Chapter 5: Happy Birthday

If it wasn’t for Lu Mingfei, Bai Ci would still be holed up in the internet café, not standing under an umbrella on a Tokyo street, staring blankly at the pouring rain with a girl she didn’t even know.

After leaving the hospital that day, Bai Ci had been working non-stop to earn cash.

It was hot, so she bought a popsicle… and somehow won a prize.

Staring at the words [Grand Prize] on the stick, she was dumbfounded.

A one-in-a-million chance, and she hit it?

She’d planned to head back to the café in a few days, but ended up working extra shifts instead.

On July 10, 2009, Beijing time, Bai Ci got a tourist visa and flew to Tokyo alone.

She didn’t speak a lick of Japanese, so she prepared a bunch of note cards and played mute to communicate.

It was just a week—the popsicle company covered food, lodging, and flights.

She’d buy some souvenirs and head back.

Lu Mingfei was obsessed with this [anime culture] stuff.

He’d watch animated characters fight and fall in love on the café computers, sometimes scrolling through cosplay videos on websites.

Bai Ci didn’t get his taste but didn’t mind—everyone’s got their thing.

But once she got to Tokyo, it started raining.

Holding her umbrella, she had no clue where to go… Tokyo was too big, and she was lost.

As for the red-haired girl next to her… she was slumped against a pole, her dark red hair soaked, her miko outfit clinging transparently to her skin, black lace underwear faintly visible.

She looked pitiful, so… Bai Ci crouched beside her under the pole.

Honestly, in this kind of downpour, an umbrella was useless.

It kept your head dry, but the rest of you got soaked.

Luckily, Bai Ci was wearing the red top Nono picked out—it didn’t leave her looking as pathetic as the girl beside her.

She’d die before letting her underwear show like that.

Even though it was summer, the rain left her chilly, especially when the wind hit, making her hunch her shoulders.

Why the hell was she squatting here?

Couldn’t she find somewhere else to dodge the rain?

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

She grabbed the red-haired girl’s hand, pulled her up, and started walking.

The girl looked up, confused.

Her hand was cold but soft, like cotton candy, making Bai Ci grip it tighter.

She dragged her under an awning, opened her suitcase, and draped a blanket over both of them.

After rummaging, Bai Ci pulled out a note card and showed it to her.

[Cold?]

The miko girl blinked, pulled out a soggy red notepad and pen from her pocket, and tried to write something.

The ink bled instantly, turning her words into black smudges.

She gave up, nodding, then shaking her head.

So, cold or not?

Bai Ci didn’t press.

She stood, vigorously towel-drying the girl’s hair.

If it stayed wet, she’d catch a cold, get sick, and end up popping pills or getting shots…

Gurgle~

A stomach growl interrupted her thoughts.

Bai Ci glanced at the silent miko, sighed, and handed her a few pieces of chocolate from her pocket.

The girl’s red eyes lit up.

She grabbed the chocolate, inspecting it before nibbling like a rabbit munching greens, her clear, pure gaze almost dripping with innocence.

After swallowing the last crumbs, she wiped her mouth, her faint smile fading back to her blank expression.

Only smiling when she eats?

The rain suddenly quieted.

Not because it stopped, but because a huge umbrella appeared over them, held by a slender hand that gently closed it.

Bai Ci looked up into a face with delicate, almost feminine beauty—handsome yet soft, with marble-smooth skin and sharp brows that didn’t meet her eyes.

“Thanks for shielding my sister.

Come sit, change into something dry,” Gen Chisei said with a smile, speaking fluent Chinese.

His perfect Chinese made Bai Ci wonder if he was even fully Japanese, but it saved her some hassle.

“No thanks… can you tell me where this hotel is?”

It wasn’t until she was soaking in a presidential suite’s bathtub that it hit her—this girl’s family was that rich?

They owned half the decent hotels in Tokyo?

Talk about luck—helping a random girl, and she’s a heiress.

But in a place like Japan, heiresses probably get married off to politicians or tycoons they don’t even like.

Not her business, though—they’d likely never cross paths again.

She didn’t even know the girl’s name.

Lu Mingfei hadn’t seen Bai Ci in a week.

Since leaving the hospital, she’d vanished, and he missed her.

They’d spent so much time together, bickering but close.

Her sudden absence felt weird.

He wasn’t good at hiding his feelings—his crush on Chen Wenwen was obvious to the whole class—so his mixed-up emotions were plain on his face.

Lu Mingze, his cousin, got it.

He’d just been dumped by [Sunset’s Mark], so he was extra invested in Lu Mingfei’s drama, bonding over their shared heartbreak, trying to lick each other’s wounds.

But when Lu Mingze poured his heart out about [Sunset], Lu Mingfei could barely hold back laughter.

If Lu Mingze knew they broke up because she didn’t want to game with him anymore, his face would look worse than if he’d eaten shit.

Lu Mingze’s tale was tear-jerking. “Bro, I never thought she’d go study abroad… give up on us…”

I didn’t expect to study abroad either.

Normal.

Lu Mingze sighed. “I really thought we were true love, but reality ripped us apart…”

“You’re right,” Lu Mingfei nodded, his grin barely contained. “Such a shame…”

A knock at the door cut Lu Mingze off.

Lu Mingfei frowned, heading to open it.

Were his uncle and aunt back early?

He swung the door open.

“Happy birthday.”

Bai Ci stood there, smiling softly, holding a cake in one hand and a gift box in the other.

Lu Mingfei froze, brain blank.

It hit him—today was his birthday.

First time anyone showed up with a cake and gift, saying, “Happy birthday!”

Before he could react, Bai Ci’s phone blared the “Happy Birthday” song.

It sounded off, like the singer’s first try.

She held out the gift box, blinking at him. “Your birthday present.”

Lu Mingze gawked from behind.

Since when did his cousin know a girl this hot?

All he did was game!

“I…” Lu Mingfei’s throat caught. “Th-thanks…”

“Not gonna invite me in?”

Bai Ci glanced at their couch.

“Oh… haha… come in,” Lu Mingfei laughed awkwardly, stepping aside.

Bai Ci shut the door, set down her stuff, slipped into slippers, and collapsed onto the couch, passing out.

She’d bought the cake right after landing…

Exhausted.

She’d nap for a bit.