Happy Birthday (2007)
English Title: Happy Birthday
Region: Hong Kong
Genre: Romance
Language: Mandarin
Director: Jeffrey Chan
Starring: Louis Koo, Rene Liu, Ruby Lin, Dennis Chow
Release Date: 2007-02-01
Every year on her birthday, Xiao Mi (played by Rene Liu) anxiously waits for an email that never fails to arrive, no matter the weather—an email sent by Xiao Nan (played by Louis Koo), a person she can never forget, wishing her a happy birthday. This time, under heavy rain, the email was delayed by 42 hours…
Xiao Mi and Xiao Nan were considered by their university classmates to be the couple most likely to get married early.
However, from their first birthday celebration together, it seemed as though their romantic fate had already been predetermined: during exam season, they both agreed to focus on studying separately, but secretly, each prepared a surprise for the other, wanting nothing more than to celebrate together. In the end, both were turned away at the door, missing each other as if guided by some inexplicable force.
Xiao Nan studied architecture, and his conversations with classmates always revolved around famous foreign universities where he planned to study abroad. Xiao Mi, despite having considerable talent in piano, never considered studying abroad due to financial reasons. She felt quite inferior in front of Xiao Nan, but he constantly encouraged her to study music in Vienna.
Xiao Mi was a girl who lacked security, fearing loss so much that one night, she asked Xiao Nan in his arms to only be "better-than-friends" instead of lovers. Xiao Nan, a popular boy, loved Xiao Mi wholeheartedly, yet he could never fully understand her thoughts. They were like two strange creatures—deeply needing and attracted to each other, yet unable to coexist.
After Xiao Nan went abroad for further studies, they broke up. Xiao Nan's subsequent relationships ended for the same reason: he was always absent-minded, his heart perhaps lingering back at Xiao Mi's home. On the other hand, Xiao Mi’s attachment to Xiao Nan deterred many men who pursued her.
Despite their ups and downs, occasional quarrels, and distance, they maintained a private friendship that was warmer than ordinary friends. Eventually, Xiao Mi went to Japan to study music. Surprisingly, Xiao Nan showed up in Japan to give her a pleasant surprise. That day, it seemed as though they had returned to their old days before ever being apart. But once again, as if fated, their happiness couldn't last long...
No matter how many partners came and went in Xiao Mi and Xiao Nan’s lives, no matter how often Xiao Mi claimed she wouldn’t marry Xiao Nan, their friends deeply sensed that Xiao Mi only loved Xiao Nan, and Xiao Nan only loved Xiao Mi. Someday, they would reunite officially.
But alas, what their friends hoped for never came true. One day, Xiao Nan announced that he was getting married. Only then did Xiao Mi realize that this time, she had truly and completely lost Xiao Nan forever.
Year after year, Xiao Mi would receive a birthday email from Xiao Nan, once a year. And yet...