OSM Chapter 26: Maybe, he thought, he wasn’t meant to be better.

He Zhiqiu’s birthday is on February 14th.

It was just past midnight.

1:01 AM.

He held the cake in his hands and opened his mouth as if to say something. But the words that came to his lips were simply “Thank you.” He knew those two words were shallow, but given the nature of their relationship, what else could he say?

He Zhiqiu felt guilty.

At this moment, even if someone had asked him to say another word, he would have felt like he was overstepping.

Li Yuze, however, didn’t pay much attention to it. He wished him a happy birthday and told him to go back and get some rest.

“And you?” He Zhiqiu asked, seeing that Li Yuze seemed to be leaving. “Are you going back now?”

Li Yuze nodded and said he had a flight at 3 AM.

The airport was not far from here, and there was still some time before the flight.

He Zhiqiu paused for a few seconds, tightly gripping the ribbon on the cake box. “If it’s not too urgent, could we have some cake together?”

Li Yuze said, “But the cake I bought is a bit small.”

He Zhiqiu quickly responded, “It’s okay, I don’t eat much.”

Since the invitation had been made, Li Yuze didn’t rush to leave.

They didn’t change locations but moved from outside the door into the lounge.

The stage crew was diligent, leaving only a small light on for He Zhiqiu, and turning off all the other power switches.

The air conditioning couldn’t be turned on, and the lights were out, leaving only a small birthday cake with a light blue candle flickering weakly on top.

He Zhiqiu was holding the coat Li Yuze had given him but hadn’t worn it. He wasn’t particularly cold—after all, he was wearing a costume, bundled in layers, and as long as he moved around a bit, he would warm up.

But Li Yuze was dressed lightly, only wearing a dark brown turtleneck sweater.

He wanted to return the coat to Li Yuze, but Li Yuze refused.

In the end, neither of them wore the coat, and it ended up on the stiff chair.

“Do you want to make a wish?” Li Yuze asked.

He Zhiqiu froze for a few seconds. He almost forgot that there was such an important part of celebrating a birthday. It had been so long since he sat in front of a birthday cake like this. In recent years, he had just made do with simple things, maybe boiling an egg or something. He rarely forgot this day, though, since his birthday was on Valentine’s Day, and couples kissing and hugging on the streets would always remind him it was his birthday.

At this moment, looking at the cake in front of him, He Zhiqiu’s mind went blank.

He didn’t know what to wish for, and he didn’t know what else he wanted. He seemed to have become an adult with no imagination, someone who couldn’t always live in the past and couldn’t see a future either. Although he was still trying to live, he felt aimless and unsure how to make himself become better.

Maybe, he thought, he wasn’t meant to be better.

But Li Yuze was particularly persistent about the whole wish-making thing.

He Zhiqiu had no choice but to think for a moment and said to the candle, “I hope my grandfather can live to be a hundred. I hope… my friends around me can stay healthy and safe.”

Li Yuze asked, “Anything else?”

“Uhh, ‘anything else?’”

“Yeah.”

“Well… I hope I can get more scripts and continue doing the job I love.”

“One more.”

“Three?”

“Most people have three wishes.”

“Well…” He Zhiqiu clenched his fist, thinking for a long time, then shook his head and said, “I don’t think there’s anything else.”

“What now? You can’t leave one blank, can you?”

He Zhiqiu asked, “Do I really have to make three wishes?”

Li Yuze replied, “Definitely.”

“Then, I hope my friends…”

“Friends again?”

“Yeah.”

“Never mind, just go with that.”

Before He Zhiqiu could finish his wish, Li Yuze suddenly said, “If you really can’t think of anything, I can help you make a wish.”

He Zhiqiu looked at him in surprise. “You can help me make a wish?”

“Of course,” Li Yuze said casually. “After all, it’s the same candle we’re both blowing out.”

But I already thought of something…

He Zhiqiu blinked, and before he could speak, he heard Li Yuze say seriously, “Don’t say anything.” He then closed his eyes without waiting for He Zhiqiu’s consent.

He Zhiqiu had no choice but to swallow the words he wanted to say and, through the flickering candlelight, quietly waited for him.

They waited for nearly a minute.

Li Yuze’s wish seemed very long, as if no matter how he made it, he couldn’t finish. He Zhiqiu occasionally stole glances at him, and later realized that Li Yuze had kept his eyes closed, so he gradually relaxed his guard.

He hadn’t looked at Li Yuze so openly in a long time. He found himself so focused that he unconsciously reached out a hand and touched his face.

Li Yuze’s eyelashes fluttered, and he suddenly opened one eye. “What’s wrong?”

He Zhiqiu was startled by his own action, quickly pulling his hand back. “There’s a mosquito.”

A mosquito?

In the middle of winter, with the cold so harsh, how could there be mosquitoes?

Li Yuze almost called out his lie but noticed that He Zhiqiu’s gaze was evasive and filled with an unfamiliar tension.

He blew out the candle with a soft puff.

He Zhiqiu froze for a few seconds, letting out a quiet sigh of relief in the darkness.

He thought Li Yuze was done making his wish and picked up the serrated knife to cut him a piece of cake.

Li Yuze didn’t immediately take it. Instead, he lightly tapped the back of his hand, looked around, and muttered, “No wonder, it’s a bit itchy.”