Playing billiards, Texas Hold'em, and watching movies, time passed in a blink of an eye.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, the cake was delivered.
Winter nights always get dark quickly. The afterglow of dusk gradually faded away, and the pitch - black night enveloped the earth.
Everyone pushed the cake to the first - floor lobby. Jiang Yuan was forced by Lin Suye to put on makeup. She walked out of the dressing room with Lin Suye, whispering, "I'm not the protagonist today. What's the use of dressing up so nicely?"
The real protagonist should be you, Lin Suye.
The cake for Jia Fang was dyed in a blend of pink and white. Two or three delicate rose sugar flowers were ingeniously placed on top of the cake, simple yet elegant.
Jiang Yuan was slightly stunned when she saw the cake. Her gaze slid towards Jia Fang. It didn't seem like a cake a boy would eat by himself. It was more like a cake for a girlfriend.
She just wondered when Jia Fang would confess his love.
Before eating the cake?
Lin Suye took out her phone excitedly to take pictures. She pursed her lips and smiled, "Oh, Jia Fang, the cake you chose is so beautiful. It's so girly."
"Are we going to sing the birthday song for Jia Fang later? I've already chosen the song and am waiting to play it," Yu Huan waved the song screen on her phone.
Jiang Kuo looked around. The number of people seemed wrong. After counting, he found that one boy was missing. It was Chi Xu.
"Hey, have you guys..." Jia Fang quickly covered Jiang Kuo's big mouth and lowered his voice, "Just act like you don't know anything."
Jiang Kuo nodded pitifully.
Jia Fang emphasized it several times before letting go.
"What's going on with you guys?" Su Kexin wondered.
Jiang Yuan looked around and suddenly spoke up in a clear voice, "Where's Chi Xu? You're about to cut the cake. Why isn't Chi Xu here?"
"Brother Chi? A family member called him. He went upstairs to answer the call. He'll be back soon, he'll be back soon," Jia Fang racked his brains to come up with an excuse.
Jiang Yuan believed it and didn't continue to ask.
It seems Jiang Yuan still cares a lot about Chi Xu. There were so many people and the scene was quite chaotic, but she noticed Chi Xu's absence at a glance.
Jia Fang thought to himself secretly that the chance of a successful confession should be quite high.
It was impossible for two people who liked each other not to be together.
The phone in his pocket vibrated. Jia Fang secretly took a look.
[forukyy: It's okay. I'll turn off the power switch of the whole villa later. You ask Jiang Yuan to go up and turn it on. I've made a mark at the entrance of the rooftop. She'll see it and go in.]
Jia Fang carefully replied with an "OK".
"Let's wait for Chi Xu. When he comes, we'll prepare to celebrate your birthday," Lin Suye continued.
Suddenly, the whole villa was plunged into darkness.
"Why is it suddenly dark? Is there a power outage?" In the darkness, Lin Suye shouted loudly in a feigned panic.
"Where's the power switch? Let's see if the circuit breaker has tripped," He Suyan calmly proposed a solution.
"It doesn't make sense. Jia Fang, where did you rent this villa? The quality is so poor. A nice birthday party is going to turn into a party in the dark," Jiang Kuo grumbled discontentedly.
"Everyone, be quiet. Listen to my instructions. Stop shouting," Jia Fang turned on the flashlight on his phone and shone it on the ceiling, faintly illuminating a small area around him.
"Jiang Yuan, why don't you go up and check the power switch and then send us a message. The power switch is on the top floor, near the entrance to the rooftop."
"Why should Jiang Yuan, a girl, go up alone? There are so many people here. How can we let a weak girl go up in the dark?" Yu Huan was the first to object, refuting the unreasonableness of Jia Fang's plan.
Su Kexin also wanted to speak up for Jiang Yuan, but Lin Suye quickly grabbed her and shook her head.
The other two boys present were also strange and confused, but since there had been many abnormal things today, they chose to stay put.
They guessed that Chi Xu and Jia Fang must be up to something.
"Well, um, don't we have enough people? And Chi Xu is also upstairs answering the phone. It would be even better if Jiang Yuan goes to check the power switch and looks for him by the way," Jia Fang's mind was working very fast this time. In a moment of desperation, he used Chi Xu as a shield.
Lin Suye spoke up for him, "Yes, Yuanyuan, the task of saving Chi Xu from the darkness is up to you. We still have things to do down here."
Jiang Yuan was speechless. In the dim light, she couldn't see everyone's expressions clearly. She vaguely felt that something was off, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.
"Fine, I'll go up and look for Chi Xu."
Jiang Yuan remembered when she was young, she went with Chi Xu to pay the electricity bill. Back then, it was the old - fashioned way of payment, not as convenient as online payment now.
She was shocked to find that Chi Xu used so much electricity when he was alone at home at night and asked him about it.
Chi Xu casually replied that he was afraid of the dark at night, so he turned on all the lights in the house, including the one in the toilet.
Later, as he grew older, Chi Xu gradually overcame his fear of the dark and could sleep with the lights off.
Suddenly, there was a power outage today. The huge villa was pitch - black, and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Jiang Yuan was a little worried about him, afraid that he would be helpless in the darkness.
Chi Xu was such a proud person that he definitely wouldn't want others to see him in a mess.
So Jiang Yuan agreed to Jia Fang. She turned on the flashlight on her phone and walked upstairs carefully.
As soon as she left, Yu Huan, Jiang Kuo and the others immediately surrounded Jia Fang. The four flashlights shone on his face, and they stared at him eerily.
Jia Fang's legs went weak, and he swallowed nervously. At this moment, he felt as if he had accidentally stepped into hell, surrounded by a bunch of evil spirits who wanted to devour him alive.
"What, what do you guys want?" Jia Fang barely supported himself on the nearby table and chair, trying to stay calm.
He Suyan gave a charming smile, "Come on, what are you and Chi Xu up to? I clearly remember that today isn't your birthday. Why did you specifically send Jiang Yuan upstairs?"
"If I'm not wrong, Chi Xu is also upstairs, right? On the rooftop?"
What to do when you have a roommate who is too smart?
Jia Fang had no choice but to tell them everything.
The moonlight outside the window spilled like water on the ground. Jiang Yuan walked forward on the bright moonlight, "Chi Xu, Chi Xu, where are you, Chi Xu? Can you hear my voice? If you can, please answer me?"
There was only her voice echoing in the empty space.
Could it be that the shadow from his childhood resurfaced? And was he fainted from fear?
Jiang Yuan thought something was wrong. She wanted to search for him floor by floor, but without any light, it would be a waste of effort.
So she decided to go straight to the top floor, to the side near the rooftop entrance. Jiang Yuan finally found the power switch and saw a faint light leaking from the rooftop next to it.
She thought it was the moonlight and didn't pay much attention.
The power switch was indeed turned off.
She pulled it hard, and the whole villa lit up again.
Just as Jiang Yuan was about to go downstairs to look for Chi Xu, she saw a sticky note next to the power switch.
The note said: When you get here, why not take a look at the nearby rooftop.
There was a red rose drawn at the bottom.