After making his wish, Gu Yulin opened his eyes and looked at the drone flashing in the sky.

A twinkling light reflected from his eyes, as if they were filled with stars.

The formation of the planes changed again.

3, 2, 1, let's blow together!

"call!"

As the words appeared in the sky, people blew out candles together.

Gu Yulin also pursed his lips and blew out the candles.

The drone, which was originally emitting colored smoke, turned white, simulating the color of a candle after it has been blown out.

The candles are blown out!

【Happy birthday!!】

Applause erupted again.

After forming this word formation, the drone transformed into a birthday cake.

They flew away slowly and steadily from everyone's sight, their gaze following them until they disappeared.

As everyone watched the drone slowly disappear, the four people who had just been standing on the stage silently and swiftly slipped back into the crowd through a secret passage.

After the fireworks and drone show ended, the city of a hundred ghosts returned to darkness, filled with indistinguishable figures dressed in black robes.

If you blend into the crowd, you're halfway to safety.

"Huh? Where's the young master?! My young master is nowhere to be found!!"

"Holy crap! I was so focused on the drone."

"Report this message! If you see the young master, please let us know! His parents are wearing masks!"

"What you're saying...aren't there plenty of people wearing masks here?"

"Waaah, I still want to try my luck in front of the young master and see if I can get a chance to shine his shoes."

...

The atmosphere was filled with laughter and conversation.

In the end, it all boils down to one sentence: "Alright, alright, it's just a young master's birthday, let's not bother him."

Xu Zhaozhao was led by Gu Qingyan to a secluded corner behind the stage.

Xiao Kai and Yu Yu followed closely behind.

She was still recording a video on her phone when Gu Qingyan grabbed her and pulled her off the stage.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Xu Zhaozhao emerged from Gu Qingyan's cloak, still somewhat bewildered.

"It's okay, it's too noisy, let's change the environment."

Gu Qingyan answered her patiently and even smoothed out her messy hair.

Xu Zhaozhao frowned and subconsciously asked, "If you think it's noisy, why did you do this?"

The finger that had just been placed near her ear paused, and the atmosphere in the room froze instantly.

Xu Zhaozhao blinked blankly again.

Fortunately, we had Xiao Kai, a simple-minded person who was good at livening up the atmosphere.

"Wow, it turns out Uncle Gu prepared a surprise for Brother Yuyu!"

He slapped his forehead, not holding back at all, "I thought it was someone who just happened to share a birthday with Brother Yuyu..."

The naive Xiao Kai thought Gu Yulin had stolen someone else's birthday cake...

Xu Zhaozhao, Gu Qingyan, Gu Yulin: ...

To be honest, when Xu Zhaozhao saw the fireworks, she also thought it was just a reward that Yu Yu had won.

But when she heard "Happy Birthday," she understood everything.

This was the birthday surprise Gu Qingyan prepared for his son.

"cough."

Gu Yulin awkwardly turned his head away, his lips moved slightly, and finally he uttered two very soft words: "Thank you."

But there were only the four of them in this small space, so his soft voice could still be heard.

"You're welcome."

Gu Qingyan replied, paused for a moment, and then added, "Happy birthday."

When they resumed verbal communication, they could only manage to squeeze out these two sentences.

Some things can only be written down so that the other party can know them.

Gu Yulin silently stuffed the note he had been clutching into his innermost pocket.

I checked it out, and it's safe.

That's about it. Loud music started playing outside, and the stage opened to all the tourists. The dancing began.

Xu Zhaozhao was so envious; she wanted to go clubbing too.

But now, if I stand on that stage, all I get to do is be watched.

Seeing that it was almost time, the four of them came out of that small space.

"Let's go, let's go to the farthest River of Oblivion."

Gu Qingyan said.

After all that commotion, going somewhere further away is the best option, otherwise we won't have anything to do tonight.

When Xu Zhaozhao stepped back onto the street, her fear returned.

But after several hours, I've gotten used to it; I just need to keep my head down and not look at them.

So, Xu Zhaozhao came up with a very clever solution—looking down and playing on her phone.

So she took out her phone, looked down, turned off the recording that had been running, and went to the home screen.

In an instant, Xu Zhaozhao's feet felt like they were filled with lead, and she was rooted to the spot, unable to move. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Gu Qingyan stopped, tugged at her hand, and asked, "What's wrong?"

The two little figures walking in front stopped when they heard Gu Qingyan's voice and their eyes fell on Xu Zhaozhao.

It took Xu Zhaozhao a long time to find her voice: "It's already past midnight?!"

Although the pronunciation was a bit difficult, it didn't diminish Xu Zhaozhao's surprise.

Thinking it was something important, Gu Qingyan put his arm around her shoulder and walked forward with her.

He explained to her, "The fireworks will be set off at exactly midnight."

Xu Zhaozhao stared at 00:38 on her phone, unable to recover for a long time.

It felt like only an hour had passed, but I didn't expect it to be past midnight.

How did you time it so precisely?

Xu Zhaozhao looked at him and asked, "I remember that Gu Yulin opened the token himself, right?"

Gu Qingyan didn't answer, but just turned his head to look at her and gave her a meaningful look.

With just that one look, Xu Zhaozhao understood and silently shut down her microphone.

Money talks. I bet that little black-robed guy has been in cahoots with Gu Qingyan, timing things perfectly.

"It's all your fault! You made me not say 'Happy Birthday' to Yu Yu right away!"

Xu Zhaozhao said indignantly, her fingers already reaching out from behind the cloak and pinching Gu Qingyan's waist.

His expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't noticed her movements.

Xu Zhaozhao gritted her teeth and increased the force, even twisting slightly.

Gu Qingyan finally turned his head to look at her.

As expected of Xiao Congxinbao, Xu Zhaozhao guiltily loosened her grip on his fingers when his eyes looked over.

But Gu Qingyan lowered his head and brought his mouth close to her ear, "Why are you always pinching the same spot?"

"How about something else, baby?"

The tone of his voice made it sound as if he was sincerely giving you advice.

Even though he knew that Xu Zhaozhao was most reluctant to recall this incident, Gu Qingyan insisted on helping her remember it.

Xu Zhaozhao feigned composure, keeping a straight face. "I was just holding you and calling you my precious son."

"besides……"

Xu Zhaozhao turned her head to meet his eyes, glared at him, and said, "I like pinching here, so what?"