Rebirth Must Be Happy

Chen Xingzhu was stunned after hearing what he said, wondering if he had been possessed by Song Zhiyu... Even Song Zhiyu wouldn't do something like this.

Who has a birthday celebration that makes people so angry they could die?

But he still looked very smug and proud.

"Sir! Madam! You haven't paid yet..."

The two of them probably spent quite a bit of money on the meal. The cashier chased after them from inside the restaurant, shouting anxiously.

"stop!"

Other waiters quickly followed, shouting, "Trying to run away without paying..."

It was evening, the busiest time of day in the mall. The two of them running hand in hand down the corridor was already quite eye-catching, but when a few staff members called out to them, half the people on that floor turned to look.

Chen Xingzhu blushed deeply and, forgetting all about being reserved, pleaded in a slightly coquettish tone, "Stop, stop, go pay the bill!"

"It would be even more embarrassing to stop now. You can pay tomorrow..."

Xu Jinhuan pulled her up the escalator. Even though Chen Xingzhu was usually very smart, her brain wasn't working properly at this moment. Seeing that everyone was staring at the two of them, she could only follow him down the escalator with a blank mind.

"stop!"

"Help stop him, he's trying to skip out on his bill!"

The waiter was still chasing after them, shouting for help.

"We paid!"

Fearing that someone might actually try to sabotage the operation, Xu Jinhuan also shouted, "We've already paid, and they're denying it..."

Chen Xingzhu wished she could cover her face and pretend she didn't know him. She felt both ashamed and amused. Luckily, there were many people around, and the waiters never caught up with him.

"stop!"

After finally reaching the first floor, she felt a little out of breath. Xu Jinhuan was also a bit out of breath. Before they could catch their breath, they saw a clever little devil taking the elevator down to the first floor to block them. He was already right next to them, shouting, "Trying to skip out on the bill and eat for free, huh... Don't run away!"

Xu Jinhuan grabbed Chen Xingzhu and ran quickly toward the exit. This was the city center, and the square outside was shrouded in night, with neon lights shining and people and cars coming and going.

The two of them dove into the crowd, with the waiter still in hot pursuit, shouting, "Someone's skipping out on the bill! Someone's eating without paying! So handsome, so beautiful, skipping out on the bill..."

The crowd turned their heads and quickly focused on Xu Jinhuan and Chen Xingzhu.

"No, no, I can't take it anymore, I've got a stitch..."

Xu Jinhuan suddenly stopped, bent over, pressed his hands to his knees, and panted heavily. "How about we stop running... and go pay the bill instead..."

???

Chen Xingzhu's eyes widened suddenly. Before she could even complain to him, she noticed two waiters panting as they caught up from behind. She quickly grabbed Xu Jinhuan and ran.

You should have paid the bill earlier. Now that you're outside, it would be even more embarrassing to go back and pay.
It's better to wait and turn yourself in; at least your attitude will be better, and there will be fewer people around...

There are also parking spaces on the ground. Xu Jinhuan parked in a ground parking space when he arrived. Chen Xingzhu used his sense of direction to judge the location and ran towards the parking space.

She was lucky; she soon spotted the familiar S500 parked in the parking space. When she turned around, she didn't see the two waiters, who had probably lost them in the crowd. She breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that he seemed to be struggling to breathe, Chen Xingzhu let go of him and scolded, "Who told you to skip out on the bill? How can you celebrate a birthday like this?"

"Tell me, isn't it exciting...?"

Xu Jinhuan was still panting heavily. He took out his car keys, pointed to the trunk, and said with difficulty, "Help me... get a bottle of water..."

Chen Xingzhu didn't think much of it and went over to open the trunk. As she was wondering when he had put water in the trunk, she suddenly froze as the trunk rose.

There was no water in the trunk at all; instead, a ring of colorful balloons was arranged around the edge, and the center of the balloons was filled with flowers of various colors: vibrant red, sweet pink, pure white, and cool ice blue. Small LED lights twinkled among the flowers, making them even more beautiful and vibrant.

Two photo frames are placed in the center of the flowers. The first photo frame contains Xu Jinhuan, which was obviously taken on Huangshan Mountain. He is standing sideways with his arm raised, showing a spirited and upward-looking attitude from the 1970s and 1980s. Following his arm and gaze, there is a handwritten greeting card that reads "Happy Birthday to Chen, who is forever 18 years old."
Next to the greeting card was a photo of Chen Xingzhu, standing on a cliff edge, with golden light shining behind her on the rolling sea of ​​clouds. She covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes sparkling with surprise, yet also seeming to reveal a hint of shyness and reproach.

This is a photo that Xu Jinhuan took of her when she was in Huangshan.

The two photos, together with the greeting card in the middle, vividly and cleverly express the meaning of birthday wishes. In particular, as the lights flash, the expressions of the two people in the photos seem to come alive.

Chen Xingzhu instinctively covered her mouth, her eyes wide open, and for some reason, she felt like crying.

She sniffed and subconsciously turned to look at Xu Jinhuan.

Xu Jinhuan had long since stopped panting. Standing beside her, his smile became even brighter: "How was it? Did I act well?"

Chen Xingzhu blinked, finally realizing, "You already paid?"

"I paid for the seats when I booked them, and I also gave them a performance fee."

Xu Jinhuan looked at her and smiled, "How was it? Wasn't it exciting?"

Chen Xingzhu then realized that it was all a performance from beginning to end. She found it both funny and embarrassing, but when she looked at the flowers and decorations in the car, she was still very touched.

"There are even more handsome ones, do you want to see?"

Xu Jinhuan watched her continue to laugh, and then, under her gaze, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

one second...

Two seconds...

Chen Xingzhu looked at him, then looked around, but didn't find anyone "more handsome," so she gave him a questioning look.

"Well, this might be a bit unexpected,"

Xu Jinhuan was a little embarrassed. He coughed, then raised his hand and shouted, "I snapped my fingers!"

"Snapped"

He snapped his fingers again.

Happy birthday to you!

The parking space was at the corner of the shopping mall. With Xu Jinhuan's snap of his fingers, a birthday song suddenly rang out from the other side of the corner, and then a group of people pushed a birthday cake with flickering candlelight in a cart over.

The flickering candlelight illuminated several faces. In the center, the person pushing the cart and cake smiled broadly, her beauty pure and radiant. It was another Chen Xingzhu. She walked over while singing "Happy Birthday," and stopped in front of Chen Xingzhu while the others continued singing. She stretched out her arm and said with an exaggerated tone, like someone delivering a surprise in a TV drama, "Happy Birthday, Sister!"

Chen Xingzhu was surprised that her younger sister would come all this way. She finally couldn't hold back her tears and went over to hug Chen Xingruo, smiling as she said, "Happy birthday to you too!"

Xu Jinhuan said irritably, "Can't you hear me snap my fingers?"

"We haven't finished lighting our candles yet."

Zhu Xinyao rolled her eyes at him, "What if we light them too early and all the candles burn out?"

Xu Jinhuan looked at the cake and saw only the words "Happy Birthday Chen Xingzhu and Chen Xingruo". Then she saw that only Zhou Wei, Zhu Xinyao, and Hu Yingxin were there. She asked, "Where are Ruan Jingqiu and Cong Miaoyin?"

"I'm coming!"

As he was speaking, he saw Ruan Jingqiu and Cong Miaoyin rush over in a flurry, handing him several photos. "The photos are blurry... but we still managed to take a few good ones!"

When Miaoyin handed over the photos, Chen Xingzhu took them and saw that they were photos of herself and Xu Jinhuan running away from the restaurant. However, there were only a few photos of them leaving the restaurant and going down the escalator, and they were not very clear.

Xu Jinhuan sighed: "I really thought you two were good at taking pictures."

"You guys are running too fast, I can't find the right angle."

Ruan Jingqiu retorted confidently, "Besides, Polaroid photos are inherently blurry; I usually use a camera..."

"Quite good looking."

Chen Xingzhu looked at the photo above. The two people in the photo looked like they were in an action movie, dodging bad guys. She found it a little funny and a little touching.

"I still have some here!"

Deng Shanshan and Chang Yanqiu emerged from behind a car nearby, still waving photos in their hands. "Wait a minute, it'll be printed soon..."

"This one is beautiful!"

Chen Xingruo and Zhou Wei also went over to look at the photos. Chen Xingzhu carefully held the "Adventure Series" photos and then looked at the photos taken by Deng Shanshan. They were photos of herself when she had just opened the trunk. They were also a little blurry, but the surprise, emotion, and shyness on her face were highlighted by the light, which surprised her. She didn't expect herself to be so beautiful.

Wow, I'm so pretty!

Chen Xingruo sighed, noticing a group of people staring at her. She said matter-of-factly, "What are you looking at? I look just like my sister, doesn't that mean I'm pretty?"

The group of people were both amused and exasperated. Xu Jinhuan said, "Alright, you can make a wish now."

Chen Xingzhu glanced at him, then together with her sister, they stood side by side, hands clasped together, just like when they were little, and silently made a wish towards the birthday cake.

When they were little, they never imagined that their families would break up. Their wishes were mostly about "growing up," "wanting certain things," and "not having to go to school." Perhaps because of this, their families broke up before these wishes came true.

Therefore, this time, her wish was:
'I hope to be with the people I love and who love me, my family, my friends, and Xu Jinhuan... forever and ever.'

She silently thought to herself. In that instant, many people came to mind. The faces of her father, mother, Uncle Li, Li Yunxue, Xie Wanqing, Song Zhiyu, and others flashed through her mind and disappeared quickly, stirring up different emotions and waves in her heart, but she quickly calmed down.

'I don't care about anything else...'

After silently adding one last sentence, Chen Xingzhu opened her eyes and saw that her younger sister had opened her eyes at almost the same time.

The two sisters glanced at each other, then together blew out the candles with a "whoosh."

The weather was very kind to them; although it was a bit cold today, there was no wind, allowing them to make their different wishes outdoors.

"Have you made your wish yet?"

Xu Jinhuan laughed from the side, "If I snap my fingers again, there will be even more handsome ones, believe it or not?"

Although Chen Xingruo was somewhat touched by the trouble he went to for her sister's birthday, she was still a little annoyed by his show-off behavior. She pouted and said, "If you're so capable, why don't you try timing it yourself?"

"Just try it."

Xu Jinhuan raised one hand and then smiled at Chen Xingzhu, "Watch me... keep watching!"

As if the heavens were cooperating, this time it was incredibly precise. With a snap of his fingers, a wisp of fire rose rapidly in the sky behind him, exploding with a "bang" under the night sky, transforming into a dazzling firework that illuminated the entire night sky.

"Look!"

"Wow, so beautiful!"

A commotion and gasps came from the nearby crowd, and Chen Xingruo, Zhou Wei, and the others also sighed in surprise.

Chen Xingzhu subconsciously covered her mouth, staring wide-eyed at the magnificent night sky. Then, she couldn't help but lower her gaze to Xu Jinhuan, who was still facing away from the fireworks and quietly watching her.

Their eyes met, and she felt as if her mind was almost blank, completely occupied by an emotion she had never experienced before. Then a thought arose and quickly swelled to the point of being uncontrollable.

This was no longer a purely rational act like her "confession" in the classroom last time; at this moment, she even wondered if she was dreaming.

Otherwise, how could he have done such a thing with his sister, Zhou Wei, and the others present?

She felt as if her soul and consciousness had been ripped from her body, and through an inexplicable, empty, and ethereal perspective, she saw herself quietly gazing at Xu Jinhuan, walking up to him, and then…

Under his astonished gaze, she tiptoed slightly, leaned close to his lips, and gently kissed him.

"bang"

"bang"

Under the cold night sky, dazzling fireworks explode one after another, transforming into streaks of colorful light and fading into silence at their most beautiful and stunning moment. But no one notices their extinguishing at this moment, because the next moment the fireworks are already blooming, continuing to amaze everyone.

Just like life at eighteen, no one stays eighteen forever, but there will always be someone who is eighteen.

However, at this moment, Chen Xingzhu felt that she would stay eighteen forever, just as Xu Jinhuan had wished her.

Because this beautiful memory of being eighteen will be forever etched in her heart, and she will never forget it unless death comes. (End of Chapter)