Chapter 76 Chapter 76

"Happy birthday." Seeing her still in a daze, Yu Chenghao repeated with a smile. He stood before her, dusty and tired, clearly backlit, but she could still see those smiling eyes.

"Didn't you say we were going to film?" She almost thought she was hallucinating. "Yeah, we'll be leaving soon." Lia's ears felt hot, and she was about to stand up, but the numbness hadn't completely dissipated yet. She exerted force on her legs.

He nearly fell backward again. Almost unconsciously, he reached out to hold her shoulder, his fingertips carelessly gliding across the cool skin of her neck. Yu Chenghao's breath hitched, as if burned. He calmly withdrew his hand and then looked away.

"Stop moving." He simply sat down beside her, knees bent, arms casually resting behind him. Lia was startled, her eyebrows arched. She tilted her head slightly, not wanting him to see the corners of her mouth curled up.

The two of them sat side by side, neither of them speaking. Time stretched on, the silence so long that one could almost hear the faint light drifting in the night. After an unknown amount of time, the feeling in my legs gradually returned. Just as I was about to stand,

The door suddenly opened with a click. "Lia—" Yilin poked her head out and looked around. The next second, she saw two people sitting side by side by the door. She froze halfway at the door, as if struck by lightning.

The words were swallowed back. Seeing her, Yu Chenghao nodded politely, stood up, and reached out to pull Lia up. Lia blinked, using the force to stand up.

"This is my boyfriend, Xiao Yu." She introduced, her face a little hot, "This is Yilin, my roommate." "Hello, Yilin." Yu Chenghao greeted her cooperatively.

Yilin's eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and her expression was as if she had just seen something incredible. "Hello..."

She wasn't surprised to see the celebrities. Although she hadn't been at the company long, she had followed her seniors around the TV stations and had seen many celebrities, big and small. But the scene was still too shocking. The actor she had just seen on TV was sitting side by side with her roommate, whom she had just met...

"Can you keep it a secret for us?" Lia asked a little embarrassedly.

"Oh, okay, okay..." Yilin agreed repeatedly, covering her mouth and nodding repeatedly. "You guys are busy. I saw that you were out for too long and was a little worried."

After saying that, she hurriedly said "goodbye," as if being chased by something, and quickly retreated to the room. The door closed with a click, and the corridor returned to silence. Lia breathed a sigh of relief: "Thankfully, they are from our company."

"Why?" She was a little surprised: "Is this the time to spread love rumors casually?" Yu Chenghao looked at her steadily.

His eyes seemed particularly deep in the night, like a pool of water illuminated by moonlight, filled with emotions she could not understand: exploration, confusion, and a hint of uneasiness, like tiny ripples blown by the night wind.

Lia had never seen him look like this before. She was stunned for a moment and almost forgot what she was going to say. After a long time, he smiled softly and reached out to ruffle her hair. "Come on, I'll take you somewhere."

"Where are we going?" She looked at him puzzled. "We'll know in a moment." The elevator slowly ascended. They were the only two people in the narrow space. The soft lighting cast a shadow on the metal wall, slightly swaying their shadows.

"It's not that I don't want to make it public." Lia suddenly spoke, with a hint of confusion in her tone, as if she didn't understand why she cared about the topic just now.

She let out a light breath, as if she felt that what she was about to say was a little awkward. Her eyes paused on his face for a moment, then quickly looked away.

"Anyway, everyone close to me knows it, Xia Qing, Teddy Oppa and the others... I only like you, and it doesn't really matter what other people think." Yu Chenghao was stunned, and his fingertips stiffened slightly.

The surrounding sounds quickly faded, leaving only the words "I only like you" echoing in my ears. Something shattered with a soft "crack," like water that had been accumulating under the ice for a long time finally beginning to flow.

"Yeah, I know." He replied softly.

The person before him didn't seem to realize what those words meant to him. Instead, he seemed relieved when he heard them. He looked up and began to stare intently at the slowly ticking numbers in the elevator. When exactly did this start?

To be an obedient child, you must learn to read people's expressions, be polite to your seniors and directors, and always keep your emotions and needs under control.

He thought that one day he would rot and stink, and those unspoken "wants" would be buried in the darkness along with him. "Ding—" The elevator door slowly opened, and we arrived at the top floor. "Ah, let's go!"

Lia happily pulled his hand and walked out first.

The night breeze blew in, bringing a cool, damp air mixed with the unique scent of grass on a summer night. At the end of the path, the faint outline of a restaurant could be seen, its glass curtain wall reflecting the night lights, emitting a fine halo of light.

He lowered his head, took a long breath, and then followed with a smile. "It said it was only open until nine in the evening, and it's closed now." Lia pointed to the sign at the door. "Should we still go in?"

"Yes, I told them in advance." Yu Chenghao nodded and pushed open the glass door. There were no customers in the restaurant. The waiter quickly served the dishes and retreated to the backstage.

Through the glass curtain wall, you can see the night view of the entire city: a sea of ​​bright lights, the flowing lights of cars like a galaxy, and the neon lights on the roofs of several tall buildings in the distance appear and disappear from time to time.

The lights were dimmed to their lowest setting. He lifted a small cake from somewhere. A thin candle sat on the top of the cream, quietly flickering a warm orange light. "Happy birthday," he sang softly, then waited for her to make a wish.

Lia closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and her eyelashes trembled slightly. "Ding—" The bell tower in the distance rang twelve times, the sound slow and long, resounding in the night sky.

She slowly opened her eyes. The man in front of her was looking at her, the candlelight flickering, his eyes seemed to be filled with stars. "Can I make another wish?" Lia rolled her eyes, suddenly having a bad intention. "What?"

"Well... I want to hear you call me Nuna." The person opposite was unsurprisingly calm, and his usually calm eyes couldn't help but widen.

"Ah... What should I do? I really want to hear it." She suppressed her laughter, wrinkled her nose in distress, leaned forward slightly, and her breath almost brushed his jaw.

He subconsciously stepped back a little, his Adam's apple moving slightly: "It's already past twelve o'clock." "Oh--" Lia sighed deeply, lowered her head, and slowly poked the cake with a fork, looking a little lost.

"I finally get to celebrate my birthday—" "...Nuna." The voice was so soft that it almost disappeared in her tail. She was stunned for a moment, and the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up. "What? I can't hear you."

Supporting his chin, he leaned forward again: "Say it again." "..." Unfortunately, he didn't say anything else. He just turned his head away, and even a thin layer of red appeared on his neck. * "Are you happy?"

The car door slammed shut, and a deep male voice echoed from the driver's seat. "Well, let's go, hyung." Yu Seungho withdrew his gaze from the hotel, lowered his head to fasten his seatbelt, and said with a lingering levity, "Thank you."

Manager Choi sighed grimly and turned the key to start the engine. The distance from Seoul to Busan takes four or five hours even with smooth travel. Only he would travel nearly 800 kilometers round trip for a birthday.

"By the way, there's a week or so free time at the end of next month, and the local filming has been canceled." "Thank you, brother." "Don't thank me. Be careful and don't get photographed. I should be thanking you." "I know. I'll be careful."

Yu Seung-ho responded, then lowered his head, his fingertips swiping across the screen of his phone quickly, his movements brisk and focused. "Get some sleep first. You'll have to join the crew straight away when you get to Seoul," Manager Choi couldn't help but remind him. "Yes, right away."

He nodded as he logged into his Me2day account, clicked on the post, and studied it intently for a few seconds. His fingertips slowly paused on the screen, and in the end, he did nothing but gently close the phone screen.

It was a dark night, and a black Mercedes-Benz SUV was speeding along the Gyeongbu Expressway. Its taillights were like a streak of red light, moving farther and farther away.

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