Xia Li’s Birthday

Her parents had promised to return on Friday night and celebrate her birthday on Saturday, but a heavy rainstorm that evening kept them busy with flood prevention work at the gypsum factory, unable to leave all night.

On the morning of her birthday, Xia’s mother, Jiang Hong, called to ask if she could bring them a new set of sheets and a duvet cover. Xia Li had plans to go singing with her classmates in the afternoon, so she had to deliver the items in the morning.

When she opened the wardrobe, the mixed smell of camphor balls and mildew hit her. Xia Li picked out a set of sheets and a duvet cover and put them in a plastic bag. The black garbage bag was flimsy and tore easily. Frustrated, she threw everything on the bed, took a deep breath, and then repacked everything into a paper bag.

Feeling somewhat aggrieved, Xia Li prepared to leave. The gypsum factory was in Jushu Town, and it took an hour and a half of bumpy bus rides from the Chucheng Development Zone to get there. The factory didn’t have a nearby bus stop, so she had to keep an eye out and ask the driver to stop when she got close.

Today, the Chucheng city was conducting the high school entrance exams, causing citywide traffic control. Several bus routes were detoured, making the journey to Jushu Town take two hours.

Next to the gypsum factory, where there was originally a spare piece of land, the second phase of construction was underway. A large gantry crane stood on the construction site, with huge trucks coming and going, scattering sand and mud everywhere.

Her father, Xia Jianyang, worked in the factory’s security department, while her mother, Jiang Hong, worked as a cook in the logistics department. They had a dormitory in the factory, where they usually stayed.

Xia Li didn’t enter the dormitory but handed the items to Jiang Hong at the door. She stood on the steps, scraping mud off her shoes, while Jiang Hong spoke to her from inside. The mother and daughter didn’t talk much, mostly with Jiang Hong reminding her to stay safe at home, not to read too late, and to turn off the water and electricity.

Xia Li responded with a nod and mentioned, “The gas cylinder seems to be empty.”

“Call the delivery service to get it refilled,” Jiang Hong said, taking a piece of cardboard from a cigarette pack, writing down a phone number, and handing it to her. “I’m going to cook now. Come to the canteen for a meal before you leave.”

“No, I’m going to sing with Xu Ning and others this afternoon.”

Jiang Hong advised, “Don’t stay out too late.”

“Okay.”

Her parents didn’t control Xia Li much because she was always well-behaved and considerate. She would always inform them if she stayed at a friend’s house and never stayed out late without reason.

Before leaving, Jiang Hong paused at the door, then returned and took fifty yuan out of her purse, thought for a moment, and changed it to a hundred yuan, handing it to Xia Li. “Buy yourself something nice for your birthday.”

“No need, I have money.”

“Your savings are yours. Take it.”

Xia Li didn’t argue, accepted the money, and put it in her backpack’s inner pocket.

As she was leaving the main gate, a black Mercedes-Benz drove in. She stepped aside, only to see the car stop in front of her.

The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face. Xia Li greeted quickly, “Hello, Uncle Luo.”

Luo Weiguo smiled and said, “I was supposed to have lunch with your dad today, but something came up. Next time, I’ll treat you all to a meal.”

Xia Li replied with a polite smile, “Take care of your things first, Uncle Luo. No need to rush.”

Luo Weiguo nodded, “Okay, I’ll head in first.”

As the car window rolled up and the car passed by, Xia Li noticed someone else seemed to be sitting in the back seat.

After leaving the gate, Xia Li texted her father, Xia Jianyang, to let him know she had been there.

Xia Jianyang called back to ask if she needed any money. She said no, as her mother had given her some. He told her to buy something nice to eat.

The bus schedule back to the development zone was irregular, sometimes every ten minutes, sometimes taking up to forty minutes for the next one.

Xia Li was unlucky today and waited nearly half an hour without seeing a bus. Getting anxious, she texted her friends, warning them she might be late.

Standing tired in the shade, she squatted down. Fortunately, the weather was still cool after yesterday’s rain. She put on her earphones and listened to music on her MP3 player.

At that time, cheap brand MP3 players were quite good in quality. However, she dreamed of having an OPPO MP4 player, with a blue body, brushed metal back, touchscreen menu, no extra buttons, a beautiful purple display interface, and elegant, slender lyrics font.

Her good friend Xu Ning had one. Sometimes, she borrowed it to listen to music and couldn’t put it down, feeling that its industrial design was perfect.

Suddenly, there was a honk.

Xia Li looked up and saw Luo Weiguo’s car coming out of the gate again.

Luo Weiguo rolled down the window and smiled, asking, “Waiting for the bus?”

Xia Li quickly took off her headphones and nodded.

She saw Luo Weiguo turn his head, say something to someone in the back seat, and then said to her, “Get in the car, let’s go together.”

“Thank you, Uncle Luo, but the bus should be here soon…”

“Get in.”

Xia Li didn’t want to seem ungrateful. Luo Weiguo had always been particularly kind and attentive to her family.

The Xia family and the Luo family were from the same hometown. Luo Weiguo’s wife also had the surname Xia, and their families were from the same clan generations ago. Xia Jianyang had brought his family to Chucheng to develop, and it was thanks to Luo Weiguo’s arrangements that he secured a job at the gypsum factory. When Xia Li transferred her household registration and went to middle school, it was also Luo Weiguo who helped find connections.

Xia Li walked over and opened the back door of the car.

She looked inside and saw someone in the left seat.

A stranger, even sitting, appeared tall.

Dressed in a white shirt and black pants, with a slender frame and an otherworldly demeanor, he seemed almost unreal.

Xia Li couldn’t help but stare for a moment, naturally thinking of Su Shi’s poem: “At first sight by the river, exiled immortal’s grace, silently admired.”

She felt awkward and unsure whether to get in. Looking at the front passenger seat, it was occupied by a briefcase.

The car behind honked impatiently, so she had no choice but to get in.

She sat down and held her backpack on her lap. She glanced at the boy’s face out of the corner of her eye.

She felt she should greet him but didn’t know what to call him.

Luo Weiguo spoke timely, “This is Mr. Huo’s grandson.”

But this introduction still left Xia Li unsure of what to call him. After thinking, she finally said, “…Hello.”

The boy looked over, his eyes slightly cool. His voice was like wind brushing through snowy tree branches, “Hello.”

Not long after the car started, Luo Weiguo turned to the boy sitting next to Xia Li, smiling broadly, “If you’re tired, you can rest for a while. The restaurant is already booked, and we’ll have dinner as soon as we arrive.”

The boy replied calmly, “Okay. Thank you, Mr. Luo.”

“Vice President, Vice President,” Luo Weiguo corrected with a smile.

Luo Weiguo’s obsequious attitude towards the boy made Xia Li uncomfortable, as if she was inadvertently witnessing another side of him—usually, it was her father Xia Jianyang who fawned and flattered Luo Weiguo cautiously.

Less than half a minute of silence passed before Luo Weiguo asked the boy with a smile, “Are you hot? Should we turn down the air conditioning?”

The boy maintained his unruffled expression, “No need.”

Luo Weiguo continued enthusiastically, “I’m familiar with Chucheng because I often help your grandfather. If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll do my best to make sure you feel comfortable here…”

Even as an observer, Xia Li felt her face stiffen from Luo Weiguo’s excessive enthusiasm. The boy only slightly furrowed his brow and politely said, “Thank you.”

Luo Weiguo’s phone rang.

He quickly answered, speaking to the other end with a smile, “We’re already on the way… Yes, yes… Don’t worry, Mr. Huo, everything is fine… Last night’s flood prevention work went smoothly, and we’re back to normal operations today… Since you’re not well, let us handle these minor tasks…”

“Are you listening to music?”

Xia Li suddenly heard the boy beside her ask softly.

She turned her head and saw his eyes slightly lowered, looking at the MP3 player in her hand with the tangled earphone cord.

Xia Li instinctively tightened her grip, not wanting him to see the knock-off brand.

“Can I borrow it to listen? Mine ran out of battery.”

The boy’s skin had a thin frost-like whiteness, with long, thin eyelashes. When he lowered his eyes, a light gray shadow fell, inexplicably reminding her of the feathers of winter bullfinches perched on tree branches.

Although Mingzhang High School had its share of handsome boys, Xia Li felt their handsomeness was of a tangible kind that, after a while, became ordinary.

He was different.

His clean aura seemed unreal, as if he should only exist in abstract concepts.

The boy added, “One earbud is enough.”

Xia Li’s breathing became lighter. She removed her earphones and handed both to him.

The boy’s gaze paused on her hand.

She explained, “You can listen. I was just about to take a nap.”

The boy accepted them, “Thank you.”

She should have handed over the MP3 player as well, but Xia Li was afraid of embarrassment, so she held onto it and asked, “What song would you like to hear?”

“Anything is fine.”

“…I’ll put it on shuffle then.”

The young man nodded.

Xia Li lowered her head and scrolled through the menu, selecting a song she often listened to, one that wasn’t mainstream. The MP3 screen had a faint sheen of sweat, from her fingertips.

The young man plugged both earphones in, leaned back, turned his head, and looked out the window.

Luo Weiguo finished his call, ready to continue chatting with the young man, but he turned to glance back, finally falling silent.

Xia Li realized the young man wasn’t really interested in listening to music. He just couldn’t be bothered dealing with Luo Weiguo anymore.

Xia Li wasn’t asleep, but the young man was now leaning back with arms crossed, head tilted slightly to the left, eyes closed before long.

Xia Li occasionally glanced at the battery level on the MP3 screen, a bit worried it might run out of power and shut down. But she had to admit, the knockoff had its advantages—a battery more durable than any brand-name device.

It was a strange feeling she’d never experienced before. Sunlight streamed in, warming the skin on the sunny side, a faint warmth flooding her heart like a tide, as she discreetly glanced over at the boy, the dappled light falling on him mirroring her mood.

It felt like someone had lit a candle inside her, a small flame flickering in the wind, bright then dim.

The return journey was unexpectedly quick, not just because they were in a small sedan. When Xia Li came to her senses, the car was nearing the development zone, and Luo Weiguo turned to ask if she wanted to go home.

“I need to go to Tianxing Street—Uncle Luo, you can drop me off ahead, I’ll take another ride there.”

Luo Weiguo said, “We’re headed downtown too, it’s on the way.”

Twenty minutes later, they reached the intersection at Tianxing Street, and Luo Weiguo pulled over.

Xia Li turned to the young man. Before she could speak, he had already opened his eyes, removed the earphones, and handed them to her, his voice clear and cool as he said, “Thank you.”

Xia Li pressed the pause button and wound the headphone cord around the MP3 player. She opened the car door, thanked Luo Weiguo, glanced at the young man before getting out, hesitated, but still didn’t ask for his name.

She wouldn’t let herself continue dreaming the impossible. They probably wouldn’t have another chance to meet.