Chapter 61

That birthday must have been lively, right?

Ruan Ning crouched in the courtyard beside the cardboard box holding the puppy, her gaze fixed on the sky beyond the garage's rolling door, imagining how grand and prestigious the Kamu family's birthday banquet must have been.

"It's probably even more lavish than the school's freshman welcome party."

She reached out a finger and gently stroked the puppy's body, murmuring to herself.

The puppy's body was warm and soft, still carrying a faint scent of goat's milk from its recent feeding, which melted Ruan Ning's heart. Her relatives were all in the dining room clinking glasses, their voices drifting out through the window, making the courtyard—shared only by her and the deeply sleeping puppy—feel especially quiet.

She tugged at the puppy's floppy ear and laughed at her own overthinking: "He's a famous duke, of course his birthday is lively."

As luck would have it, perhaps coinciding with Bai Fuzhou's birthday, tonight at 9 PM there would be both the Woyi Bridge fireworks and the Grand Palace square's drone show.

Both places were famous tourist attractions in Talun, must-see spots for visitors, drawing tourists from all over the world. Some travelers would time their trips to Country A's holidays just to catch the famous Woyi Bridge fireworks and the Grand Palace drones.

When Ruan Ning had seen the news a few days ago, she'd been puzzled—today wasn't a holiday, nor a major celebration, so why were these grand events suddenly happening at the same time?

Even more curious, the two attractions weren't close to each other; one was in the north of the city, the other in the center. At the banquet just now, the relatives had been arguing over which one to go see first.

Ruan Ning didn't want to go to either. She always avoided crowds, preferring to stay home and play with the puppy.

She was used to standing alone in dark, deserted corners, watching the stars, accompanied only by the dim yellow streetlights outside the courtyard.

But at home, she had no choice but to obey. Ruan Ning gave the puppy a few reluctant final pats, then went upstairs to her room to change, preparing to head out with the adults to see the fireworks and drones.

Today was her birthday, and besides her parents and relatives, she'd only received well-wishes from her bank and game accounts.

A few days ago, she'd stumbled upon Zeng Shuya's personal page.

Zeng Shuya lived every day happily and fully, studying hard and going out with new friends whenever she had free time. From her makeup and outfits, it was clear her income was steadily rising, and she was growing more confident and graceful.

Ruan Ning felt a twinge of envy. If she had the rest of her life to live, she'd go out and make more friends, really enjoy her university years.

Perhaps because Jiang Yihao and Bu Chen, who usually bombarded her with calls and texts every day, had gone silent today, her birthday felt especially lonely.

Ruan Ning wasn't surprised by this at all.

The young masters led colorful lives, surrounded by temptations; they'd probably already been drawn away by new people or things, forgetting about an ordinary girl like her.

Still, a corner of Ruan Ning's heart felt hollow.

Back in her room, she found herself unconsciously opening her phone again, staring at the blank avatar, her heart feeling as if stuffed with cotton—tight and hard to breathe.

She admitted that sending that goodbye message from her phone after the manga expo ticket had been impulsive and somewhat petulant. She'd only wanted to hear Bai Xingmiao say she was important to him, that he didn't want her to leave.

If only Bai Xingmiao had said that, she'd have pretended nothing happened and shamelessly stayed by his side.

But after she'd said goodbye, Bai Xingmiao hadn't said a word, hadn't even tried to stop her.

Ruan Ning opened the chat window over and over in disbelief, but time seemed frozen at the moment she'd sent her last message.

His silence was his answer to her departure.

Ruan Ning smiled bitterly.

So he really didn't care at all.

She'd never found anyone who understood her so well, which was exactly why she cherished her time with Bai Xingmiao so much—she feared that if he discovered her true self, he'd hate her, despise her, and regret ever meeting her.

Moreover, she had a vague sense that she was always the one sharing her joys and sorrows, while Bai Xingmiao had never opened up to her.

Ruan Ning was afraid that their harmonious rapport was just an illusion, all her own wishful thinking. If she kept dwelling on it, she'd crumble, so she'd rather end things decisively before the dark truth came to light.

At least things would forever remain at the most beautiful moment.

"Ningning, get ready, we're heading out soon," Qiu Yan called from downstairs.

"Coming—" Ruan Ning reluctantly put down her phone and went to rummage through her wardrobe. The house was bustling with people coming and going downstairs; clearly everyone had finished eating and was heading to the living room to rest, waiting until it was time to go out with the elders.

It was a bit cold outside, so Ruan Ning opened her wardrobe to pick out a coat. She wanted something warm but not too heavy, something she could just throw on before heading down.

Her bedroom was on the second floor, facing the garden. From the window, she could see the backyard full of flowers and vegetables her parents had planted.

Sometimes she thought the room her parents had given her was quite romantic, like a princess's room in a fairy tale, where she could stand at the windowsill and see her prince waiting below, gazing up expectantly for her to appear.

But that was just her imagination.

No one had ever come to her house to find her. Most of the time, the reality was obediently going downstairs and out with her family.

Thinking of this, Ruan Ning envied Zeng Shuya again. A while ago, she'd posted photos of hanging out with friends. A friend had driven all the way to her house to pick her up, and everyone in the photos was smiling happily.

While Ruan Ning was changing, bright headlights lit up the courtyard downstairs, flashing onto the window of her second-floor bedroom. There was no honking, but a strong sense of summons inexplicably drew her attention.

"Strange." Ruan Ning put on a white cashmere cardigan and walked over to see who was flashing their lights, illuminating the normally deserted backyard.

She pushed open the window and saw a silver luxury car parked under the big tree in the yard. Leaning against the dazzling headlights was a tall, powerful man with a smooth back, an unfamiliar figure. His expression was vacant, brows slightly furrowed, the golden backlight casting a golden halo around his perfect silhouette, like the male lead of a drama.

Ruan Ning blushed and took a small step back. Late at night, such a handsome man waiting downstairs—he must be waiting for someone from the neighbors' house.

She quickly closed the window, not wanting to disturb him.

"Why are you hiding? I'm here for you."

Ruan Ning's nerves instantly tensed; she thought she'd misheard. She hastily opened the window and looked down, meeting a pair of handsome, empty eyes.

Ruan Ning covered her mouth, nearly crying out. Her heart pounded faster, her mind screaming, impossible, it can't be him! She must be seeing things.

But no matter how many times she rubbed her eyes, the scene before her remained the same. The man downstairs didn't vanish from beside the car.

"No need to doubt. I came for you."

Bai Xingmiao's voice was calm and flat.