In the end, neither Shen Yujing nor Quan Le would agree to wear the Ultraman bodysuit they had fought over earlier, tossing it aside.
In their view, whoever wore that costume would be the epitome of "ugliness."
Shen Yujing asked them, "Who do you think it would suit better, him or me?"
Quan Le also looked over with anticipation.
Jiang Yiheng said: "It suits you both."
Murong Huan translated for him, "You'd both look equally ridiculous."
Though angry, both boys turned to Song Yi, waiting for her final verdict.
Song Yi hesitated for a moment, then looked at Shen Yujing and said sincerely, "I think it suits you better."
Shen Yujing: "?"
Shen Yujing was furious and wanted to argue with Song Yi, while Quan Le burst out laughing, taking it as proof that he was more handsome than Shen Yujing, and praised Song Yi's good taste.
Just then, a servant came up and knocked on the door, saying, "Miss, your classmate is here."
Since everyone was already here, could it be... Hang Feng?
Everyone quickly exchanged glances and began hastily cleaning up the items in front of them.
This was meant to be a surprise! Hang Feng wasn't supposed to see it until evening!
Everyone scrambled around - some grabbing clothes, others hiding gifts, while Song Yi and Murong Huan worked together to hide the huge Ultraman costume in the closet.
When the door opened—
The class monitor from Class B stood before them, awkwardly adjusting his glasses as he looked at Quan Le and Shen Yujing, who had collided and fallen while rushing to hide things.
Quan Le immediately released his grip on the Ultraman bodysuit, sighing in relief as he collapsed onto the floor.
Murong Huan stepped forward and asked, "Class monitor? Why are you at my house?"
The monitor finally explained his reason for coming, "Murong Huan, is Hang Feng here?"
Murong Huan shook her head, "No, he's not."
The monitor continued, "Hang Feng didn't fill out the holiday safety guarantee form last night, and we haven't been able to contact him. I heard he's been with you all these past few days, so I thought you might know something."
Quan Le interjected, "We haven't seen that guy since yesterday, and he hasn't come today either."
At this, Song Yi furrowed her brow.
Hang Feng had said yesterday he needed to accompany his grandmother, but he never showed up afterward.
Today, because they were preparing his birthday surprise, they had casually announced in the group chat that there would be no tutoring, while secretly gathering here without him in the afternoon.
But... Hang Feng hadn't responded to their messages.
Song Yi checked her phone again to confirm this and told Jiang Yiheng, "Hang Feng hasn't said anything in the group chat for almost two days, and he hasn't replied to my messages either."
"Why all the secrecy?" Shen Yujing said as he took out his phone to call Hang Feng, "Why can't we just ask him directly?"
However, Shen Yujing's expression quickly stiffened.
He lowered his phone and looked at them, "Hang Feng's phone is turned off."
Everyone realized something was wrong.
Because they had been busy preparing Hang Feng's birthday surprise, his absence over the past two days had actually been convenient for them, but they had overlooked why he wasn't around.
Murong Huan worriedly said, "Could something have happened?"
Song Yi took out her phone and called grandmother, but there was no answer.
The study committee member, feeling awkward standing there, said, "Since you don't know his situation either, I'll go ask others."
With that, he closed the door and left.
Just as everyone was at a loss, grandmother called back.
Song Yi anxiously asked, "Grandmother, is Hang Feng at home?"
There was silence for a few seconds before the elderly voice weakly responded, "Yi Yi, Hang Feng... he's gone to attend his father's funeral. It happened early this morning."
The phone was on speaker, and grandmother's voice clearly echoed throughout the room, which immediately fell into silence.
Song Yi opened her mouth but didn't know what to say, only managing to offer a few words of comfort to grandmother.
After the call ended, everyone remained silent.
Today was his birthday, and simultaneously his father's funeral - that would be an unbearable blow for anyone.
Song Yi looked toward Jiang Yiheng, the most reliable person present, and asked, "Do you have the Xu family's contact information? I feel something's not right about this."
Jiang Yiheng, sensing Song Yi's hesitation, asked, "You suspect he didn't go to his father's funeral?"
Song Yi nodded. Although she had no evidence, based on her understanding of Hang Feng, she felt he wouldn't attend his father's funeral.
Especially not on such a significant day.
Jiang Yiheng hesitated before saying, "My parents haven't received any notice about this, which means the Xu family probably hasn't made this public."
It would be impolite for the Jiang family to call and inquire now.
Shen Yujing said, "I'll call Xu Che and ask."
Shen Yujing made the call, and this time Xu Che answered.
A cold young voice came through, asking, "What is it?"
Shen Yujing pressed his lips together and asked, "Is Hang Feng with you?"
Xu Che's voice carried a hint of mockery as he countered, "Why would he be here?"
Shen Yujing blurted out, "But isn't today..."
He caught himself halfway, suddenly realizing he might be speaking out of turn.
"Yes." Xu Che admitted directly, saying, "But with that scumbag's death, forget about Hang Feng - I wouldn't be here either if it wasn't absolutely necessary."
Xu Che's mood seemed terrible, and he hung up immediately after speaking.
But this call confirmed to everyone that Hang Feng wasn't at the Xu residence - he had lied to grandmother.
So where could he be? This became the new question.
Murong Huan took out her phone and said directly, "I'll have my bodyguards search for him right away."
Everyone felt they couldn't just sit around, so Jiang Yiheng, being the most level-headed, started organizing.
Jiang Yiheng said, "Study spots, libraries, his home, and his part-time work locations - all the places he might go, let's split up and search."
"Alright."
Everyone agreed and divided up different locations to search for Hang Feng.
Shen Yujing went to check all of Hang Feng's part-time work locations, and after confirming he hadn't been there, he stopped in his tracks.
Standing by the roadside, Shen Yujing ran his hands through his hair until it was nearly a mess, his face written all over with worry.
To think something like this had happened? How pitiful.
Hang Feng's father had passed away - who was also Xu Che's father.
The young man pressed his lips together, hesitated for a moment, then hailed a passing taxi. After getting in, he gave the address of the Xu residence.
Half an hour later, at the Xu residence.
As always, Shen Yujing acted like he owned the place and rushed in, completely ignoring the servants' attempts to stop him. He found Xu Che in the study.
The black-haired youth was sitting in a corner, his eyes cold as he looked up.
Two servants followed behind Shen Yujing, wanting to stop him but not daring to, and could only say helplessly, "Young Master, we... we couldn't stop Young Master Shen."
Xu Che put the figurine he was holding into his pocket and stood up, saying, "You may leave."
The two servants exchanged glances before retreating together, closing the door.
Xu Che sat down on the sofa and asked, "Why are you here?"
Shen Yujing's frown deepened as he walked up to Xu Che and said word by word, "Of course I'm here to fight you."
"Let me make this clear - I won't go easy on you just because you're in a bad mood."
*
Song Yi was responsible for searching for Hang Feng at school.
The security guard said that since it was winter break, no students had entered or left all day.
Song Yi picked up her phone, and messages from the group chat kept popping up, but they all shared the same news - no one had found Hang Feng.
It was an overcast day, the air carried a chill, and the wind kept blowing.
Even with a scarf, Song Yi could still feel the cold wind creeping down her neck.
Song Yi thought for a moment - this wasn't the first time she had searched for Hang Feng.
Last time was in... the alley where they first met.
Song Yi went into the bakery across the street, bought a small cake, then got a cup of hot milk tea, before taking a taxi to that alley.
However, it was empty here, with only the cold wind blowing fallen yellow ginkgo leaves on the ground, making it look extremely lonely.
A child poked their head out from behind a door, curiously watching Song Yi.
Song Yi asked him, "Little friend? Has anyone been here today?"
The little boy remained silent, just staring at her with his round eyes.
Song Yi pulled out a piece of candy from her pocket and offered it to him.
Only then did the little boy smile and say, "A big brother came today and sat here for two whole hours."
It must have been Hang Feng, no doubt about it.
So Song Yi thanked the child and tried calling Hang Feng again, but there was no answer.
Wait, no answer?
Shen Yujing had said earlier that the phone was turned off, which meant Hang Feng must have turned his phone back on by now.
So Song Yi didn't give up, making one call after another, and finally, after seven or eight attempts, the call connected.
The other end was quiet, with only the sound of breathing.
Song Yi anxiously said, "Hang Feng? Where are you? Are you alright? We've all been looking for you."
There was still no answer from the other end, only the sound of someone sipping the last drops of a drink.
Song Yi called his name again, "Hang Feng?"
A hoarse voice responded, "I'm fine. I'll be home later, don't worry."
Just as Song Yi was about to say something, she felt a chill on the tip of her nose.
She looked up to see snowflakes falling from the sky.
It was snowing - the first snow of the year.
At that moment, the call disconnected, leaving only the dial tone.
The milk tea in her hand had grown lukewarm, and perhaps because of the snow, everything felt colder.
Song Yi stood there, processing the information from the phone call.
What was Hang Feng drinking?
Ah... strawberry milk!
That particular brand of strawberry milk was only available at specific convenience stores, and the nearest one was less than five hundred meters away.
With this realization, Song Yi ran toward that convenience store.
It was nearly dinner time, and pedestrians hurried home with their umbrellas. The young girl's running figure didn't seem too out of place among them.
Snowflakes landed on her hair tips, shoulders, and everywhere else on her body.
They fell briefly before melting away, leaving behind their coldness.
The sky grew darker.
Song Yi hurriedly ran to the convenience store area and, sure enough, saw a familiar figure.
The young man was sitting in a blind spot with his back to the convenience store, perched on abandoned steps, his figure thin beneath his coat.
Song Yi breathed a sigh of relief and walked toward him.
At that moment, Hang Feng was looking at messages on his phone.
Many people had called and messaged him, concerned about where he'd gone. It seemed like many people cared about him.
This was a warmth Hang Feng had never experienced before, supporting him to stay clear-headed and calm throughout this day.
Of course, his red-rimmed eyes couldn't be helped - that was a physiological response he couldn't control.
Hang Feng naturally hated Xu Yuanguo, but the blood ties treacherously held him momentarily bound in emotions of sadness.
Suddenly, a hand covered Hang Feng's eyes from behind.
Hang Feng's body tensed slightly, but the familiar sweet scent in the air and the fuzzy gloves told him exactly who was behind him.
The girl's voice rang out dramatically, playfully asking, "Guess who?"
After a few seconds of silence, Hang Feng said, "Song Yi."
Song Yi removed her hand, speaking in a disappointed tone, "You guessed it already? Well, since you won, I'll give you a present."
Song Yi sat down beside him as she spoke.
Hang Feng lowered his gaze, neither looking at Song Yi nor rejecting her presence.
Song Yi busied herself unwrapping a cake, inserting candles, and placing it aside. After a moment's hesitation, she stood up and moved in front of Hang Feng.
She bent down, removed her scarf, and carefully wrapped it around Hang Feng's neck, making sure to wind it twice to keep out the wind.
Then Song Yi took hold of the young man's ice-cold, stiff hands and removed her own pink fuzzy gloves.
'Ice' was the only word in Song Yi's mind - Hang Feng's hands were so cold they made her want to shiver.
However, when he felt the warm touch on his skin, Hang Feng's heart jumped, and he instinctively tried to withdraw his hand.
But Song Yi held on more firmly, forcefully putting her pink gloves on his hands.
Hang Feng kept his eyes on the ground, his voice still hoarse, "Why did you come?"
"Ta-da~"
Song Yi lifted the birthday cake between them and crouched in front of Hang Feng.
She lit the candles and said, "Of course I came to celebrate your birthday. Quick, blow out the candles."
Hang Feng looked up at her, his usually narrow, indifferent eyes now tinged with red.
The girl seemed oblivious as she held up the cake, urging him, "Hurry and blow out the candles. Remember to close your eyes, put your hands together, and make a wish."
Hang Feng didn't follow her instructions, instead perfunctorily blowing out the candles and asking coldly, "Is that enough?"
"Yes," Song Yi nodded, seriously looking down at the cake in her hands, saying, "You didn't make a wish? How greedy. Well then, I can only wish that all your wishes come true."
Despite his outward display of coldness and stubbornness, the ache in his eyes grew stronger.
He looked at her and asked again, "Why did you come?"
Song Yi didn't answer this question, instead reaching out to wipe away the tears on his cheeks.
Her warm hand touched his cold face, her fingertips gently erasing the traces of tears.
Hang Feng didn't pull away, just kept staring into her eyes, as if searching for some answer in her face.
Snowflakes landed on Song Yi's eyelashes as she looked up at him with a smile, saying, "Don't cry, Hang Feng."
"Happy birthday, be happy."
