Yin Ming stood up from the grass and extended his hand to Ling Yao with a slight smile.

Lingyao looked at him hesitantly, then slowly reached out and shook hands with Yin Ming, using his strength to stand up.

"Long Cheng and I inquired around the village and finally learned your birthday from an old man."

Yin Ming walked toward the items placed on the lake shore. When he got closer, Ling Yao realized that the shelves were filled with fresh ingredients.

"I didn't expect the dates to be so close, so Long Cheng and I discussed how to give you a proper birthday celebration."

Yin Ming said this, but what he was really thinking was—could anyone really think this is a coincidence? No way, no way?

Yin Ming actually remembered the male protagonist's birthday at the young city lord's first birthday celebration. Therefore, he had reason to suspect that the world system deliberately held a first birthday celebration to remind him of this, so that Yin Ming would have another opportunity to gain favor.

Given this, how could Yin Ming not seize the opportunity?

"The original plan was to take you sightseeing during the day and have a bonfire dinner here in the evening, but I didn't expect to run into Yao Ling along the way, which delayed us for quite a while."

Yin Ming walked over to the ingredients and took out a few to start cleaning.

"But it's alright, it's not too late yet."

Lingyao was about to step forward to help, but Yinming refused, saying, "You're the birthday person today, just wait to eat."

Lingyao was pushed back by him, but her eyes lit up. "Is Yin Ming going to cook something for me himself?"

"Of course, you can just sit here and wait. Long Cheng, come and help me out."

Yin Ming gently sat Ling Yao down on a clean rock, then turned his head and called out softly to the dark area to the left of the lake. A figure emerged from the shadows in response; it was Long Cheng.

When Yin Ming took Ling Yao to see Yao Ling earlier, he asked Long Cheng to bring fireworks and ingredients to set up the place first. That way, they could come over after their meeting and start preparing for the birthday banquet.

The fireworks just now were lit by Long Cheng, and the sphere of resentment that Yin Ming condensed was the signal they had set.

As for the dishes for the birthday banquet, Yin Ming plans to cook a bowl of noodles, have some barbecue, cook some porridge, and make a birthday cake as dessert.

The cake is the most novel of all, but the ingredients required are not complicated, and you can find substitutes if you don't have them, so it's not a big problem.

Yin Ming rubbed his hands together, finally having the chance to showcase his culinary skills.

Although it may not taste as good as what the male lead makes, Yin Ming has the advantage of being a modern person, so he can make a variety of dishes.

The two of them busied themselves with preparations and finally got everything done.

Yin Ming first cooked a bowl of longevity noodles for Ling Yao, and then asked him for the pot he had used to cook porridge earlier.

They lit a fire and cooked porridge, then put some burnt charcoal into a rectangular box, placed a homemade iron mesh on top, and arranged all the necessary ingredients around it. The barbecue officially began.

Long Cheng initially wondered how the food could cook if the charcoal wasn't even flaming, but after eating a skewer of fresh meat grilled by Yin Ming, he was completely captivated.

"It's so delicious! I never expected meat to smell so good after grilling like this. Ming-ge, give me ten more skewers!"

Meat grilled this way is naturally fragrant. Since there's no flame smoking, there's less smoky flavor, and the natural aroma of the food becomes more intense, making it taste even better.

Knowing that Long Cheng had a large appetite, Yin Ming had prepared enough for ten people, so he smiled and replied to Long Cheng, "Don't worry, there's plenty to eat."

She then turned to look at Lingyao beside her, "Ayao, what do you think of the taste?"

“It’s delicious.” Lingyao replied with a bright smile, elegantly biting off a piece of lean meat from the skewer in her hand and chewing slowly.

Noticing that Lingyao's low spirits had finally dissipated and he had returned to his previous sunny and cheerful state, Yin Ming secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Yesterday she was crying and asking if he was ignoring her, but now that she's been given a little sunshine, she's beaming. The male lead in the early stages is indeed very easy to coax.

After grilling several rounds, the porridge was also ready.

Yin Ming lifted the lid and added his homemade preserved eggs. He then simmered it for another ten minutes, added lean meat and seasonings, and stirred constantly until the meat was cooked. A pot of fragrant preserved egg and lean meat congee was then ready.

Lingyao and Longcheng also smelled the peculiar aroma, a scent unlike anything they had ever tasted before. They both looked at Yin Ming, eager to see what surprise he would bring this time.

At this moment, Yin Ming reached out his hand to Ling Yao, who then understood and took out two bowls from his spatial ring.

After serving two bowls of porridge, Yin Ming was worried about not having prepared bowls and chopsticks for Long Cheng, but unexpectedly, Long Cheng picked up the whole pot of porridge.

"Brother Ming, this will do for me."

After saying that, Long Cheng didn't care that the pot had just been taken off the heat and the porridge was still hot, and he couldn't wait to bring it to his lips and take a sip. "Delicious!"

Watching Long Cheng first smack his lips in praise, and then hug the pot and desperately shovel porridge into his mouth, Yin Ming's lips twitched. This kind of eating style could only be found in this thick-skinned, hard-working dragon.

Since it was getting late, Yin Ming taught Long Cheng how to barbecue and then went to work on making a cake.

During this time, Long Cheng would smell the aroma and come over to watch Yin Ming's actions from time to time, forgetting to watch the fire and causing the meat skewers to burn into charcoal.

Yin Ming caught a glimpse of Ling Yao starting to grill the food on his own, and he could guess just how unreliable Long Cheng was.

However, the barbecue process is actually quite fun, and even though Lingyao is the birthday boy, it wouldn't hurt for him to try it out.

"Ah Yao, I have something to give you."

After Yin Ming finished making the cake, he didn't rush Ling Yao to cut and eat it. Instead, he mysteriously led him to sit down by the fire.

Long Cheng, meanwhile, was focused on grilling and waiting to eat cake, seemingly uninterested in anything other than rice.

"Ah Yao, I'm so sorry I didn't celebrate your birthday in the past few years." Yin Ming looked at Ling Yao with some apology, every word spoken with utmost seriousness.

The villains in the previous story didn't know when Lingyao's birthday was, although even if they did, they wouldn't have celebrated it for him.

Lingyao smiled and shook her head. "I don't know either, so how could I blame Yinming?"

"Hmm... but I still feel guilty, so to express my apology, I've decided to make up for all the gifts I've missed over the years."

A flash of light appeared in Yin Ming's hand, which he then handed to Ling Yao.

"This is your birthday gift this year, which is also your seventeenth birthday present. It is a Marrow Cleansing Pill, which can help you expel impurities from your meridians and make your cultivation smoother."

"This is your sixteenth birthday gift: ten Qi-strengthening herbs. Take one herb each day, crush it, add it to your bath water, and soak for an hour. This will increase your physical strength."

"This is your fifteenth birthday gift, ten bottles of healing pills. If you accidentally get injured, taking these will speed up the healing process."

"This is your fourteenth birthday gift, a cultivation manual ranging from the first to the tenth realm..."

"This is your thirteenth birthday gift..."

Yin Ming kept taking out gifts from his spatial ring and handing them to Ling Yao. These items were things he needed for each year, and they would still be very useful even now.

Yin Ming prepared not only the gifts he had received from Ling Yao over the years, but also gifts for him until he turned one year old.

Seeing the growing gleam in the other person's eyes after they accepted the gift, Yin Ming confidently curled the corners of his lips.

Sincerity is always a sure-fire weapon; little brat, isn't that enough to charm you?