Xie Linchuan exited the livestream.
Because he had heard Liuyue say,
"It's fine, even without Happy Puppy, we still have President Yuan and the Monitor."
So he didn't matter.
Not one bit.
Whether as Xie Linchuan or as Happy Puppy, he was of no consequence in Liuyue's world.
Yeah, that was perfectly normal, but why did it hurt so much?
Today was his birthday.
Whatever. No one would care anyway.
After work, Xie Linchuan took a cab to the biggest mall in the city and walked into the luxury boutique he had visited with Liuyue last time.
He looked up and pointed at the light brown jacket hanging on the wall.
It was the one Liuyue had made him try on the last time they came, the one intended as a gift for Chu Xubai.
Xie Linchuan thought to himself: It's okay, no one knows today is my birthday, so I'll just buy it for myself.
With the overtime pay from the past several days of working nonstop, plus his savings, he could barely afford the jacket.
He knew this was stupid, almost impulsive.
Even if he bought it, so what?
The original meaning of this jacket was a gift from Liuyue to Chu Xubai.
Even if he bought it, it could never be a gift from Liuyue to him.
But he couldn't help trying to fool himself. If he didn't fool himself, this year's birthday would feel too pathetic.
"Excuse me, please wrap this jacket up for me," he said.
The sales associate wore an apologetic expression and said, "I'm sorry, sir, but this jacket is out of stock. Would you like to take a look at other styles?"
Xie Linchuan didn't quite catch on at first. "That's fine, I don't need a new one. Just take the one on the wall down for me."
The sales associate hesitated. "I'm sorry, sir. What I meant was that the jacket on the wall was already sold this morning. We're just about to wrap it up. The customer will be coming to pick it up shortly."
Already sold this morning.
Xie Linchuan looked at the light brown jacket on the wall, and thought of how Liuyue had smiled at him in the mirror last time.
His heart sank, little by little.
Even this small sliver of hope wouldn't be granted to him?
This year's birthday seemed way too cruel.
Xie Linchuan walked out of the mall in a daze, wandering alone down the street. The sky was dim, the streetlights blocked by the shadows of the trees.
Just like his mood.
Ding-dong.
A text message.
He opened it excitedly, thinking it might be from Liuyue.
Then he saw it was a birthday greeting from a shopping app he had registered for.
He was overthinking it.
What was he even thinking! At this hour, Liuyue should still be livestreaming.
Maybe he should log in with his alternate account and watch the stream again. He sat down on a bench by the roadside and thought: If I watch the livestream, doesn't it count as spending my birthday with Liuyue in a way?
But his fingertip lingered over the app icon.
Xie Linchuan, Xie Linchuan.
Have you no shame? She already said it: even without Happy Puppy in the stream, it didn't matter.
But then he thought again: Well, I'll just use my alternate account. She won't recognize me anyway.
Just one look.
One look.
But that one look made his already awful mood even worse.
Because he saw Qiao Liuyue in the livestream duoing with Chu Xubai.
She was saying, "The Monitor's Cheng Yaojin is really strong. Whenever he picks that hero, the solo lane is basically a free kill. Oh, you're asking who's better between him and me?"
"Well, when it comes to the solo lane, he's definitely better, right, Monitor?" Her voice was laced with a smile as she spoke.
Xie Linchuan's heart went completely cold.
But he couldn't blame anyone.
He listlessly turned off the screen.
Just then, his phone rang.
Xie Linchuan didn't have the energy to answer. The ringtone sounded again.
Only then did he pick up, sounding drained.
On the other end came Zheng Qingyuan's voice.
"Linchuan, I'm on a business trip out of town. I just remembered I might have forgotten to turn off the gas stove before I left this morning. Can you go back and check for me?"
Xie Linchuan immediately tensed up. "Brother Zheng! Do you have any common sense? That's really dangerous. What if it explodes?"
And besides...
Liuyue lived right across from them.
What if something happened to her?
"I know, I know. I actually asked Xubai to go check first, but he said he had something to deal with at the school club and might be back late, so I thought I'd call you."
Xie Linchuan felt a pang of bitterness.
He knew very well that Chu Xubai wasn't staying back to handle club business. He was sitting in the club office having a sweet duo queue with Liuyue!
"Alright, got it."
Xie Linchuan got up from the bench and hurriedly flagged down a cab.
After arriving at the destination, he dashed upstairs the moment he got out, turned the key, and opened the door.
He was about to rush into the kitchen to check on things when his steps suddenly froze. It was as if his entire body had gone stiff.
Because Zheng Qingyuan, who said he was on a business trip out of town, was still in the apartment.
Chu Xubai, who was supposedly duoing with Liuyue in the school club office, was also in the apartment.
And even Liuyue — she was here too.
The room was dim, the lights off, but he could clearly see all their faces.
The entire living room was lit up by twinkling star-shaped fairy lights. A birthday cake sat on the coffee table, and against the background wall hung silver letter balloons.
Put together, they spelled out: HAPPY BIRTHDAY.
Zheng Qingyuan walked over with a smile and patted him, who was still in a daze. "Xie Linchuan, happy birthday."
Chu Xubai also stood up, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, and said in a warm, gentle voice, "Brother, happy birthday."
Xie Linchuan was still in a daze at that moment.
Until Qiao Liuyue also walked up to him, the corners of her lips curving upward, eyes bright with a smile.
"Happy Puppy, happy birthday."
At that moment.
Xie Linchuan felt the world spin.
So it turns out that going from hell to heaven takes only an instant.
His throat went dry, his voice trembling, still laced with disbelief. "B-But... this time... shouldn't you still be livestreaming?"
Qiao Liuyue tilted her head slightly, her almond-shaped eyes curving, her tone soft.
"Because something important came up, I asked the fans for permission to end the stream an hour early."
The important thing she was talking about...
Was it to celebrate his birthday?
While he was still frozen, he saw Qiao Liuyue lift a shopping bag and hand it over. "Oh right, this is your birthday gift. Want to see if you like it?"
The moment Xie Linchuan caught sight of the logo on the bag, his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
He even wondered for a split second if he was overthinking things.
But when he pulled the light brown jacket out of the bag with shaky hands, the corners of his lips couldn't help but curl up in a smile, yet his eyes burned with heat so intense it made him want to cry.
So...
His birthday wasn't actually forgotten after all.
So...
He did exist in Liuyue's heart, even if it was just as a friend.
So...
This year's birthday turned out to be his luckiest day of all.
...
In Qiao Liuyue's ear, the system's voice sounded.
The affection level indicator climbed steadily from 65%.
Not in increments.
From 65%, it shot up to 90%, 99%, until it reached 100%...
