FXDL V5C1

This is one of the sweetest moments in the entire series. Their friendship is just so wholesome.

Translated by: TaffyGirl13

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Chapter 1: Only a summer break without supplementary classes counts as a summer break

July – the hottest time of the summer. There were no clouds for thousands of miles, and the roasting sunlight directly pierced straight to the ground, scorching tourists’ eyes and skin. As a topographical basin, Taipei accumulated moisture in the afternoons. The humidity would hang in the air without dispersing, making the blazing heat even more unbearably warm. 

Holing up at home in this weather was the most sensible decision.

Fu Xing lazily lay on the living room sofa in an undershirt and shorts. With the remote control in his hand, he listlessly browsed through various channels on the TV.

The hum of the fan mixed with the voices of the people on TV, turning into noisy static. The person on the sofa did not budge at all as eyes remained glued onto the screen. It was as though time had frozen.

So bored…

Fu Xing languidly rolled over to scratch his stomach. Then he used his toes to pick up a snack on the coffee table and transferred it to his hands. Then he carefreely munched on the crushed potato chips.

He shot a sideways glance at the calendar on the wall.

July 16th.

In other words, it was the twenty-third day of summer break. It was the last summer break in a senior high school student’s career, which stretched from the end of June to the beginning of September (a bit over two months in total),  and over twenty days of it had simply passed like this.

It felt a bit…empty.

Someone from his elementary school, who was similarly about to start their third year of senior high, lived on the fifth floor and had started taking summer supplementary courses in July. They would go to school with their backpack every morning and only return from the tutoring class after ten at night. There were a few times when Fu Xing had coincidentally ended up in the elevator with him on his way out to buy midnight snacks. Seeing how excessively free Fu Xing’s life was, the other person always shot him envious yet puzzled looks, which made Fu Xing feel quite embarrassed.

Actually, I’m also in my third year now. Should I start preparing for exams? No one at Shalom cared about advanced education, so he had naturally forgotten about it. What would a monster pursue advanced education for? Even if he really did want to take exams, he wasn’t in any rush to do it this year. He had a very, very long time to prepare.

This made him feel somewhat guilty and hollow. He had no idea what exactly he wanted to do, nor what his personal goal was.

So annoying…I really want school to just start again soon…

Fu Xing stared at the ceiling, let out a burp, and wiped away the crumbs from the corners of his mouth. Then he began to space out.

Based on his habits from the past twenty or so days, he would fall asleep in roughly ten minutes, then be awoken two hours later by his alarm at six to eat dinner. After eating dinner, he would throw out the trash and borrow a manhua to bring back. Then after reading and playing some online games, it would be bedtime.

He yawned and farted. Then he stretched out his sore limbs and changed positions to continue resting.

Boom, boom, bang, bang, bang!

A series of loud thuds came from outside. The muffled bangs echoed through the stairwell and travelled through the room.

Fu Xing lazily opened his eyes.

Is someone moving? What hard work considering how hot it is…

Ding dong ling ling ling ling─

Fu Xing turned his head to look suspiciously at the front door.

Who is it? I didn’t hear about any visitors. Don’t tell me it’s a peddler? I’ll just pretend to be dead.

Ding dong ling ling ling ling ding dong ding dong ling ling ling ling── The doorbell mashing sped up, indicating the visitor’s anxiousness and impatience.

“Coming, coming!” Fu Xing shouted at the door, then stood to walk over and open it with a twist of the doorknob. “What is it? This place politely refuses any sales──Eh?!”

The visitors standing outside made Fu Xing freeze.

“B-Brad?!” Am I dreaming?

“Finally opened the door, huh? I was just considering breaking it open,” Brad gritted out in a low tone, his Chinese carrying a heavy foreign accent. He wore only a simple, white crewneck T-shirt on his tall and firm figure. The originally loose shirt was now sticking to his body from the moisture of sweat, exposing every line of his perfectly sculpted body.

“Why are you here?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“That’s not it! I’m just very surprised. Why…”

“Hi, Fu Xing.” Zhu Yue popped her head out from behind. She had a beret on her head, and her pale face was flushed red from the sun. Her sallow face was covered with beads of sweat and her tone was weak as she asked, “Sorry, but could you please let us inside first? It’s a bit hot out here…”

“Zhu Yue! You came too?!”

Fu Xing’s gaze swept around and was shocked to discover that there was more than one other familiar face.

Dan Juan wore a sun hat that completely shielded his head. Everything from the top of his head to the bottom of his neck was covered, revealing only his eyes. He had old-fashioned flower-print sleeves on both arms. Overall, his sun protection was so strong that even a beauty expert would have to worship him. Momiji and Taeharu wore straw hats, their faces rosy from the heat.

“Er, Dan Juan, are you going tea-harvesting?”

Dan Juan frostily shot Fu Xing a glare. “I dislike sunscreen…” He loathed the sticky sensation on his skin.

“That getup is from…?

“Bought it from an auntie giving out leaflets on the streets. Though it’s a bit ugly, the effectiveness isn’t bad.” Dan Juan smirked, seemingly quite satisfied.

Momiji shoved Dan Juan aside and huffed out in annoyance, “Can you cut the chit-chat? Even my panties are soaked now! From sweat!”

Taeharu weakly lifted her head from where she was crouched on the shoe rack. “Taeharu is about to die…”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry! I’m sorry!” Fu Xing hurriedly moved aside. “Please come in. Oh right, you have to remove your shoes and leave them outside. Line them up neatly against the wall, or else the people from management will kick up a fuss…”

Brad and the others glared at Fu Xing, then randomly kicked their shoes off and tossed them onto the shoe rack. Only Zhu Yue obediently placed them into a tidy row.

Then, upon entering the room, they let out another series of unhappy complaints.

“Why is it just as hot inside?!”

“What happened to the promised AC?!”

“So hot so hot so hot──ahhhh bastard!”

“How is it just as hot? There’s clearly a fan on!” Fu Xing explained to appease them as he pushed the fan in front of the others. He declared like he was presenting a treasure, “I have the fan speed turned to ‘Strong’──See? The wind is more powerful now, isn’t it!”

The powerful wind blew on their bodies that were dripping sweat like rain. Their hair, messy and clammy from their sweat, remained stuck to their faces and bodies as it could not be lifted off.

Rather than reducing the pressure from the summer, it only exacerbated their miserable states.

Brad ground out through clenched teeth, “I want to twist your head off to use as a weather balloon…”

“Your home doesn’t have AC?”

Emerald lightly wiped off the sweat at the corner of his forehead. The fan’s cool air made the wind elf feel slightly more comfortable. “Do you want me to buy one for you? 20% service fee.”

“My home does have AC, but the electricity fees are quite expensive, and keeping the AC on isn’t good for you. The fan is more natural,” Fu Xing proudly explained. “You should show your love for the earth once in a while too.” 

The others took a deep breath as they fought to suppress the notion of grabbing Fu Xing and giving him a painful beating. 

Momiji cut straight to the point by pulling out her wallet and tossing five bills on the coffee table. “I’ll pay for the electricity fees. Please turn on the AC to full blast! Immediately!” 

“But──”

Boom, crunch!

An ear-piercing screech of shredding metal abruptly sounded out as Brad brazenly twisted the fan to break it. With the round cover of the fan in his hands, he smiled insincerely, “Sorry, I thought it could turn 360 degrees like your head.”

“As if I’m that amazing!”

“Want to test it out?” Brad tossed the fan aside and loudly cracked his knuckles with an eager expression.

Fu Xing shrank back and replied, “No need, I’ll just turn on the AC now…”

He picked up the remote control underneath the coffee table and lifted it up while pressing the power button. The sharp sound of a motor followed, ringing through their ears like a sound of nature. 

As the temperature dropped, everyone’s mood calmed down. Fu Xing tactfully brought out iced barley tea from the kitchen to extinguish his friends’ anger.

“Why the sudden visit?” Fu Xing asked “Did something happen?”

The others exchanged looks with each other.

Dan Juan glared at Fu Xing and asked, “Are we unwelcome?”

“No, no, of course not! There’s no way!” Fu Xing hurriedly denied, then scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he stared at the floor. “I’m very happy to see everyone. But because I’m so happy, it feels a bit unreal. How could such an awesome thing possibly happen…”

He even suspected that he could be dreaming, a dream arising from the depressing afternoon.

Fu Xing’s words sent a ripple through everyone else’s hearts. A ripple that was full of comfort and warmth.

“This is no big deal,” Brad scoffed to conceal his embarrassment.

“Oh, Fu Xing, you’re such an innocent child!” Momiji stood and tenderly patted Fu Xing on the head.

“She’s right.” Taeharu went to sit next to Zhu Yue and quietly murmured, “He really is an enticing shou.” 

Zhu Yue instantly spat out her tea.

“The school trip is on the 19th, starting from Thailand. So we decided that all of us from the same team should first gather at your place before heading over to Thailand together.” Emerald lightly sipped his iced tea and nonchalantly explained, “And we figured we would spend some vacation here while we were at it. Thank you for taking us in!”

“You just came here to freeload and save on travel expenses, didn’t you!” Fu Xing retorted back in exasperation.

With Emerald’s reminder, he remembered that important event that he had nearly forgotten—the school trip.

Before entering their third year, students were to participate in a school trip over the summer break. Shalom’s school trip had an extremely expansive route that extended across the world and passed through various bases, similar in nature to Confucius’ travels. The trip lasted three weeks, with both northern and southern campuses participating simultaneously. 

Compared to the 3-day-2-night junior high graduation trip on an island, this is practically an elaborately packaged, gilded, luxurious version!

“Um, so…”

Fu Xing’s eyes swept across everyone present: Brad, Emerald, Zhu Yue, Dan Juan, Momiji, and Taeharu. “There’s just the six of you from the team?”

“Flora will head over from Hualien later. Rocort is eating a bowl of 45-yuan ice at the shaved ice place downstairs.” Emerald let out a sigh; he was likely the one that had unfortunately paid.

“Um, so…” Fu Xing paused for a second, then asked in a slightly embarrassed tone, “Leon…didn’t come?”

He felt the tiniest bit of disappointment.

The rest of them stared blankly. “What?!”

Brad whipped his head around and let out a low curse. “Shit!” He then charged out of the house and came back a few seconds later carrying a long wooden box roughly two-metres in length.

“Are your curtains UV-blocking?”

“Yeah, my dad and the others are sensitive to light.”

“Draw them up.”

Fu Xing lowered the curtains and curiously inspected the long box. “What’s that?”

Momiji sniggered, “A present for you.”

“It’s soft and delectable,” Taeharu added.

“Taeharu!”

Brad glared at the edges of the wooden box that were nailed shut. “Do you have a crowbar here?”

“No.”

Brad furrowed his brows. “Alright, this might be a bit loud.”

He shouted at the box, “Watch out!” Then he lifted his transformed wolf claws enshrouded by his special ability and fiercely swung it downwards to instantly destroy the edge before kicking the box open.

Fu Xing curiously leaned over to catch a glimpse at what kind of “delectable” gift was inside the box.

“Eh?!” That’s—

What entered his field of vision was Leon lying in the long box with a foul expression, his hair and clothes in disarray and sticking to his body from sweat. He was in an extremely sorry state, much like a squid that had shrunken and dried out in a box sold on the streets during Chinese New Year. Fu Xing had never seen Leon in such dire straits before.

“Eh? L-Leon?”

W-what’s going on?! Why is he inside a box? Is this some kind of special BDSM? Or an obscure, high-level example of German humour?! 

Leon slowly sat up, his actions so stiff, it was as though he was a robot. His usual icy arrogance and grace had vanished without a trace.

He took a deep breath, stretched his limbs out, and stood. Then he turned his head to shoot an extremely chilling glare at Brad. “I’ll remember to pay you back for this…”

“Before criticising me, you should first thank me for carrying you and that dumb box up seven flights of stairs.” Brad scratched his chin nonchalantly and lightly commented, “The box was too tall to enter the elevator, and the stairs were narrow and steep. Accidentally dropping you was unavoidable. But forgetting to carry you in was admittedly my mistake, sorry.”

Realisation dawned on Fu Xing.

So that huge bang earlier was Leon’s box…

Such hard work.

Seeing that Fu Xing was out of the loop, Zhu Yue took the initiative to explain, “Since summer is peak travel season, there was only one available flight to Taiwan before Friday. Because it arrived in the daytime, we could only inconvenience Leon to hide inside the box for his own wellbeing.”

“Meaning…he was like that the entire trip from Switzerland to Taiwan?” Might as well have sent him using express delivery!

“It wasn’t that extreme,” Zhu Yue smiled. “Just starting from the transfer in Hong Kong.”

It should still take over five hours to get from Hong Kong to my place!

“Are you alright?” Fu Xing asked in concern as he passed over a glass of iced tea.

Leon glanced at Fu Xing. “I won’t die.” He took the glass and downed it all in one go.

The doorbell rang. Rocort had arrived in a bright mood after eating shaved ice, with two drops of condensed milk still on his lips.

“Yummy! Those black round QQ things are so delicious! I want to eat that again for dinner.”

“Those are red bean tapioca. I’ll bring you to the night market in the evening.” Fu Xing stared at his friends that he had been separated from for over twenty days. The murky, depressing mood from before was instantly swept away and replaced with excitement and joy. “Long time no see.”

“It has been.” Zhu Yue smiled as she sized Fu Xing up. “You seem to have grown taller?”

“Oh, yeah.” Fu Xing scratched his head bashfully. “I grew two centimetres since coming back to Taiwan as a late growth spurt.” This was also why his joints had been constantly aching for a while.

Momiji studied Fu Xing’s face. “You seem to have faintly become a bit more handsome.”

Indeed. The taller Fu Xing carried the same youthful softness of a junior high school student on his face, but it was now mixed with a more mature and handsome aura.

While it was not the distinctly perfect attractiveness that Leon and the others possessed, his fresh and clean appearance was well worth a second look.

“What a roundabout way of praise,” Fu Xing retorted. However, he was secretly happy about it. “By the way, how did everyone’s Chinese become so fluent?”

“You finally noticed?” Brad snorted. “Since the school trip crosses over many countries, the academy requires all second-year students to take two language electives in the second semester for easier communication. After all, leaving campus means losing the protection of Babel Tower’s Stone, so languages become a very troublesome issue.”

“Is that so? Why didn’t I know?!” Crap, crap, don’t tell me I’ll be pulled back a grade?

“The requirement is only applicable to races that aren’t jingguai. After all, jingguai types naturally possess the gift of language—at least generally speaking.” Dan Juan explained impatiently, “If we can’t even communicate with our own teammate, we can’t do shit.”

“So you all chose Chinese?” Fu Xing was overwhelmingly touched, yet also felt a hint of apology. “I’m really sorry…”

“It makes no difference, I wouldn’t have known what to choose anyways.” Brad nonchalantly chewed on the ice cubes from the glass. “The tea’s gone.”

“Ok, ok, ok.” Fu Xing hurriedly dashed back to the kitchen before racing back a few seconds later. “Therefore, you’ll all be staying here until the day we have to gather?”

“Yep.”

“At a hotel?”

“Where else would we stay, your home?”

“Sure, my parents aren’t here anyways— they’re gone until Friday. Fu Qing stayed at Shalom. If no one minds, you’re naturally all welcome.” The community college that Lin Lin taught at had provided a trip for staff. She had left on Monday for the cooler New Zealand to enjoy the summer holiday. 

“Can we?” Emerald’s eyes lit up. “Stay here without any conditions?”

“Yeah, for free. You don’t need to pay for utilities either. Is that clear enough?” Fu Xing had already anticipated Emerald’s thoughts, so he went ahead and clarified first.

“Great, then I’ll cancel the hotel now.”

“And me! I want to stay at Fu Xing’s home too!” Rocort immediately raised a hand. “I definitely want to!”

“Rocort…” Ah, I didn’t think Rocort was so earnest. My daily feeding him of snacks wasn’t in vain.

While Fu Xing was feeling beyond touched, Rocort added, “I still want to eat the red bean tapioca downstairs tonight!”

Fu Xing’s smile fell. So it was for eating…

“Then what about everyone else?”

“No opinion.”

“Anything’s fine…”

“As long as I’m with Momiji, I can stay anywhere!”

Momiji rubbed Taeharu’s head. “Then let’s stay here and let Fu Xing serve us tonight.” She raised an elegant brow and chuckled, “We can see if Fu Xing has grown in any other places.” 

“Oi!”

“I’m not picky about my lodgings.” Dan Juan declared, “But the AC is forbidden from being turned off.”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Everyone reached an agreement. Thus, for the following three days, the He family home gained eight visitors, an unprecedented occurrence.

 

“You guys decide which room you want to stay in.” Fu Xing led the crowd around to give them a tour.

“The left side of the hallway is my parents’ room. It’s on the larger side, and Lin Lin cleaned it up nicely, so just don’t make a mess. The right side is Fu Qing’s room, which includes a double bed. Most of her stuff was moved to Shalom, so the room is quite empty and it hasn’t been used in a long time. Dad’s study is combined with the guest room, and that has a bed to sleep in as well. As for my room…”

Fu Xing stared at the white door at the innermost part of the hallway and hesitated awkwardly for a second. “It might be a bit narrow, a bit messy. If you want to stay there, I might need some time to tidy it up a bit…I don’t particularly  recommend it.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve seen your dorm before.” Emerald patted Fu Xing on the shoulder. “We all know very well what the inside is like.”

Fu Xing chuckled dryly. “Thanks.” An act of consideration like that is really embarrassing!

Momijie, Taeharu, and Zhu Yue decided to stay in the master bedroom; Emerald, Dan Juan, and Rocort chose Fu Qing’s room. Brad and Leon glared at each other for a few seconds before ultimately failing to reach a consensus. Both of them brought their luggage with them as they stood before the study in a deadlock.

“Your room is over there.” Brad pointed at the broken wooden box lying in the living room. “A darkblood staying in a coffin is the natural way of things, go on ahead.”

“Your room is there.” Leon pointed at the front door. “Dogs are usually tied up outside to guard against thieves.”

“What did you say?!”

“Or are you incapable of even standing guard and you can only shake hands, sit down, or ask for food?”

The air filled with mutual hostility, the hot and humid weather having worn away their rationality while nurturing their anger. 

“Calm down, gentleman.” Momiji smiled as she spoke up to stop them, “Take note of your situation. Don’t forget the purpose of our visit. If you make a spectacle, it’ll be hard to deal with the consequences.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, please cut me a break. This place’s loans haven’t been paid off it. If anything is destroyed, my dad will vomit blood.” Fu Xing hurriedly placated, “How about I clean up my room right now? Leon can sleep in my room at night.”

“Then what about you?”

“The living room sofa, of course.”

Leon furrowed his brows. After several seconds of silence, he let out a light sigh. “You—” You can just stay in your own room, I’ll go sleep in the living room.

Right as he was about to say these words, he was interrupted by Brad.

“Forget it, I’ll sleep in the living room,” Brad spoke first. He snorted in exasperation, “It’s just for two days anyways, it’s no big deal.”

“Really?” Fu Xing was touched and overjoyed by the turn of events as he exclaimed, “Brad, you really are a good person! Thank you!”

Leon fell quiet. There was a gloomy, unpleasant feeling in his chest as he stared at Fu Xing holding Brad’s hand from happiness and gratitude.

As the weather became more hot and humid, people’s moods turned stuffier as well.

 

Once they had arranged their own rooms, they went to rest a bit. Even special animate beings could not escape the exhaustion from being travel-worn, having rushed through the journey.

At a bit past five that evening, Flora arrived outside Fu Xing’s building in an SUV.

She got off the car and pushed the door shut. “Long time no see.”

“Long time no see, is that your car?” So cool!

“Yep.” Flora eyed the extremely eye-catching group of people standing outside the building. Her lips curled upwards as she muttered, “More than I expected.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Are we heading to Shilin Night Market next?”

“Mhmhmhm. And if there’s time at night, we can still go up Mt. Yangming to stargaze.”

“The clouds are going to be pretty thick today. If we go to Mt. Yangming, we’ll only see wild animals,” Flora immediately turned down the suggestion. “In any case, let’s just head out first. My car can only seat seven people; the remaining two will have to take another car over.”

A proud expression unfolded on Fu Xing’s face. “No worries.” Hehehe, it’s finally time for me to show off! “I can bring someone over by motorbike!”

He had saved money for a very long time and this summer, he had finally bought the beloved vehicle he had been yearning forever for: a blue RACING 150: his winding road lover and highway war goddess!

The others stared blankly at him. “You can ride a motorbike?”

“Do you have a driver’s license?”

“There’s a difference between thinking you can ride and actually being able to ride. It’s nothing like those Tombear imitation scooters.”

“I’m already twenty years old! And I got my driver’s license ages ago!” Damn it, isn’t that looking down on me too much?! “So who will come with me?”

They exchanged looks with each other as the atmosphere instantly fell into a bizarre silence.

“No one?” Fu Xing looked slightly hurt.

“Why don’t we draw for it!” Zhu Yue pulled out a bag of rainbow candy. “The person who draws the white one will ride with Fu Xing.”

The suggestion was approved. They all took turns pulling out a candy and placing it in their palm.

“I’m red!”

“Orange.”

“Blue,” Brad said. When he noticed that Zhui Yue had also gotten the same colour, he felt a random wave of happiness.

“Green,” Taeharu and Rocort stated simultaneously.

“I got white,” Leon coolly announced, then immediately tossed the candy into his mouth. “Stop wasting time, let’s go.”

The others heaved a sigh of relief with some astonishment towards how frank Leon was. Meanwhile, Zhu Yue eyed Leon with a smile that seemed to hide something.

“See you later.” The crowd went to sit in Flora’s car.

“Take care.” Brad patted Leon on the shoulder as he passed by.

“Hmph…”

Fu Xing led Leon to the underground parking garage.

“Er, are you really fine coming with me?”

“Are you unwilling to?”

“As if!”

Fu Xing was a bit surprised. He hadn’t imagined Leon to be so straightforward, and it made him feel a bit moved.

Is today my lucky day? Why have there been so many touching things happening today?

They stopped in front of a sapphire-blue motorbike. Fu Xing picked up the pink Patrick safety helmet hanging on the motorbike and put it on his head. 

“This is your bike?”

“Yep.”
“Not bad,” Leon sincerely praised.

Fu Xing grinned. “Thanks.”

He opened the storage box and pulled out a green watermelon-patterned safety helmet. After a moment’s hesitation, he passed it to Leon.

“Er…I only have this one left.”

“Do I have to wear it?”

“You’ll get fined if you don’t. Or would you rather wear mine?”

Leon glanced at the stupidly smiling Patrick on Fu Xing’s head and let out a long, helpless sigh. Then he took the helmet and secured it on his head.

He’s getting better and better at compromising…

Fu Xing got on the bike and flashed a grin that he thought made him look dashing. “Get on.”

Leon threw a leg over Fu Xing’s bike and fastened his seatbelt.

Fu Xing glanced back and confidently stated, “Sit tight. If the bike is too fast later, you can hug my waist.”

Leon took a deep breath. “Please don’t tempt me into breaking your neck…”

Fu Xing forced a laugh and started the engine.

The thunderclouds had just started to become thicker and darker, and the faint sound of thunder came from the sky above.

Please don’t rain…

As Leon inwardly prayed this, light drops of water landed on his face.

That’s far from good…

 

The unending flow of people filled the streets like a flesh-coloured stream that packed all the space within the night market. As day turned to night, the vendors’ lamps in addition to car lights began to render the night market into a sight as dazzling as a painting. The damp ground reflected the street, the shine from the water and lights illuminating each other.

With such a lively scene, it was impossible to tell that a downpour from an afternoon thunderstorm had occurred not long ago.

By the time Fu Xing and Leon braved through the storm to arrive at the night market, an hour had passed.

“What the hell, why—” Impatient from waiting at the parking lot, Brad originally opened his mouth to complain. But when he saw Fu Xing’s and Leon’s tragic states, he swallowed back his words.

The two were soaked to the bone, their faces also somewhat dirty from the air around the filthy roads. Their half-wet hair that had been pressed underneath their helmets were beyond messy.

“Sorry, the rain caused a traffic jam.” Fu Xing smiled dumbly. “Otherwise, we would’ve arrived much more quickly.”

The crowd stared at Fu Xing, then at the haggard Leon. After another moment of speechlessness, they ultimately decided to let the valiant darkblood keep the last of his dignity.

It’s been hard on you, Leon.

“Let’s start exploring!” Rocort could not wait any longer. “I want to eat powdered snow, chicken cutlet, baked niangao, and bubble tea! Also that sticky, thick, green and yellow thing!”

“That’s an oyster pancake,” Fu Xing huffed in exasperation. “Alright, make sure to stick close! Let’s head out!”

He led the group through the narrow alley filled with people going in and out. Thanks to the others’ outstanding looks, the crowds all stopped in awe and moved aside, allowing them to proceed unobstructed. 

They also received quite a few discounts.

“This is seriously…too awesome!” Rocort’s eyes filled with tears of emotion as he gazed at the powdered snow that piled nearly above his head. “Fifty yuan can actually get me such a large bowl! I love Taiwan!”

Fu Xing couldn’t help but chuckle. Another vendor enchanted by Rocort.

Brad and Dan Juan curiously tried foot massages and ended up praising it unceasingly. The two were collapsed on a bench with their head and shoulders against each other, their absent-minded expressions making them look as though they had died and gone to heaven— this scene was completely documented by Flora’s photos.

“After I go back and edit with Photoshop to add some effects, it’ll sell even better…” Flora quietly muttered to Taeharu.

Taeharu nodded with an expression of approval. “I get it.” Then she glanced at Zhu Yue, who was intently peering at the pair with a strange smile.

Fu Xing felt shivers run down his spine.

Please don’t corrupt children…

Emerald was extremely interested in the claw machines, mentally calculating as he watched in delight challengers continuously toss money in without successfully grabbing anything.

Fu Xing sniggered. He would not be surprised if a claw machine appeared in the student dining hall next semester.

By the time they had circled through the night market, two hours had passed. Aside from Leon, everyone had eaten until their stomachs bulged, yet were reluctant to stop.

When they passed by a certain stall, Fu Xing’s attention was captured.

It was a stand for making arts and crafts out of wires. The stiff cold wires were dyed various colours; under the vendor’s skillful hands, the wires were deftly folded in a single fluid motion and transformed into beautiful and exquisite accessories. 

“Come take a look. These can be bent into customised words too,” the young vendor called out while bending the handiwork in his hands.

“So lovely.” Zhu Yue chuckled as she walked over, “Caught your interest?”

“Eh…it’s alright…” Fu Xing replied, his gaze still locked onto the accessories displayed.

Emerald and the others understood him loud and clear.

“Do you want it?”

“It’s alright….”

“Why don’t we all buy them?” Momiji suggested, “Each person gets their own name done as a memento for this Taiwan trip. How about it?”

Fu Xing’s eyes lit up with joy. “Really?”

“Mhm.”

“I want, I want! I want this peach colour, it looks like jellybeans!”

“Sure.”

“It’s not expensive so…”

Fu Xing excitedly chose wires together with everyone else and told the vendor [what to do].

Thirty minutes later, every one of them received their own crafted name.

Fu Xing received an azure “LUCKY STAR” that he held in his palm to gaze at for a long time.

He was extremely happy.

Not because he had bought what he’d wanted, but because—

He and his friends possessed identical mementos representing the memories that belonged to them alone.

 

They once again faced the issue of rides when they were about to head home.

This time, Zhu Yue bravely volunteered to ride with Fu Xing, but she was immediately obstructed by Brad.

“You take the SUV back.” Brad reached out to grab the watermelon helmet from Fu Xing’s hands before Zhu Yue could. He put it on and said, “I’ll go with Fu Xing.”

“Really?” Zhui Yue was a bit taken aback.

“I wanted to enjoy the night breeze anyways…” Brad stared up at the sky.

“Ok, thank you!” Zhu Yue relaxed and gratefully waved before she walked towards Flora’s white SUV.

“Brad, I didn’t think you’d want to join me so badly.” Fu Xing emotionally looked at Brad, “Let me bring you soaring through the sky!”

“Stop saying such ominous crap.” Brad gave a hard whack at the back of Fu Xing’s helmeted head. “You’d better properly drive on the road! I don’t want to ascend to heaven too early!”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Fu Xing hurriedly got onto the bike and started it.

Brad followed suit and directly placed one hand on Fu Xing’s shoulder.

“Make sure to drive properly.” Brad threatened, “I will remind you throughout.” As he spoke, he forcefully gripped Fu Xing’s shoulder.

He had seen Leon’s complexion while getting off the bike earlier; it could only be said that he had looked worse than after the box had been opened in the afternoon.

If that was the case, there was no way he could let Zhu Yue take this death ride!

“I know! I’m a safe driver, you know!” With the engine started, Fu Xing began to accelerate. “Let’s go.”

As soon as he spoke, the sapphire-blue bike launched out like a burst of lightning to fly straight down the road.

With no time to even shout, Brad nearly fell off. He scrambled to grip the handles in the back to keep his balance.

“He Fu Xing—”

A wolf-like howl roared out, but was immediately swallowed by the noise from the passing cars, honking horns, and the rush of the wind…

 

An hour later, the sapphire-blue bike slowly drove into the quiet residential area before coming to a stop.

They got onto the elevator to go upstairs. Upon opening the front door of the He family home, impatient complaints immediately echoed.

“It didn’t rain nor were there any traffic jams. Why did it take so long!” Dan Juan reprimanded with arms folded over his chest.

“Sorry,” Fu Xing scratched and forced a laugh, “There were police patrols on the road, and I accidentally took the wrong turn out of fear. I ended up on the mountain and it took a while to circle back, hehe…”

“Don’t you have a driver’s license?”

Fu Xing feigned a charming face as he blinked. “It was by reflex, haha…” I got used to the habit of hiding from the police when I didn’t have a license before, and it’s hard to suddenly change that habit now!

In contrast to Fu Xing’s refreshed face, Brad was beyond pallid and drained as he followed in behind Fu Xing.

Seeing Brad’s disastrous complexion, Leon couldn’t keep the corners of his lips from coldly curling upwards into a trace of a smile, finding joy in the other’s misfortune.

“Ah, right,” Fu Xing suddenly realised. “How did you guys get inside without a key? Using a spell?”

“Please, that kind of rotten lock on the front door can be opened with a bobby pin.” Flora rolled her eyes, “You should at least install a security system, shouldn’t you?”

“Security systems are expensive. Besides, this place is very close to the police station, and my dad is pretty close with the chief, so they always help keep an eye out. That’s why there’s no need to worry about thieves!”

The rest of the people looked at each other.

It’s not to defend against thieves, but against White Triangle!

Typically, special animate beings that lived in cities would set up the tightest security and surveillance systems to prevent White Triangle from invading. This would also give them the ability to choose between fleeing or counterattacking at the slightest abnormality.

Thieves and robbers weren’t even on the list of people to guard against.

It looked like Fu Xing’s ineptness and his unusual characteristics were closely related to his family.

Emerald glanced down at his watch: 11:38 PM.

“Thanks to his late arrival, it’s about time.”

Fu Xing had no idea what this meant.

“Huh, what?” About time for what? Is everyone leaving?

The people that had originally stood in front to block the coffee table shifted away to the sides.

The square table was filled with beautifully wrapped gifts of various sizes in addition to piles of snacks. There was a gigantic two-tiered cake with candles in the shape of the number 20 perched on top too.

Fu Xing’s eyes widened at the items on the table, unable to process what was going on as he lost his ability to think properly.

“What’s this for? A good-bye?”

Emerald raised a brow and turned to ask Brad, “Did you guys crash on your way here? Did this guy suffer a severe blow to the head?”

“No, although there were many very close calls…” Just recalling the trip made Brad turn a tragic shade of green.

Emerald turned back towards Fu Xing. “Do you not know what day tomorrow is?”

“Tomorrow? July 17th…” Sounds a bit familiar!

“You managed to forget your own birthday?!” Momiji was in faint disbelief.

Fu Xing’s eyes widened further in stupefaction.

Birthday? Oh, right, July 17th is my birthday.

Which means—

“Um…so you guys came to celebrate my birthday?” Fu Xing asked, not quite certain.

“Or what, you think we came to attend your memorial service?” Flora snorted in exasperation.

Fu Xing remained rooted in place, his brain entirely blank.

It’s so unreal…

Is this a dream? Maybe it’s actually still afternoon, and I’m lying on the sofa daydreaming?

“Are you alright?” Zhu Yue asked in concern. “You seem super shocked.”

“My family doesn’t celebrate birthdays,” Fu Xing murmured. He had only learned the reason they didn’t celebrate birthdays after discovering his identity as a bat spirit two years ago. “My dad said that birthdays hold no significance to special animate beings because we can live for a very long time. Only humans with limited lifespans have to remember birthdays to celebrate the years they’ve lived and estimate how much of their life remains…” 

“Sounds pretty depressing,” Momiji chuckled. “Isn’t it just a day of commemoration? A day to celebrate once a year. There’s no need to think so much into it.”

“Do you not like it, Fu Xing?” Rocort asked with a worried expression, “I chose that cake. It’s vanilla flavour; does Fu Xing like strawberry or chocolate more?”

“How could I not like it! It’s just…”

It was just that this type of happiness far surpassed anything he had ever expected, causing his tiny heart to feel overfilled. It was as though a refugee that had been starving forever suddenly received a sumptuous banquet. 

Indescribable gratitude and sentiment filled his chest.

This was the first time in his twenty years of life that friends had specially come to visit him during summer break. While most of his classmates from elementary and junior high lived in the same district, they would absolutely refuse to interact with him after class. Meanwhile, his friends from Shalom came from different countries, yet had flown overseas to gather at the city he resided in.

Furthermore, they remembered his birthday and were holding a celebration for him.

“Why did you suddenly want to celebrate my birthday?”

“We originally just planned to pay your home a visit, but Leon vetoed it.” Emerald shot a glance at Leon. The latter turned his head away with a look of unnatural indifference. “He said that since July 17th was your birthday, you might want to spend it together with your family.”

“Leon, you remembered my birthday?”

“Back when we filled in the dorm contact information, I happened to see it and happened to not forget it,” Leon coldly replied as though it was a burden.

Emerald continued, “Then we went to ask Fu Qing, who said that your family doesn’t celebrate birthdays. She also said that everyone would be doing their own activities over summer break, so we didn’t need to worry. That’s basically what happened.”

“Thank you!!!” Fu Xing was simply moved to tears and nearly fell to his knees. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!”

Being thanked like this by Fu Xing made everyone feel warm inside, yet a bit embarrassed as well.

“Yes, yes, just open your presents first.” Flora urged, “Then at midnight, blow the candles and make a wish.”

“Ok!” Fu Xing enthusiastically nodded and sat down in excitement.

Brad had gifted workout equipment to train his muscles, in addition to a specially created potion that could strengthen his physical ability. Flora had prepared a single-lens reflex camera and a mirror, which made him feel a bit embarassed. Dan Juan had modified the suit from the school ceremony to fit Fu Xing’s measurements, with some added ornamental details to make it even more refined. In addition, there was a compilation of notes for various subjects that was about as thick as a phone book.

Zhu Yue’s present was a sparkling, translucent glass bead from the jiao clan. The light blue glass sent a coolness through his entire body when he touched it. Momiji had brought a large bottle of sake and a coverless DVD. Judging from her ambiguous, subtle grin, Fu Xing could guess what the disc’s contents were. 

It probably is for Japanese education purposes; I’ll definitely have to find the time to delve into it!

Taeharu gave handmade wagashi in addition to a personally drawn card. Emerald prepared many new video games that just happened to be the ones Fu Xing had been itching to get back during the pre-purchase period. He hadn’t imagined Emerald would remember!

Leon had given him two light daggers, as well as a leather belt to hold the blades. Fu Xing was seriously dying to know how he had passed international customs.

The pile of snacks and the cake were a token from Rocort.

Overcharged with happiness, Fu Xing couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Is this alright? Is this really alright?

He Fu Xing, what have you done to deserve this? Is this really okay?

He was glad he was a special animate being, glad that he had entered Shalom. Otherwise, everything in front of him would have never happened!

The clock on the wall rang out, announcing the start of a new day.

“Fu Xing, happy birthday.”

“Make a wish.”

“Mhm!” Fu Xing blew out the flames on the candles.

He did not have any particular wish, because everything he had expected—or rather, everything that had surpassed his expectations–had all come true!

He only wished for time to stay frozen in this moment forever.

Wished that he and his friends would never separate…

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