Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
There were a few messages on her phone.
One was from Yang Ruoxi. As always, she was right on time. âHappy Birthday, my girl! Such a shame I canât be with you this year. I am sending you a birthday song. Also, take this red packet. I Imow you donât lack money, but please accept it as a token of my affection.â
There was a message from Xia MO as well.
âWanwan, I made reservations at a hotel tomorrow. I sent out invitations as well. We will have a birthday party much grander than our wedding. Tomorrow, at 11 p.m., we will need to be at the hotel. I booked thirty tables. I invited your friends, some of my friends and some of the companyâs top management. Not only that, but I invited Luo Xi and Jian Jia too.â
Lin Wan was stunned. âBirthday party? You want to have a birthday party that is even grander than a wedding?â She thought she had heard wrong.
âYes. I thought of inviting all of Chenxinâs employees and business partners. However, I realized that that would require more than a hundred tables. So, I invited a few important people.â
âThat sounds so high -profile,â said Lin Wan. âYou donât have to do that. We can just have a small birthday party. Itâs good enough if our family can have a nice meal together. Also, why invite Luo Xi?â
âTo me, this is not just any birthday party. Everything related to you is of the utmost importance to me,â said Li Yanchen. âThe kids must think that too. They were too excited about your birthday, even Xuanxuan. Xinxin saved his pocket money to buy you a gift. As for Luo Xi, Jiejie was adamant that he wanted to invite Jian Jia.â
The three children who had been thrown out of the room were all standing at the door with their hands on their waists.
âBrother, you knock on the door.â Li Zekai elbowed Li Zexuan.
âJiejie, you do it,â said Li Zexuan. âYou are the youngest. Mr. Li will never get angry at you.â
âYes!â said Li Zexin. âDo it. Be bold.â
Li Zekai looked at his two brothers. âDidnât you see how daddy lifted me up and left me at the door?â he turned to Li Zexuan. âYou do it. You are taller than
daddy. He canât carry you. He canât even hit you.â
âThatâs right,â said Li Zexin. âBrother, you do it.â
âNo! I am not doing it.â
âFine!â Li Zexin stared at the door and knocked on it once.
Li Yanchen, who had been reading aloud from a card he had written for Lin
Wan, opened the door with an annoyed face. âWhat is it?â
Li Zexin pushed Li Zexuan to the front. âHe knocked on the door. He said he wasnât finished with his gift yet.â
Li Zekai nodded to support his brother.
âF*ck!â Li Zexuan cursed inwardly. Before he could come up with an explanation to defend himself, his two younger brothers had already pushed past him into the room.
There were numerous gifts on the bed.
âWow!â exclaimed Li Zexin. âDad is so generous! But why is there a card attached to every gift? So bold-fashioned!â
Li Yanchenâs face darkened. It was bad enough that he couldnât have alone time with his wife at such a late hour at night, and this kid dared call him old-fashioned at that. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âBrother, something is written on the card. What is it?â said Li Zekai as he moved closer to the gift boxes.
Li Yanchen sprang up and blocked the cards from view. He had written very intimate details on the card about their first time together. He didnât want his sons reading something like that. It would be worse if the words were read aloud.
Lin Wan also helped him hide the cards away. âThe cards are like⦠diary entries. They are personal. You shouldnât look at them.â
âOh, I am sorry, Auntie Lin,â said Li Zekai.
Lin Wan patted the kidâs head. âThatâs alright. Arenât you guys going to sleep?
Itâs late.â
âAuntie, I will go and sleep in a while. I want to tell you about this candy.â Li Zekai picked up candy and began telling Lin Wan about it.
âJiejie, there are too many candies. If you explain about all of them, it will take the entire night. Let me sum it up for you. Some are sweet, and some are sour, but they are all delicious,â said Li Zexin.
âItâs my turn now,â said Li Zexin. âMs. Lin, I engraved your name here on the zipper. â
âYes, I saw it,â said Lin Wan. âIt does look very nicely done.â She gave him a thumbs-up.
âAlright, my turn,â said Li Zexuan. âMs. Lin, there are words engraved on the necklace too. It was made by a craftsman from Italy. Here, let me show you.â
The three kids fought among themselves to talk about their gifts. Li Yanchen sighed impatiently.
âItâs already 12?.30 a.m. Go to bed, all of you,â said Li Yanchen.
âIn a while,â said Li Zexuan. âMs. Lin, look here, this isâ¦â
âThis is my room and my wife,â said Li Yanchen. âI order you to go to bed and not bother her.â He had no choice but to act firmly. They werenât listening to him.
âThis is my Auntie!â said Li Zekai indignantly.
âAn âAuntieâ is not as close as a âwifeâ said Li Yanchen. âNow, go.â
Li Zexin didnât expect his father to say something like that. âMom, tell him to let us stay!â
Everyone was speechless.
âMomâ¦â mumbled Lin Wan in shock.
Li Yanchen was pushed to the side by the three kids.
In the end, after listening to them at length, Lin Wan said, âThere are only four hours left till dawn. If I donât get sleep, I will have to meet the guests with dark circles under my eyes. I heard you all have invited your friends?â
âI invited Tutu, He Shuting, and Xian Yangyang,â said Li Zekai.
âI invited Preserved Egg and the others,â said Li Zexin. In addition to his three roommates, he had also invited his class monitor and a few others.
âRight. So, we have got to treat them all nicely tomorrow. We canât be in a bad mood with lack of sleep, can we?â asked Lin Wan.
âI didnât invite anyone. You guys better go and sleep,â said Li Zexuan.
âNo. You have to help me tomorrow,â said Li Zexin. âI invited Xiao Yi. If I donât have enough energy to treat him well, you have to help me.â
Li Zexin deliberately said this so that Li Zexuan had to accompany him. He didnât want his brother to stay back to curry favors with Lin Wan. What if he did something, and she felt partial toward him in the future?
Li Zekai was held onto Li Zexuanâs hand. âI have also invited around twenty of my friends. I canât handle them alone. I need your help, too.â
Li Zexuan was pulled down the stairs by his two younger brothers.
The room finally returned to silence. Li Yanchen locked the door. âI wonât open this door before dawn, even if there is a raging fire.â
âI feel so tired,â said Lin Wan. She fell on the bed with a thump.
Meanwhile, Assistant Qin and the others hurried to finish the decorations in the living room.
When Auntie Huang saw the kids coming downstairs, she sent them to their rooms to sleep.
Fortunately, the living room of the new house was not very huge. In less than two hours, the streamers and the balloons were up on the walls.
There was also an arched flower rack at the entrance. The flowers on the rack were mostly roses. On the walls were pink heart-shaped balloons. Some of them hung down from pink ribbons..