Cemetery, cold winds gusting.
Two figures squatting in front of two stone steles.
The silky soft cake melted in their mouths, the sensation of sugar and fat mixing was a dopamine delight imprinted in human genes.
After all, they were carbon-based beings, happy to receive what sustains life.
Zhu Yulan slowly swallowed the cream in her mouth, it had been many years since she last had cake, and she felt this cake somehow tasted a bit special.
As if a hint of intoxicating wine had been added.
She looked at Xu Musen, in the quiet cemetery where only the sound of falling leaves could be heard, with just the two of them, she wasn't scared.
Because the people lying in the cemetery were her own mother and sister, even if it was a different path from the ghostly realm, they were the people she yearned dearly to see.
Compared to ghostly figures of nothingness, it was the living, under the sun, who hurt her the most deeply.
That wealthy, enviable family didn't bring her much warmth, but this boy in front of her, with a gentle smile and eyes clean and sincere, unsettled Zhu Yulan's heart again and again.
Zhu Yulan gazed at him, her almond eyes rippling like a lake disturbed by a gentle breeze.
"From now on, I'll celebrate your birthday with you…"
Perhaps this scumbag had gotten used to promising such things to a girl, but for Zhu Yulan, those words were like the last stone a thirsty crow throws in a bottle to drink water, making her finally decide, facing her own heart's resolution.
Zhu Yulan's heart was torn, half tense, half relieved as she watched Xu Musen's gentle smile under the lamp light, her lips slightly parted savoring the last hint of sweetness from the cake, her own smile blooming, typical of her age.
"So, if in the future you marry Nuannuan or your childhood sweetheart, would it still be appropriate to spend your birthday at midnight with a single beautiful young woman?"
Faced with this sudden question, Xu Musen turned to look at her and laughed, "What do you mean by 'or'?"
Xu Musen's world didn't contain the multiple-choice option of "or."
Zhu Yulan looked at Xu Musen now unabashedly revealing his playboy demeanor, she pouted, but felt a bit of the pressure in her heart lift.
Yes, this guy was a playboy, after all, and she, perhaps a female version of the same, had no reason to fear him.
Zhu Yulan's eyes held a hint of grievance.
"Did I say too much, or too little?"
"Some things shouldn't be measured by quantity, there's never been a truly fair criterion. I'm faithful to those I want to be faithful to, and I think that's more precious than many relationships that seem devoted but falter halfway."
Xu Musen slowly divided the cake he had, first offering her a piece, his words grandiose yet characteristically insincere, but Zhu Yulan, somehow, found them profoundly reasonable...
"So… what if you meet another girl you want to be faithful to?"
Zhu Yulan took the piece of cake, eating another bite with her fork.
"Boss Zhu, do you really see me as such a greedy person?"
The two locked eyes for a moment, Xu Musen laughed, "That's true, but it's also because Nuannuan and Ming Yue tolerate and put up with me. If it were another girl, she probably couldn't stand my flaws and would have nothing more to do with me."
Zhu Yulan watched him again divert the topic jokingly.
A few bites of cake melting in her mouth, she knew if she didn't make things clear, he would continue evasively.
She ate a piece of chocolate from the cake, alcohol-filled, merging with the earlier bites in what seemed like a chemical reaction.
Zhu Yulan's cheeks flushed, perhaps from the alcohol, or perhaps from the surge of blood, as she lightly bit her neatly aligned white teeth.
"What if... I could tolerate it?"
When she said this, she was still a bit nervous, looking at Xu Musen's expression... She noticed his gaze also lingered on her.
Zhu Yulan, this fearless young lady, now appeared somewhat timidly blushing as she scrambled through more bites of cake.
Today's cake was as sweet as red wine, becoming more intoxicating the more she ate.
"So, that's why we can be such good friends, right?"
Xu Musen answered with a smile, but his words were cut halfway by Zhu Yulan.
"But I'm not talking about friends."
Xu Musen's gaze rested on her.
Zhu Yulan's head lifted again, meeting his gaze as if she were finally taking the plunge, her eyes burning intensely, making it hard to keep evading.
"Xu Musen, you know what I'm talking about. We're not lacking friends, that's just an excuse. You and Nuannuan were always ranting about being the best friends in the world, yet all you did was flaunt your love everywhere, right? Is that what lifetime friends do?"
Zhu Yulan spoke with a smile, her entire being seemed to glow brighter, maybe it was the power of that tiny piece of liquor-filled chocolate.
Anyway, she seemed to have finally mustered the courage to speak her mind.
"Xu Musen, then can I also be your lifelong good friend?"