25 Birthday (1)

At least for someone, it was a very special and important date today.

The students of Xing Ming Academy were studying obediently in class. Some were focusing on the lecturer's teachings while others were spacing out or otherwise distracted.

On this rare occasion, Jun Yang was part of the latter. The young man had his face turned away from the class and looked out the window that was to his left. Normally in this situation, people would have their eyes to the sky, imagining the freedom of being a cloud that was carried by the wind. However, Jun Yang was the complete opposite. His head was turned downwards and his gaze was firmly fixed onto the ground.

Jun Yang was looking at the alleyway that he was once accosted by Feng Qi. The emotions on his face were difficult to read. It was a collection of many conflicting and complementary thoughts.

Suddenly Jun Yang turned his head away from the window and to the back of the class. The seat that he was looking at was empty. The young man's brows creased with something that could be read as disappointment. 'Feng Qi has skipped class again.'

Jun Yang turned his head back before the teacher could call him out for it. He sighed and wondered to himself where could Feng Qi have been. Would he be at the Mist Café for work?

Jun Yang shook his head. Just for that day, he'd wished that Feng Qi would be there with him to celebrate this momentous occasion.

The bell rang to announce the end of the class. The teacher packed up his stuff and left the students to their device.

Jun Yang felt a tap on the back of his shoulders. He turned around and saw Pei Ling smiling at him.

"Happy birthday, Jun Yang," she said.

That's right, it was Jun Yang's 18th birthday that day. It was a particularly momentous one because it marked his turn from a child to an adult. That carried with it many implication, one that meant many different things to different people in Jun Yang's life.

"Thank you, Pei Ling," Jun Yang accepted the blessing gratefully. Then, Jun Yang stopped to observe this girl who grew up with him and the classmate who sat behind him for the entire school year.

That day, there was something about Pei Ling that caught Jun Yang's attention. There was something that was… off about her but Jun Yang could not really put his finger on it.

While Pei Ling rambled on about how he had grown into a real man, Jun Yang wondered what was it that had caught his attention thusly. He eventually got it. Pei Ling was being unusually expressive that day. Due to her upbringing, she was taught not to be overly obvious with her emotions but that day, she was practically wearing her happiness and excitement on her sleeves. She was upbeat and bubbly, which was a rare mannerism for the girl to adopt.

Jun Yang could not help suspect that it had something to do with his birthday. As if confirming his suspicion, Pei Ling suddenly said, "Actually, I've gathered some classmates last week to help celebrate your birthday today by having a party in the afternoon but I canceled it after realizing that you have to meet with your parents later in the afternoon. That's quite a shame but I'm sure they have something very important to tell you.

"Perhaps you might even enjoy the news better than celebrating your birthday with your classmates. In any case, we'll have a rain check on that birthday party."

Pei Ling then stood up and grabbed her school bag. She strode away from her seat and she told Jun Yang, "Again, happy 18th birthday, Jun Yang."

"Thank you." Jun Yang sat there as he watched Pei Ling exit the classroom. There was one question that was stuck on his mind. 'I have not told anyone about the meeting with my parents later in the afternoon, so how did she find out? Did my parents tell her but why would they?

'Furthermore, why does she phrase her sentence in the way that suggests that she already knew about what my parents are going to tell me this afternoon? Or am I reading too much into this?'

Jun Yang wondered if he should catch up to Pei Ling to ask for more clarification. Just as the young man stood up from his seat, another group of students came to wish him happy birthday. Jun Yang sat back down and accepted their kind blessings.

"Jun Yang, happy birthday."

"Will you be going somewhere to celebrate this happy occasion?"

"I hope you enjoy the presents that my family has sent you. It's specially picked out for your birthday."

"Yes, we spent a lot of effort on our present as well. We hope that you and your family will enjoy it."

Jun Yang smiled politely and acted as a gracious host. "Thank you so much for the birthday presents. I'll be sure to put them to good use and thank you for the kind generosity."

They continued to chat for a while before Jun Yang was left alone again. Before he had the chance to catch a break, another group of students came to offer their birthday wishes. Jun Yang dealt with them with extreme poise and grace like how his parents had taught him to. Social aptitude was one of the most important lessons among the upper society.

Eventually, Jun Yang managed to deal with all of them. He was again the last student who was left in class. Many of his classmates had mentioned gifting him presents but his table was completely empty other than stuff which was his own to begin with.

This was again one of the traditions that Jun Yang had come to accept. He knew the presents given by his classmates' families would be waiting for him at home and he probably would not touch them. He'd hoped they would stop wasting the time but he knew it was a rite of passage.

Jun Yang packed up his bag and left Xing Ming Academy for that meeting with his parents.