Chapter 42

On Saturday morning, Tianxin didn't get up as the snow fell outside. There were a few people in the room, and Zhu Ting poked her head out from under the covers and said, "It's such a nice weather for sleeping."

Zhu Yan helplessly looked at Zhu Ting and said, "Sister, if you keep sleeping, it'll be noon soon." Zhu Yan was wearing headphones and listening to English. Her English grade had dropped significantly this time, so she spent most of her time studying English.

Zhu Ting turned over and continued to lie down and said, "It's so cold outside, there's nothing to do if we don't sleep." Zhu Yan knew that Zhu Ting was taking the special talent exam, so she turned a blind eye to her attitude towards studying.

For special talent students, they don't need to be particularly good at studying. According to Zhu Ting's grades, there shouldn't be any problems. "Luckily, there's heating in the dormitory. Going outside is as cold as a dog," Zhu Yan said.

Tianxin agreed, the weather was getting colder, and the dormitory wasn't allowed to use electricity. Even the heating pads weren't allowed, and the dorm mother had been checking very strictly recently. But there were still students who used them secretly, some even brought the heating pads to the classroom.

Tianxin also yearned to have a heating pad, but she was timid and thought it was better not to do it. She began to do her math homework. When she was halfway through, her phone vibrated. It was a message from Qi Yue, "Tomorrow is Yan Heng's birthday."

Tianxin was a little surprised, Yan Heng's birthday was coming up so soon. "If it were you, he might agree to celebrate his birthday, after all, this birthday is significant," Qi Yue said, looking at the red circle on the calendar that happened to be tomorrow. Listening to the arguing voices in the bedroom, he felt annoyed and closed the door. He had been going through a tough time recently. His family argued a lot, and it was particularly intense. His usually gentle mother had become like a time bomb, making it hard for him to focus on studying.

He asked, but they wouldn't tell him. However, he guessed from their arguments that it had to do with his father's ex. Qi Yue sighed. He didn't want to stay in this family anymore. He wanted to go out and find Yan Heng.

Tianxin held her phone in contemplation. It was her first birthday since she had met him, and it held special significance for her. She wanted to celebrate his birthday and decided to discuss it with Yan Heng. If possible, they could celebrate it together with a few friends to make it more lively.

"Qiyue, tomorrow is your birthday. Can we come over and celebrate it with you?" Tianxin sent a message with a cute emoji.

Yan Heng was watching a movie, but his attention was not on the screen. He was lost in thought until his phone beeped with Tianxin's message. He had already forgotten his own birthday, but he could not refuse any of her requests.

"Sure, come to my apartment tomorrow. I'll pick you up," Yan Heng replied.

"Can we bring Zhuting and Zhongyou too? It will be more lively with more people," Tianxin asked.

"Sure," Yan Heng agreed. He turned off the movie and started planning how to make the birthday celebration more meaningful. As long as Tianxin was there, he would be happy. He hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

"Tomorrow is Yan Heng's birthday. Do you want to come with me?" Tianxin messaged Zhuting.

"Don't you want to have some alone time with him? Why should I go and be a third wheel?" Zhuting asked.

"No, no. Qiyue and Zhongyou are also going. Yan Heng agreed to it," Tianxin explained.

Zhuting hesitated but agreed in the end. "Alright, I'll go. But I want good food and drinks," she said before getting out of bed.

Tianxin started doing her homework. There were still many assignments left to finish, and time might be tight if they were going to celebrate his birthday. "Let's finish our homework after washing our faces. Then we can go and choose a gift," she suggested.

When her friends heard about the gift, they looked at her in surprise. "Who's birthday are we celebrating?" Zhuyan asked. She had no idea whose birthday it was.

While washing her face, Zhu Ting said, "It's Yan Heng's birthday this weekend, and I don't know what gift to buy for him." She was really struggling to think of a good idea. "Tianxin, do you have any plans for what to buy?" She couldn't think of anything at the moment.

Tianxin shook her head, "Let's just go to a boutique shop when the time comes. I don't know what he wants most."

When Tan Xiaoyue heard that Yan Heng was having a birthday, she felt a little disappointed because he hadn't told anyone or invited anyone to celebrate. Why was it that Tianxin could celebrate his birthday with him, but she couldn't?

"It's quite strange. Tianxin and Yan Heng were desk mates, and we were all worried at the time, but it turned out that you two got along well. You're the one in our class who has the best relationship with Yan Heng," Zhao Xuexi couldn't help but sigh. Desk mates are really a unique species.

"With Yan Heng's explosive personality, it's a good thing that Tianxin has a good personality. But Yan Heng is different from what the rumors say. He doesn't cause trouble in our class and is quite well-behaved," Zhu Yan thought it would be a chaotic situation, but it turned out to be quite peaceful. It wasn't as scary as she thought.

"He's a really nice person. The rumors are too exaggerated," in her memory, Yan Heng was kind and intelligent, and although she was scared of him at first, they got along well later on.

At noon, the group didn't eat at the cafeteria, but went outside to have spicy hotpot instead. Eating spicy hotpot in winter is really enjoyable. "We haven't had it in two weeks, and I miss it a little. I don't want to go out, and the cafeteria doesn't have hotpot," Zhu Ting complained.

"You're overthinking it. The cafeteria won't allow hotpot to be served," Zhu Yan said.

Tianxin thought that if the cafeteria had hotpot, it would be a popular dish. "It's okay, we can go out to eat. It's not that far anyway. Zhu Ting, you're just too lazy," she said.

Zhu Ting blinked her eyes, "Ahem, I just want to stay in my warm bed in this cold weather."

"Just wear warmer clothes. It's not that cold," after some teasing and laughter, they finally arrived. After finishing their hotpot, it was already afternoon. The group went to a boutique shop near the square. "Have you figured out what to buy for him yet?" Zhu Ting was almost at her wit's end.

Three people entered the boutique, which was warm and filled with a dazzling array of gifts. In this season, there were many items such as insulated cups, warmers, gloves, and scarves. "How about getting him a scarf? I don't think he's ever worn one," said one of them.

"A scarf? Tianxin looked at the hanging scarves and felt a bit tempted. It's perfect for winter," she said. "I think that's a good idea. He already has an insulated cup, so let's get him a scarf," Tianxin picked out a black and red checkered scarf that felt very comfortable. He should like it.

"I'll pick one too. Yours is fine, but I don't care what I give him. It's different when you give a gift," she said. Zhu Ting just wanted to give a simple blessing and a small gift. Yan Heng didn't care for her gifts. In the end, Zhu Ting chose a cartoon statue with "Happy Birthday" engraved on it. "Haha, is my gift good enough?" Zhu Ting was very satisfied and thought it was hilarious.

"I think it's okay," Tianxin looked at her silly actions and thought it was inexplicably cute. She was really too addicted to her. "Really, it's quite cute," Yan Heng said. If it wasn't for the occasion, Zhu Ting would have laughed out loud. "This is it."

The two paid and went back to the dormitory. It was cold outside, and they didn't want to go anywhere with their items. Tianxin had already told Zhong You about her birthday, and when she heard Zhu Ting was there, he agreed without hesitation.

Yan Heng and Qi Yue were busy buying things, snacks, and Yan Heng even bought a lot of vegetables. Qi Yue looked at the person who was shopping frantically, "Are you going to cook? How come I didn't know you can cook?" What did he miss?

"It's not me, it's Tianxin. She's very good at cooking. We can't just order takeout, it's not good," Yan Heng rolled his eyes, and Qi Yue took the hot pot ingredients. "How about this?"

Yan Heng nodded, "That's good." They bought a lot of things, but even two big guys could carry them easily. "Beverages can be bought downstairs in the building, let's buy them when we get back. Is there anything else to eat? What do girls like to eat?"

Qi Yue looked at the things in his hands, "Are you trying to empty the supermarket? You bought so many snacks. I guess many of them are what she likes. After all, girls like to eat those things. Okay, let's hurry back. I still want to play games."

Yan Heng remained silent, as someone who had always loved studying had begun to use games to numb themselves. Qi Yue seemed to be in good spirits and wasn't young anymore, so he decided to find a time to talk to her seriously.

The next morning, Yán Héng messaged Tianxin to wait for him as he would come over. He brought Tianxin and Zhu Ting to his apartment, but Zhong You hadn't arrived yet. "You can do your homework or play games here," said Yan Heng.

His place was tidy, with two sofas in the living room and a square table in the middle. An LCD TV was showing variety shows on the wall. "Tianxin, you can do your homework. I'm going to watch TV," said Zhu Ting, holding the remote control.

Tianxin took out her workbook, and Yan Heng looked at her. "Why don't you go to my room to do your work? I have other reference books there that you can look at. I think they will be very helpful to you," said Yan Heng. Tianxin nodded, and Zhu Ting watched as the two left her sight. She refused to eat dog food, wondering if Zhong You had gotten lost.

It wasn't until a little while later that Zhong You arrived, and the two sat in the living room watching TV.

In the bedroom, Tianxin sat in a chair and did her math problems. "Do you live alone?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's nice to live alone. I'm the only one at home, and I prefer it here," said Yan Heng, looking through his old reference books. "Don't bother looking for it if you can't find it. Just pick one that you often do yourself," he said.

Yan Heng turned his head. "Are you sure?" Tianxin nodded in confusion, and Yan Heng gave her one that he often did himself. Tianxin looked at the reference book, which she had never seen before. After reading the first problem, she couldn't do it. She moved on to the second, but still couldn't do it. What kind of problems had this guy been doing that she couldn't do any of them?

"I told you that you didn't have to read it," said Yan Heng, looking at Tianxin, who looked pitiful. He had no intention of deliberately discouraging her.