ah, big brother, I think you're doomed to fail! Anyway, we aren’t expecting much from you!"In an attempt to mimic the adults' speech, he spoke in a manner that was comical yet somewhat annoying.Thwack...Chapter 9: The Midpoint of the Birthday Party Confession Event

The red sun, twilight, streams of cars at intersections, and hurriedly passing crowds quietly flow by. No one knows what form these intersections will take in the future as the city transforms, just as no one can predict where they'll be or what they'll be doing a decade from now.

Unknown futures bring a sense of awe along with anticipation; perhaps there's also a tinge of melancholy due to dissatisfaction with their current lives. However, for Su Cen, the events he experiences are altered and evolve unpredictably because of his involvement. His future is as unknown to him as it would be to anyone else, yet he doesn't fear it. Instead, he sees himself like a farmer辛勤耕耘，努力地開墾，在某個時刻能夠收穫一片片燦爛的瓜果稻田，迎風起舞。

When Su Cen arrived at the restaurant's entrance, he saw Xiao Yunyun and her group of friends waiting below, with both boys and girls present. Chen Lingshan and the boy Su Cen had previously seen were also among them, making the world feel small.

"Happy birthday," said Su Cen with a slight smile.

"Mm-hmm, I really wonder what gift you'll give me" Xiao Yunyun approached as soon as she saw Su Cen, accepting the neatly wrapped box from him and smiling cheerfully.

Su Cen then looked at Chen Lingshan, "Why are you... "

Chen Lingshan gave a playful smile, "Haha, Xiao Yunyun and I have been good friends since junior high school. How could I miss her birthday"

Xiao Yunyun then introduced everyone one by one to Su Cen. The boy seen with Chen Lingshan earlier was named Gao Fan, a student in the second year of senior high from a family connected to the municipal government department and someone Xiao Yunyun had known since childhood.

Gao Fan greeted Su Cen politely but indifferently, then glanced at Chen Lingshan nearby as if saying, "Oh, he's Su Cen."

Chen Lingshan ignored his look and warmly greeted the girls introduced by Xiao Yunyun. They were all former students of First High School and had met before; now they were simply more familiar.

Xiao Yunyun then pointed at both of them, "It's quite a surprise that you two came together today. How did you end up in the same taxi"

Su Can noticed that Chen Lingshan looked at him with an additional hint of nervousness due to Xiao Yunchun's words.

Gao Fan proudly said, "Today just happens to be your birthday. I coincidentally made plans with Lingshan to go shopping for clothes and bought you a gift as well. Since I don't know what girls like, I had to ask someone for advice. It’s not much of a present; it's just a silver bracelet from Romantique House. Do you like it"

The mention of the bracelet from Romantique House caused some of the nearby girls to take notice. Romantique House was one of Xiahai's earliest specialty stores for women’s gifts, and its items were somewhat similar to those sold in modern gift shops dedicated to female products. Girls who frequently shopped there naturally enjoyed visiting it often. The necklaces and jewelry at Romantique House were always quite expensive, especially the silver princess series, with each piece ranging from forty to sixty yuan. At that time, this price was already a significant burden for students.

No one would openly reveal what their wrapped gift contained, but Gao Fan's hint clearly aimed to showcase his gift and demonstrate his desire to impress. He wanted to stand out in every aspect, including presenting an elegant yet substantial bracelet. Giving such a bracelet to Xiao Yunchun, the class flower of Grade 10, would indeed boost his sense of accomplishment.

As a result, Wang An Dong and Nie Hai felt rather hesitant. They were worried that after Xiao Yunchun opened their gifts, she might find them inferior compared to Gao Fan's gift, significantly lowering their status in her eyes.

However, even without the gift as an indicator, they were aware of their current situation and didn't see any point in competing with someone like Gao Fan, who was famous throughout the grade. Consequently, Wang An Dong and Nie Hai began to ingratiate themselves with Su Can, forming a united front against Gao Fan. In their view, it seemed that Su Can shared their feelings of resentment towards Gao Fan's position in Xiao Yunchun’s heart.

In the elegantly decorated private room of the restaurant, Gao Fan became the center of attention. He was known as a leader both within and outside his class for his eloquence and charm, which kept many girls giggling throughout the meal, further uniting Wang An Dong's group against him.

However, Su Can didn't share their confrontational attitude towards Gao Fan; he found the boy clever and articulate, knowing how to win people over. Although somewhat boastful and liking to be the center of attention, there was nothing particularly disagreeable about his personality.

Su Can remained mostly silent during the meal, observing these high school seniors from ten years ago. His initial hypothesis that Chen Lingshan and Gao Fan were a couple turned out to be incorrect, but it was clear that Gao Fan had strong feelings for her. Chen Lingshan seemed uncertain about his advances; as an outstanding girl much admired by others, even someone as prominent in the grade like Gao Fan would find it difficult to win her over easily. Yet it was evident that Gao Fan's pursuit was intense.

Halfway through the meal, Gao Fan switched topics and said, "Yunchun, do you remember when we moved away Your father was still a section chief then, right How is he doing now Isn’t he quite an official at the Construction Bureau"

Gao Fan's father used to be a colleague of Xiao Fei in the Construction Bureau’s Town and Village Section but later transferred nearby counties. He returned three years ago and still held only a deputy section chief position, currently seeking promotion to head of the newly established Planning Division. Gao Fan was planning to help his father with this.

"Oh, my dad I’m not very clear about his work... but he might be the director at the city's tendering office now..." Xiao Yunchun glanced at Su Can before continuing her response.

"Oh, that's quite a high-ranking official... It has been so long since we last met. I should really pay Uncle Xiao a visit later; it might even lead to our family hosting yours for dinner someday! My dad also wants to catch up with your father!"

The banquet at the restaurant concluded, and everyone headed towards today's main event—Xiao Yunyun’s home.

Seeing his maternal grandfather's familiar courtyard, Su Can couldn't help but smile wryly. From being a child that both Xiao Yunyun's parents and many of the adults in the compound feared to how his maternal uncle was now firmly in charge of the compound—and without any resistance from Xiao Fei, who instead warmly invited him to attend the birthday party—Su Can found it hard to believe how different things were. It really was a matter of reality.

This was the first time Su Can had entered Xiao Yunyun’s home; an expansive 180-square-meter apartment that was spacious and bright, with modest yet tasteful decor. This standard would have been impressive at the time, but when compared to future smart homes, it seemed somewhat lacking.

Xiao Yunyun's parents greeted everyone at the door with smiles, and Xiao Fei’s eyes lit up when he saw Su Can.

Given his character, there was no way that Xiao Fei would personally welcome these children; he simply wanted to see Su Can.

When Su Can entered, Xiao Yunyun's mother also threw her daughter a praising look.

The fruit platters and cake were all set up properly, making the atmosphere lively once again.

Su Can stepped into Xiao Fei’s study, shut the door behind him, and spoke with him inside. This left everyone outside confused as to what was being discussed.

Actually, Xiao Fei didn’t say much to Su Can; he just chatted casually while subtly probing about his thoughts regarding his maternal uncle. Xiao Fei still treated Su Can like a high school student and this made Su Can inwardly chuckle. He pretended to innocently divulge some of Ceng Quanming’s opinions and thoughts, although half the time it was fabricated, and he deliberately mimicked his maternal uncle's sighs: "He often says, 'I am quite confident in Xiao Fei's abilities, but... Sigh, with so many past grievances accumulated, it's inevitable that he would harbor resentment...'"

"Your Uncle really said such things!" Surprise flashed in Xiao Fei’s eyes, mixed with a hint of disbelief. How could Ceng Quanming confide this to Su Can

“Yeah, I overheard him talking about it with Auntie not long ago. Uncle Xiao... what past grievances are we referring to” Su Can feigned interest.

"Oh, no, nothing... My uncle's temperament is such that he had a few normal professional disagreements with Uncle Xiao in the past. Hehe, he just can’t let go of small stuff; did I really think he would hold a grudge" Xiao Fei laughed heartily as he patted Su Can's shoulder. His mind was already at ease. Recently, he indeed hadn't been doing much and Zeng Quanming had ignored him, which made him uneasy. Now that he heard what Su Can said, he believed it to be 70-80% true.

After Su Can left, Xiao Fei was already contemplating whether he should lower his stance and apologize to Zeng Quanming over a drink, to settle their past grievances with a laugh. After all, although they had been at odds for so long, they had also worked together for many years towards common goals and knew each other well. Such situations weren't as common nowadays.

When Su Can left Xiao Fei's study, Gao Fan couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. He had just mentioned to Xiao Fei that his father wanted to invite him over, and Xiao Fei merely nodded in response. Now he was spending an entire afternoon with an unknown person like Su Can, which made Gao Fan slightly uncomfortable.

Sitting on the couch, Xiao Yunchun noticed her mother smiling more often, realizing that progress had been made between Su Can and her father. She whispered to Su Can, "Thank you."

Su Can was taken aback for a moment; Xiao Yunchun's face flushed slightly as well. Through these days, she naturally understood her father’s concerns and the reason behind his attention towards Su Can was more about resolving their worries rather than truly wanting to pursue him romantically. Seeing that their home worries had been resolved, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat guilty towards Su Can.

Su Can thought it over and understood that Xiao Yunchun’s gratitude wasn’t necessarily out of romantic interest, so he didn’t blame her for having ulterior motives.

Su Can was also aware of his own situation: his academic performance in class five wasn't outstanding, and his family background was far from impressive. Even though his uncle was the head of the construction bureau, it had no bearing on him. Furthermore, he hadn’t grown tall yet, making him look anything but a prince charming type. It was unlikely that Xiao Yunchun would suddenly take an interest in him just because of his composition being praised by a central journalist and the mayor.

This wasn't a drama or a novel where he could expect countless girls to fawn over him from the moment he appeared.

Most people, like Xiao Yunchun, would have their own agendas.

This couldn't be blamed on Xiao Yunchun; girls who grew up in official quarters often matured early and that was normal.

This was just life, very realistic yet somewhat helpless.

Ultimately, before he had transformed into something greater, he remained the ugly duckling. He quietly waited in the most inconspicuous corner, looking forward to the moment when dawn would break through the darkness and spread across the sky.to officials from the Ministry of Water Resources who had underestimated the likelihood of significant flooding over the next three years, causing them to be rattled.Flood control became the central t...