| Marry Me, I'm Super Well-Behaved [Esports] (MARRY ME) |
A certain emptiness in his heart was quietly filled. It took him a long moment before he looked up. "Why did you come?"
Chi Yu reached out and ruffled his hair. "To celebrate the birthday of a certain little one."
He remembered the last time at the restaurant entrance, when the other had also gently ruffled his hair with utmost tenderness.
The two walked from the school gate back home, where the electronic doorbell mechanically announced: "Welcome home."
When Ning Nanzhou heard it alone, it didn’t stir much feeling, but with Chi Yu standing beside him, it seemed to evoke a strange sense of belonging. Would he have a home from now on?
He lowered his long, delicate eyelashes, then forcefully lifted them again, gazing at the home that belonged to him.
The door opened immediately, and he froze at the sight inside.
The living room was piled with gifts of all sizes, resembling a small tree. At the very top was a gift tied with a red bow, swaying gently in the breeze from the door, making it look even more like a colorful tree.
The white-haired young man, who had never received so many gifts before, felt his throat go dry. "This is too much."
"Didn’t know what you’d like, so I bought a bit more," the person beside him said in a gentle voice. "Xiao Qiao and Lao Song sent some too. Xiao Qiao insisted on coming when he found out it was your birthday, but I didn’t let him, worried he’d disturb you."
Ning Nanzhou looked at the pile of gifts, unable to articulate the emotions in his heart. He pressed his lips together and said earnestly, "Thank you."
Chi Yu looked down at the young man.
He wasn’t in the habit of celebrating birthdays for others, but while Xiao Qiao could openly ask if celebrating was appropriate, this young man didn’t dare mention his own birthday.
At that moment, he had decided to give the young man the best birthday possible.
Unaware of Chi Yu’s thoughts, Ning Nanzhou was preoccupied with how to return the favor.
Chi Yu interrupted his train of thought. "Where would you like to go?"
Not wanting to take up Chi Yu’s time, Ning Nanzhou replied, "Staying home is fine."
Besides, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with home. Having Chi Yu with him to celebrate his birthday felt like the most wonderful birthday in the world.
Chi Yu ordered food delivery and brought out a prepared cake before placing a pointed birthday hat on the young man’s head. "Make a wish, birthday boy."
Caught off guard by the pink birthday hat and a candlelight flickering over the cake, he closed his eyes and made a greedy wish.
He wished for Chi Yu to be with him every birthday.
—
The food delivery arrived quickly, but it wasn’t pre-cooked takeout. Instead, a French chef came in person with ingredients to prepare the meal for them.
Wasn’t this too luxurious?
The young man silently calculated the cost and realized one meal equaled three months of his salary…
He was grateful that birthdays only came once a year.
As the two sat down to eat, a delivery call came through. The courier’s voice sounded over the phone: "Hello, are you available to sign for a package?"
He didn’t recall buying anything recently and guessed it was Chen Dongdong’s gift.
Remembering he hadn’t updated his address, Ning Nanzhou said, "Could you leave it at the pickup point, please?"
"This package is too big for the pickup point."
How big could it be?
Suppressing his curiosity, Ning Nanzhou politely asked the courier, "Can the address be changed then? I don’t live in the dorm anymore."
The courier agreed readily, so Ning Nanzhou didn’t dwell on it. Whatever gift Chen Dongdong had sent—be it a pink sweater or a cat brooch—as long as it wasn’t women’s clothing, it would be fine.
After finishing the meal, he started unwrapping the gifts when the phone rang again. He went to the door to receive the package.
Upon opening the door, he froze.
The courier was holding a package as tall as a person and panting as he spoke, "What did you buy that’s so heavy? I almost couldn’t fit it in the elevator."
Ning Nanzhou was also curious about what Chen Dongdong had sent. Standing it upright, it was even taller than him.
He instinctively glanced at Chi Yu on the sofa—it was about the same height as him.
He struggled to take the package as it keeps sinking downward the moment it was in his hands, so Chi Yu helped him carry it to the living room.
Ning Nanzhou took out a knife to open the package. Since it was tightly bound with plastic rope in the middle, he started cutting from the top downward.
As the cardboard was sliced open by the sharp blade, a section of black hair was revealed, resembling human hair.
At that moment, he sensed something was wrong. Worried that Chen Dongdong had sent him another strange item, he spoke as if protesting too much, "This package is too dirty. I’ll open it in the storage room."
After saying this, he dragged the package to the storage room and quickly closed the door.
He didn’t open it immediately but instead called Chen Dongdong: "What did you send me this time?!!!"
It was noisy on Chen Dongdong’s end—probably playing at a bar—and his voice sounded drunk: "Of course, it’s a birthday gift for my dear! I swear it’s the best gift ever. Have you received it? If you have, open it quickly!"
The best gift???
Ning Nanzhou immediately had a bad feeling. He hung up and continued unpacking.
First, pitch-black hair emerged, followed by equally dark eyes, a tall, straight nose bridge, and a well-defined jawline…
This was a perfect one-to-one replica of Chi Yu!!!
If he had opened it in the living room just now, no amount of explaining would have cleared things up!
A deep sense of dread washed over Ning Nanzhou. Along with the fear, he was troubled about how to handle the situation.
For items like the women’s clothing Chen Dongdong had sent before, he could just throw them away. But how could he dispose of something like this? What if someone picked it up and used it?
If he couldn’t throw it away, he’d be stuck with it. Yet keeping such a thing at home felt like sitting on a ticking time bomb!
Regardless, he repackaged the mannequin and carefully wrapping the face layer by layer.
Still shaken, he posted on a forum.
[OP] I’m the OP who asked about gifts last time. Today’s my birthday, and my idiot childhood friend sent me a custom mannequin of my crush. I was so scared I almost opened it in front of him. Now it’s wrapped up and stored in the cabinet.
[1L] Hahahahahaha! I can feel OP's breakdown.
[2L] Those kinds of mannequins are expensive, right? Your friend must be loaded.
[3L] What a devilish experience!
[4L] Am I the only one who thinks this is a great gift? Couple’s fun, you know.
[5L] The previous comment is way too perverted! OP’s crush sounds like an unattainable flower—how could he be into this? Though I fully support it.
…
He browsed the replies to relieve stress until he saw one response.
[23L] OP, didn’t you know there’s item information on the package?
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