"It's the best life, when I love you, shouting your name with burning sincerity; loving you, only loving you from now on..."
May 20, 1998, Wednesday. Guan Xuchen hummed Aaron Kwok's "It's the Best Life" as he walked alone to school. Today, Gao Xinglang had to clean the assigned area and went back to school early in the morning, so they didn't walk together. Though Guan Xuchen felt a twinge of regret, he still hummed the song cheerfully. It was his 18th birthday, and he was sure Gao Xinglang would give him a present.
"Will Lang give me any other gift, apart from the basketball gold medal from the other day. Maybe the wind chime I saw at the department store with Mom last time? But I'll love anything from Lang," Guan Xuchen thought sweetly.
When he arrived at school and stopped below the teaching building, he saw Gao Xinglang and several other students were cleaning their assigned area not far off. Gao Xinglang looked up, saw him, and waved with a smile. Guan Xuchen wanted to run over and talk, but feeling shy with so many other students around. So he just smiled and waved back before heading upstairs.
After the first period, Gao Xinglang came to ask him to fetch water together. Guan Xu Chen thought that Gao Xing Lang would bring his birthday present to him by the way, but instead he saw that Gao Xing Lang only came with the water cup. On the way to the water dispenser, Guan Xuchen barely spoke.
"Soupy, why do you look kind of upset?" Gao Xinglang asked with a smile, noticing his mood.
"Oh, nothing, it's just..." Guan Xuchen trailed off.
He didn't want to ask directly for the present, but he also wanted to know if Gao Xinglang had forgotten his birthday. After a pause, he hinted, "Lang, you won the basketball championship again! So amazing! I wonder how this year's gold medal is different from the one you gave me last year?"
"No difference except the year," Gao Xinglang replied promptly, then grinned, "So this year I'll give you something different as the birthday present."
"Oh." Though disappointed, Guan Xuchen smiled and said, "Thank you, Lang. Thank you for not forgetting my birthday."
"How could I forget Soupy's birthday?" Gao Xinglang smiled. "Besides, it's your 18th birthday today. Happy birthday first. I'll give you the present at noon, okay?"
"Oh, okay." Guan Xuchen replied softly, then asked, "By the way, Lang, you don't have basketball practice during fitness training sessions this afternoon, right? Wanna play table tennis instead?"
"Sorry, Soupy, the team still has to train this afternoon," Gao Xinglang explained with a hint of apology. "Even though the municipal tournament is over, I won't officially quit until next semester. So I still need to attend practice."
"I get it. You go train then. I'll play badminton with Hong Yilong and others," Guan Xuchen replied with a smile.
During the second period English class, Ms. Jiang was explaining the text at the podium, but Guan Xuchen couldn't focus—his mind was full of the birthday present.
"Why doesn't Lang give me the gold medal this year? Why wait till noon to give the present? What present will he give me?"
The more he thought, the more mixed his feelings became—happiness, disappointment, curiosity, and anticipation tangled together, like pouring sugar water and herbal tea into some slow-cooked soup.
"Guan Xuchen, answer the question, please." Ms. Jiang called out to Guan Xuchen in English to answer the question.
Still lost in thoughts about Gao Xinglang, Guan Xuchen stood up instinctively and blurted out, "Birthday present."
YOU ARE READING
Love Me in Another Universe
General FictionIt was such a long time ago that you don't even remember why you fell for that person in the first place. You just remember stubbornly that you were once deeply in love with someone with that name... It's a story about the bond between two Chinese b...
