Gift
Thank you, Teacher Jin, for the gift.
A person who might not even post on Weibo for their own birthday actually posted a blessing on someone else’s birthday. It wasn’t a repost, but an original post. This made it impossible to blame the readers for overthinking. Ji Zibo pinched her phone and smiled, saying, “How rare.”
The readers thought so too.
【How rare indeed, am I seeing things?】
【Ah, this… I actually ship the Moqi1 CP just because I think they have great tacit understanding.】
【I have a bold guess.】
【Me too…】
【It’s not necessarily that. Maybe it’s just a simple cooperative relationship. I just saw the group photo, and Teacher Ji was in it too. Maybe it’s just a collaboration. Although Teacher Jin is a bit partial to her collaborator this time, she always reposts her Weibo and sends a separate blessing for her birthday. How did it start to sound different as I kept talking?】
【I suddenly thought of something. Do you all still remember Hua Luo? Let me say this quietly, Hua Luo is Zhenqiu’s good friend.】
In certain matters, readers were all Sherlock Holmes. A single Weibo post from Jin Shuiluan could be interpreted in eight hundred different ways, which was why she rarely posted on Weibo. The less she posted, the more the readers sniffed out something different.
Of course they knew Hua Luo. They also knew that Jin Shuiluan supported Hua Luo. But before, Hua Luo and Jin Shuiluan had no interaction. Reminded by this comment, they suddenly extended their thoughts to wonder if it was because of Zhenqiu’s connection that Jin Shuiluan reposted Hua Luo’s Weibo?
CP fans were already sugar-craving machines, capable of creating something out of nothing. With Jin Shuiluan proactively posting, they were even more dizzy with excitement. They didn’t care if it was real or not. After Jin Shuiluan posted this Weibo, they prepared to create a Moqi CP Super Topic2. Unfortunately, “Moqi CP” was already taken. Just discussing the Super Topic name in a small group chat took half an hour. Finally, they decided on a Super Topic name—Yizhen Qiushui3.
Zhenqiu, Jin Shuiluan, a powerful combination.
Nothing wrong with that.
They were particularly satisfied with this new CP name and spontaneously paid out of their own pockets to hold a lottery giveaway on their Moments4. When Hua Luo saw the Weibo lottery, she almost spat out the mouthful of beverage she was drinking. Her face flushed red. Only after swallowing the drink did she turn and pull Xiao Yu, saying, “Let me show you something good.”
Xiao Yu lowered her head. “What?”
Hua Luo showed her the phone. Xiao Yu’s eyes widened. “No way.”
“I don’t care if it’s true or not, I’m happy anyway,” Hua Luo said. “Do you still remember Yu Wen and Tang Yingxia’s CP Super Topic?”
Xiao Yu nodded. Tang Yingxia and Yu Wen had a Xiawen5 CP Super Topic, which readers had created after the two started being ambiguous. They said it was for their own private enjoyment, but every time they held a lottery or an event, they wished the whole world knew about it. At that time, Lu Zhenqiu didn’t use Weibo, so they didn’t tell her, but they felt disgusted inside.
Now that there was a Super Topic for Lu Zhenqiu and Jin Shuiluan, Xiao Yu and Hua Luo certainly couldn’t express any opinions on Weibo, but it was true that they were secretly delighted, especially Hua Luo. She said, “I’ll use my side account to show some support.”
She logged into her side account to participate in establishing the Super Topic and was already ranked over two thousandth. Hua Luo clicked her tongue. “How are they so fierce?”
“Nonsense,” Xiao Yu laughed. “Go look at the game video of the two of them edited on a certain site6. The views are over a million. Once this Super Topic is established and the two have another interaction, they’ll surpass Tang Yingxia in minutes.”
Because Tang Yingxia and Yu Wen were both authors, they were limited to one circle. Lu Zhenqiu was a voice actor and a streamer, and with the addition of Jin Shuiluan, their fan bases were not on the same level.
Hua Luo sipped her drink. After her excitement, she felt a little worried. “Should we tell Qiuqiu?”
“Tell her what?” Xiao Yu shook her head. “It’s a Super Topic for fans’ private enjoyment anyway. Can we let Qiuqiu stop it? Generally, as long as this kind of CP shipping doesn’t get in the person’s face, it’s not to be managed. Besides, have you really not noticed that Teacher Jin has a little something for Qiuqiu?”
Hua Luo almost spat out her mouthful of beverage again. Xiao Yu frowned. “And you call yourself a novelist? How can you be so insensitive?”
“I write plot-driven novels.”
Xiao Yu was about to roll her eyes.
Hua Luo muttered, “Then tell me, when did Teacher Jin start having feelings for Qiuqiu?”
Xiao Yu shook her head. “I don’t know, but if Teacher Jin didn’t have feelings for Qiuqiu, she wouldn’t have posted that Weibo alone today.”
Hua Luo said, “Makes sense.”
She glanced at Lu Zhenqiu, who was talking with Ji Zibo, and hesitated to speak. Lu Zhenqiu was also a bit absent-minded. Although she hadn’t gone on Weibo, she could already guess what kind of comments would be on there. Looking at Jin Shuiluan, her expression was still as calm as a cloud and light as the wind.
Before they became roommates, in order to see Jin Shuiluan’s preferences, she had pretty much looked through several years of Jin Shuiluan’s Weibo posts. She really rarely posted on Weibo. The most she did was repost some collaborations. There might not even be five original Weibo posts in a year, but now, she was in one of those five.
Lu Zhenqiu lowered her eyes. Ji Zibo said, “Are you all full? Your fighting capacity is so weak. What will we do when we eat at a buffet in the future?”
Hua Luo grinned. “Then Teacher Ji can help us eat our money’s worth.”
Ji Zibo was helpless. “Wouldn’t I burst from eating then?”
“We’ll prepare Jianwei Xiaoshi Pian7 for you,” Hua Luo said. “Teacher Ji’s brand.”
Her mouth chattered on, and she had already become familiar with Ji Zibo over the course of the meal. Xiao Yu, at her side, poured a glass of beer and said, “Here, it’s Qiuqiu’s birthday today. Let’s also consider this as getting rid of your bad luck. Let’s have a toast.”
Ji Zibo smiled. “What kind of bad luck did you run into? Was it that thing from a while ago…”
“Not that one,” Xiao Yu said. “She, ah, took on a good disciple.”
Hua Luo wished she could cover her mouth. She pulled Xiao Yu and downed her beer in one gulp. “Isn’t it enough that I’m drinking it?”
She drank a bit too quickly and choked, coughing violently. Xiao Yu sat beside her, laughing at her. Hua Luo glared at her. Just as she turned back, a tissue was handed over. Hua Luo looked up; it was Bai Mao. Her face, which had just been red from coughing, turned even redder.
She had embarrassed herself in front of her goddess again.
Hua Luo pinched Xiao Yu before taking the tissue and saying, “Thank you, Teacher Bai.”
Xiao Yu said, “Serves you right. This is the only way to cure your habit of loving to take on disciples. Look at the kind of people you’ve encountered. Some ignore you after signing a contract, and now there’s one who sells you out.”
Ji Zibo was curious. “Why do you like to take on disciples?”
Before Hua Luo could speak, Xiao Yu said, “She once took on a disciple and said she would help mentor them until they got a contract. Who knew that before the contract was even signed, her disciple went offline. So she developed this habit of loving to take on disciples, even saying that if she ever runs into that disciple one day, she has to mentor them to a contract.”
If only she could have half of that sense of responsibility.
Ji Zibo nodded. “Why did your disciple suddenly go offline?”
Hua Luo said, “Maybe I was too enthusiastic.”
Ji Zibo: “Enthusiastic?”
Hua Luo was a little embarrassed. “I asked her which city she was in, saying I’d find her for a meal together on my next business trip. I probably scared her.”
Many people who write don’t get involved in three-dimensional reality8. At that time, her brain had short-circuited and she suggested meeting up. It was only after her disciple went offline that she realized she might have overstepped. She just couldn’t find the person to explain.
Xiao Yu said, “It’s your fault for not telling her your pen name. People probably thought you were a scammer.”
Back then, one was cautious when taking on disciples and wouldn’t reveal their pen name right away. They would only say it after chatting for a while and getting familiar. Hua Luo was unconvinced. “How do I look like a scammer? I was so sincere, I even told her how many times I went to the bathroom every day.”
As soon as her voice fell, Bai Mao’s chopsticks on the opposite side hit the rim of her cup, making a crisp sound that was drowned out by the chatter. No one noticed, only Jin Shuiluan turned her head to glance at Bai Mao.
Bai Mao lowered her head and put down her chopsticks.
Hua Luo said, “Alright, alright, let’s not talk about these unhappy things. Today is Qiuqiu’s birthday, let’s talk about happy things. Is Teacher Jin’s birthday coming up soon too?”
Jin Shuiluan nodded. “The sixteenth of this month.”
Xiao Yu clapped her hands. “The same month as Qiuqiu, what a coincidence. Then Teacher Jin can treat us to another meal then.”
Jin Shuiluan smiled. “Sure.”
Xiao Yu nudged Hua Luo’s arm. Hua Luo smiled. “Then I have to buy a gift in advance.”
As she said this, she lowered her head, took a gift box out of her bag, and handed it to Lu Zhenqiu. “Yours.”
“Happy birthday.”
Before Lu Zhenqiu could take it, the others also took out gifts from their sides and handed them to her. The waiter pushed out a small cake at the right time, cleared away their bowls and chopsticks, and placed it on the table. Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip. “Thank you.”
Xiao Yu said, “Make a wish first, blow out the candles, then open the gifts.”
Lu Zhenqiu nodded.
A few candles were inserted into the cake, and the creamy aroma filled the air, which was full of a sweet taste. Lu Zhenqiu clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and faced the candles for several seconds. Under the flickering flames, Jin Shuiluan stared intently at her side profile, the curve of her features as beautiful as a painting.
I wonder what wish she made.
I wonder if I am in her wish.
Lu Zhenqiu opened her eyes and blew out the candles. The cake wasn’t big. She gave each of them a small piece. Xiao Yu said, “Do you want to open the gifts?”
She was as excited as a child. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I’ll satisfy you.”
She first opened the ones from Xiao Yu and Hua Luo. Xiao Yu had given her a scarf. Lu Zhenqiu turned to look at her. Xiao Yu said, “I knitted it by hand. You dare not wear it and see what happens.”
Lu Zhenqiu smiled, unwrapped it, and put it around her neck. Hua Luo had given her lipstick. Next was Ji Zibo’s gift; she had given her a pair of headphones, black, both beautiful and elegant. Bai Mao’s gift was a fountain pen with her exclusive signature. Hua Luo whispered, “Ah, this, this, this! I know this one! It’s Teacher Bai’s first-ever merchandise!”
Bai Mao glanced at her, quickly retracted her gaze, and nodded. Lu Zhenqiu put the gifts away properly. Finally, under everyone’s expectant gazes, she opened Jin Shuiluan’s gift.
“Guess what Teacher Jin’s gift is?”
“It’s so big, it’s definitely not jewelry.”
“Is it a specially signed book?”
Lu Zhenqiu couldn’t guess either. It was a rather large gift box. She tore open the wrapping, and there was actually another package inside. Tearing that open, it was clearly much more; it was a phone box. Lu Zhenqiu was slightly stunned. She turned to look at Jin Shuiluan. Under the light, Jin Shuiluan’s smile was very gentle. She lifted her chin. “Open it and see?”
Lu Zhenqiu hesitated for two seconds before opening it. It was indeed a phone, the model was very nice, deep blue. She suddenly remembered that day when she went to the telecom company to get a SIM card, the clerk had recommended this exact model.
The price was not cheap.
Lu Zhenqiu did not take the phone out of the box, but closed the box again. She turned to Jin Shuiluan and said, “Thank you, Teacher Jin, for the gift.”
Jin Shuiluan’s tightly clenched hand slowly loosened. Her suspended heart suddenly fell to the bottom of a valley, a chill spreading through her body. She put away her smile and met Lu Zhenqiu’s gaze for a few seconds before speaking gently, “You’re welcome.”
The author has something to say:
Thirty red envelopes, me me da.
Jin Shuiluan: So I’m not the only one who likes to wear a vest9, huh.
Lu Zhenqiu: …
Bai Mao: …
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