Every year on her birthday, Chen Weixue receives a red envelope from an old classmate on social media. Back in high school, they had only met a few times. The only thing they had in common was that man.
She never accepts it, replying politely: Thank you.
After sending the red envelope, her old classmate says nothing more. He contacts her just once a year.
At her birthday party, Chen Weixue quietly watches the candles burning before her and closes her eyes to make a wish under everyone's gaze.
She remembers the bitter winter when she was eighteen.
Late at night, she crouched alone by the street. The road before her was empty and desolate, while light spilled from the convenience store behind her. The world was lonely, and no one remembered that it was her birthday.
But then a boy came panting up to her, the light in his bright black eyes more dazzling than the sun.
He smiled. "Why are you crying? Here, a present."
-
At a class reunion, long after they had gotten together, Chen Weixue thanked her old classmate for remembering her birthday every year.
He was taken aback. He had changed WeChat accounts ages ago, but then he realized what she meant and looked at the man beside her. In an exaggerated tone, he said, "Xu Li, come on. Seven years of keeping it secret wasn't enough for you?"
Chen Weixue looked bewildered. Xu Li said nothing, only smiling as he gently ruffled her hair.
After the reunion, Xu Li had been drinking and was clingier than anyone.
He held her tight, burying his face in the hollow of her neck, and whispered, "There will always be someone who remembers your birthday. He hopes every year, every day, will bring you happiness."
Nearby, her old classmate was loudly recounting Xu Li's incredible exploits.
"He was the pride of our school. On graduation day, he chased me for eighteen blocks, insisting I sell him my phone number. All because I had Chen Weixue on WeChat. Is he crazy or what?"
"Who knows what he did while pretending to be me on WeChat!"
Chen Weixue's eyes reddened. He hadn't done anything at all.
He had only kept telling the girl who cried on a winter night, over and over: somewhere in this world, someone has always loved you.
-Happy birthday to you.
-May every year, every day, bring you happiness.
Theme: Live life with care.
