Li Junjie woke up feeling sluggish. Although today was his birthday, he didn't feel like moving out of bed. Why was it that something always happened on his birthday? If only he could ask for a peaceful day to spend by himself as a birthday present.
However, thinking about the female members of his family, he had no choice but to force himself to get up.
Last night, Li Caiyi barged into his room while looking like she was ready to cry anytime. He rushed to Li Chunhua's room, only to be held back by her sisters until late at night.
Li Chunhua was persistent in her questioning, and he couldn't go back to his room even if he wanted to. Thankfully, Li Jirong didn't come back even after midnight, so there was nothing to worry about.
He reached out to check on his phone, and the screen suddenly lit up. It was a message from Meng Renshu:
[Happy birthday. I hope you have enough energy to get through this day. Tell me if you need anything.]
Li Junjie didn't reply to his best friend's message and only threw his phone onto the bed without a care. He knew Meng Renshu probably meant nothing by saying that, but it felt like Meng Renshu was trying to make fun of him, and he didn't like it. Li Junjie could imagine his friend's annoying smirk through the message he sent.
"The busybody." He cursed without anger in his voice before leaving his room to wash up.
***
The Li family members gathered at the dining table like usual during breakfast. Except for Li Caiyi, who was currently staying outside, everyone was present, and Li Junjie acted like nothing had happened as he pulled a chair and sat on it.
"Brother Jie, happy birthday!" Li Chunhua was the one to break the ice by congratulating him first. Then, Su Suyin and Li Jirong also followed suit.
"Yeah. Thanks, everyone." Li Junjie replied curtly.
His son's unenthusiastic appearance did not surprise Li Jirong because he knew his son wasn't fond of something trivial, like a birthday. Meanwhile, the other two weren't surprised because they knew what kind of problem Li Junjie had to deal with today. Hence, his birthday's morning atmosphere went similarly to any other day.
Li Junjie didn't mind. He probably even preferred every morning to be as calm. However, it was less likely for today to finish peacefully with everything he had planned.
"I have finished. I'll go first," Li Junjie stood up from his seat and was about to head out when Li Jirong called out to him.
"Jie, there is something I need to talk to you about. Let's talk when I get home later." Li Jirong said to him. Li Junjie gave him a brief hum of acknowledgment before walking out of the house, followed by Li Chunhua behind him.
"Brother Jie, are you really going to confront Father today?" Li Chunhua asked after catching up with her brother.
"Yeah. Probably tonight. Make sure you and Mother didn't come inside, even if you heard any commotion."
"Brother, are you really going to be okay? Father is scary when he is angered. What if all of us gathered and talked to him together? That way, it would be less scary for you."
"Xiaohua, I'm not scared of Father. In the end, he is only another adult in our life. There's nothing to be afraid of when we are not in the wrong." Li Junjie replied with a hint of finality in his tone.
Li Chunhua knew there was no way to talk her brother out of this once he had made up his mind. She sighed helplessly before saying, "I hope you are not forcing yourself too much. Brother Jie, you ought to rely on us some more."
Li Junjie kept his mouth shut and continued walking. He didn't even know where to begin with that. He had always been self-reliant in everything, so the idea of relying on other people sounded foreign to his ears.
***
Or so he thought until he was bombarded by gifts and congratulatory greetings from many female students since morning.
He didn't know almost everyone who came to congratulate him and having to return their greeting one by one was too draining for him. If it were not for Meng Renshu, who stole half of the attention, he probably wouldn't survive today in one piece.
Li Junjie had never relied on other people except for Meng Renshu. The only difference was that Meng Renshu always did that without him asking, so he became too used to it.
Li Junjie was exhausted when the bell signaling the end of the school rang. His locker and desk drawer were stuffed with many gifts from unknown people, which stressed him out.
"Why are you so depressed? Today is your birthday. Cheer up a little, or you'll make your fans sad." Meng Renshu chuckled jokingly, looking at his friend's dark expression.
"This always happens every year, and I'm tired of this already." Li Junjie replied wearily.
"They are just happy for you. The least you can do is appreciate their heartfelt gift."
"But this is just too many of them. I can't possibly finish it all alone." Li Junjie stared at the stack of gift boxes or paper bags on his desk. It was piling up, and he had no idea how to bring all of them home.
"You bring this to your house and share it with your servants." Li Junjie said in the end.
"All of them again?" Meng Renshu raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Don't you ever want to keep some for yourself? You kept giving it to the people in my house so generously every year."
"I'm not fond of sweets in the first place, and I can't trust a gift from someone unknown."
"So cold. Your fangirl will cry if they heard that."
Li Junjie scoffed. "Speak for yourself. You are even worse than me since you just directly threw them away. Well, although I understand why you did what you did."
Meng Renshu shrugged. "I can't put something inside my mouth or give it to other people without being 100% sure what's in it. That's why I told those girls not to give me anything. Not my fault if they didn't listen to me. I will only accept gifts from those I trusted."
Li Junjie wasn't in the mood to talk, so he quickly said, "I'd better get going now. You can have all of these."
"Junjie, is there something weighing on your mind lately?"
Li Junjie's steps halted before turning back to face his friend. "No? Why do you ask?"
Meng Renshu smiled mysteriously. "It's just a feeling. You looked distracted and stressed out recently. Don't forget that I can lend you a hand anytime."
Li Junjie squinted his eyes suspiciously while trying to guess the hidden meaning of Meng Renshu's words. For a second, he thought Meng Renshu was aware of what happened in his family, but there was no way he could know that. Both of his sisters weren't that foolish to tell their family problems to an outsider.
So he quickly brushed it off as Meng Renshu's random prediction again and left first.
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