Lu Yuanqiu: "If I saw that right, were you about to hug me?" [First update]
Flashlight beams and birthday candle flames flickered in the pitch-dark supermarket.
Lu Tian came up from behind and gently placed a paper birthday hat on the girl's head.
"Not bad. Looks good on you."
He smiled as he said it, then suddenly noticed her shoulders shaking. He circled around her and discovered that Bai Qingxia was crying her eyes out.
Was she... really this moved?
Lu Tian was a little surprised.
His son really had put thought into this birthday surprise. To help him pull it off, they had even closed the supermarket early that evening, giving up several thousand yuan in sales at the very least. But Lu Tian didn't care.
Although Bai Qingxia had only worked for him for half a month, the mere fact that she was willing to mend his son's pants made Lu Tian feel it was worth it.
So he had also sponsored a deluxe two-tier fruit cake for the birthday surprise.
Hey, pocket change. For Boss Lu, it was nothing at all~
"You little brat. Did you have to be so romantic? Look what you've done to the poor girl. You've made her cry."
Hearing Lu Tian scold the boy, Bai Qingxia quickly turned around and shook her head, hurriedly wiping away her tears as though to prove she wasn't crying.
Her innocence made Lu Tian laugh. He handed her a tissue. "I was only joking, not telling him off. But look at you, crying like this on such a happy day."
Lu Yuanqiu's heart ached a little. He hadn't expected Bai Qingxia to cry this much either.
The harder she cried, the clearer it was that she hadn't forgotten today was her birthday.
"Make a wish."
Lu Yuanqiu spoke to her.
Bai Qingxia took two steps forward, looking conflicted. "I... I already did."
Lu Yuanqiu didn't press her. He simply said, "Then blow out the candles. Your wish only counts once you blow them out."
Bai Qingxia immediately nodded and hurried forward. Her first breath failed to put them out, and she glanced up at Lu Yuanqiu in embarrassment. Just as she was about to try again, Lu Tian called from behind, "You two blow them out together."
Lu Yuanqiu smiled at her. "You don't mind me joining in on your wish, do you?"
Bai Qingxia shook her head like a rattle drum.
The two puffed out their cheeks and leaned toward the candles together, blowing until the flames swayed back and forth and went out in wisps of white smoke.
The supermarket lights came on at that moment.
Their surroundings filled with bright light.
Lu Yuanqiu freed one hand to switch off the flashlights on either side of him, then gave Bai Qingxia a sheepish smile. For once, she didn't avoid his gaze. Her moist, reddened eyes seemed branded onto his face, burning hot and unable to look away.
It was Lu Tian's call of "Let's have some cake" that finally interrupted her thoughts. Bai Qingxia came back to herself, hurriedly looked away, and took a stiff step back as she watched Lu Yuanqiu carry the cake to the counter.
Lu Yuanqiu said, "You older folks shouldn't have too much sugar at night. Have a few slices to join in, and let our birthday girl take the rest home. Her family hasn't had any yet."
Bai Qingxia hurriedly waved her hands. "That's too much, too much. You eat it. Please, eat it..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, because she could hardly imagine how much money such a big, beautiful cake must have cost...
Lu Yuanqiu began cutting the cake. He handed the first slice straight to Bai Qingxia, then picked up the cake server and dabbed it against the tip of her pert little nose.
Seeing her blink shyly with white cream on the tip of her nose, Lu Yuanqiu couldn't help laughing.
"Go on, eat. What are you waiting for?"
Bai Qingxia lowered her head and took small bites, savoring the sweet cream melting in her mouth. At the same time, she asked in a small, nervous voice:
"How much... did this cake cost?"
Lu Tian was about to speak when Lu Yuanqiu interrupted him. "It was free. The cake shop was running a promotion. Anyone buying a birthday cake on September 19 could enter a prize draw. I gave it a try and won a two-tier cake."
Bai Qingxia listened in a daze, surprised that there was even a way to get something like this for free. She asked, "Where... is the cake shop?"
Lu Yuanqiu turned to look at her.
Don't tell me you're planning to try your luck at a September 20 birthday draw too?
"I forgot the name."
Lu Yuanqiu answered casually.
Lu Tian ate his cake with a knowing smile on his face, making no attempt to expose his son.
They leaned against the counter and chatted happily, the atmosphere warm and easy.
"How does it taste?" Lu Yuanqiu turned and asked.
Bai Qingxia was wholly absorbed in licking the cream off her spoon, like a little kitten.
When she saw him turn toward her, she quickly tucked away the pink tip of her tongue and lowered her head. Holding the spoon in her small hand, she lightly poked her paper plate over and over. Her earlobes red, she said, "It's delicious."
Lu Tian said, "Qingxia, why don't you head home early today?"
"Okay. Thank you, Uncle." Bai Qingxia smiled as she replied, without any awkwardness.
Under the night sky.
Carrying the large portion of birthday cake left over, Lu Yuanqiu walked Bai Qingxia to the intersection.
"Here. Take it home for your dad."
Lu Yuanqiu handed the cake to Bai Qingxia.
After taking it, she noticed that Lu Yuanqiu wasn't in a hurry to leave. Instead, he pulled his backpack around in front of him.
He unzipped it, then suddenly paused and pointed behind Bai Qingxia. "Holy crap, what's that?"
Bai Qingxia hurriedly turned to look, but saw nothing. Puzzled, she turned back, only to find a pair of shiny black low-heeled leather shoes in front of her.
"Ta-da~ Your birthday present. Hehe."
Lu Yuanqiu bobbed his head, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.
The girl froze again.
She looked at the size 36 clearly marked on the soles and remembered Lu Yuanqiu's strange behavior in the supermarket a few days earlier.
The moon shone bright, and the stars glittered.
Cars streamed endlessly past the intersection.
The light from the streetlamp bathed them both in a hazy, amber glow.
Lu Yuanqiu's smile froze, and he hurriedly reached toward her. "What's this? What's this? Crying again? Again? I really don't know what to do with you."
He wiped away Bai Qingxia's falling tears with his thumb.
"Are you made of tears? Huh?"
Lu Yuanqiu asked, both amused and helpless.
But in truth, Bai Qingxia rarely cried. It was as though all her tears from these many years had been shed in the past half month, because of the boy before her who had burst into her life without warning.
"How... how much... did these cost?"
The girl asked through her sobs, barely able to get the words out.
Lu Yuanqiu said, "A dozen yuan or so. Just something from a street stall. I saw them on the way and picked them up."
Bai Qingxia, her eyes red,
looked up. "I don't believe you."
Lu Yuanqiu could hardly tell her that they cost five hundred yuan a pair.
All he could say was, "It's a birthday present, so don't stand on ceremony with me. You'll have to get me a present on my birthday too-"
His words abruptly cut off as he stopped short.
He had keenly noticed both of Bai Qingxia's hands begin to rise at her sides. But they had only lifted a tiny bit before she silently lowered them again.
Lu Yuanqiu narrowed his eyes. "If I saw that right just now... were you about to hug me?"
Bai Qingxia looked up in shock, flinging sparkling droplets of tears into the air with the movement.
"I... I wasn't."
She nervously shook her head in denial, quietly retreating a few steps at the same time. She couldn't have looked more awkward if she tried.
Lu Yuanqiu gave a lecherous grin, spread his arms, and walked toward her with his shoulders shaking, letting out a wicked cackle. "It's okay, it's okay. I don't mind. Come on, come on, give me a hug. Let's have ourselves a loving little hug."
Bai Qingxia backed away in a panic.