Chapter 25

A void in his heart was quietly smoothed away. After a long moment, he looked up: "Why are you here?"

Chi Yu reached out and ruffled his hair: "To accompany the little one for his birthday."

He remembered the last time at the restaurant entrance, when the other man had also ruffled his hair with such immense gentleness.

As the two walked from the school gate back home, the electronic doorbell chimed mechanically: "Welcome home."

Ning Nanzhou had never felt much when hearing it alone, but with Chi Yu standing beside him, a strange sense of belonging washed over him. Did he have a home now, too?

He lowered his long, delicate eyelashes, then lifted them again with effort, looking at the place that was finally his own.

The door opened, and he froze at the sight inside.

The living room was piled with gifts of all sizes, resembling a small tree. At the very top sat a present adorned with a red ribbon; it swayed slightly in the breeze from the door, looking even more like a colorful, decorated tree.

The teenager, who resembled a fluffy white chick, had never received so many gifts before. His throat felt dry: "This is too much."

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I bought a bit of everything," the person beside him said in a gentle voice. "Xiao Qiao and Old Song sent some too. Xiao Qiao insisted on coming over when he found out it was your birthday, but I didn't let him, fearing he’d disturb you."

Ning Nanzhou looked at the mountain of gifts, unable to put his feelings into words. He pursed his lips and said sincerely, "Thank you."

Chi Yu looked down at the teenager.

He was not in the habit of celebrating birthdays for others, but while Xiao Qiao could ask for celebrations openly, the boy before him had been afraid to even speak his own birthday aloud.

At that moment, he had decided he would give the boy the best birthday possible.

Ning Nanzhou, unaware of Chi Yu's thoughts, was troubled over how he could possibly return the gesture.

Chi Yu interrupted his thoughts: "Where do you want to go?"

Ning Nanzhou did not want to take up any more of Chi Yu's time: "Home is fine."

In fact, he didn't think there was anything wrong with being at home. Having Chi Yu there to celebrate with him was the best birthday in the world.

Chi Yu ordered catering, brought out the prepared cake, and placed a pointed birthday hat on the teenager's head: "Now, little birthday boy, make a wish."

Caught off guard by the pink hat, he watched the shadows of the candle flame dance on the cake. He closed his eyes and made a very greedy wish.

He hoped that Chi Yu would be there for his birthday every single year.

***

The restaurant delivery arrived quickly—though it wasn't pre-made takeout, but a French chef who had come in person with ingredients to cook for them.

Wasn't this too extravagant?

The teenager silently calculated the cost. After realizing the meal was worth three months of his salary...

He felt fortunate that birthdays only happened once a year.

As they sat at the table eating, a courier called his phone. The courier’s voice came through: "Hello, is it convenient to sign for a package?"

He didn't remember buying anything recently; he assumed it was a gift from Chen Dongdong.

Ning Nanzhou remembered he hadn't updated his address: "Could you please leave it at the pickup point?"

"This package is very large; it won't fit."

How large?

Ning Nanzhou pushed down his confusion and politely asked, "Could you change the address, then? I don't live in the dormitory anymore."

The courier agreed readily. Ning Nanzhou didn't give it much thought; whatever gift Chen Dongdong sent—be it a pink sweater or a cat pin—as long as it wasn't women's clothing, it would be fine.

He finished his meal and began opening his gifts, and just then, his phone rang again. He walked to the door to receive the package.

He froze as he opened the door.

The courier was holding a package as tall as a person, panting as he spoke: "What did you buy that's so heavy? I almost couldn't fit it in the elevator."

Ning Nanzhou was curious about what Chen Dongdong had sent; it was taller than he was when stood upright.

He subconsciously glanced at Chi Yu on the sofa—it was about the same height as him.

He struggled to take the package, and the moment he touched it, his body sank under the weight. Chi Yu helped him move it into the living room.

Ning Nanzhou took out a small knife to open it. Because it was tightly bound with plastic rope in the middle, he began cutting from the top down.

The cardboard was sliced open, revealing a patch of black hair—it looked just like human hair.

He felt something was wrong. Worried that Chen Dongdong had sent something strange again, he said, "This package is too dirty; I'll open it in the storage room."

With that, he dragged the package into the storage room and quickly shut the door.

He didn't open it immediately, but instead dialed Chen Dongdong's number: "What on earth did you send me?!!!"

***

It was noisy on Chen Dongdong's end, presumably at a bar, and his voice sounded tipsy: "It's your birthday present, baby! I swear it's the best gift ever. Did you get it? Open it and take a look!"

The best gift ever???

Ning Nanzhou had a bad feeling. He hung up and continued opening the package.

First to appear was the pitch-black hair, followed by eyes as dark as ink, then a high-bridged nose, and a sharp jawline...

It was a one-to-one replica of Chi Yu!!!

If he had opened this in the living room, he wouldn't have been able to explain himself even with a hundred mouths!

Ning Nanzhou was overcome with lingering fear. Beyond the fear, he was frustrated about how to handle it.

He could just throw away the women's clothing Chen Dongdong usually sent, but how do you throw away something like this? What if someone else found it?

He couldn't throw it away, so he was stuck with it. But keeping this in the house felt like a ticking time bomb!

Regardless, he repacked the doll, wrapping the face in layer upon layer of protection.

Still shaken, he posted on a forum:

[OP] I’m the OP who asked about gifts before. It’s my birthday today, and my idiot childhood friend sent me a custom doll of my crush. I almost died of fright—I nearly opened it right in front of him. It's packed up in the closet now.

[1L] Hahahaha! I can feel the OP's mental breakdown.
[2L] Custom dolls like that are expensive; your friend is rich.
[3L] What a hellish experience!
[4L] Am I the only one who thinks this gift is great? It’s just couple’s fun.
[5L] The one above is too perverted! The OP's crush sounds like a high-and-mighty flower; how could he like something like that? Though, I totally support it.
...

He stared at the replies, trying to relieve the pressure, until he saw one particular comment.

[23L] OP, didn't you check the item description on the package?