Chapter 9: The Birthday Party Confession (Part 2)

  Red sun, yellow dusk, the flow of cars at the street corner, the crowd of people in a hurry, quietly passing by, no one knows what the street corner they are passing through will become like in the future city, just as no one knows where they will be walking and what they will be doing ten years later.

  The unknown future always makes people have a hint of awe in their expectations, and perhaps also a little melancholy due to dissatisfaction with the current stage of life. However, for Su Can, everything he is experiencing now has changed unpredictably because of his own intervention, and his personal destiny's future is equivalent to the unknown for him. Nevertheless, he does not fear it; on the contrary, he is like a farmer who diligently digs and cultivates, striving to harvest a radiant field of melons, fruits, and grains at some point, dancing in the wind.

  When I arrived at the entrance of the restaurant, I saw Xiao Yunyun and a group of her friends, including Chen Lingshan and that boy Su Can had met before, waiting downstairs to greet me. It's a small world after all.

  "Happy birthday." Su Can smiled slightly.

  "Hmm, I really want to know what gift you're giving me?" Xiao Yunyun saw Su Can and walked up to him, taking the neatly wrapped box from his hand, her eyebrows curved in a smile.

  Su Can looked at Chen Ling again, "How did you...?"

  Chen Lingshan smiled mischievously, "Heh, Xiao Yunyun and I have been good friends since middle school. How could I possibly miss her birthday?"

  Then Xiao Yunyun began to introduce the man who was with Chen Lingshan earlier, his name is Gao Fan, a student in the second year of high school, from a municipal government department family, and has known Xiao Yunyun since childhood.

  Gao Fan and Su Can exchanged a greeting, which was neither enthusiastic nor perfunctory. After they finished, he didn't forget to glance at Chen Lingjuan beside him, his expression seeming to say, "Oh, that's Su Can."

  Chen Lingshan ignored his gaze and warmly greeted several girls introduced by Xiao Yunyun beside her, they had all been in the same school before and often saw each other, now they were just more familiar.

  Xiao Yunyun pointed at the two of them and said, "You two came together today, which gave me a surprise. How did you end up taking the same taxi?"

  Su Can saw that because of Xiao Yunyun's words, Chen Lingshan raised her head and looked at her own gaze with a hint of tension.

  Gao Fan said with some pride, "It just so happens that today is your birthday. I happened to have an appointment with Ling Shan to go shopping for clothes outside, and I took the opportunity to buy you a gift. You know how it is with you girls, I don't know what you want, so I had to ask someone for advice. It's nothing much, just a silver necklace from Romantic House. Do you like it?"

  The necklace from the Romantic House caused some girls around me to show a look of attention. The Romantic House was one of the earliest professional gift shops for women at that time, and the things inside were similar to those in some modern stores specializing in selling female biological products. Girls who often went shopping naturally liked to visit there, and the necklaces and jewelry there had always been very expensive, especially the Silver Princess series, which cost between 40 and 60 yuan per piece. At that time, this was already a price that students could hardly afford.

  No one would voluntarily reveal what their carefully packaged gift is, and Gao Fan's hint was undoubtedly a show-off of his own gift, with a desire to outdo others in every way. His handmade chain looked elegant and substantial, and having Xiao Yunyun, the class flower of high school, wear the chain he gave her would surely boost his sense of fulfillment.

  This way, the other boys, Wang Andong the fatty and Nie Hai the tall and thin one, seem much more hesitant, of course they are worried that after Xiao Yunyun opens the gifts, she will find that their gifts are not comparable to Gao Fan's, and in Xiao Yunyun's heart, their status will be greatly inferior.

  But anyway, even without gifts, they understand their current situation and there's no need to compare themselves with someone like Gao Fan who is famous in their grade. So for a while now, Wang Andong and Nie Hai have been getting along quite well with Su Can, standing on the same front line. Probably in their eyes, Su Can should feel the same way as them, all feeling extremely resentful towards Gao Fan's position in Xiao Yunyun's heart.

  In the classical and elegant private room of a stewed rice restaurant, Gao Fan became the leader, he was always the leading figure in his class and grade, and he was also eloquent. During the dinner, he made many girls laugh with his jokes, which further strengthened the strategic alliance between Wang Andong and his group.

  However, Su Can found that Gao Fan was not as class-struggle-oriented as they were. This boy was clever and eloquent, knowing how to please people, although he would brag a bit and liked being the center of attention, but his personality wasn't annoying in any way.

  At the banquet, Su Can said very little and spent most of his time observing these people who were freshmen ten years ago. The situation he had previously guessed about Chen Ling and Gao Fan being in a romantic relationship did not exist, but it was clear that Gao Fan had a great liking for Chen Ling, and Chen Ling's heart was also wavering. For an excellent girl like her, who was admired by everyone, even if Gao Fan was a prominent figure of their age group, it wouldn't be easy to win her over. However, it was evident that Gao Fan's pursuit was intense.

  The wine had gone halfway, and Gao Fan changed the subject, "Yun Yun, do you remember when we moved away, your father was still a section chief, what about now? He's also a not-so-small official in the Construction Bureau, right?"

  Gao Fan's father used to work with Xiao Fei in the Village and Town Construction Bureau, but was later transferred to a nearby county town. He returned three years ago and is now a deputy department head, busy running for the new Planning Department head position. Gao Fan also plans to help his father get connected.

  "Oh, my dad, I don't quite understand him either, but it seems like he's the director of the Municipal Bidding Office..." Xiao Yunyun glanced at Su Can and said.

  "Oh, the official is not small either... It's been a long time since we met, and I'll go visit Uncle Xiao for a while. Maybe soon our family will invite your family to dinner. My dad also wants to catch up with your dad!"

  After dinner at the restaurant, everyone went to today's main event, Xiao Yunyun's home.

  Seeing the familiar courtyard of his uncle's house, Su Can couldn't help but smile wryly. From the early days when he was feared by Xiao Yunyun's parents and the other adults in the compound, to now when his uncle had become the de facto leader of the compound, Xiao Fei even welcomed him warmly and let his daughter invite him to her birthday party, the contrast between past and present was really dizzying.

  This was Su Can's first time entering the house to see Xiao Yunyun's home, a 180-square-meter large house, spacious and bright, with decorations that were not luxurious, but rather simple. In fact, this was already quite good at the time. Compared to the future smart homes, it would naturally seem a bit inferior.

  Xiao Yunyun's parents stood at the entrance to greet everyone with a smile, and when they saw Su Can, Xiao Fei's eyes flashed with joy.

  In fact, with Xiao Fei's personality, how could he personally welcome these little friends of his daughter, he naturally came for Su Can.

  Seeing Su Can enter the door, Xiao Mu also gave Xiao Yunyun a look of praise.

  The fruit platter, cake, and everything for the party was ready, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively again.

  Su Can entered Xiao Fei's study room, closed the door, and said something inside, causing a group of young men and women outside to be puzzled.

  Xiao Fei didn't say anything to Su Can, just casually mentioning his uncle's attitude towards him in a roundabout way. Xiao Fei still treated Su Can like a high school student, which made Su Can secretly amused. He pretended to be careless and revealed some of Zeng Quanming's thoughts and ideas, half true and half false, with some fabrication added on purpose. He even imitated his uncle's sigh and said, "He often says, 'Xiao Fei is actually very capable, but... well, the past events have accumulated too much, it's inevitable that he will hold grudges in his heart...'".

  "Did your uncle really say that!?" Xiao Fei's eyes flowed with surprise, but also carried a hint of disbelief. How could Zeng Quanming tell Su Can such a thing?

  "Hmm, this was something I overheard when he was talking to his aunt not long ago, Uncle Xiao... what about past matters?" Su Can asked with a pretentious tone.

  "Oh, no, nothing... Your uncle's temper, he had a few normal work disputes with Uncle Xiao before, and he's still holding onto that grudge? Does he really think I'd hold it against him?" Xiao Fei patted Su Can's shoulder with a laugh, his mind already clear. He had indeed been idle lately, and although Zeng Quanming hadn't made a move on him, he had been cold-shouldering him, making him feel anxious. Now that he heard Su Can say this, he was about 70% convinced.

  When Su Can left, he was already thinking that maybe he should also lower his posture and make amends with Zeng Quanming by drinking two cups together and putting the past behind them. After all, although they had been fighting for so long, they had also worked together for their common cause for many years and knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. Such situations were not uncommon nowadays.

  Su Can walked out of Xiao Fei's study, and couldn't help but cause a hint of surprise from Gao Fan. Earlier, he had visited Xiao Fei and mentioned that his father wanted to invite him over, but Xiao Fei just hummed in response and brushed it off. Now, he was dragging an unknown Su Can into the study for a long conversation, which made him feel somewhat uneasy.

  Sitting on the sofa, Xiao Yunyun saw that her mother's smile had also increased, and she understood that there was progress between Su Can and her father. She said to Su Can in a low voice, "Thank you."

  Su Can was stunned, and Xiao Yunyun's face also turned slightly red. In these days, she naturally understood her father's worries and concerns about Su Can, which were more about helping her father to alleviate his troubles rather than truly pursuing Su Can. Now that the family's worries had been resolved, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief, and towards Su Can, she felt a hint of guilt.

  Su Can thought for a moment and understood that there was no intention of blaming Xiao Yunyun for being deliberately friendly and taking advantage of her.

  Su Can also knew that he was not outstanding in class, his family background was not good, and even if his uncle was the head of the Construction Bureau, it had nothing to do with him. Moreover, he hadn't grown up yet, and no matter how you looked at it, he wasn't the type of white horse prince, and Xiao Yunyun wouldn't easily fall in love with him just because her essay was praised by a central journalist and the mayor.

  This is not a play, nor am I the protagonist, and I won't be surrounded by countless girls who will flock to me as soon as I appear on stage.

  More will be like Xiao Yunyun, with another purpose.

  It's not Shao Yunyun's fault either; girls who grow up in big courtyards of government offices tend to mature a bit earlier, which is normal.

  This is just life, very realistic and also very helpless.

  After all, before he transforms quietly and waits in the most inconspicuous corner, he is still that ugly duckling. Waiting for the moment when dawn breaks through the darkness and arrives overwhelmingly.

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