Chapter 418, That Day

When she saw Ling again, she raised her little face and looked into Zhuo's eyes as usual.

Unlike usual, her face was very gentle, with a shining light in her eyes, and her delicate face was calm and gentle. Her cheeks showed that she was in a good mood and was not dissatisfied with being stranded outside.

"Zhuo, it's time to go home."

"Oh, yeah, let's go back then... you seem to be in a good mood."

It was a good thing that Ling was not dissatisfied with this, but Zhuo had no idea why she was in such a good mood. When he saw Zhuo normally, Ling would show a softer atmosphere than usual, but he had never seen her show her mood like today. If it weren't for the fact that her pure white face was still expressionless, Zhuo might think she was a different person.

Zhuo didn't know the reason, so he was inevitably confused. Ling looked at him quietly and then turned away. It was unknown whether she noticed Zhuo's confusion.

"…It seems you really have forgotten."

"Forgot what?"

"It's a bit hard to explain that I don't remember what day it is... Today is your birthday."

Hearing Ling's helpless words, Zhuo couldn't help but blurt out "Ah!~".

"Ah~ I thought you guessed it... Happy birthday, Zhuo."

"…It's not right to say that I completely forgot about it, I just didn't pay attention to the day. Since it's my own business, I don't care much about it."

Although Zhuo had the general impression that his birthday was coming soon, he didn't remember the specific events of that day until Zero reminded him. It's strange to say this, but Zhuo himself had completely forgotten about it and didn't take it to heart, so he didn't realize it.

After all, Ling didn't prepare a birthday for him last year. In the past few weeks, Zhuo has been spending a lot of energy to adapt to the unfamiliar part-time job. In addition, he has many distractions every day, such as muscle training, jogging, and preview and review. As a result, he completely forgot about his birthday.

In fact, birthdays are a kind of festival for everyone, but when boys reach a certain age, both their parents and themselves will not pay too much attention to it. Zhuo also thinks that his birthday does not need to be celebrated specially - this view may be one of the reasons why he forgets.

Before coming to Tokyo, his parents would still celebrate his birthday, but since coming to Tokyo, Zhuo has not been particularly aware of birthdays and has lived like this ever since. To be more precise, on his first two birthdays, the only thing he received on his birthday was a letter titled "Gift" from Pompey Gattuso.

After Zhuo finished speaking, Ling just looked at his profile quietly, said "You're lying~" lightly, then withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward side by side.

"Wow - okay, I did guess a little bit. You were preparing a surprise for me, right? You asked me to wear a mask that day because you were afraid that I would smell something again... By the way, the Zero that day was strawberry flavored~ I said that because I didn't want you to feel that it was in vain. I'm sorry, I'm very reflective. But it really doesn't matter on my birthday~"

"This is not a trivial matter. I am really grateful for the day you were born, because without you, I would not be able to truly trust someone so much."

Ling gently revealed Zhuo's intention to pretend to be unaware and give him a surprise, and at the same time gently took Zhuo's hand.

Zhuo naturally wouldn't ask a question like 'What about Lu Mingze?', but it was unclear whether his expression revealed the doubt in his heart, or whether Ling had guessed it. She looked at Zhuo and shook her head gently: "That's a different Zhuo."

Those eyes stared at Zhuo, emitting an incomparably soft light that was different from when they first met.

The intertwined hands felt very warm. It was as if all the passion Ling had for Zhuo was contained in his hands, and a peaceful and comfortable warmth came from them. "Thank you for coming to this world, and thank you for meeting me."

The calm voice that seemed to tell the truth and her inner voice clearly showed her genuine joy, and the frank words also made Zhuo feel his cheeks gradually getting hot.

Zhuo then realized that sincere gratitude and blessings could actually make his body so hot. Although this feeling was a little embarrassing, it was not unpleasant. It was different from the heat of a fever, and brought a light and comfortable feeling. This was the first time he knew this after meeting Ling.

In the past, who would have thought that Zero, who didn't care about anything, would take him so seriously. He was such a lucky man.

"...I should thank you for thinking of me so much and taking care of me."

Zhuo didn't know how to convey his enthusiasm and feelings to her, so he thanked her without thinking. Ling held his hand and continued walking and talking.

"I left the meal at school today, so please stay tuned. There is one more thing I need to apologize to you for."

"Ok?"

Something to apologize for? Zhuo tilted his head in confusion, while Ling looked up into his eyes.

"I guess you've noticed what I'm doing. I'm sorry if I made you feel uneasy."

Until now, Ling's attitude that made Zhuo a little suspicious was all because of today - Zhuo had guessed it when he first smelled the cream on Ling's body, but only when he actually heard these words could he say that the dust was settled.

"Oh, that... I understand now after seeing the current situation. I don't think you will do anything excessive, but I am a little worried that I might have done something wrong because of my strong possessiveness."

"I didn't think you would doubt me. It's just that I didn't expect you to come back suddenly that day, and I made you worried. I'm sorry."

Ling acted like she was not worried because she wanted to give Zhuo a surprise and was quietly preparing for him. Ling didn't want to lie to Zhuo, so she never explained the "cream smell" thing, and didn't want to make up a lie to deceive Zhuo. Even so, she seemed to feel guilty about it.

It may sound a bit gloating to say this, but Zhuo thinks Ling is cute when she is like this, and it is also for her own good, so Zhuo does not want to blame her at all.

"…I don't mind that…"

"…Because of my situation, your friends seemed to be concerned about my feelings and didn't mention anything to you that day."

“Ah, so that’s how it is…”

Ren and Yurina knew Zhuo's birthday, but Zhuo had made it clear long ago that he didn't want to celebrate his birthday. Even so, he should have received blessings and small gifts on the day. They didn't say anything, which was one of the reasons why Zhuo lost his sense of birthday.

"Those guys..." Zhuo muttered softly, but he knew better than anyone how soft his tone was.

(End of this chapter)