Chapter 300: I Am Who I Am Today Because of You

"When... when did you do all this?" Chen Mo’s voice was tight as he pointed at the photo wall.

He had no idea when she had collected so many photos, let alone secretly put them all up.

None of this was here when he went to bed last night.

Su Yuqing gave him a sweet smile. "I’ve been secretly saving them for a while, and I also ’scrounged’ some up from your mom and Yuanyuan."

She pursed her lips, a little embarrassed. "As for the decorating... I got up extra early this morning while you were sound asleep. I’m glad I didn’t wake you."

"I went with your mom to pray for this Peace Talisman a couple of days ago. It’ll keep you safe for a year, so you have to carry it with you all year long." Su Yuqing handed Chen Mo the sachet. Inside was the Peace Talisman she and Chen Xi had secretly gone to get.

"Only for a year?" Chen Mo chuckled, taking the sachet.

"I’ll get you another one next year," Su Yuqing replied with a gentle smile. "Come on, let’s eat breakfast."

The living room was filled with the scent of toasted bread, the fresh sweetness of fruit, and the faint, unique fragrance that was distinctly Su Yuqing’s.

Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a gentle glow on the checkered tablecloth-draped coffee table. It coated the meticulously prepared food in a warm, shimmering halo.

Chen Mo’s gaze swept over the lavish breakfast, finally settling on a small cream cake decorated with blueberries.

Beside the cake sat a dark blue, ribbon-tied box—clearly the gift Su Yuqing had prepared.

"What’s this?" Chen Mo sat down by the coffee table, his curiosity piqued by the dark blue box.

Su Yuqing’s eyes were clear, yet tinged with shyness. "I wasn’t sure what to get you," she said, "so I prepared something a little... special. You can open it."

His interest sparked, Chen Mo quickly took the dark blue box. He opened it to find a heavy notebook inside, its cover thick and substantial to the touch.

"This is...?"

"I’m going to go catch up on some sleep. Wait until I’m back in my room before you open it." A barely perceptible tremor of anticipation and shyness laced Su Yuqing’s voice.

As Su Yuqing quickly fled back to her room, Chen Mo forgot all about the birthday breakfast made with love. He immediately and gently opened the notebook.

The first thing he saw wasn’t a photograph, but a collection of memories, handwritten and drawn by Su Yuqing herself.

On the first page was a small, slightly blurry hand-drawn illustration—it was of the stormy night she’d stood, a mess, at his front door, her eyes filled with panic and a hint of desperate resolve.

Beside it, in her elegant handwriting, were the words:

That rainy night that changed everything.

You opened the door for me, and with it, the path to a brighter world.

The next page featured a hand-drawn silhouette of his profile, focused and serious as he picked out clothes for her at Lin Yuwei’s shop—the time he told her everything was "90% off."

Beside it, she had written:

You said Aunt Lin’s shop was just for students, and I was silly enough to believe you. That was the first time I’d ever felt the ’luxury’ of being cherished.

Flipping further revealed sketches of them in various scenes. There was one of him explaining homework to her, sunlight spilling through the window onto them both.

Another showed his resigned yet indulgent profile as he bickered with Chen Xi at the villa’s bustling breakfast table.

There was a large group portrait from her birthday, showing a table laden with food and everyone laughing. The drawing was crowded with figures, a testament to the effort it must have taken. Beside it, she had drawn a tiny, smiling face with a tear.

And countless other everyday moments: the silhouette of him handing her a glass of warm water, the image of him giving her a ride on his bicycle down a tree-lined path, the focused look on his face when he cooked...

Each page held a fragment of a memory, a snapshot of an emotion.

There was the anxiety of her first days in this home, the warmth and emotion of being accepted as family, the sweet, secret joy she felt from his quiet protection, and a faint, hopeful anticipation for the future.

The writing was delicate and sincere, interspersed with cute little doodles. Tucked between the pages were a ginkgo leaf, a movie ticket stub, a pressed flower... These small, insignificant items had become treasured markers of her memories.

This notebook was a collection of the most precious fragments of time—of their meeting, getting to know each other, and being together—that she had carefully preserved. It was her heart, laid bare for him without reservation.

Chen Mo flipped through it page by page, his movements getting slower and slower, his fingertips trembling slightly.

The moments he had considered ordinary, through her eyes and in her drawings, were imbued with a warm, brilliant light.

He saw her sensitivity, her gratitude, her reliance on him, and... the deep affection that had settled over time, growing clearer with each passing day.

A powerful, indescribable mix of warmth and a bittersweet ache washed over Chen Mo’s heart, and a lump formed in his throat.

The last two pages weren’t drawings but photographs. The first was of a blushing, heart-pounding Su Yuqing snuggled in Chen Mo’s arms on the Ferris wheel.

That was the moment she had first felt the impulse to confess her feelings.

The other was a photo of them kissing by the cliff. Zhou Hao had accidentally captured the moment and shown it to Qu Danwan, who then secretly forwarded it to Su Yuqing.

Because Su Yuqing had specifically asked Zhou Hao and Qu Danwan to keep it a secret, Chen Mo had no idea this photo even existed.

The moment he saw those two photos, it was as if he was transported back to those exact moments.

The heart-pounding love he felt for Su Yuqing swelled, vibrating and expanding within him.

He couldn’t hold back any longer. He shot to his feet and rushed into her room.

Su Yuqing, who was supposed to be sleeping, was wide awake, nervously wringing her hands as she waited to see how Chen Mo would feel after reading her special notebook.

Chen Mo looked up at the girl before him. In the morning light, her eyes were astonishingly bright, filled with anticipation and a hint of nervousness, his own reflection clear within them.

"Yuqing..." His voice was hoarse, a thousand words caught in his throat. "Thank you for the gift. I love it."

"Didn’t we say we don’t need to say ’thank you’ to each other?" Su Yuqing said, looking at Chen Mo with a smile.

"But I can’t help it when I receive such an important gift on my birthday," Chen Mo replied, shaking his head with a small smile.

Hearing this, Su Yuqing suddenly took a step forward. She tilted her face up to bravely meet his deep gaze, the blush on her cheeks deepening. Her voice, however, was exceptionally clear and gentle. "Then I’ll break a rule today, too..."

"Alright." Chen Mo hesitated for a second before nodding with a smile.

Su Yuqing seemed to gather her words and emotions. She gently took both of Chen Mo’s hands in hers, and her voice, soft and trembling with a hint of nervousness, began to speak. "Chen Mo, thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for all the warmth and courage you’ve given me. This notebook... it records every day since we met. It’s my most precious treasure, and I thought giving it to you on your birthday would be the most fitting thing to do.

Because of you... I am who I am today..."