Happy 13th birthday

"Don't be sad, there will definitely be a surprise tomorrow!"
On the early morning of April 25th, when I picked up my phone, it was already past midnight. I hesitated whether or not to send birthday wishes to Muzi, because she had mentioned before that she doesn't really celebrate birthdays.
"Mu Zi, happy birthday!" I sent it out with a tentative tone, but her reaction was completely different from what I expected.
"I'm crying. You're the first one to remember. Zheng Beifang, my disciple and my best friend, all collectively lost their memory today. We didn't receive a single on-time birthday wish."
"You said you don't really celebrate birthdays..."
"But regardless, how can there not be a single word of congratulations? Sigh, let's start then."
I comforted them with a mix of laughter and tears, and then started planning the surprise mentioned above.
Due to a full schedule in the morning, I placed an overnight order for a cake. This cake seems to be growing in popularity recently, maybe you have seen its image on your social media or the internet - a white cream cake with a circle of "pearls" embedded in the cream. The cake is also adorned with a string of feathers around its perimeter, and the feathers converge into a large heart shape behind the cake. The whole display is illuminated with fairy lights, resembling an angel with newly sprouted wings.
In class, it was inconvenient for me to make a phone call, so I kept communicating with the seller about the delivery progress through messages. Fifteen minutes before the end of class, I said hello to Zhou Island and quickly grabbed my backpack and flew out of the classroom through the back door - I had already made plans with Muzi to meet at the South Gate.
When Muzi appeared at the south gate, I had just rented a car: "Get in the car, go to the back seat."
"Wow, what is this? Is it a cake? It's so beautiful!" The view inside the car was dim, and I could only see the silhouette of a heart-shaped cake lit by a light.
"Can we go to Nan Yue for dinner?" When I didn't respond, it meant I was feeling proud.
"Sure! Let's go!"
We walked into a new Northeastern cuisine restaurant at Nan Yue. Before ordering, Mu Zi asked me, "Do you want to have milk tea?"
"Hey, you seem really happy today!" I teased her.
"Oh, you bet! Gotta shake off the bad luck from last night!"
With that, Muzi grabbed my arm and we headed down to the bubble tea shop. Before we left, she made sure to say to the owner, "Boss, we'll be right back in a bit."

If I remember correctly, it was from that day that we started ordering milk tea before the dishes were served, which became our routine when dining.
During the meal, Muzi took out her phone several times excitedly to take photos of the cake: "My best friend said she wants to treat me to a meal tonight."

"Sure, that's great! So let's go back early. However, we still have an activity after eating."
"Yes?"
"There are not many people at the arcade on weekdays, I brought Muzi here to catch dolls."
Woodson holds a small basket with two hundred game coins nervously by my side.
"It's out! It's out! Ahhhhh, brother, you're so amazing!" Woodson crouches down and snatches the doll that has fallen. It is a purple Star Lulu backpack, her favorite one in the whole place.
At first, I still kept count – one, two, three, four – until all two hundred coins were tossed. In the end, Muzi had an extra large plastic bag filled with spoils in his hands.
"It's all yours!"
"I have never seen anyone so skilled at grabbing dolls!"
"The claw machine killer is not just blowing hot air!" Our grabbing doll skills, both mine and another girl's in the department, have long been renowned, but it seems like Mu Zi rarely hangs out at the arcade and is unaware of it.
On the way back that day, Mu Zi kept laughing.
"How about it? Surprised enough! Still feeling down?"
"I'm not feeling down anymore. In previous years, I would just have a simple dinner with Zheng Beifang for my birthday. It's been a long time since I've been this happy!"
That evening, Muzi went out for dinner with her best friend, which made me unhappy because she posted a picture of a cake and a group photo with her friend in her Moments, but there was no trace of me in it.
I can understand her worries about Zheng Beifang misunderstanding, but it always makes me feel like hiding in the shadows. If she truly believes in the so-called sibling relationship, then why should it be something shameful? Besides, whenever my best friend and the cake are together, I can't help but feel a pang of jealousy, as if I'm borrowing someone else's happiness.
However, compared to what happened later, this was just a minor gust of wind, because a few days later a storm was about to come.