, glasses, and indistinct facial features. Her skin seemed very fair, but she was a little chubby. Overall, she was very ordinary.

The group didn’t recognize her, but Zhao Ke remembered her and said hello. “Hi, Tingyou’s deskmate. Long time no see.”

With so many people, all of them strangers, watching her, Fang Nanzhi felt a little awkward and nodded to greet him.

Then, she walked to Xu Yuanhe’s side, and as Zhao Liyun had instructed, she handed him the gift and whispered, “Happy birthday.”

Xu Yuanhe’s impression of her was still not very deep, but Xu Tingyou had said a couple of days ago that her improved math score had a lot to do with this person.

“Thank you,” Xu Yuanhe said politely, taking the bag from her and adding, “Tingyou is upstairs. Her room is the one on the far right.”

“Oh... okay.”

Fang Nanzhi was eager to get out of there and quickly headed toward the stairs.

After she left, Zhao Ke asked with a bit of curiosity, “You even invited this deskmate for your birthday? Are you that close now?”

“I’m not close to her. She’s closer to my sister,” Xu Yuanhe said. “And she lives next door. My mom and her mom are good friends, so her parents told her to come.”

Zhao Ke: “Oh! She’s that neighbor you guys had to pick up! I had no idea!”

Xu Yuanhe: “Mhm.”

“Quick, quick, let’s see what the neighbor girl gave you.”

“Don’t touch it.”

“What’s wrong with looking?” Zhao Ke chuckled. “So many girls at our school are so envious of this neighbor. Living so close to you, she has an advantage.”

Xu Yuanhe glared at him. “Are you sick?”

Zhao Ke: “A while back, Ruru was reading a novel about childhood friends who were neighbors. I read a few pages, and wow, it was so sweet. And the plot is similar to yours. The girl moves in, and then this and that—”

“Idiot, you go do this and that,” Xu Yuanhe hooked his arm around his neck and held him down. Zhao Ke coughed with laughter and soon began wrestling with him.

The other boys nearby also laughed and played along.

But even though Zhao Ke and the others were talking, they were just teasing and joking with the birthday boy. They didn’t genuinely believe there was a “neighbor girl with an advantage” story between her and Xu Yuanhe.

After all, the girl was too ordinary. There was no way there could be a story between her and a guy like Xu Yuanhe.

Fang Nanzhi stayed in Xu Tingyou’s room with her for a while, and after about ten minutes, the birthday dinner was ready, and someone came to tell them to go downstairs.

Xu Yuanhe’s parents greeted the students to come eat, but they were very considerate. After getting everything ready, they left, saying they didn’t want to disturb their fun.

Once the parents were gone, the house filled with noise.

“Where’s Brother Zhou? Why isn’t he here yet?” someone shouted loudly after they sat down.

Xu Yuanhe said, “He just said he’d be here soon.”

“Doesn’t he live in this complex, too? Why is he so much slower than us?”

“Chu Xuan isn’t here yet either. Ah-He, they dared to be late for your birthday? I’m making a note of it! Next time we get bubble tea, we’re not getting them any!”

Xu Yuanhe seemed to be in a good mood. “Fine, let’s not wait for them.”

Even though he said that, the cake wasn’t brought out to be cut. He just told everyone to have some food first.

Fang Nanzhi sat next to Xu Tingyou. On her other side was Xu Tingyou’s twin brother, Xu Yuanhao. Xu Yuanhao was in Class 3 of the first year. They were on the same floor and sometimes ran into each other in the hallway, but they weren’t close.

Amidst the great excitement, Fang Nanzhi sat quietly, occasionally saying a few words to Xu Tingyou.

About five minutes later, the doorbell rang again. Fang Nanzhi’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked toward the entrance of the dining room.

It was Li Yizhou.

This was the first time Fang Nanzhi had seen him without his school uniform. He was in a simple white crewneck sweatshirt, black casual pants, and a long black coat. It was a very simple outfit, but he was tall, and his body was like a clothes rack. The simpler the style, the more it made him look tall and handsome.

In that moment, Fang Nanzhi was uncontrollably joyful, simply because she saw him.

However, this joy was slightly interrupted when she saw the person who walked in behind him.

Walking in just after him was a girl. It was already a cold winter, but she was wearing a short skirt under her coat. Her thin stockings were practically nonexistent and didn’t hide her long, slender legs at all.

Unlike Xu Tingyou’s kind of heroic beauty, the person who came in was very sweet and pretty, with big eyes, fair skin, and faint dimples on her cheeks when she smiled.

She stood with Li Yizhou, and they looked so harmonious, like a painting.

In that instant, Fang Nanzhi felt an overwhelming sense of shame and inferiority that she had never felt before.

She suddenly woke up from a dream.

She was shocked. How could she... how could her feelings for him have changed so much during this time?

“Brother Zhou, Chu Xuan, why did you two come together? You’re late.” Zhao Ke got up and said.

“I was a little delayed at home,” Li Yizhou said, patting Xu Yuanhe’s shoulder. “This is for you.”

Based on the box, he had given Xu Yuanhe a pair of shoes. Xu Yuanhe took it and said thank you.

Song Chuxuan also stepped forward. “I was also delayed by something, but don’t blame me. I was stuck in traffic on my way to get the gift.”

With that, Song Chuxuan handed the gift box she was holding to Xu Yuanhe. “Here, Ah-He, happy birthday.”

Xu Yuanhe also said thank you.

Everyone sat down.

Now that everyone was here, Xu Yuanhe had the housekeeper push the cake out.

They lit the candles, cut the cake, and the group laughed and talked.

In the midst of the lively chatter, Fang Nanzhi glanced at the person across from her.

Li Yizhou and the girl named Song Chuxuan were sitting next to each other. She didn’t know what the girl had said, but Li Yizhou was leaning back in his chair and let out a short laugh.

The girl’s eyes were curved, and she was smiling happily.

Fang Nanzhi lowered her eyes, looking at the slice of cake that had been passed to her. She took a bite and couldn’t taste any sweetness. Only a sour, bitter taste came, and it was hard to swallow.

She suddenly didn’t want to eat this cake.

Dinner ended an hour later, but the party was far from over.

Xu Yuanhe invited everyone to the other house to play. There was a karaoke room, a pool table, and a movie theater. Xu Tingyou wasn’t in the same class as them, so she wasn’t going over to play after dinner, which was a relief for Fang Nanzhi and allowed her to stay where she was.

At this moment, many gifts were still piled up in the living room. The two of them sat in the pile of gifts, watching a variety show on TV.

About an hour later, Xu Yuanhe came over from next door and sat on a nearby sofa, drinking some water.

Xu Tingyou was engrossed in the variety show. She took a moment to glance at him. “Brother, why did you come over?”

Xu Yuanhe rested his head in his hand, scrolling on his phone. “They’re singing. It’s too loud.”

“Oh.”

Xu Yuanhe looked up at the living room full of gifts, then got up and picked up a few bags. “Help me take some of these to the study.”

Xu Tingyou: “Tell Yuanhao to take them.”

Xu Yuanhe clicked his tongue. “I don’t even know where he is. Hurry up. There are too many piled up here.”

With that, he went up to the study on the second floor.

Xu Tingyou glared impatiently at his back, then got up reluctantly.

Seeing this, Fang Nanzhi felt awkward just sitting there and quickly got up to say, “I’ll help you.”

Xu Tingyou: “No need. You stay seated and keep watching.”

“It’s okay, I’ll help you.”

Seeing that she insisted, Xu Tingyou didn’t bother to be polite anymore. The two of them together picked up a very large box that was taking up the most space, which contained Lego.

The Lego box wasn’t heavy for two people, but it was too big and blocked their view.

The two of them each held one side and moved it toward the stairs.

“Ouch.” In the end, they underestimated the box. Xu Tingyou wasn’t paying attention, her foot slipped, she twisted to the side, and landed on her butt on the stairs.

Fang Nanzhi was with her, and when she fell, Fang Nanzhi naturally couldn’t hold on either and almost fell to the side.

Just then, someone ran up the stairs in a few steps and grabbed her arm!

She was able to stand steady.

“Why are you two carrying something so big?”

It was Li Yizhou. Fang Nanzhi turned her head to look and saw him frowning, bending over to pick up the big box directly. “Let go.”

He said this to her. Fang Nanzhi paused and let go.

Li Yizhou easily held the box in front of him. “Did you get hurt?”

Xu Tingyou stood up. “No... It’s all my brother’s fault for making me help him carry things.”

Li Yizhou shook his head and carried the item up. The box was too long, so Fang Nanzhi and Xu Tingyou had to go up first to make way for him.

After they got upstairs, Xu Yuanhe happened to come out of the study. “Hey? Why are you here, too?”

Li Yizhou put the item down. “You’re really something, making them carry something so heavy.”

Xu Yuanhe looked at the two girls standing next to him and then at the Lego box and understood. “When did I tell them to carry this? Xu Tingyou, why didn’t you pick something smaller to bring up?”

Xu Tingyou glared. “I saw how much space this was taking up and wanted to get rid of it first! And you’re blaming me!”

Xu Yuanhe reached out and flicked her head. “You don’t know your own strength. Go downstairs and bring up the smaller ones.”

“I’m not carrying anything else. You get them yourself.”

Xu Yuanhe didn’t care and pulled her downstairs. “You’re getting more rebellious the older you get.”

“You’re the rebellious one!”

The two of them pushed and shoved each other downstairs, and it was suddenly just her and Li Yizhou upstairs.

Fang Nanzhi didn’t dare to look at him and rushed downstairs.

“What are you two doing here? Everyone’s looking for you,” Song Chuxuan said, holding a cup of a drink, as she appeared in the living room.

Xu Yuanhe was very direct and said, “It’s too noisy. You guys play. My ears need a break.”

“What? What’s the point of playing when the birthday boy isn’t with us?”

Li Yizhou looked like he was enjoying the show. He hooked his arm around Xu Yuanhe’s shoulder. “Birthday boy, let’s go.”

Xu Yuanhe frowned. “Then tell Zhao Yu to stop singing. He’s terrible.”

Song Chuxuan walked next to them with her drink, laughing playfully. “I told him the same thing, but he didn’t listen.”

Xu Yuanhe: “That idiot...”

The three of them soon left together. The gifts in the living room were still not taken upstairs.

Fang Nanzhi watched their backs as if she were watching another world. The sourness in her heart slowly swelled, eventually filling her entire chest.

“Let’s just keep watching the variety show. You don’t have to help him organize these things,” Xu Tingyou said, slumping onto the sofa. When she realized Fang Nanzhi hadn’t responded, she looked over. “What are you looking at?”

Fang Nanzhi was stunned and snapped back to reality. “Nothing...”

After sitting down, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is that girl from before also in your brother’s class?”

“Chu Xuan? Yes, she is. Why?”

“No reason.” Fang Nanzhi looked in the direction they had left, and smiled very lightly. “I just think she’s very pretty.”

Since coming to Hangzhou, she had met many people: Li Yizhou, Xu Tingyou, Xu Yuanhe... even Zhang Lanlan in her class.

Perhaps it was the nurturing of a high-quality environment and background, but they were not only beautiful on the outside. They also seemed very confident on the inside, without any timidity. There was an air of fearless tranquility about them.

Today’s Song Chuxuan was the same. Perhaps it was because she was standing next to Li Yizhou, the person who made her feel involuntarily flustered just by looking at him.

So, the way she spoke to him so naturally, so beautifully and gracefully, was infinitely magnified in her mind.

In that moment, the inferiority complex that had been buried deep in her heart since she came to Hangzhou seemed to break through the soil, growing rapidly, intertwining, and instantly filling the blood throughout her body.

She couldn’t help but wonder how she could become like Song Chuxuan...

Confident, lively, and not the least bit flustered when she met the person she liked.