Wearing heat-resistant gloves, Yuan Yi carefully placed the bowls of noodles on the table, making sure the soup didn't spill and the edges weren't greasyâperfect.
He sighed in relief, realizing that even serving noodles required so much attention to detail. Returning to the kitchen, he brought out the remaining two bowls, took off the gloves, washed his hands, and walked to the living room. "Uncle, dinner's ready."
"Mm," Song Hai nodded, walking to the table and sitting down. When he saw Yuan Yi still standing beside him, he pointed to the seat next to him, "Sit down."
"Thank you, Uncle." Yuan Yi sat down properly, passing the chopsticks with both hands to Song Hai.
Seeing Yuan Yi even hand over chopsticks with both hands made Song Hai's stern expression soften a little.
"The dishes are here." Yan Xi came in carrying two plates of foodâone meat and one vegetarianâboth looked good.
Yuan Yi was a bit excited. This was the first time he was eating a meal made by Yan Xi. The barbecue they had last time when they moved didn't count. The noodles were slightly soft, but the taste was fine. The stir-fried dishes weren't as good as Aunt Li's, but just the fact that "Xiao Xi made them" was enough to make up for it.
The meal was peaceful. Besides Song Hai glancing at Yuan Yi occasionally, everything else was normal.
After eating, Yan Xi went to wash the dishes, but Song Hai didn't agree.
Seeing Song Hai taking the bowls into the kitchen, Yuan Yi whispered to Yan Xi, "How about I go help? That way, your father might think better of me."
Yan Xi replied, "Are you sure you won't lower your impression in my dad's eyes if you don't wash the dishes properly or break something?"
Yuan Yi, who had already lifted his butt, sat back down. Although he didn't want to admit it, Yan Xi was right.
Hearing the sound of water running from the kitchen, Yuan Yi's nervousness returned. From when he entered until now, Uncle Song hadn't asked anything, which didn't mean he was satisfied; it was more like the calm before the storm.
"Let's go, let's watch TV," Yan Xi, seeing Yuan Yi sitting dumbly, pulled his hand and dragged him to the living room to watch a random TV show.
On the TV, the male lead went to propose to the female lead's family, but was chased out by the father with a broom, and the sound of the broom hitting his back made Yuan Yi stiffen. He looked around, but didn't see a broom or anything, only noticed a feather duster sticking out of a flower vase with a few rooster feathers showing.
"Don't worry, my dad doesn't hit people."
"Stop overthinking it, I was just watching," Yuan Yi looked away, "How did this turn into something about hitting people?"
Yan Xi replied, "If you hadn't been staring at the feather duster just now, it would have been more convincing."
Song Hai came out of the kitchen and, seeing the two sitting together, took a deep breath before sitting on the sofa.
Seeing his expression, Yuan Yi knew the main topic was finally coming.
"Mr. Yuan, do you use WeChat?"
Yuan Yi was slightly stunned, then replied, "Yes, Uncle, you can just call me Xiao Yuan."
Song Hai gave him a glance, took out his phone, and said, "Here, scan the QR code and add me as a friend."
Yuan Yi took out his phone and scanned Song Hai's WeChat QR code. He saw that Song Hai's WeChat name was "Da Hai" and obediently clicked to add him as a friend.
"How long have you known Xiao Xi?"
"We were schoolmates in high school. I saw her when she was a freshman, but she didn't know me back then." Yuan Yi put away his phone. "It's been about half a year since Xiao Xi and I got to know each other."
Yan Xi secretly looked at Yuan Yi. To make her dad think they were destined to be together, Yuan Yi told quite a far-fetched lie.
"Mm," Song Hai nodded, pausing for a moment. "I see."
Yuan Yi waited a bit, but Song Hai didn't continue asking. Instead, he started feeling uneasy. He had searched for many ways to deal with questions from a father-in-law this afternoon, so why didn't Uncle Song continue?
The TV show had progressed to a scene where the female lead, for the male lead, had an intense argument with her dad, and finally slammed the door, leaving a messy room and her father behind.
"Dad, you've been on the plane for so long, go upstairs and take a shower and change clothes," Yan Xi stood up and walked over to Song Hai, massaging his shoulders. "You look like you've lost a little weight."
"The food outside doesn't taste right, no matter how I eat, it's not the same flavor," Song Hai smiled. "But losing a little weight is good. You know, twenty years ago, I was quite the handsome man."
Yan Xi smiled and nodded. "Mom also says I look like you when you were young."
Song Hai smiled proudly. "Your mom is a great person. One of her good traits is being honest." He patted Yan Xi's arm. "Alright, you stay with your guest, I'm going upstairs to shower."
"Mm, go ahead," Yan Xi loosened her hands from his shoulders. "Get some good rest tonight so you'll have energy tomorrow."
After Song Hai went upstairs, Yan Xi looked at Yuan Yi with a smile. "Xiao Yuan, I didn't expect you to have learned how to lie."
Yuan Yi wanted to say they really had met back then, but remembering his own appearance at the time, his gaze shifted. "I said this so that Uncle Song would believe I'm sincere."
Laughing at his words, Yan Xi pinched his nose. "Lying will make your nose grow longer."
Yuan Yi grabbed her hand. "A longer nose would look even better."
Yan Xi held onto one of Yuan Yi's hands with her other hand, pulling his cheek. "Yuan Xiaoer, you're getting more and more shameless!"
"Cough." Standing by the railing, Song Hai watched his daughter playfully banter with another man, keeping a serious face. "Xiao Yuan, you're a guest, so feel free to make yourself at home. I won't bother you."
"You're too kind, Uncle." Yuan Yi quickly let go of Yan Xi's hand and sat down properly.
"Mm." Song Hai glanced at them and then turned to return to his room.
Yuan Yi sighed in relief. This time, he dared not continue playing around with Yan Xi.
Time passed, and when the clock struck nine, Yuan Yi hesitated for a moment and said, "It's getting late, I should be heading back."
"Mm, it's almost an hour's drive back from here," Yan Xi nodded. "You should leave early so you can rest."
Yuan Yi stood up, took a few steps outside, then turned to look at Yan Xi following behind him, and stopped. "Are you busy tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Yan Xi blinked. "I have to record a show for 'Things Around Us' in the morning, do a live broadcast for 'Midday News' at noon, and then shoot some materials in the afternoon. I'm not sure when I'll finish."
"Oh," Yuan Yi nodded. "It's quite busy at the TV station."
"Do you have anything tomorrow?" Yan Xi casually asked as she opened the door for him. "If you're busy, I can move my afternoon schedule to the day after."
"No, I'm just asking," Yuan Yi said, putting his hands in his pockets. "You don't need to come out, it's dark outside."
"Mm," Yan Xi smiled and nodded. "Be careful on the road, tell the driver to slow down."
"I know," Yuan Yi replied, walking out. As he walked down the steps, the cold wind hit his face, making his chest feel a little chilly.
"Yuan Xiaoer, you really have nothing going on tomorrow?" Yan Xi stood on the steps, her big eyes reflecting the light from the streetlamps, which made Yuan Yi feel a bit ticklish in his heart. He walked back to her, pulled her into his arms, and ruffled her long hair. "No, nothing. Your work is more important. You're wearing so little, why did you come out? Go back quickly."
He gently pushed her back inside and raised his chin. "You're grown up now, yet you still don't take care of your health. You really make me worried."
Yan Xi pouted, covering her messy hair, which made Yuan Yi laugh. "You look silly." Seemingly afraid she would tease him, he quickly walked to the car waiting outside.
Yan Xi closed the door and went upstairs. Song Hai was standing in the hallway watching her. "Did he leave?"
"Mm." Yan Xi nodded.
"Is that boy good to you?"
Yan Xi nodded again.
"Good, then." Song Hai extinguished the cigarette in his hand and turned to open his bedroom door. "Go to sleep."
"Dad," Yan Xi smiled playfully at him. "I'll always love you."
"Tch," Song Hai smiled, his chubby face lighting up. "Do you think I'll be jealous of a brat?"
"I know Dad is the best," Yan Xi walked up and hugged him. "Goodnight, Dad."
Song Hai patted her head. "Goodnight."
Back at his place, Yuan Yi lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. The wind outside seemed to be picking up, rustling the leaves. He sat up and checked his phoneâit was already nearly midnight.
He had maintained his early bedtime habit for more than ten years, yet in just a few months, it had already been broken several times.
Out of boredom, he opened his Moments on WeChat and saw that Song Hai had shared two articles titled: "Only one percent of people in the country will see this article: The treasures we carefully protect will eventually be taken by others" and "Father's tearful message: Father, a harbor where a daughter can always rest."
Yuan Yi trembled and, despite himself, didn't have the heart to like these articles.
Suddenly, his phone rang. The caller was Yan Xi. Yuan Yi immediately changed his expression. Yan Xi never called this lateâhad something happened? He quickly answered the call, his voice tense. "Yan Xi, is everything okay?"
"It's nothing," Yan Xi's voice was calm. "I just couldn't sleep and wanted to try calling to see if you were awake."
"I was already asleep, but you woke me up," Yuan Yi refused to admit he had insomnia. "Aren't you working tomorrow?"
"There's something important I haven't done, so I couldn't sleep," Yan Xi's voice carried a hint of amusement. "Yuan Xiaoer, happy birthday."
Yuan Yi was stunned, and after a long pause, he forced his voice out, "Birthdays come every year, what's so special about it? You should go to sleep."
However, holding his phone, he was actually smiling like a fool, and even the sound of the wind outside had become pleasant to his ears.
"I can't sleep. I can't find my bed right now."
Yuan Yi sat up on the bed and pulled the blanket off. "Where are you?!"
Thump, thump, thump.
He heard the uncontrollable pounding of his heart as he ran barefoot down the stairs, pulled open the heavy door, and saw the woman outside, wearing a thick down jacket and smiling with her eyes curved in a warm smile.
"You're crazy, it's so late, and so cold, what are you doing here?" Yuan Yi said this, but his body had already run out of the door and pulled her tightly into his arms.
His sleepwear was thin, and he was barefoot on the cold ground, yet he didn't feel the slightest bit of cold.
"I just told you, I couldn't sleep," Yan Xi leaned against Yuan Yi's chest. "I couldn't sleep, and I thought someone might be awake tonight too, so I came to check."
Yuan Yi's eyes widened, and he struggled to keep the tears from welling up in his eyes. He bent down and lifted her horizontally, blocking all the cold wind outside the door.
After placing Yan Xi on the sofa, Yuan Yi turned to close the door, then squatted down in front of her. "Silly woman, don't do such foolish things again. No day is more important than your safety."
"I know," Yan Xi smiled, ruffling his hair. "Go put on some shoes."
It was only then that Yuan Yi realized he had run out barefoot and wearing only thin sleepwear in the middle of winter, and yet, he hadn't felt the cold at all.
The room was warm with the heating, and Yuan Yi put on slippers and walked back to Yan Xi. "When did you find out it was my birthday?"
"You forgot that I often join them for their dungeon runs, and at times like this, it's easiest to get information from them." Yan Xi pulled out a small cake box. The cake was not large, about the size of a grown man's palm. "Ah, it got squished a bit when you hugged me earlier."
When she left earlier, her eyes looked so pitiful that she almost couldn't resist wishing him a happy birthday right then and there.
Yuan Yi opened the cake box, and though the decoration around the cake was slightly flattened, the words "Happy Birthday" were still intact. The cake had a sweet fragrance, and the baker had generously covered it with a full circle of fruit.
Yan Xi inserted the candles but then realized she didn't have a lighter.
"Do you have a lighter?"
Yuan Yi didn't smoke, and didn't have a lighter on him. Fortunately, the last time they visited, he had forgotten to take his lighter, so Yuan Yi retrieved it from the coffee table and handed it to Yan Xi.
They gathered around the coffee table to light the candles. After turning off the lights in the room, the orange-red candlelight reflected on their faces, casting a soft glow. Yan Xi tilted her head and smiled at Yuan Yi. "Should I sing you a birthday song?"
"Let's skip it, it might be a bit awkward."
"Then don't sing it. You just make a wish." Yan Xi thought for a moment. "But don't use up all your wishes. Leave one for me, so when my birthday comes, I can share one with you."
Yuan Yi held Yan Xi's hand, took out his phone, and snapped a picture of the cake with their joined hands. His face, which usually looked stern, was full of tenderness. "I only need to make one wish, the other two are for you."
For the first time, he wished that the wish he made before blowing out the birthday candles would come true.
When he was six, he thought it was just something to trick kids. But on his twenty-seven birthday, he wanted to try to believe in it.
Closing his eyes and opening them again, he turned to Yan Xi. "I've made my wish."
Yan Xi clasped her hands together and, facing the dim candlelight, made her wish.
"Done," Yan Xi opened her eyes. "Let's blow out the candles."
Whoosh.
The candles went out, and the room was plunged into darkness.
Yan Xi felt Yuan Yi move closer to her. He kissed her forehead, her nose, and... her lips.
His kiss was a little awkward, cautious yet filled with tenderness, gentle enough to almost melt her. He seemed so fierce on the outside, yet his heart was so soft.
Her little beast was truly the most adorable man in the world.
After a while, the light in the room returned. Yan Xi dabbed some cream on Yuan Yi's blushing nose and said, "Look, your nose has gotten longer."
You liar, your name is Pinocchio.
Yuan Yi stuck out his tongue to lick it, but he couldn't reach. He then picked a strawberry from the cake and held it out to Yan Xi. "For you."
Yan Xi took a bite and frowned. "It's a little sour."
"Sour?" Yuan Yi put the other half of the strawberry in his mouth and suddenly leaned down to rub the cake on her nose. "No, it's sweet."
"Yuan Xiaoer, do you know I specifically put on makeup before I left the house?" Yan Xi lunged at him, rubbing all the cream onto his sleepwear, and said angrily, "A woman's makeup can't be ruined, do you understand?"
"Don't you need to take it off before going to bed?"
"Stop talking and just eat the cake!"
"Are you mad again?"
"Hmph!"
At 12:30 AM, Yuan Yi, whose Weibo verification had changed to Chairman of Hengtai Corporation, posted on Weibo.
Yuan Yi V: The birthday cake tonight was very sweet. @Host Yan Xi
The picture showed intertwined hands under the dim candlelight, with the cake in the background, barely visible.