"The army must be really boring, right? I warned you earlier, the army isn’t fun. You should have traveled with me!" Gu En laughed, somewhat teasing He Zhilan for not taking his advice.
He Zhilan didn’t explain herself but instead, inquired about why Gu En returned to the university so early.
Before Gu En answered, he glared fiercely at Lin Deng and said, "I was having fun outside, but this guy here, it’s his birthday today and he said he’d cut ties with me if I didn’t come back to celebrate with him. I remembered leaving something in the dorm, so I decided to swing by and pick it up."
He Zhilan turned to Lin Deng in surprise, "It’s your birthday today? Happy birthday."
"Thanks! Honestly, I, as a grown man, don’t care much about celebrating my birthday. It’s just a rare excuse to hang out with friends over the course of the year. Now that you’re back, and alone at that, why not join Gu En and me for some fun tonight? We’ll have dinner and hit a karaoke club."
When it came to being sociable, Lin Deng was similar to Lin Chan. He loved being amongst a crowd, so seeing He Zhilan alone in the dorm, he invited her along.
"Let’s all go together then, it’s just our circle of friends. Don’t worry, it’s totally safe." Gu En chimed in, not giving Lin Deng’s words a chance to sink in. She moved towards her desk and rummaged through it. "Found it!" She waved something at the two men standing by the door.
Lin Deng took a look and rolled his eyes. "You made me come all this way to help you find this all-important item, and it turns out to be just lipstick? Gu En, I am seriously considering disowning you!"
"Isn’t lipstick important? This is my favorite color and I need it for tomorrow!" Gu En cheekily retorted, took He Zhilan’s hand and led the way out of the dorm, reminding Lin Deng to lock the dorm door behind them.
Not giving He Zhilan the chance to refuse, but in reality, He Zhilan had remained silent and hesitant because she actually wanted to go. Even though she knew her attire might not fit in with the crowd Gu En hangs out with, she was still curious and wanted to see for herself.
Lin Deng had driven here. As soon as he removed his military uniform, there were no visible signs left of a soldier in him. Smoking a cigarette, driving his car, he looked like the stereotypical second-generation rich kid.
"Lin Deng, I’m really sorry. I didn’t get you a birthday gift." He Zhilan said apologetically, knowing it was Lin Deng’s birthday yet coming empty-handed.
"I’m a grown man, what use do I have for presents?" Lin Deng waved off the apology, while Gu En chuckled and added, "Exactly, I didn’t get him anything either. Besides, Lin Deng has everything he needs, there’s no need to gift him anything."
"Oh~" He Zhilan laughed, suddenly recalling that Lin Chan was Lin Deng’s cousin, so would Lin Chan be at Lin Deng’s birthday party? However, knowing Gu En’s disdain for Lin Chan, He Zhilan asked the question casually, as though it were just an afterthought.
As soon as Lin Deng heard Lin Chan’s name, he instinctively glanced at Gu En in the passenger’s seat. He couldn’t help but think, just as expected, the mere mention of Lin Chan’s name caused her expression to change.
"No, my brother’s traveling out of town recently." Lin Deng answered.
He Zhilan blinked in realization. Ah, right. Before National Day when she had dinner with Lin Chan and others, they mentioned they were going traveling either to D Province or somewhere else. How could she have forgotten?