Mud beads

Yu Zhu stood on the stairs, her hand resting on the railing, unsure whether she should come down.

Echizen Toru took off his coat and said casually, "Yu Zhu. The student I sponsor."

Song Ban reacted quickly: "That charity student?"

Ji Yong paused for a moment, as if remembering something, and glanced at Yu Zhu again. The meme thing was long gone; he found it hard to connect the funny faces in the memes with the quiet little girl in front of him.

"Alright, forget what I said about you being a beast last time." Ji Yong patted Yuejian Tetsu's shoulder and laughed, "So you're a great philanthropist after all."

"Alright, alright, I've been listening to you all talking nonsense." The pretty girl at the back pushed aside the people in front of her, took two steps forward, and generously extended her hand to Yu Zhu.

"Hello, I am Zhou Qiyu."

Yu Zhu slowly went downstairs and hesitantly took her hand.

Zhou Qiyu's hands were warm, her fingertips delicate, and her sleeves carried a faint fragrance. She squeezed briefly and then released her hand, not staring at Yu Zhu, nor letting it linger for long.

"They all call me Nana." She smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I used to really like a Japanese manga called 'NANA,' and the female protagonist had that name. When I was little, I insisted they call me that, and now I can't stop."

Ji Yong chimed in, "It's mainly because she's annoying. If you don't call her Nana, she'll nag you to death."

Zhou Qiyu turned around: "You can die now."

Song Ban chuckled, changed his shoes, and handed the box to Aunt Wang: "It's Yue Shao's birthday today, so let's not draw blood yet."

Zhou Qiyu pursed her lips, then turned to Yu Zhu and enthusiastically introduced: "This is Ji Yong. He looks intimidating, but he's actually a pushover. This is Song Ban. He looks like he could win a scholarship, but he does everything except study."

Song Ban frowned: "Could you be a little more objective when you're introducing people?"

"Isn't this objective enough?" Zhou Qiyu said. "If it were any more objective, it wouldn't be suitable for minors to listen to."

Yu Zhu walked downstairs and greeted everyone politely: "Hello, Senior Nana, Hello, Senior Ji Yong, Hello, Senior Song Ban."

"Why call me 'senior'?" Ji Yong waved her hand. "Just call me 'brother' or 'sister'."

Yu Zhu glanced at Yue Jianche but didn't say anything.

Moth

When it came time for the birthday celebration, Zhou Qiyu grabbed Yu Zhu and wouldn't let her leave. Yu Zhu had no choice but to sit down with them, trying to keep a low profile the whole time.

The chef pushed a cart over, holding a pure black cake with a velvet texture on a silver base. The cake in the city didn't look particularly sweet or appetizing; the short cake base had no jam or fruit decorations, but instead, a corner was adorned with caviar and black truffles.

The birthday candle is a curved silver thread. When the lights are turned off, the candle stands up, and the flame flickers with three colors.

Zhou Qiyu urged, "Make a wish quickly."

Ji Yong also shouted, "Give me a big one!"

Echizen Toru leaned back lazily in his chair, his long eyelashes drooping. He glanced at the candlelight and smiled faintly.

"I don't have any wishes."

After he finished speaking, he got up and blew out the candle.

Someone clicked their tongue in the darkness. The lights came on quickly. Zhou Qiyu said he had no romance, Ji Yong said the cake was unlucky to have him, and Song Ban had already picked up a knife and cut the cake into several equal pieces.

The second piece of cake was given to Yu Zhu, who accepted it cautiously and thanked her carefully. The cake had a complex texture; she couldn't say whether it was delicious or not, only that it tasted completely different from what she remembered.

After finishing the cake, everyone moved to the carpet in the living room, and Toru Echizen began to unwrap the gifts.

Ji Yong gifted him a motorcycle helmet, black with silver stitching, and the visor flipped up like a helmet from an American superhero movie. He said, "The new track opens next month, wear this, and I guarantee it'll blow the place away."

Song Ban gave him a billiard cue. The box was as exquisite as the cue, and the wood grain shimmered like flowing satin under the light.

Zhou Qiyu's gift was the smallest and most exquisite: a silver necklace. The pendant was a feather, with a turquoise inlaid at the top.

"Takahashi Goro, ever heard of him?" She took out the necklace, stood up, and said, "Here, let me put it on you."

Toru Echizen did not refuse.

He sat on the carpet, leaning against the sofa, his head bowed, revealing a section of his long, fair neck. Zhou Qiyu knelt beside him, her slender arms wrapped around the back of his neck.

Yu Zhu looked away, her fingers gripping the rim of the cup. From her angle, the posture looked like Zhou Qiyu cradling Yuejian Tetsu's head in her arms.

She felt a little embarrassed, but Zhou Qiyu put on the necklace gracefully, stepped back, and clapped her hands in satisfaction: "I have such good taste."

Yu Zhu felt her gaze involuntarily following Zhou Qiyu; she didn't want to look, but she couldn't stop herself.

From the wine cabinet, Ji Yong poked her head out: "Family, which bottle should we open tonight?"

Song Ban squatted in front of the cigar cabinet: "Century No. 3, where did you get this?"

Zhou Qiyu immediately turned around: "No smoking indoors."

Ji Yong smiled: "Zhou Zexu."

Zhou Qiyu threw a cushion at him.

Yu Zhu listened to their argument, and sweat slowly began to bead on her back. The gift she had prepared for Yue Jianche was in the coffee table cabinet. She had originally planned to take it out when no one was paying attention, but now it seemed that things would only get more chaotic later.

She bit her lower lip, bent down and pulled a file folder from the cabinet, handing it to Echizen Toru with both hands.

"Happy birthday." Her voice was soft, and her hands were trembling slightly.

The file folder contained her gold medal certificate from the essay competition.

Zhou Qiyu was faster than Echizen Toru, "Wow, my little sister also prepared a gift."

My scattered attention was refocused.

Ji Yong ran over, clutching a bottle of wine: "Quick, let me see what my sister gave me!"

Song Ban also closed the cigar cabinet and looked at her.

Yu Zhu's face flushed instantly.

"This is the gold medal I won in the essay competition," she said haltingly. "The final grades haven't come out yet, but I'll be in the top ten of my class."

She quietly clenched her hands behind her back and mustered her courage to look at Echizen Toru.

I won't let you down.

Koshima Toru was stunned. The other three were also stunned.

The living room was quiet for a moment, then burst into laughter.

Ji Yong laughed so hard she bent over, almost dropping the wine bottle in her hand. Song Ban took off his glasses and wiped them, unable to suppress his smile. Zhou Qiyu covered his mouth with his hand and coughed twice.

Yu Zhu stood there, her ears filled only with the sound of her own heartbeat.

She couldn't tell the difference between that kind of laughter.

Ji Yong spoke first, giving her a thumbs up: "Awesome, this gift is awesome."

Song Ban took the document bag, glanced at it, and nodded: "Indeed, none of us here can give it away."

Zhou Qiyu raised her hands: "I'm an art student, don't expect too much from me."

Ji Yong added, "If I make it into the top ten in the final exams, my mom will erect a monument for me in front of our house."

Song Ban looked at him: "You even made it into the top ten? Do you even know how many subjects you're taking?"

"roll."

Yu Zhu lowered her head, her palms were wet as if she had just washed them.

The file bag finally ended up in Echima Toru's hands.

The papers felt very light in his hands. A gold medal certificate, a red stamp, and the name Yu Zhu printed in the center. He was the one who chose that name.

He looked up at Yu Zhu, who had her head down, her hands behind her back, her dark, clear eyes secretly observing his expression, like a puppy that had learned to read people's expressions.

Toru Echizen found it very interesting.

He placed the folder on the sofa beside him and patted it lightly. His eyes narrowed, and the silver necklace pressed against his black sweater, flashing a thin, blade-like arc of light.

"Thank you, Yu Zhu." He gave his first review of the evening. "I really like it."