Chapter One — A Birthday Gift on April Fools’ Day

1. A Birthday Gift on April Fools’ Day

April 1, April Fools’ Day.

In the afternoon, sunlight slanted through the blinds of the old apartment, cutting bright streaks across the wooden floor of the living room. From outside the window came the occasional roar of scooters speeding past, mixed with the cries of street vendors. The entire old street seemed lively yet lazy.

But the Single Residents’ Commune was livelier than usual today.

In the center of the living room stood a small round table covered with a somewhat faded floral tablecloth. In the very center of the table was a three-layer cream cake with several colorful candles stuck into it. On the top, a crooked line of icing read:

“Happy Birthday, Sister Bao!”

Beside it, four crookedly written words said: “Stay Young Forever!”

“Who wrote this?” Sister Bao, Ji Baozhu, stared at the cake and could not help laughing.

“Me.” Liu Dingtian proudly raised his hand.

“You wrote it?” Sister Bao looked him up and down.

“What about it?”

“You wrote ‘Stay Young Forever’ so badly that it looks like ‘May Spring Live Here Forever.’”

The living room immediately erupted in laughter.

“I’m not a calligrapher!” Liu Dingtian rubbed his head and argued, “At least my feelings are genuine.”

“Right, right, the feelings are genuine, but the writing is fake,” Zhu Erdong added, twisting the knife.

“You two, cut it out!” Liu Dingtian pretended to grab Zhu Erdong, and the two immediately started chasing each other around the living room.

“All right, all right!” Sister Bao hurriedly reached out to stop them.

“It’s my birthday today. Don’t knock over my cake.”

“Don’t worry. I promise.” Zhu Erdong grabbed Liu Dingtian and pulled him back into his seat.

Zhu Erdong grinned foolishly and said, “Even if Big Guy knocks over the cake, I’ll put it back up.”

“Can you put it back up?” Lin Wanhua asked with a laugh from the side.

“If I can’t put it back up, I’ll just eat it in big bites,” Zhu Erdong answered seriously.

That sentence made everyone burst into laughter again.

In the living room, Sun Qing was handing out paper plates and forks, while Zhang Ningjing was busy arranging bottles of drinks on the table. Zhao Guanghua held a lighter and carefully lit the candles on the cake one by one.

The candle flames flickered. Sister Bao stood in the middle of the group, looking at all those familiar faces before her, a smile remaining on her lips.

She was unmarried and had no children of her own. But the people in this house had long since become the most important group of people in her life.

Some were noisy and playful, some were tough on the outside but softhearted inside, and some were so poor they could barely make ends meet, yet they always reached out a hand when someone else needed help most. To Sister Bao, this place had long been more than a rented apartment. It was home.

“Sister Bao, make a wish!” Sun Qing reminded her with a smile.

“Right, make a wish!” everyone joined in.

“Hurry!”

“Don’t let the candles burn all the way down!”

“Sister Bao, make a big wish this year!”

Sister Bao clasped her hands together and closed her eyes. She was silent for several seconds. In her heart, she quietly wished: I hope everyone stays safe and well. I hope this house will always be here. I hope...

She opened her eyes and blew hard at the candle flames.

“Whoosh—the candles went out instantly.

Warm applause filled the living room.

“Happy birthday!”

“Happy birthday, Sister Bao!”

“Stay young forever!”

“Hope you find a good husband soon!”

No one knew who suddenly shouted that last line.

Sister Bao froze for a moment, then picked up a tissue from the table and threw it over.

“You’d better find a good husband soon yourself!”

“This is the Single Residents’ Commune!” Liu Dingtian laughed loudly.

“Everyone here is single. Why wish only Sister Bao well?”

“Exactly!” Zhu Erdong joined in.

“You two!” Sister Bao glared at them with a laughing scold.

Just then—

Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

The knocking was not loud, but the laughter in the living room suddenly stopped.

“Who is it?” Sun Qing walked over to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, everyone froze.

Standing outside was an elderly man around seventy years old. He wore a clean gray jacket. His hair was white, and the wrinkles on his face looked like marks carved by the passage of time. He was not smiling. He simply stood quietly at the doorway. In his arms was a large bouquet of pure white calla lilies.

“Dad?” Sister Bao stared blankly at the old man.

Everyone in the living room fell silent as well. The old man was Ji Baozhu’s father—Ji Laoshi.

“Uncle Ji!” Liu Dingtian was the first to stand up. “What brings you here?”

Ji Laoshi did not answer. He simply walked into the living room.

His eyes swept over the birthday cake on the table, then over everyone in the room. Finally, his gaze stopped on his daughter’s face.

“Today is your birthday?”

“Mm-hmm.” Sister Bao smiled and walked toward him.

“Dad, why did you suddenly come? You should have called first.”

Ji Laoshi did not answer. He handed the large bouquet of calla lilies to Sister Bao.

“For you.”

Sister Bao froze. “Calla lilies?”

“Mm-hmm.”

She accepted the bouquet. The pure white petals looked especially elegant in the candlelight, and a faint floral fragrance spread through the room.

“Thank you, Dad.” Sister Bao smiled and lowered her head to smell the flowers.

But the next second, Ji Laoshi said calmly, “Two more years.”

The smile on Sister Bao’s face instantly froze. The air in the living room seemed to solidify at that moment.

“What... two years?” Sun Qing looked at Sister Bao in confusion.

Sister Bao said nothing.

Ji Laoshi simply looked at his daughter, his tone as calm as if he were reminding her of something they had agreed upon long ago.

“In two years, you’ll be forty-five.”

“Dad...”

“Don’t forget the agreement we made back then.” After saying this, Ji Laoshi offered no further explanation. He turned and walked toward the door.

“Dad!” Sister Bao hurried after him for two steps.

“Since you’re already here, have a piece of cake before you go!”

Ji Laoshi stopped for a moment but did not turn around.

“No.”

“But...”

“Remember.” With his back to her, the old man left her with only two words:

“Two years.”

With that, he walked away. The door slowly closed.

The living room fell completely silent. Almost everyone’s eyes turned toward Sister Bao at the same time.

Sister Bao stood at the doorway, holding the bouquet of calla lilies. The flowers were beautiful. But at that moment, in her eyes, they looked like an unavoidable notice of a deadline.

“Sister Bao,” Lin Wanhua asked cautiously, “what did your father mean by... two years?”

Sister Bao did not answer.

“What agreement?” Zhang Ningjing also walked over. “Did your father ask you to do something within two years?”

“Could it be that he wants you to pay off some debt within two years?” Liu Dingtian guessed with a frown.

“Or does he want you to buy a house within two years?” Zhu Erdong asked.

“Could it be that he wants you to get married within two years?” Sun Qing blurted out.

The living room instantly fell silent. Sister Bao raised her head.

“How... did you know?”

“Huh?” Sun Qing’s mouth fell open. “Really?”

Everyone spoke in unison.

Sister Bao sighed and placed the calla lilies on the table.

“Everyone, sit down.”

They all gathered around the table and sat down again.

Sister Bao was silent for a moment before finally revealing the secret she had kept in her heart for many years.

“This house belongs to my dad.”

“What?” Liu Dingtian’s eyes widened.

“When I was young, I never wanted to get married. My dad was very angry at the time. He thought that as a woman, I couldn’t go on living like this for the rest of my life.” Sister Bao gave a bitter smile. “Later, he made a bet with me.”

Sun Qing asked, “What kind of bet?”

“He said I could manage this house.”

Everyone’s expressions gradually became serious.

“But there was a condition.” Sister Bao paused for a moment. “If I still wasn’t married by the time I turned forty-five, he would take the house back.”

“What?” Liu Dingtian almost jumped out of his chair. “Take it back?”

“Yes.” Sister Bao nodded. “And we signed the agreement in writing back then.”

She looked at the cake on the table and gave a bitter smile.

“I’m forty-three this year.”

“In other words...” Lin Wanhua calculated. “You only have two years left?”

Sister Bao nodded.

“That’s right.”

The room fell silent.

Everyone instinctively looked around. The living room, the hallway, the staircase, the bedroom doors... Although the walls of this somewhat old house were already mottled and the wooden floors somewhat worn, to them, it was no longer an ordinary rental house. It was a shelter from the storms of city life for every one of them. If the house were really taken back, they would all have to leave separately.

“No!” The first person to shout was Liu Dingtian. He slammed his hand down on the table. “Absolutely not!”

“Big Guy, don’t get so worked up.” Zhu Erdong quickly grabbed him.

“How can I not get worked up?” Liu Dingtian stared wide-eyed. “I’ve lived here for so many years. It took me this long to finally find a place that feels like home. If Sister Bao can’t get married and we lose the house, where are we supposed to live?”

“Exactly.” Sun Qing nodded as well.

Sun Qing said, “If Sister Bao doesn’t get married, the house gets taken away... The problem is actually very simple.”

“How is it simple?” Zhang Ningjing asked.

Sun Qing said seriously, “Help Sister Bao find a husband.”

“Right!” Liu Dingtian immediately agreed. “We’ll all help Sister Bao find one!”

Sister Bao was both amused and exasperated.

“Do you think I’m a product?”

“Not a product.” Zhu Erdong said seriously, “We’re helping you solve one of the biggest matters in your life.”

“You guys...” Sister Bao could not help laughing.

Lin Wanhua thought for a moment and said, “Actually, you could go to a matchmaking agency.”

“A matchmaking agency?”

“Yes.” She counted on her fingers as she analyzed the idea. “Aren’t there lots of social events for unmarried men and women these days? We can accompany Sister Bao to one.”

“I’ll go!” Liu Dingtian immediately raised his hand.

Sister Bao glared at him.

“What are you going to do there?”

“Be your protector.”

“You?” Sister Bao looked him up and down.

“If you stand next to me, no man will probably dare come near you.”

“...” Liu Dingtian was instantly speechless.

Zhu Erdong could not help laughing.

“Then I’ll accompany Sister Bao.”

“You won’t work either.” Sister Bao shook her head. “You look more like one of the men who came for a blind date than the men who came for a blind date.”

“Then who’s going with her?”

Everyone looked at one another. Finally, Lin Wanhua slapped the table.

“We’ll take turns.”

“Take turns?”

“Yes.”

The more she spoke, the more feasible the idea seemed.

“I’ll accompany Sister Bao the first time. Someone else can go next time. There are so many people in the commune. If we each take a turn, sooner or later we’ll meet someone suitable.”

“That makes sense!” Zhang Ningjing nodded.

“And we can screen the candidates for Sister Bao first.”

“Right!” Sun Qing smiled as well.

“First, we can look at his character, his job, and his family background.”

“We also have to look at his appearance,” Liu Dingtian added.

Sister Bao rolled her eyes at him.

“What do you think this is, choosing a piece of beef?”

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Outside the window, the sun slowly sank toward the horizon. The last ray of golden light passed through the window and fell upon the bouquet of pure white calla lilies.

No one noticed that the candles on the cake had already been lit again. The flames flickered gently. Forty-three-year-old Ji Baozhu looked at this group of people chattering and worrying about her. Her heavy heart suddenly felt a little warmer.

She knew that the next two years would probably not be peaceful. But at least, she was not alone.

“All right.” Sister Bao finally smiled and raised both hands. “Then I’ll leave it to you.”

Liu Dingtian immediately stood up.

“I’m volunteering for the first blind date!”

“Get out!” everyone shouted in unison.

The living room once again erupted in laughter.

And the bouquet of pure white calla lilies stood quietly beside the cake.

Like a reminder.

And also like the beginning of a countdown.