The scene was awkward for a moment.
Qi Ke swore that when she first started preparing this birthday surprise, she was truly doing it in secret.
She hadn’t notified anyone and had handled the entire process herself, including choosing the design of the flower wall, the flavor of the cake, and borrowing the key from Xiao Nan to sit in Song Yushi’s apartment blowing up balloons all afternoon. It was all her, alone.
But why would people come knocking on the door when the owner wasn’t home?
First, it was Meng Ying. OK, she was a teammate, so Qi Ke tolerated it.
Then it was Zhong Yi, for the same reason.
After that, Chengzhi, for the same reason still.
Later, when she opened the door and saw Sister Ming, she was already numb. She could only comfort herself inwardly, Well, Sister Ming isn’t an outsider!
Until finally, there was another knock on the door.
Qi Ke broke down. “Someone, anyone, go get the door!”
Meng Ying went to open the door, humming a song. She didn’t recognize the person at the door, tilted her head, and asked in an innocent tone, “Who are you?”
The person at the door replied with equal innocence, “Who are you?”
The moment she spoke, Qi Ke knew who it was.
The other members of Sweet Day also knew Ruan Xiangmeng, but they had only met her once or twice, and their impression of her was still that of a little girl in a hospital gown. The current Ruan Xiangmeng had a neat short haircut and was wearing a white T-shirt and black pants. At first glance, she looked like a refreshing young boy. She smiled at Meng Ying. “Ah, you’re my sister’s teammate, Meng Ying.”
No matter how slow she was, Meng Ying came to her senses. “…Ruan Xiangmeng?”
Ruan Xiangmeng slipped inside.
Her heart was weak, and she took medicine year-round. Her thin body carried a faint scent of medicine. Her harmless smile froze the moment she saw Qi Ke.
Qi Ke was also annoyed. “Why are you here?”
Ruan Xiangmeng spread her hands. “To celebrate my sister’s birthday.”
Sister. An intimate form of address.
Qi Ke felt even more displeased. But since she was here, she couldn’t be driven away. She had no choice but to send Ruan Xiangmeng to help Zhong Yi, and so they tidied up awkwardly all afternoon. Qi Ke received a message from the “spy,” Xiao Nan.
“The boss is on her way back!”
And so, the scene just now occurred.
Chengzhi pulled a Chanel long dress out from under Meng Ying’s feet and trotted over. “Captain! Are you in a daze!”
Song Yushi came back to her senses. “You guys…”
“We’re here to celebrate your birthday!” Meng Ying also ran over. “Lead singer, get ready! One, two, three, happy—”
“…birthday to you,” Qi Ke’s singing joined in perfectly. Her voice, kissed by God, turned the birthday song into a lingering love song, ringing clear and bright in the living room. “Happy birthday to you. Wishing you happiness and health, wishing you a bright future.”
Everyone: “Yushi! Happy birthday!”
Song Yushi’s gaze swept lightly over everyone. Sister Ming was dressed smartly, as if she had just dropped by in a hurry and would leave soon. Chengzhi raised her arms and made a big heart shape above her head, swaying back and forth. Meng Ying smiled foolishly at her. Zhong Yi stood in front of the cake, her palm a few centimeters away from a little girl’s crown on the cake, making a crown gesture, which she then brought to her lips and blew a kiss, as if to give the crown to her. Ruan Xiangmeng stood quietly by the window. Qi Ke—
Qi Ke was a mess.
Song Yushi felt a little like laughing. She didn’t seem to have seen Qi Ke in such a disheveled state very often. Even on the rare occasions she had, Qi Ke would have joked her way out of it.
But the Qi Ke before her now was just smiling.
Perhaps to properly decorate the room, she was wearing a light pink tracksuit she had dug out from somewhere. Her ponytail was tied up high, and not only was she not wearing makeup, but her face also had black and white smudges. She looked very young, like a girl who had just graduated from university and hadn’t seen much of the world.
Yet she was incredibly beautiful.
Their gazes met in mid-air, intertwining. The quiet air suddenly became charged with a romantic atmosphere.
Only their heartbeats resonated.
“Um…” someone carefully popped the pink bubble.
Qi Ke shot a death glare over.
A chill ran down Sister Ming’s back. She quickly said, “I don’t really want to interrupt you two exchanging flirtatious glances, but I have things to do after we eat the cake. How about you… stop for a bit?”
Song Yushi averted her gaze and said in a low voice, “Thank you, everyone.”
“What’s there to be polite about!” Meng Ying walked forward, completely oblivious to Qi Ke’s murderous gaze, and wrapped an arm around Song Yushi’s waist. “Even though Qi Ke prepared all of this, you don’t have to have eyes only for her!”
Zhong Yi: “Ahem!”
Chengzhi: “Ahem!”
Sister Ming: “Ahem!”
Ruan Xiangmeng: “…” Should I follow the trend?
Meng Ying was puzzled. “Do you guys have a cold?”
Song Yushi: “…”
Qi Ke: “…”
Qi Ke tied the balloon to a nearby chair and pushed the cake over. “Let’s make a wish first. Meng Ying, turn off the lights!”
“Coming!”
Meng Ying skipped over to turn off the lights.
It was already very late. The room, with the lights off, fell into darkness and silence. Occasionally, the faint sound of balloons bumping against the ceiling could be heard.
Then suddenly, with a “click,” a flame lit up at Qi Ke’s fingertips.
The candles were lit one by one, their flames flickering.
Zhong Yi pushed Song Yushi towards the cake from behind, her voice close to her ear. “Time to make a wish, Captain.”
Qi Ke put the lighter away. The metal was slightly warm in her palm.
She looked at Song Yushi.
She watched as Song Yushi clasped her hands together and slowly closed her eyes. The candlelight reflected on her face. Even without a crown, she was still her little princess.
Song Yushi opened her eyes and blew out the candles.
Meng Ying quickly turned the lights on. “What did you wish for, Captain? Did you wish for me to get rich quick?”
“What does it have to do with you!” Zhong Yi couldn’t take it anymore. She hooked an arm around Meng Ying’s shoulder, exchanged a look with Chengzhi, and while one distracted her, the other cut a piece of cake and shouted, “Meng Ying!”
Meng Ying turned her head and got a face full of cake.
“Ah—”
“It’s starting again, is it?”
“It’s a mandatory part of every birthday, who can escape? Captain, watch out!”
“Are you crazy, Qi Ke? You’re even blocking for the Captain?”
“Sister Ming, why are you running! What work? Let’s have fun together!”
“Little Sister Ruan over there! Oh, you’re sick, stay away so you don’t get hit by accident! Whoa! Qi Ke, who were you trying to hit? How did you get it on Little Sister’s face?”
“Sorry, my hand slipped.”
“…”
In the end, except for Sister Ming who had slipped away at the very beginning with the excuse of work, everyone received a baptism of cake. Even Ruan Xiangmeng, whom Zhong Yi had told to stay away, got hit thanks to Qi Ke’s occasional “hand slip.”
The few of them lay on the floor, panting as they stared at the ceiling.
“That was so much fun,” Meng Ying said. “Sigh, can’t I just not work and have money directly deposited into my account? It would save so much trouble!”
“One world, one dream.” Chengzhi shook hands with Meng Ying across Zhong Yi.
Zhong Yi scoffed, “You two are dreaming!”
Song Yushi hadn’t been hit much, but her face was the disaster zone. She ran a long finger across her face, getting a fingerful of cake, and put it in her mouth.
“How is it?” Qi Ke asked from the side.
Song Yushi nodded. “It’s sweet.”
Qi Ke was too lazy to lift her hand. Her tongue deftly swept around her lips, scooping up some cream. After tasting it, she agreed, “It is indeed very sweet.” She smiled again. “Captain.”
“Hm?”
“But not as sweet as you.”
“…”
The teammates who had already quieted down: “…”
Except for Meng Ying: “Qi Ke, aren’t you disgusting? Do you have some kind of ulterior motive towards the Captain! Such sweet talk! Why don’t you praise me for being sweet?”
Zhong Yi and Chengzhi exchanged a look, silently reaching an agreement.
They wanted to see just how long it would take for Meng Ying to discover the secret relationship between their Captain and lead singer if no one told her.
Qi Ke smiled and replied to Meng Ying, “Well, you’re not as sweet as our Captain.”
Meng Ying fell into an irrefutable sadness.
Zhong Yi looked at the ceiling and sighed inwardly. Honestly, why are you competing with a couple?
She turned her head, about to check the Captain’s reaction, but saw that Song Yushi had already stood up. Chengzhi reacted faster. “Where are you going, Captain?”
“It’s too sticky, I’m going to wash up.” Song Yushi looked at herself with disgust, heading in the direction of the bathroom.
“I’ll go too.” Qi Ke stood up.
“I’ll go too—” Meng Ying was also about to get up, but was immediately pushed back down. “Hey, Zhong Yi, what are you doing? Do you have it in for me today!”
Zhong Yi held her down and lowered her voice. “I’m your lifesaver.”
“Huh?”
“She really is,” Chengzhi said, eating an apple she had fished out from somewhere.
She turned her head and saw Ruan Xiangmeng sitting on the sofa, her eyes fixed on the bathroom. She smiled and said, “When they come out, you can go first. We won’t fight you for it.”
Ruan Xiangmeng was slightly taken aback, then smiled at Chengzhi and looked away.
Song Yushi entered the bathroom first. Seeing Qi Ke follow behind, she didn’t close the door. She turned on the faucet, letting the water run over a soft cotton towel. After wetting it, she wrung it out and slowly wiped the cake from her face in front of the mirror.
In the mirror, Qi Ke closed the door, turned around, and her gaze met Song Yushi’s in the reflection.
Song Yushi’s expression didn’t change. She wiped her face clean bit by bit, threw the cotton towel into the trash can, and then said lightly, “Staring at me like this won’t make my face clean itself.”
Qi Ke smiled, but still stood in place without moving.
Song Yushi couldn’t be bothered with her. She wiped the other places on her body clean. Once she was presentable again, she ignored Qi Ke and walked straight out.
She knew Qi Ke would stop her.
But there’s only one way out, Song Yushi thought. I can’t jump out the window, so I have to go past Qi Ke.
As expected, Qi Ke had no intention of moving aside.
Song Yushi raised her eyes and gave her a glare that was neither harsh nor soft.
Qi Ke pursed her lips, took out a royal blue velvet box from her pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then held it out to Song Yushi. “Happy birthday.”
Song Yushi didn’t move, just looked at the box.
Qi Ke grew nervous under her gaze. She touched her nose, opened the box, and explained, “It’s nothing expensive, just a ring.”
A ring on a necklace.
Qi Ke took Song Yushi’s hand, placed the ring in her palm, and then slowly closed her hand around it. She let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice, “You don’t have to wear it.”
Song Yushi’s fingertips twitched. The ring was cold, pressing uncomfortably into her palm.
“Just keep it for now,” Qi Ke said again. “If you miss me in the future, you can wear it.”
“Look, I have one too.” As she spoke, Qi Ke took out an identical box from her pocket. Inside was a ring necklace exactly the same as the one in Song Yushi’s palm.
She held the chain, then let go, the ring swaying in the air. Her tone was sincere and gentle. “I’ll wear it when I miss you, too.”
Then, Song Yushi watched as Qi Ke slowly put on the necklace. The ring came to rest at her collarbone, refracting tiny specks of light under the lamp.
Qi Ke quietly looked at Song Yushi.
Her eyes held a gentle smile, lingering tenderness, and boundless love.
When I miss you, I will wear this ring.
I’ve put it on.
I’m thinking of you right now.
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