When Shi Youxi woke up, it was already past ten o'clock. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the room filled with flickering candlelight.

He stared at the flickering sparks, somewhat dazed. A pale pink cake sat in the center, topped with only a daffodil and an unlit candle.

"You're finally awake." Mu Yiran was sitting cross-legged on the sofa watching TV. Hearing the noise, she came over in her slippers. "You can sleep quite a lot. You slept all day. Even the doctor came to see you just now. He thought you had passed out again."

"..." Shi Youxi hadn't heard her speak to him for a long time. Her words were casual and full of unconscious intimacy. He sat up straight and stared at her without blinking. "Sister is sleeping very well. It makes me want to sleep too."

Seeing Mu Yiran drinking chocolate milk, he also went over to try some.

Mu Yiran immediately grabbed his chin, "You can't drink!"

“Today is my birthday.” Shi Youxi puffed out her chin.

“You can’t drink on your birthday. If you drink even one sip, all the water you drank today will have been wasted.” Mu Yiran remained unmoved and placed the nutritional meal in front of her. “Eat first, then take your medicine. We can talk about the rest later.”

Shi Youxi didn't move until Mu Yiran casually put something into his bowl, then he started eating.

The two of them, one serving food to the other, waited expectantly for the food to be placed on his spoon before eating.

Mu Yiran ate very slowly with her left hand, and it took them an hour to finish their meal and take their medicine.

Instead of calling someone in to clear the plates, she moved the cake out and lit the candles.

Separated by candlelight, the two could see the reflections in each other's eyes. Mu Yiran lowered her eyes first, "Let's make a wish and blow out the candles."

Shi Youxi looked at the face illuminated by the light in front of him. He could clearly see himself reflected in the woman's eyes, which were filled with him. Suddenly, he didn't want the candlelight to go out.

"Anything is allowed?" he asked.

Mu Yiran's nose was slightly red from the firelight. She nodded, "Today, you can promise anything today."

"..."

Shi Youxi hooked his arm around hers, his eyes scrutinizing her. Mu Yiran wrapped her hand around his mischievous fingers. "Should I allow it or not? If not, it'll be past midnight. The doctor said I can't stay up late!"

Shi Youxi laughed, her eyes narrowed with laughter, and she squeezed Mu Yiran's palm open with her own to interlock their fingers.

"Yes, I promise right now."

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes.

11:35 PM.

When others make a wish, they clench their hands tightly, but he did something else, half-pulling Mu Yiran's hand while muttering incantations in a breathy voice, blowing all the air onto Mu Yiran's hand.

It lasted for a short, yet somewhat long, minute or so.

Seeing him open his eyes, Mu Yiran didn't say anything, nor did she care whether he blew out the candles or not. She just took out the box she had prepared beforehand. It was the watch that she should have given him last time. It had been kept in her handbag. Shi Youxi had picked it up for her. It had never been opened and was just placed in the dressing room of that villa.

The watch was taken out, its black diamonds perfectly defined and sparkling. Shi Youxi's eyes widened as he followed Mu Yiran as she took out the watch and put it on his wrist.

Mu Yiran fastened the watch strap. It was difficult for her to do it with one hand, so she was very slow. Shi Youxi waited, and she carefully turned over his injured right hand.

"It really looks great."

Mu Yiran looked up and said earnestly, "Happy birthday, Shi Youxi. I wish you a happy birthday today."

The boy couldn't help but laugh, raising his hand high and twisting his wrist again and again, even though the action would aggravate the wound on his forearm, he still had a great time twisting it.

He even pulled out his phone, took a bunch of pictures of the watch without looking at them, and sent them all to Guan Shiyan.

Mu Yiran watched him beam with the smug, childlike joy of receiving a gift, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips, even though her heart ached. "Do you like it?"

Shi Youxi immediately threw her phone aside and pressed down on Mu Yiran's left hand, saying, "I like it, I like it very much."

“I like whatever you give me. This was made by my sister, just for me. From now on, I will only wear this.”

11:45 PM.

"Are you happy now? Are you joyful?" Mu Yiran asked again.

Shi Youxi finished fiddling with the watch and his thoughts returned to her. Hearing her question, he rested his hand on his cheek and said, "Sister, are you planning to do something I don't know about?"

"You've asked me twice whether I'm happy today. Why do you ask that?"

"Does that mean I'll be unhappy after today?"

"..."

Mu Yiran took a sip from the glass, then started cutting the cake, scooping out a small piece for herself from the edge, and casually said, "I was just asking how you feel about your birthday today."

"It's like how the cook always asks if the food is good today."

"After all, this is the first time I've ever thrown someone a birthday party."

Shi Youxi rubbed her little finger, which was getting in the way of Mu Yiran eating cake. He got a slap for it, which made him feel a little better.

"It's quite enjoyable... but not enough."

"Does my sister want me to be even happier?" he asked, his eyes gleaming with a captivating allure.

Mu Yiran nodded, deliberately emphasizing, "Yes, because today is your birthday."

Shi Youxi raised an eyebrow, her doubts disappearing. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly leaned back against the headboard. "Hmm... I'm already very happy to have received a birthday present. But since you want to, even though I can't move yet, it's not impossible for you to do it."

Mu Yiran felt something was off as she listened, "...What are you moving?"

Shi Youxi grabbed her left hand and placed it around his neck, supporting her right hand with his other hand, completely embracing her.

I just looked up at her like that.

Mu Yiran tensed her legs to avoid pressing on him, and heard his low voice in her ear:

"Sister, come up here and do it yourself."

“…”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the splint he was holding came flying at him!

Shi Youxi laughed and blocked it, "I was just kidding. It's fine if you hit me, but it'll hurt you."

11:50 PM.

Shi Youxi looked at the woman with a cold face slicing through the cake and said, "Making me happy is very simple."

Mu Yiran, with her mouth full of cream, glanced at him furtively.

"Spend my birthday with me, blow out the candles, wish me a happy birthday, and..."

Before she could even swallow the cake in her mouth, Mu Yiran's vision blurred as she looked at the face that was touching her nose.

Shi Youxi took a peck, then couldn't resist probing inside. The icy cream grew hotter and hotter, then melted.

Shi Youxi stepped back a little, and both of them smelled sweet breath.

"And kiss me."

"..."

There might have been alcohol added to the cake, probably by Guan Shiyan on purpose, so that Shi Youxi could smell it but not eat it. Shi Youxi felt hot and a little dizzy, but he didn't stop.

Mu Yiran choked up; the cream she swallowed turned into lava, rolling through her organs, but she could only keep swallowing.

“Kiss me,” he said.

Give him a kiss.

Mu Yiran cupped his face in her hands, and under his shocked yet secretly delighted gaze, she leaned in for a second time, kissed him, and then pulled away, saying, "Happy birthday, Shi Youxi."

He pressed himself against her again, but this time Shi Youxi didn't let her back down. He grabbed the back of the woman's neck and forcefully twisted himself inside her.

Mu Yiran's unfinished words were interrupted, "Happy birthday... Shi Youxi... I wish you... happiness every day from now on."

Shi Youxi stepped back for a moment, panting slightly as she gave her answer clearly, stubbornly, and resolutely:

"As long as you are with me and by my side, I will be very happy."

The long, lingering kiss seemed to be etched into each other's bodies, leaving an indelible mark of that soul-stirring moment, one that they would never forget, even after parting.

It's midnight now, the 22nd has passed.

Shi Youxi didn't know when he lost his strength. He actually kissed himself until he was the first to collapse. Even though he hadn't taken his medicine for the day, the lingering effect of the medicine wore off, and the feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.

He lay on the bed, holding Mu Yiran tightly, but the woman easily broke free from his embrace.

Mu Yiran tried her best to keep her face calm. She didn't look at Shi Youxi, but instead blew out the candles he hadn't blown out.

"You should go to sleep now. Goodnight."

“Sister…” Shi Youxi couldn’t see her expression clearly, and he suddenly tried to grab her hand with all his might.

Mu Yiran used her right hand, which was raised, to block, but Shi Youxi dodged instantly and grabbed the hem of her clothes.

"Where are you going!" he clenched his teeth and strained, his mind already churning, he could barely see the person in front of him.

Shi Youxi suddenly remembered that Mu Yiran hadn't asked him what he had wished for until now.

She didn't ask.

Because she knew that Shi Youxi's wish must be related to her, and she would no longer help him fulfill it.

He knows!

He knows now!

"Where are you going! Don't go... You can't go!" His head was throbbing and he felt dizzy. His eyelids were drooping as if a thousand-pound weight was pressing down on them. Shi Youxi bit his lip hard, but that wasn't enough. He bit down hard on the soft flesh of his inner lip.

The taste of rust spread throughout my mouth.

Mu Yiran grasped his hand and tried to pull it away, but she couldn't. The man's fingers dug deep into his clothes, the veins beneath his skin bulging. He struggled, his whole body convulsing, his eyes bloodshot, his voice hoarse and pleading:

"Don't go, I... I won't lock you up anymore, I won't lock you up again."

"It was my fault, sister, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have lied to you. I failed to save Mu Zhentong. It was my fault, it's all... my fault!"

"You can curse me, hit me, or even make me jump off that spot too—you can do whatever you want, but you can't leave!"

"Don't go! Don't go!"

Mu Yiran didn't reply to him at all. She couldn't even lie to him or coax him to let go first. She cried her eyes out, some of the tears falling down her chin onto the hand that wouldn't let go.

"Please, don't go...please...sister, don't go, don't do this to me...don't leave me!"

“…I’m sorry,” Mu Yiran finally said.

Seeing that her pleas were in vain, Shi Youxi's eyes flashed with a crazed stubbornness, "You can't leave...you can't! I'll find you! I will definitely find you..."

"..."

The drug took effect quickly, but because Shi Youxi struggled fiercely, it took nearly ten minutes before she completely passed out.

Mu Yiran took two deep breaths, her chest heaving, and said softly:

Goodnight, Shi Youxi.

I'm sorry I can't say see you tomorrow, so I can only wish you goodnight.