Although there is a two-year age difference between me and Lu Yinong, our birthdates are only one day apart.

I asked her how she celebrates her birthday, and she reminisced, "Since I turned seven, I haven't celebrated my birthday anymore."

I jumped up and exclaimed, "How can that be?"

On the pedestrian overpass, she held onto my waist and said helplessly, "Be careful."

I held her hand tightly and said excitedly, "Why don't we celebrate together? We can do it on your birthday, is that okay?"

She hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded and agreed.

That day happened to be a Saturday.

I booked a daily rental room, invited Zhou Te, Xue Shishi, and a few of Lu Yinong's friends.

We all went shopping for groceries and cooked together. It was lively and bustling.

Lu Yinong sent me a message in advance, saying that her teacher had something for her to do and she would be late, so we didn't have to wait for her.

Zhou Te's dad was a Cantonese chef and he was currently in charge of stir-frying the dishes. He directed his classmates to wash the vegetables and casually asked, "Why did the teacher keep her and not you guys?"

Those people laughed and said, "There is controversy surrounding Lu Yinong's future after graduation, so the teacher probably wanted to keep her."

I slowed down while cutting the vegetables and asked, "What controversy?"

They exchanged glances, and Xue Shishi realized something was wrong and said, "Didn't Lu Yinong tell you?"

Zhou Te observed my expression and said, "Don't keep us in suspense, just tell us."

He jokingly raised his spatula and urged, "If you don't tell us, I won't cook anymore."

Xue Shishi said, "Well, it's not a big deal, actually. Lu Yinong wants to go back to Yunnan to become a police officer, but the teacher thinks she has a better future in Beijing and wants to keep her here."

I said, "It's understandable that she wants to go back to her hometown in Yunnan."

Another person hesitated and said, "But, Lu Yinong wants to be an anti-narcotics police officer."

A sharp pain surged through me.

I cut the vegetables crookedly, and the knife cut my finger.

Blood immediately gushed out, dripping onto the Chinese cabbage, creating a stark contrast in colors.

Zhou Te immediately threw away the spatula and scolded, "Don't you have a brain? How can you be so careless?"

The classmates fell silent, understanding the situation, and went to find the first-aid kit.

After a few minutes, Xue Shishi poked her head in and reported, "No first-aid kit, we'll go buy one at the entrance of the community."

They hurriedly ran off, afraid of Zhou Te's anger.

As expected, Zhou Te was furious, saying, "You cut your hand while cutting vegetables. I told you it's because of your love-struck brain. Go, go, sit over there, I'll do the cutting."

I was ushered to the sofa, pressing a tissue against my wound.

The blood kept flowing, quickly soaking the tissue.

The door opened, and I looked toward the sound.

Lu Yinong stood at the doorway, holding a bag of medicine.