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“Total 26 points.”
A systematic voice came from the cash register. The poor cashier filled in Qin Jiu's purchases with trembling hands, his eyes constantly darting between the items and the examinee in front of him, hesitantly trying to see if the man wanted to cut back on some items at the last minute. But the man paid no attention to him. His eyes glanced around the department store, wondering if there were any other items he might be interested in. His gaze landed on a large glass display case in the food corner. Suddenly, he remembered a certain someone which made his heart beat faster.
“Please add that too.”
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“Go in.”
Invigilator A dragged Qin Jiu, who had caused trouble on his last exam, into the confinement room.
“Wow, that's so rude, Big Invigilator, can't you be a little gentler~?”
Invigilator A rolled his eyes, making Qin Jiu laugh.
“Oh, you’re so cute, Big Invigilator. By the way, can you help me untie my hands? You tied them so tightly, there’s bound to be a mark later~.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Ah, wait a sec!”
Qin Jiu grabbed the hem of A’s shirt with his free hand—of course, it only took him a few seconds to untie them, he was just being dramatic.
A showed his patience and turned to face him. That was enough for Qin Jiu, he left with a smile on his face to unpack his suitcase—anyone who saw him would probably think he was here for a vacation and this confinement room was the hotel where he stayed.
“Right, could you close your eyes for a moment, Big Invigilator? Don’t peek!”
A sighed in agreement, closing his eyes. Qin Jiu took something out of it, a small white box. He placed it on the table. A could hear the sound of a cardboard box opening and the spark of a lighter—wait, he’s not going to act silly and burn this place down like he did with the rest of the system, is he? A furrowed his brows doubtfully.
“Okay, open your eyes, Big Invigilator.”
He opened his eyes. The previously dark room was now dimly lit by the soft glow of candles. There stood Qin Jiu, holding a small cake in his hands.
“Surprise!”
A look of confusion crossed Invigilator A’s eyes.
“It’s not my birthday.”
“Hehe, well, that’s fine. I saw them selling it at the rest stop and bought it, isn’t it nice?”
A looked at the cake. It had a layer of white cream and a few strawberries on top, arranged in a haphazard manner. A single candle sat in the center. It looked like Qin Jiu was trying to maintain its shape in the last test but failed.
“Don’t just stand there, let’s sit down and blow out the candles, then we can eat.”
Qin Jiu acted like he owned the place. He placed the cake on the table and pulled A over to sit down.
“I heard that if you make a wish before blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, your wish will come true. Come on, make a wish!”
Qin Jiu had closed his eyes and clasped his hands together—he was really getting into it, wasn't he?
Birthdays, for him, were nothing more than moments as his age increased. He had no one to celebrate them with. His mother was always busy, and he rarely saw her, let alone celebrated his birthday together. But there were a few occasions when his uncle would come with Yu Wen and surprise him on his birthday. Each time, he would say that his mother was busy, so she sent him to accompany him, and he would accept his clumsy excuse, knowing that his mother would definitely forget his birthday.
“I’ve made a wish, what about you, Big Invigilator?”
Qin Jiu’s voice brought him out of his reverie. He turned and saw Qin Jiu smiling at him.
The two of them blew out the candles at the same time. Qin Jiu began cutting the cake and handed a large slice to A, who accepted it with a complicated look.
“I didn’t expect you to be interested in this kind of thing.”
“Of course I am, this will be my first birthday date, you know. And my date is a very handsome man with celestial beauty, I’m really excited.”
As usual, Qin Jiu took every opportunity to tease him. He took a piece of cake and ate it.
“By the way, when's your birthday, Big Invigilator?”
A gave him a straight face, as if to say, are you seriously just asking now?
“I was born in the summer, June 17th, what about you?”
A was silent for a moment. This was the first time since he became Invigilator A that someone had asked him that. Inside the system, time was uncertain, and those who entered it gradually began to forget their lives outside the system, conversations like birthdays were virtually non-existent.
“You don't need to know. Just finish your exams and get out of here.”
Qin Jiu pouted. Even though their relationship had changed since that snowy night, sometimes A was still like this, distracting the conversation or the relaxed atmosphere between them and constantly pushing him to leave the system.
“You have cream on your cheek, Big Invigilator.”
A raised his hand to look for it, but Qin Jiu reached out first and stroked his cheek, startling him. But then—
“Got you.”
He could feel the cream on his cheek now, and the man who had applied it was staring at him with a sly grin, driving him mad. A scooped some cream from his own cake and smeared it back on Qin Jiu. They continued to fight until a lot of cream stained both of their handsome faces. Finally, Qin Jiu grabbed both of A’s hands, pulled him close, and connected their lips. Qin Jiu used his tongue to push something into A’s open mouth, the sweet taste of strawberries filling their passionate kiss.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m not here to save you, I’m here to love you. Even if the system banishes me and takes my memories, I’ll definitely come back.”
Qin Jiu cupped A's hands, he held them against his cheeks, feeling the warmth of his loved one through his palms, rough from strenuous exercise. He was here. He was real.
"I truly love you, Big Invigilator. Once we're out of the system, let's celebrate your birthday properly together."
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12:00 AM, January 2, xxxx, system time.
Blizzard warning.
In a quiet office, filled only with stacks of documents that needed to be reviewed immediately, Invigilator A sat alone with a drink in his hand. His beautiful golden eyes stared expressionlessly at the raging blizzard outside the large French windows. It was unknown how long he had been like this, recalling moments that had faded into the past, alone, remembering the promise between them.
"Surprise…"
A chuckled softly, drained his drink in one gulp, and returned to work.