On a rainy night, the school beauty knocked on my door and asked for shelter

"When were these all... done?" Chen Mo's voice was a little tense as he pointed to the photo wall.

He had no idea when she had collected so many photos or when she had secretly arranged them.

These things weren't there before I went to bed last night.

Su Yuqing smiled sweetly, "The photos were secretly saved, and some were 'scavenged' from Auntie and Yueyue."

She pursed her lips a little shyly, "The decorations were... done early in the morning when you were sleeping very soundly, thankfully I didn't wake you up."

"This is a lucky charm that I went to get with Auntie these past two days. It can protect you for a year, so you have to keep it with you for the whole year." Su Yuqing handed the pouch in her hand to Chen Mo, which contained the lucky charm that she and Chen Xi had secretly obtained.

"Only a year?" Chen Mo said with a smile as he took the pouch.

"I'll ask for it for you again next year," Su Yuqing replied with a gentle smile. "Come on, let's have breakfast first."

The living room was filled with the aroma of toasted bread, the sweet scent of fresh fruit, and a faint, unique fragrance that belonged to Su Yuqing.

Sunlight streamed through the curtains, gently bathing the coffee table covered with a checkered tablecloth, casting a warm glow on the carefully prepared food.

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the sumptuous breakfast, finally settling on the small cream cake adorned with blueberries.

Next to the cake was a dark blue box tied with a ribbon, clearly a gift prepared by Su Yuqing.

"What is this?" Chen Mo sat down at the coffee table and looked curiously at the dark blue box next to the cake.

With a clear yet slightly shy look in her eyes, Su Yuqing said, "I didn't know what to prepare for you, so I prepared this rather special gift for you. You can open it and take a look."

Chen Mo immediately became interested. He quickly took the dark blue box, opened it, and saw a heavy notebook inside, with a thick, substantial feel to the touch.

"This is……?"

"I'm going back to get some sleep first. You can open it when I get back to my room." Su Yuqing's voice trembled slightly, revealing a hint of anticipation and shyness.

As Su Yuqing quickly fled back to her room, Chen Mo didn't even have time to eat his birthday breakfast. Instead, he immediately and quietly opened his notebook.

What came into view was not a photograph, but bits and pieces written and drawn by Su Yuqing herself.

On the first page was a small, somewhat blurry hand-drawn picture—it was a rainy night, and she was standing disheveled at his door, her eyes filled with panic and a stubborn determination to fight to the death.

Beside her was her neat handwriting:
That rainy night that changed everything.

You opened the door for me, and you also opened the path to the light for me.

The next page is a hand-drawn silhouette of his profile as he carefully selects clothes when he takes her to Lin Yuwei's store for a "90% off" discount.

It says next to it:

You said Aunt Lin's shop caters specifically to students, and I naively believed you. This was the first time I had ever felt the 'luxury' of being cherished.

Turning the page again, you see sketches of them together in various places, with sunlight streaming through the window onto them as he explains problems to her.

At the lively breakfast table in the villa, Chen Mo and Chen Xi's profiles showed a mixture of helplessness and indulgence as they bickered.

On her birthday, a large group photo showed a table laden with delicious food and everyone laughing. This painting, with its many figures, clearly required considerable effort to create. Next to it, she drew a small, tearful smiling face. There are countless other everyday moments: him handing her a glass of warm water, him riding his bicycle with her through a tree-lined path, his focused expression while cooking…

Each page carries a fragment, a feeling.

There was her initial unease upon arriving in this family, the warmth and emotion of being accepted as family, the sweet joy of silently protecting him, and the subtle anticipation for the future.

Her writing is delicate and sincere, occasionally interspersed with cute little doodles, as well as a ginkgo leaf, a movie ticket stub, a neatly pressed dried flower tucked between the pages... These inconspicuous little things have become her treasured memory coordinates.

This notebook is a carefully treasured record of their most precious moments together, a record of their meeting, getting to know each other, and growing up together; it is a record of her heart that she opened up to him without reservation.

Chen Mo turned the pages one by one, his movements becoming slower and slower, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Those moments he considered ordinary were imbued with a warm and dazzling light in her eyes and in her writing.

He saw her sensitivity, her gratitude, her dependence, and that increasingly clear, deep affection that had settled with time...

A strong, indescribable warmth and a sour feeling simultaneously assaulted Chen Mo's heart, and his throat felt as if something was blocking it.

The last two pages are no longer hand-drawn illustrations, but photographs. One is a picture of Su Yuqing, blushing with excitement, nestled in Chen Mo's arms on a Ferris wheel.

That was the first time Su Yuqing felt an impulse to confess her feelings immediately.

Another page shows the moment the two kissed on the cliff edge. This photo, which Zhou Hao showed to Qu Danwan in an accidental shot, was then secretly sent to Su Yuqing by Qu Danwan.

Because Su Yuqing deliberately kept it a secret from Zhou Hao and Qu Danwan, Chen Mo himself was unaware that such a photo existed.

Upon seeing these two photos, Chen Mo felt as if he had instantly returned to that state of mind.

The stirrings of love in his heart for Su Yuqing were trembling and expanding within him at this moment.

He couldn't hold back any longer and quickly got up and rushed back into the room.

At this moment, Su Yuqing in the room showed no signs of wanting to sleep. She was clearly nervously holding her little hand, waiting to see how Chen Mo would react after reading this special notebook.

Chen Mo raised his head and looked at the girl in front of him. In the morning light, her eyes were surprisingly bright, clearly reflecting his figure, filled with anticipation and a hint of nervousness.

“Yuqing…” His voice was hoarse, a thousand words stuck in his throat, “Thank you for the gift, I like it very much.”

"Didn't we say we don't say thank you to each other?" Su Yuqing smiled at Chen Mo.

"But receiving such an important gift on my birthday is something I just can't help but mention," Chen Mo replied with a shake of his head and a smile.

Upon hearing this, Su Yuqing suddenly took a step forward, tilted her head back, and bravely met his deep eyes. Her blush deepened, but her voice remained exceptionally clear and gentle: "Then I'll break my vow today too..."

"Okay." Chen Mo hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

At this moment, Su Yuqing gathered her words and emotions, then gently took Chen Mo's hands in hers and said in a soft, slightly nervous, and trembling voice, "Chen Mo, thank you for appearing in my life. Thank you for all the warmth and courage you've given me. This notebook records every day since we met; it's my most precious treasure. I think giving it to you on your birthday would be the most appropriate thing to do."

"Because of you, I am who I am today..." (End of Chapter)