He just broke up with his girlfriend and is already living with the devilish rich girl.

The next morning, Zheng Xingguang sat up from the sofa and rubbed his stiff neck.

The sky outside the window was just beginning to lighten, but the room was still dimly lit.

He glanced at the bed.

Xiaohua was curled up in the corner of the bed, her white shirt was all wrinkled from sleeping, the blanket was kicked all the way to her feet, and she was clutching the corner of the pillow with both hands.

Her breathing was light, but her brow was furrowed.

Zheng Xingguang looked at her for a while without saying a word.

He stood up, picked up the blanket, shook it, and covered her with it.

Then I went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

There are three eggs, half a pack of noodles, and two wilted greens left in the refrigerator.

He fried the eggs, washed and chopped the vegetables and cooked them into the noodles, then took out an unopened box of luncheon meat from the cupboard, sliced ​​a few pieces and fried them until golden brown on both sides.

Just as the noodles were cooked, he heard a suppressed cough coming from the direction of the bedroom.

Zheng Xingguang put down the spatula, wiped his hands, and walked into the bedroom.

When he got to the door, he saw Xiaohua sitting on the bed, one hand covering her mouth, her shoulders trembling.

A small patch of dark red blood had seeped onto the cuff of her white shirt. She was vomiting blood.

"What's going on??"

Zheng Xingguang took two steps to the bedside and grabbed her wrist.

He placed his other hand on her back, a pale blue light shining in his palm, and probed down her spine.

The pulse was completely erratic.

Her blood and qi were flowing in reverse, and there was a force in her meridians that did not belong to her, which was surging around everywhere.

There is a power within her...

The force was too strong; her body simply couldn't withstand it.

The problem lies at its core.

The artificial alien core was beating erratically; with each pulse, it was drawing something away from her body.

When Zheng Xingguang reached this spot, his fingers tightened.

"Your core is very unstable."

He looked up at her face.

"What exactly happened?"

Xiaohua wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her expression remaining unchanged, indifferent.

But when she spoke, her voice was a little softer than usual.

"Because tomorrow is my birthday."

Zheng Xingguang thought he had misheard: "What?"

"My birthday, those people said they would give me cake on my birthday, so I remember it very clearly."

"cake?"

"Um."

She nodded, her gray-white blind eyes fixed on his direction.

"They said the cake was sweet and delicious, and I've always wanted to try it."

Zheng Xingguang looked at her, his throat tightening slightly.

"But that uncle also said that after I ate the cake, the pain would stop."

Xiao Hua tilted her head, as if she were reminiscing.

He said my core would be removed and placed in a more suitable container.

"I asked him where I wanted to put it, and he said not to worry about it, that's no longer my concern."

The room fell silent.

Birds are chirping outside the window, a scrap collector's horn is blaring downstairs, and a car honks its horn in the distance.

These sounds all seemed to be very far away.

"Actually, I know." Her voice remained calm.

"On my birthday, my core will be extracted. Once the core is extracted, I will die."

Zheng Xingguang's fingers clenched tightly.

"I originally thought this was fine."

Xiaohua lowered her head and looked at her hands covered with needle marks.

"I've been waiting for that day ever since I was created, waiting for a piece of cake."

"There was nothing else to do, nothing else to look forward to, I was just waiting for that day, and I thought that would be all there was to my life."

As she spoke, she suddenly raised her face, her empty, blind eyes meeting Zheng Xingguang's gaze.

Her lips twitched, and that clumsy, barely learned smile reappeared.

"But yesterday, you let me eat something delicious."

Her voice underwent a very subtle change.

"I really like the texture of that noodle and meat."

She paused.

"They must taste better than cake, right?"

Zheng Xingguang looked at her.

They are clearly enemies, clearly tools created to slaughter his compatriots.

But looking at the person in front of him, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to hate him.

She knows nothing.

He doesn't know what "bitterness" is, doesn't know how to use chopsticks, doesn't know that you should button your clothes, and doesn't know that you can't take off your clothes in front of him.

I don't know I need to go to the toilet to pee.

The only thing she was ever promised in her life was a cake, a cake that would kill her once she ate it.

What kind of crime is this, possessing a treasure and being punished?

The things were forced upon her by someone else, but now they're going to cost her her life.

But......

She is beyond saving.

Zheng Xingguang could feel the core relentlessly devouring her life force as he placed his fingers on her pulse point.

Her internal organs had already reached their limit, and even if the core were removed now, this body wouldn't last more than a few days.

All he could do was—

"No." Zheng Xingguang shook his head.

He looked at Xiaohua's blood-stained face and forced a smile.

"The cake should taste even better."

Xiaohua paused for a moment, a rare look of bewilderment appearing on her usually expressionless face: "Really?"

"Yes." Zheng Xingguang's voice was a little hoarse, but he managed to keep that smile.

"So you have to hold on until your birthday. I'll buy you a cake."

Why?

"I don't know." He sighed, released her wrist, and stood up.

"Anyway, I'll go get your medicine now."

He turned and walked quickly toward the kitchen without looking back.

He knew very well that there was no hope.

All he could do was try to make sure she didn't suffer too much in those last few moments.

The medicine was ready, and the ash from the talisman was sprinkled in. The black, viscous medicine soup was so thick that it could be pulled into threads.

He brought the bowl to the bedside and handed it to her. She took it and drank it all in one gulp, her face still expressionless, without even frowning.

But after taking the medicine, her complexion improved. Her lips regained some color, and her breathing became more even.

Zheng Xingguang reached out and placed his hand on her pulse point, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

The core is still devouring her life force.

The medication only temporarily suppressed the symptoms, but it didn't address the underlying problem.

Can we even make it through tomorrow?

As he was thinking, a cold hand grasped his fingers.

He looked down and saw Xiaohua's eyes, which couldn't see anything, staring at him.

"It's okay," she said softly.

"I never thought I would live this long."

"People died every day when I was in the factory."

"Some were dragged out, some were turned to ashes. I thought I would be like that, but I wasn't."

Her fingers tightened slightly.

Zheng Xingguang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something.

Xiaohua tilted her head: "You're not suited to looking gloomy."

She raised her other hand, her fingers clumsily touching the corner of his mouth, and pushed it upwards.

"I have a problem with my face, I can't smile."

"But I really love seeing you smile. You look so beautiful when you smile. Tomorrow is my birthday, are you really going to buy me a cake?"

Zheng Xingguang remained silent for a long time.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains, falling on the floor and landing directly on Xiaohua's hands, which were covered in needle marks.

She was still waiting for his answer.

Those gray-white blind eyes were staring at him. He couldn't see anything, but he always felt there was a faint light inside them.

Zheng Xingguang looked at her and suddenly remembered last night.

She asked, "What does bitterness mean?" She replied, "Warmth feels so comforting." She held the luncheon meat in her mouth, reluctant to swallow it.

The best thing she had ever eaten in her life was a bowl of noodles with luncheon meat.

Of course, I'll buy you a cake tomorrow and celebrate your birthday.

But he couldn't bring himself to say it...

Because this woman... won't make it to tomorrow.

Her pulse doesn't lie.

That core desperately drained life force from her body.

but.....

My sister once said that.

It's man-made.

So he smiled.

Did you know that sometimes people celebrate their birthdays on a different day?

"Huh?"

"Celebrating your birthday a day early is fine, in fact, you should celebrate your birthday a day early."

Xiao Hua tilted her head, her face, which never smiled, facing him.

His tone betrayed obvious confusion: "Really?"

"Um."

Zheng Xingguang nodded.

"This is what my sister taught me. When I was little, my father was always away on business trips, and he was never there for my birthday."

"My sister said, 'Let's celebrate early, eat the cake, make a wish, and blow out the candles beforehand. That way, even if Father isn't here on my actual birthday, I'll have already had a happy celebration.'"

Xiaohua listened quietly, as if trying to understand every word he said.

Her world is so small that it can be filled with just a few words.

"so."

Zheng Xingguang released her hand, stood up, and casually dragged a chair to the edge of the bed to sit down, facing her.

"Shall we go celebrate my birthday today?"

Xiaohua paused for a moment, then asked, "Today?"

"Yes, today. We ate not only cake, but also lots of other delicious things."

He reached out and used the back of his hand to wipe away the remaining blood from the corner of her mouth.

"Let's go to the street together and buy whatever we want to eat. There's candied hawthorn, roasted sweet potato, cotton candy, and ice cream."

She blinked and licked her lips.

"We also have nice clothes, let's go buy some new ones, and finally, let's go buy a cake."

"Is that okay?"

Xiao Hua sat there blankly.

Tears began to fall from her eyes, one after another, and she didn't know why.

She wasn't injured, and her body didn't hurt, but those warm things just kept flowing out of her eyes, which couldn't see anything.

Finally, she nodded slowly.

"……good."