For people who had climbed through the hell of the system, the idea of "celebrating birthdays" was quite foreign to them, especially for the invigilators.
After all, the time flow between each examination venue was not the same, even more so
between the examination venue and the invigilators' residence. It would often be early spring on one side, the rustling of autumn could be heard on the other. The invigilators come and go in between, they had long gotten used to it. No one would bother keeping track of "which day of which month of which year tomorrow would be' or how much longer till a certain day".
They never remembered birthdays nor celebrated it. Even in the present many years later, they were still unaccustomed to it.
Which was why on the 2nd, Gao Qi stared at You Huo's vacation leave in puzzlement: "Why'd he move his leave from the 31st to the 3rd? To stagger from peak season?"
Chu Yue: "What peak season. Probably so he didn't have to return to team on the 2nd, why else?'
Gao Qi: "Why not return to team, how could he not? What's the fun in staying home? I was so bored. I came back half a day earlier. No way, I'm giving him a call. A new round of system training evaluation starts in a few days, come on Get cracking! Go down and test a few rounds first, get a last-min boost in stamina and explosiveness—"
Chu Yue stopped him right away: "Did you come back drunk? It's his birthday today. Didn't he grant you a day off the other time you had your birthday too?"
Gao Qi paused for a bit and quickly kept his phone: "Oh, look at this head of mine, I didn't notice the date."
Chu Yue: "Anyway, why would he need a last-min boost in stamina and explosiveness, only you'd.
Gao Qi: ".."
"Alright alright I get it, 'm the lazy one 'm sorry." Gao Qi looked for his attendance column and put a "✓" under returned to team, he continued rambling, "how do you think birthdays are usually celebrated? I got a big group of people drinking with me the other time, and the day ended like that. For people like A, with no liking for food or alcohol..."
He thought seriously of the temperament and hobby of his superior as well as friend, and gave a light-hearted uncivil remark: "Would the both of them go to a shooting range and just shoot at 'each other for the day? They might as well return to team, at least the guns, ammo, and explosives are real, and on a larger scale too, thrilling."
Chu Yue: "..."
It's no wonder you've been single for years.
Despite the babbling, Chu Yue had trouble picturing them as well. What she had in mind was similarly in flames, as if the background of the two had always been like that But that wasn't life.
***
As Gao Qi and Chu Yue were chatting away, the two in the distance were driving towards a ski resort.
Much to the contrary of their friends' imagination, there was nothing dangerous or thrilling going on. The scenery outside had mountain passes along the pitch-dark jungle, the warmth of the car was just right, and a French song with its title unknown was playing.
They had made a reservation at the ski mountain in advance, but the journey was long, and You Huo was replenishing his sleep leaning on the window of the front seat.
Though it was said to replenish sleep, he wasn't really sleeping either, he just felt sleepy out of habit in a car ride and closed his eyes to rest.
The temperature got lower as they were nearing the ski field. The snow chains they installed on the tires when they entered the mountains were finally of use— it started snowing when they were taking the nth turn.
Qin Jiu was tapping lightly on the steering wheel, he squinted as he watched a layer of snow fall upon the windscreen, he quickly said to the person on the front seat: "Head Invigilator, happy birthday."
You Huo half-opened his eyes: "Why'd you say it again?"
Qin Jiu: "Oh, nothing, I was just afraid you didn't hear when I said it last night. After all, our Head Invigilator at that hour was in a rather... um, special state? It's highly possible that what I said was mis—"
Before he could finish speaking, the crossed leg of Head Invigilator moved.
"Hey, don't move when | drive, you'd have no driver if you hit me to death." Qin Jiu said.
"It's not like I can't drive myself if | hit you to death." You Huo sneered lightly. Though he said that, he still changed his posture and continued closing his eyes a while after.
Qin Jiu watched the snow falling before him become clearer and smiled.
Of course he wasn't "afraid that You Huo didn't hear last night', but rather, seeing the snow fall just in time had reminded him of a small regret he once had—
At that time, they were still in the system.
It has been said that both invigilators and examinees climbing through hell of the system never remembered things like "birthdates". Its a topic that has almost never appeared in any conversation, because they were fortunate enough to even survive. The word "birthday" did not mean any blessing in that environment, instead, it was ironic and meaningless.
People who stay long enough in the system would have forgotten the date entirely. If they can't even remember their own, how could they remember other's?
But Qin Jiu of that time was an exception.
He was an exception as he entered the system with a mission and a purpose. Long before he met You Huo, he had already read some information about the latter. Under the system's disruptions, there were things he gradually forgot, but he knew Invigilator A was bom in the winter, on January 2nd.
In the very beginning, the date was just a very small part of the background information, it had been irrelevant to him.
But as the interaction between them increased, as their relationship became more subtle and complicated, the two numbers eventually became significant.
Once, when Qin Jiu violated the rules, the one who went to the examination venue was not A, but an unfortunate and gullible person, Invigilator F or something, it was someone very uninteresting.
Qin Jiu was very much bored on that trip, he was obedient and quiet on the way to the
invigilator's district, much unlike his usual self, which made Invigilator F feel unused to instead.
It was until they reached the dock of the invigilator's district and heard the electronic voice announcing the season that Qin Jiu, who was still an examinee, suddenly asked Invigilator F a very odd question.
He asked: "How's winter like here?"
"Where? You mean the invigilator's district?" Invigilator F was confused, 'it gets cold?"
"It gets cold." Qin Jiu raised a brow and scoffed at the monotony.
Invigilator F thought for a bit and added: "Winter differs by the month too, its above 0°C in December, and under 0°C by January. There'll normally be a massive drop in temperature on the first night of New Year and it will start snowing past midnight.
Invigilator F continued to elaborate afterwards, but Qin Jiu remained deep in thought. Towards the end, he asked: "It starts snowing on the 2nd?"
Invigilator F was suddenly on guard: "What are you planning asking this?"
Qin Jiu: "Nothing much, I'm going"
It was indeed nothing much.
After all, no one celebrates birthdays in the system.
But ever since then, in the confinement room of the invigilator's district, he would occasionally ask out of the blue, "Head Invigilator, has it snowed outside?"
He had asked the question several times, but the answer would always be "no"
Except for that one time.
He noticed the dampness of Invigilator A's collar and asked: "Did it rain outside?"
The other replied: "No, it snowed."
If memories could be replayed, what would show in You Huo's memory would be the confinement room falling into a suggestive yet ambiguous silence, with neither of them
speaking.
As Invigilator A was not aware that at that moment, someone had wished him *happy birthday" in his heart.
But because the timing was not right, and the location was not right.
The confinement room was too dark, and some words sounded too silly, the wish was not conveyed, and became a small regret of Qin Jiu.
Nonetheless, it was alright.
Many years later, at the right time, at the right place, beside the right person.
There will come the chance when the snow falls in front of them, on the day of the 2nd.