[— — If only it wasn't your birthday.]
[— — If only you weren't the owner in name only.]
[If...]
[As you were lost in thought at your birthday banquet, which, apart from being symbolic, had almost no birthday atmosphere, a self-deprecating and shy voice interrupted your thoughts.]
..."Jiang Cheng, Happy Birthday!"
...There was no need to turn around, no need to see the person's specific appearance, not even the tone of voice in essence, because that person was undoubtedly... a khaki-colored cute girl entered the line of sight.
— — It's Vil-V.
"Sorry..."
"I'm a little late this time."
The girl's pair of peculiar silver-pink eyes were filled with various unspeakable emotions accumulated together, shyly and bashfully looking at the boy.
"Don't worry, I knew you would definitely come, so it's never too late no matter when you come."
"I wouldn't mind if you were late."
Jiang Cheng stretched out his index finger, correcting the wording, the slightly raised corners of his mouth and bright, unadulterated eyes proving the truth of his words.
It wasn't purely lip service, nor was it hypocritical words to gain favor.
In reality.
Vil-V was also one of only four people in the world who cared about, or at least paid some attention to, his birthday.
The remaining three, in order, were Dad, Mom, and Aili Xiya.
Vil-V was the first. To put it somewhat unfairly, this girl cared even more about his birthday than his own parents.
Although Aili Xiya would also give birthday gifts, the time she actually spent with him was not as much as Dad and Mom, who could only call remotely.
"Then... here's your birthday present, I wish you a happy birthday and a pleasant mood."
The girl lowered her head, rummaged around on her body for a moment, and then, as always, handed her gift to him personally, rather than the host of the banquet.
"Thank you for your concern."
"And thank you very much for giving me a birthday present."
Jiang Cheng lowered his head slightly, expressing his gratitude.
As one of the only two girls who would personally give him gifts.
It was just that when he looked at the box, which had transformed from a lightly veiled, obviously designed, and somewhat immature box to a gift box inlaid with dark gold gears like steampunk, with a strong personal atmosphere and feel.
Some inappropriate, or even etiquette-violating words for a normal birthday banquet, rang in his ears.
"Jiang Cheng, please open the box."
..."Eh?"
At first, Jiang Cheng didn't even realize what Vil-V had said.
Until his eyes met those silver-gray eyes.
This had never happened before.
Because all previous gifts were sorted together with Aili Xiya after returning, and he opened them alone. The only one he could open directly after receiving it was that girl who had been traveling with him.
It wasn't because of etiquette or any regulations.
It was simply that other people's gifts were more like something equivalent to an admission ticket, and in reality, they were still paying attention to Aili Xiya herself.
No one cared about the boy, the nominal protagonist. They were too lazy to even give a blessing.
It seemed that they were unwilling to waste even a little bit of time with Aili Xiya. Maybe not giving a blessing would allow them to say one more word to that girl.
All the gifts would only be piled up in the storage place. Even personally handing over a gift once was a major event that interfered with their time, possibly causing them to miss the moment to talk to Aili Xiya.
At first, perhaps some people still cared about face and chose to hand it over personally, but after experiencing it several times, no one did that anymore.
As for Vil-V, who seemed to be the only exception and should have the same treatment as Aili Xiya... opening the gift in front of her was too stimulating.
It wasn't that the gift might contain something like a spring-loaded fist prank. The girl would never do such a terrible thing.
It was just that the girl, who was overly self-deprecating, sensitive, and had a very high degree of self-loathing, could not accept the fact that her gift was being opened in person.
This kind of thing was too stimulating for Vil-V.
It reached a point where it needed to be prohibited.
Unacceptable.
No matter what expression she made, it wouldn't be appropriate. No matter how subtle the changes, even just licking her lips could be infinitely pondered and interpreted by that clever brain, and the final result would only be self-rejection, always shifting to hating herself.
The key was that the girl didn't like to say it out loud. She would bury everything in her heart, causing some self-righteous misunderstandings to ferment inside.
But only this time.
Only this time's gift.
The girl hoped that the boy could open it on the spot.
Even if Jiang Cheng raised his head and seriously looked at those soft and evasive silver-gray star eyes, he couldn't see even a trace of the retreat that had gathered into a ball.
All the escape, all the fear, all the negative factors were suppressed.
It was completely impossible to imagine what kind of thoughts the girl was holding... "This time's gift."
"I hope you can open it yourself."
"Right here, at your birthday banquet."
Vil-V looked at him with shy eyes, trying to overcome the desire to lower her head. Her eyes were bright and clear, fearful but firm, and various unrelated qualities appeared together at this moment... Ah...
"Of course."
There is a picture here, check the updated version
Mouthless us.jpg
There is a picture here, check the updated version
20. Vil-V: Please... leave Aili Xiya!
The corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth were smiling, but there was no anger or disdain for being looked down upon in his dark eyes, but rather a sense of pride.
— — Because this represented that the girl had taken the first step.
It wasn't just as simple as opening the gift box.
It wasn't just that she could face her inner thoughts directly.
This meant that the current Vil-V could even ask him to do something, she could speak up, and these thoughts no longer had to be buried in her heart and suppressed.
The only thing that made people a little confused was that the estrangement that should have been worn away in two years.
At this moment, it formed a wall mixed with fear and dread.
It was as if taking a step wasn't a figure of speech, but a step in the true sense, stepping onto a cliff with no retreat or buffer.
"If I'm very dissatisfied with this gift, then next time on your birthday, I will also give you something very, very unsatisfactory."
"As a long-time old friend, don't leave me with any pranks."
...These seemingly harsh words were actually the most high-EQ answer that the boy, who had not experienced much social interaction before starting his travels, could find from his interactions with Aili Xiya and others.
The essence was actually to reduce the girl's nervousness and shift the problem to another place.
The only problem was that at this moment, it seemed to have lost its purpose.
The words that could usually make the girl realize the problem and let go of her restraint seemed to have completely lost their magic at this moment.
Vil-V still looked nervous — lightly biting her red lower lip, her slender fingertips were already intertwined unconsciously, and the black silk ribbons hanging down from her dress were curled into a messy ball like a cat's yarn.
Her silver-gray eyes were staring fixedly at his fingertips, watching the boy open the exquisite gift box, adjusting the exquisite dark gold gears to the appropriate position, even squeezing red marks on his slender, soft, and well-defined fingers.
— — It was clear that she was extremely nervous.
Even with the girl's personality, which was different from ordinary people, this behavior could be called abnormal.
— — Could it be that this gift is something special?
Holding curiosity, Jiang Cheng gently opened the box in his hand.
It was very empty inside, not like before, preparing some novel gadgets that were obviously ahead of the times to provide help on the journey and convenience in life.
Instead, it was in the format of an invitation letter, with a dark gold document lying in the middle, with typical words written in multiple languages in a serious manner... — — An invitation letter?!
The boy's fingertips clenched the hard edge, and his dark pupils suddenly dilated, as if to imprint all the information on that card into his eyes.
This was an invitation to take a position at a place called [Spiral Workshop], and even the position wasn't just an ordinary worker.
If he wasn't mistaken... it was the owner...
"Next time at the birthday banquet, I hope you can hold it with me as the owner of the Spiral Workshop."
The girl gently pressed her chest, pressing down on the light gauze silk, squeezing out white dents in the somewhat excessive soft flesh, like a burst of silky flesh waves stirred up by the friction, collision, and squeezing of greasy milk paste.
Her voice was shy, hesitant, yet unusually firm.
It was as if a frog imprisoned at the bottom of a well, with the help of others, took the first step towards the truly developed world, leaving the narrow bottom of the well.
Although it couldn't be considered anything.
Although this progress was too insignificant.
Although it felt too ridiculous and too humble to even use it as a capital to boast about.
No matter how small.
No matter how ridiculous.
No matter how many people would ridicule this progress as incompetent.
— — This was the first step.
This was the first step taken by the girl.
This was the first step taken by the girl herself.
It wasn't being pulled by others, it wasn't being forced forward, it wasn't being forced to be swept forward along with the tide — — just like a lone sail on the sea, unable to control its own direction, only to be arbitrarily kneaded and played with by the drifting ocean, but truly out of one's own will, truly out of the awakening in one's heart.
This was the only thing worth being proud of.
This was the only thing worth telling.