NOVPUB
Chapter 601: Chapter 261 Time Stops At This Moment, That’s Also Fine_2
The girls of dorm 515, not wanting to be outdone, crowded around Chen Nuanhan, who reluctantly led them to present a bouquet of flowers.
"Old classmate, happy birthday."
Er Gao might have had too much to drink, suddenly becoming sentimental, "Huai, thank you for everything you’ve done for us!"
Su Huai was somewhat embarrassed, so he could only lightly clap his hands and listen to them as they started singing the birthday song.
The birthday of a 19-year-old plus 192 months reached its climax amid the blessings of over a hundred people.
Fairly speaking, Su Huai was genuinely touched.
In his past life, his 19th birthday had neither cake nor flowers, just a nagging phone call from his mother and a WeChat blessing from Chen Nuanhan.
It wasn’t about blaming anyone, but back then Su Huai only deserved such treatment.
A man has limited paths to choose from: either be born into a good family, become self-reliant, or else lack of respect is inevitable.
Until he was 35, Su Huai still lived in a very harsh environment.
A Magic Capital aunt who looked down on rural people, a Hangzhou landlord who was guard-like, an overbearing native Imperial Capital spinster from an arranged date earning a 5000 monthly salary yet towering above others, a picky female live-streamer he diligently served, and the opportunistic leaders only focused on performance...
Actually, Su Huai had tried very hard, but only a very few people appreciated his persistence veiled by mediocrity; respect was always a luxury.
The most interesting part was that female live-streamers who were not under his management, those disinterested bystanders, would occasionally affirm him.
What’s the principle behind this?
Distance creates beauty and objectivity.
So, how many of those who came to celebrate his birthday today were objective?
Su Huai didn’t want to delve into it, just enjoying the warmth of today and preparing to return to solitude tomorrow.
In this day and age, who can truly understand anyone?
When the party ended at 10:30 p.m., both hosts and guests appeared to have had a great time—at least it seemed that way.
Mr. Wang, half-drunk, was led away by his pals and girlfriend, loudly exclaiming that brothers united could cut through metal.
Chen Nuanhan left even earlier. She didn’t make a scene or cause any trouble for Su Huai, either because her emotional control had greatly improved, or because she swallowed her grievances.
Chu Changkuo was carried out by Xia Yu and Sao Ji, having drunk himself under the table.
The pair didn’t draw much attention today, finding a corner to eat and drink quietly, bragging only to Gao and Er Gao.
Yan Mengqing... many boys wanted to give her a send-off, the enthusiastic upperclassmen downstairs starkly contrasting with the respectful distance maintained towards Gu Jiuyue.
In the end, she had preemptively called the hotel’s valet service, ignoring everyone and driving away.
Smart girl.
Su Huai didn’t mind how much money she spent calling the valet service, but he did care about her not entangling in unresolved issues at such an event; her decisiveness in taking a car and keeping her distance without troubling Su Huai made her stand out.
Gugu got into the company car, with Sister An still waiting for her.
Once inside, Sister An put down her phone, looked her up and down, feeling that the girl seemed to have changed a bit.
"How was it? All smooth?"
"Ah?"
Gugu was stunned for a moment and then shook her head bewildered, "I don’t even know why I came, I didn’t interact with Principal Wang at all, and Mr. Su didn’t pay much attention to me..."
Sister An nodded in approval, "Oh, that went smoother than expected."
"Ah?"
She was confused again.
"Haha."
Sister An chuckled, her eyes showing some indulgence as she patiently explained, "You not having to communicate directly means Mr. Su did his job well enough that Mr. Wang had no room to negotiate or ask for any favors from you.
If he had been picking on you, asking you to toast and such, it would have meant Su Huai owed him a favor, putting Mr. Wang in a stronger position.
The subtlety lies in who can be more restrained.
Alright, let’s head back, you need to get ready to be on your game."
Gugu was convinced. She wondered how Sister An could be so clever?
But there was one thing she still couldn’t understand: "Then if I did nothing today, wasn’t my coming here pointless? I just feel like I was especially inconspicuous today, doing nothing..."
"Today’s setting was not suitable for your public debut."
Sister An shook her head, earnestly guiding this sweet girl.
"Your first appearance alongside Wang Siming should not have other women present, especially not his myriad of minor internet celebrity girlfriends. It would lower your status.
It’s better at a more formal occasion, one that easily lends itself to a wealth narrative rather than just tabloid gossip.
The company will arrange it properly; your being here today was just to let Mr. Wang see your face."
"Oh~~~"
Gugu finally felt she understood.
She wasn’t dumb; she was just too beautiful and young, with too much attention focused on superficial details like looks, body, emotions, entertainment, and so on.
"Mr. Su is so impressive..."
An Beibei glanced at the blushing girl whose eyes seemed to be glowing, felt a stir in her heart, and then smiled again.
Liking? Admiration? Aspiration?
Then you might have to wait...
That guy isn’t one to give up his career for a beauty.
An Beibei didn’t remind her of anything else, just waited with a spectator’s interest for the story to unfold.
Love, wealth, growth, conflict... Life is the best screenplay, and youth is the best actor.
...
At Little Fat BBQ, Gu Jiuyue was eager to pay the bill.
"Don’t you dare. Today is all on me!"
Su Huai watched her with an amused smile and truly did nothing.
The total was less than 30,000 yuan, not really worth fighting over. If she wanted to spend money for happiness, let her spend.
By the time Nan Guangzhu, Chang Siyuan, and others were left, they were all envious but too shy to speak, except for Hu Shiyu who coyly pressured, "Wow! Junior, you’re so lucky!"
This bold senior, who wore stockings, hadn’t been flirting with Su Huai much lately, probably had realized her competitive edge and was ready to switch targets.
She, unlike Yan Mengqing who wanted to fly high and become a phoenix, liked to have a powerful boyfriend and also loved to have fun. When it was hard to have it all, probably fun mattered more to her.
Too bad Su Huai wasn’t planning to settle, otherwise, she would have known that all those before were just minor disturbances...
Su Huai didn’t respond to her tease, this senior had a bit of a defiant attitude, she laughed to herself, waved, and said goodbye to everyone.
Nan Guangzhu took the initiative, "Mr. Su, you guys go ahead, I’ll handle the rest."
There were a lot of leftover BBQ, beer, and drinks; they couldn’t be wasted, and some gift boxes had to be packed up.
Su Huai didn’t bother with formalities, "Alright, I’m heading out, older brothers and sisters, thanks for coming, see you later."
Ding Yi and the others had already left.
Su Huai and Gu Jiuyue walked into the night, and soon, it was just the two of them, quiet and vast.
"That’s great!"
Gu suddenly let out a sigh.
"What?" Su Huai turned his head.
Gu Jiuyue pursed her lips with a smile, "I mean, seeing you respected by so many people feels really good."
The word "respect" suddenly struck Su Huai’s heart.
He had just thought about respect, then Gu Jiuyue brought it up.
Was this natural chemistry?
Su Huai didn’t know, he just suddenly felt very talkative.
"Actually, I’m quite aware that at most, only 1/3 of those respects are genuine, the rest are for you or for the money."
So actually, I don’t care at all, they aren’t that important.
But your concern makes me very happy, Gugu, you’ve touched my deepest, truest emotions once again, and I’m really, particularly expansively happy."
"Hehe!"
Gu Jiuyue also became happy and spontaneously stuffed her small hand into his coat pocket.
"As long as you’re happy, today you must be happy, that way the things I do will have meaning."
"Yes, you’ve done it."
Su Huai suddenly pulled out her hand and knelt before her. 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
"To reward you, today I’ll take you on a big horse ride! If you want to speed up, just shout, and I’ll show you how fast I can run!"
Su Huai was exceptionally childish, making Gu Jiuyue’s eyes sparkle.
Without hesitation, she excitedly leapt on.
However, after she tightly hugged Su Huai’s neck, she didn’t shout but whispered into the boy’s ear, "I want you to walk slowly. The road is already short, what’s the use of rushing? The outcome is important, but the process is more so."
This wasn’t sweet nothings, yet it contained the most sincere emotions of a young girl.
Su Huai trembled inside, feeling a sharp poke in his heart.
Gu Xiaojiu, you are so skilled!
Every time, you manage to break through my defenses, deeper with each time...
Su Huai started back on the way home, and not wanting to speak, he simply began to sing.
Gu Jiuyue rested her cheek on her good friend’s shoulder, listening to the soft hum drifting through the night, unable to stop smiling.
If time could just stop at this moment, that would be nice too.
