Lu Mingfei: Don't call me a loser, call me a hero.

Xia Mi's words, "You just want someone to love you," pierced Lu Mingfei's heart.

He stared blankly at his senior sister who had casually delivered the decisive blow, wanting to refute her and say that he really only liked Chen Wenwen.

I love seeing her walking in the sunlight in a white dress, I love the way her eyelashes droop when she reads, I love the gentle tone of her voice...

But these words were stuck in my throat, and I couldn't say them no matter what.

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

He tried to please his uncle and aunt, Chen Wenwen, and even Zhao Menghua and his henchmen, trying to please everyone.

It's not that he can't distinguish right from wrong, but that he desperately wants someone to see him and care about him.

He mistook puddles for oases, duckweed for shores, and a person's politeness for tenderness reserved only for him.

Ultimately, all he wanted was for someone to love him, someone to open the door when he was locked out, someone to cheer him on when he couldn't run anymore, and someone to pat his head and say "My Mingfei is awesome" when he looked down and felt like the worst person in the world.

These were all the beautiful things he once had.

It is precisely because he once possessed it that he would go to great lengths to regain it after losing it, and that he would treat everyone who was willing to approach him as a lifeline.

Even if someone is just passing by, he wants to hold on tight.

He poured all his time and energy into Chen Wenwen, not because Chen Wenwen was the best girl in the world, but because he felt that Chen Wenwen was the only straw he could grasp.

But everything he experienced today told him that he was overthinking it.

From afar came the girls' excited screams. Lu Mingfei turned his head and saw Su Xiaoyan standing behind Chu Zihang, making a rabbit ear gesture with her hands above his head.

The Ice Prince cooperated expressionlessly, letting his mother's weird auntie friends take pictures like crazy.

Chen Wenwen, squeezed in the crowd, looked at Chu Zihang with the same intense gaze as everyone else, almost like she was drooling.

It turns out that love and hate, like and dislike are really easy to tell at a glance.

Lu Mingfei fell into deep thought, not even knowing when Xia Mi had left.

By the time he came to his senses, Chen Wenwen had already broken free from Chu Zihang's encirclement. Her face still had the blush of taking a photo with her idol, and her expression was completely different from her usual quiet elegance.

Chen Wenwen was still immersed in the excitement of taking a photo with Shilan Legend side by side, completely unaware that the eyes of her former loyal admirer were less affectionate and more distant.

Taking the collection of articles back from Lu Mingfei, Chen Wenwen said softly, "Thank you."

Delivering books under the scorching sun without a word of thanks, yet expecting genuine gratitude for helping carry the books for a while while you're taking a photo together?

After being hit repeatedly, Lu Mingfei was too exhausted to complain or give any further response. He simply gave a faint "hmm" and continued to watch Su Xiaoyan, who was having a great time tormenting her son, trying to recall the bits and pieces of his past interactions with his parents.

Chen Wenwen was prepared for Lu Mingfei to say "You're welcome, it was just a small favor," but she didn't expect his reaction to be so indifferent, so she couldn't help but look at him directly.

Then he noticed that Chu Zihang was staring at him with an indescribable look of envy in his eyes.

Did he... misunderstand something?

Chen Wenwen frowned almost imperceptibly, wanting to explain that her feelings for Chu Zihang were merely admiration and longing, not love.

Just like she said before, Chu Zihang is her hero. Heroes are not meant to be liked, but to be admired.

But she couldn't bring herself to say these words, not out of embarrassment, but simply because she had no reason to.

Just as everyone knows that Lu Mingfei likes her, she herself is also clear about it, but Lu Mingfei has never said that he likes her, so she has no reason to reject someone who has never confessed.

So she didn't know how to explain that she didn't like Chu Zihang. He didn't ask her, so what was there to explain?

Chu Zihang spent the afternoon cooking and visiting tourist attractions, finally managing to stay until the sun began to set and the birthday party was coming to an end.

The sun slipped below the treetops on the opposite bank of the artificial lake, and the sky light changed from orange to deep indigo. The courtyard was no longer as lively as it had been at the beginning.

The glass door of the villa was pushed open from the inside, and Chu Zihang's father, who hadn't shown up all afternoon, pushed out a food cart with a large cake on it that was both impressive in size and appearance.

On the top layer of the cake stood fondant figurines of their family of three, all handsome men and beautiful women.

Amidst the tense atmosphere of the group birthday song, Chu Zihang, expressionless, made his wish, blew out the candles, and transformed into a cake vendor.

His hand holding the knife was steady, and his cuts were clean and neat. Each piece was of uniform size, with a clean cut. It was obvious that he had killed many people in his dream.

Su Xiaoyan and her best friends distributed the cut cake to the guests. When it was Lu Mingfei's turn, Su Xiaoyan handed him a large cake piled high with fruit and cream, her smile as bright as that of a young woman in her late teens.

"Mingfei, are you having fun?"

Lu Mingfei took the cake and nodded vigorously: "Happy!"

The tragic reality had already etched itself into his heart, how could he not be happy?

After finishing the cake, it was time for the final gift-giving segment.

After the girls finished touching up their makeup and applying perfume, they handed Chu Zihang the carefully prepared gifts, sweetly offered their blessings, and then watched expectantly for his reaction.

Chu Zihang nodded his thanks to every gift, regardless of the giver's age, gender, or the value of the gift, adhering to the principle of lifelong equality.

The collection of essays that Chen Wenwen had carefully prepared for Lu Mingfei received the same treatment.

Lu Mingfei didn't compete with the others; he waited until almost all the gifts had been given out before taking the copy of "The Road" and going upstairs.

He had originally prepared gift wrapping, but when he went to pick up the collection of essays in the afternoon, he saw that the newly published collection was too plain and had no decorations at all, so he took off his own gift wrapping and put it on the collection.

When it reached Chen Wenwen, she threw it away and replaced it with a plain, minimalist packaging that she had prepared herself.

Therefore, the book that Lu Mingfei is holding now is a bare book, with only a layer of transparent plastic wrap, which looks particularly shabby in the brightly lit courtyard.

In the past, Lu Mingfei might have felt embarrassed to show it off, but now he has nothing to worry about.

Since he's already at rock bottom, how much more pessimistic people are about him, can they make his situation any worse?

"Happy birthday, senior brother." Lu Mingfei handed the book to Chu Zihang with a sincere smile on his face.

Today he can complain about heaven, earth, and his parents, but he cannot complain about the people in front of him, because they and his mother have given him the utmost respect.

"A small gift, I hope you don't mind."

"Thank you." Chu Zihang accepted it with both hands, glanced down at it, and his gaze was instantly drawn to the gold-embossed recommendation on the waistband:

The father has finished his journey, and the son has taken up the torch and will continue on—the road will never end.

In that one glance, his hand holding the book tightened suddenly, his knuckles stood out clearly, and even the veins on the back of his hand were clearly visible. He even squeezed the hardcover book cover until it was slightly dented.

The cold expression that was almost welded to his face cracked, and a clear change in emotion appeared.

Chu Zihang raised his head, his eyes, which seemed forever filled with indifference and melancholy, flickered with an uncertain light, like a Maybach flashing its headlights wildly:

Why did you decide to send me this book?

After repeating himself for several minutes, this was the first time he had said anything other than "thank you," and Lu Mingfei, who received this honor, immediately became the envy of everyone.

Lu Mingfei instinctively wanted to scratch his head and chuckle awkwardly, but he forcibly held back and instead waved his hand.

"I just feel like my senior brother and I are a good match. He's following in his father's footsteps, and I hope he'll be as awesome as my uncle in the future."

He had heard that Old Master Chu had built his vast business from scratch. With such a good starting platform and his senior brother's abilities, he was sure he could make the family business bigger and stronger.

However, when he said this, he found that his senior brother was not very happy. Instead, a very complicated emotion flashed across his face.

It's like traveling alone for thousands of miles in an endless fog, traversing countless detours before finally finding the long-awaited answer; or like turning the pages of a dusty old book and suddenly seeing all the foreshadowing clearly.

It turns out that all the twists and turns, the countless journeys, the joys and sorrows, were all preordained.

Running his thumb along the gold-embossed recommendation, Chu Zihang said softly:

"Thank you for the gift, I really like it."

As soon as the words were spoken, a game notification popped up:

The mission "Chu Zihang's Birthday Gift" has been completed, and the reward has been issued.

[Chu Zihang's favorability +25, current favorability 55 (close)]

[It has been detected that the main storyline character Chu Zihang's affinity level has reached 50 or higher, triggering a bond quest. Completing the bond quest will allow you to recruit him as a partner.]

[Congratulations, hero, you have earned one chance to draw a synergy item. Would you like to draw now?]