Birthday (Part 1)

A vivid dream could leave one lost in reflection for a long time even after waking, unable to pull free.

Sometimes, after staying up too late for too long, one could not even tell whether it had been a dream, unable to distinguish dreams from reality.

It was like Luo Ye during the National Day break in his third year of high school, when he had just returned home for the holiday.

Still wearing his high school uniform, Luo Ye rushed into the bathroom after getting home and happily soaked in the tub.

After he came out of the bathroom, Aunt Liu noticed that Luo Ye had returned. She smiled slightly and asked, "Xiao Ye, you're on break. What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Braised pork... Forget it, Aunt Liu. I'll cook myself."

Aunt Liu's expression changed slightly at those words, and she immediately said, "Well... maybe that won't be necessary. If Madam finds out you cooked today, she'll probably be scared to death."

Luo Ye became dejected, his lips pressing together. He looked at Aunt Liu with a dark expression and asked, "Is my cooking really that bad?"

"Really."

Aunt Liu had worked here for ten years. She saw Luo Ye as her own child, so she did not speak to him with the polite distance usually kept between servants and their employers.

At that moment, Gu Mingxuan emerged from his room in pajamas. Seeing that Luo Ye was home from school, he waved and said, "Little bro, you're back from school. Come play games with me."

"No, I need to do homework."

"Come on. She can't carry me by herself. I need you."

Luo Ye looked at Gu Mingxuan expressionlessly and said, "Fine."

Seeing Luo Ye agree, Gu Mingxuan chuckled softly.

Though their personalities were different, his