Chapter 280 Happy Birthday
Lin Xiaolu's second video call came shortly after Lin Yun sat down.
There were quite a few customers in the bar at this time, and although the surrounding environment was not very noisy, it was definitely not quiet. However, Lin Yun had no choice but to put on his headphones and touch the answer button on the screen.
——"Ah, it's connected... Hello, hello, can you hear me?"
After he answered the call, a hand half-blocking the camera appeared on the phone screen, and Lin Xiaolu's voice followed: "Why didn't you answer the phone just now?"
"Lulu?"
Lin Yun did not respond to the question immediately. Instead, he asked knowingly in a somewhat unexpected tone, as if he had received the call suddenly: "Is it you?"
"It's me. It's me."
Lin Xiaolu didn't doubt him. In her opinion, her surprise plan was perfect, and her father should have no idea what she was going to do next: "So, why didn't you answer my call just now?"
This is what she cares more about.
"Sorry, Lulu, it was a bit noisy around here, I didn't hear it just now."
Lin Yun calmly made an excuse: "I put my phone aside and didn't pay attention to the screen."
"Hey... where are you at this hour?"
Lin Xiaolu also noticed the noisy voices in the background: "Still working overtime? Socializing with people?"
"In the bar."
Lin Yun did not hide anything about this issue, because he knew he couldn't hide it at all, so he might as well act openly so that people wouldn't think he had something to hide: "I was originally here to discuss something with a colleague, but he's out for something now, and he said he'll be back in a while."
"Bar? Colleagues?"
Lin Xiaolu suddenly became alert: "Could it be Hong Siyu? Did she ask you out on Valentine's Day?"
"It's not her, it's another colleague."
Lin Yun was a little speechless: "And it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day or not. We are here to discuss work."
"Not her? Then who is it, a man or a woman?" Lin Xiaolu continued to ask.
"...Of course it's a man." Lin Yun said helplessly.
"Is it really a man?"
Lin Xiaolu was a little skeptical, but soon she found a reason: "Oh, maybe your colleague is celebrating your birthday for you."
"Birthday? Well...it counts as part of it."
Lin Yun felt that it would be better for him to go along with Lin Xiaolu at this time, so he continued to make up stories without any boundaries: "It's just the level of blessing when drinking, not that formal."
"Huh, I see."
Lin Xiaolu nodded: "Well, now you guess why I called you?"
"Why?" Lin Yun continued to play dumb: "I remember you sent me a message during the day saying you wanted to send me chocolates? Do you want to show me the results now?"
"It's not that, it must be something related to you!" Lin Xiaolu corrected.
"What else could it be? Did you meet your ex, the magical girl from Fangting City?" Lin Yun continued.
"How is that possible? Why would you think in this direction? I already said it was because of you. I was calling you!" Lin Xiaolu was a little anxious.
"Hmm? Oh."
Seeing that the time was almost right, Lin Yun suddenly realized, "Could it be because today is my birthday?"
"That's right!"
Lin Xiaolu's tone suddenly became louder: "Look, what I prepared for you!"
Lin Yun followed her voice and looked at the screen, but he could still only see the hand covering half of the screen. Not only that, the palm covered more part than when the call was first connected.
Even though he knew that there must be a cake on the other side of the screen, he couldn't give the answer as if he had X-ray vision, so he could only answer truthfully: "I can't see it."
"How come I can't see it? I clearly turned on the camera." Hearing this, Lin Xiaolu began to check her phone with some confusion.
[Hand, your hand is blocking it.] Xia Liang's voice came from the side.
"Ah? Ah, so that's how it is!"
Lin Xiaolu quickly took her hand off the camera, and then pointed it at the table next to her: "This should be fine, let's take a look!"
As she said, now, what appeared on Lin Yun’s mobile phone screen was a piece of cake.
It was no different from the shape he saw before leaving Caiyun Wetland, except that the cake had not yet completed the final decoration at that time, while the one on the screen now was a truly finished product.
The pure white cream surface is covered with tiny petals, which makes it colorful. The square chocolate is tightly attached to the side of the cake, which complements the pattern outlined around it. At the top of the cake, there are candles in the shape of numbers, forming the number "37".
As this number represents, this year marks the 37th year that Lin Yun has been in this world.
"This is something the three of us made together. How is it? Does it look good?"
On the other end of the call, Lin Xiaolu was in high spirits and continued to explain: "It takes much longer to make this than chocolate. It's really difficult."
"Yeah, it's great, it looks great."
Even though this "surprise" had been leaked in advance, when Lin Yun actually saw the birthday cake his daughter had made for him, he could not suppress the joy in his heart and stared blankly at the phone screen in his hand.
It was completely different from the feeling when he received the chocolate as a child. This cake was a real gift from Lin Xiaolu as a child to him as a father. If he felt guilty, nostalgic and touched when he received the chocolate crown, now he felt almost completely relieved and warm.
He could even remember Lin Xiaolu lying in the crib, or in the swaddling clothes, held in his arms. That little child had grown up and become sensible, and even able to give gifts on his birthday.
Lin Yun is very clear that he was not very qualified as a father in the past. Because his father was not very serious, a bit idle, and died young. So when Lin Yun became a father himself, he insisted that he needed to be strict with his children, even if it would sacrifice some harmony between parents and children, and he had to be responsible for the future of his children.
At that time, he didn't want his child to be exposed to magic, and he didn't want his child to become a magical girl and face those dangerous things. So even if Anya would say something soft like "There's nothing wrong with being a magical girl, I will protect Lulu", Lin Yun insisted that he should train Lin Xiaolu to be a standard white-collar worker.
Therefore, whenever Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu were together, the topics they talked about would be study, school performance, and cram schools. As time went on, even Lin Yun himself didn't know what else to talk about with his daughter. The only topics left were "Have you finished your homework?" and "Why didn't you do well on the test?"
Later, Lin Xiaolu, who had been very clingy to him and loved to act like a spoiled child when she was a child, gradually distanced herself from her father.
And there is no doubt that these are all Lin Yun’s own fault.
He once imposed his own escape from the past, his alienation from the identity of a magical girl and everything related to it on his child. Even if it was for his daughter's safety, even if he didn't want her to get involved in anything related to magic, he shouldn't have used such a tough attitude to hurt his daughter's feelings.
He didn't even notice that if Anya hadn't always been the glue that held the family together, his relationship with Lin Xiaolu would have cooled even faster.
It was not until later, when Anya passed away, that the relationship between father and daughter reached its freezing point.
At that moment, when he realized that Lin Xiaolu was the only close relative in his life, and when he began to re-examine his relationship with his daughter, he found that it was too late to regret.
No matter how much he regrets, no matter how much he blames himself, the harm he has caused to his daughter cannot be wiped out, and the bond of family affection is on the verge of breaking. No matter how much he tries to make amends and please her, it will be of no avail.
He even accepted his fate and gave up at one point, thinking that Lin Xiaolu would never be willing to get along with him again.
So, compared to that darkest moment, the cake today and the candlelight on the cake seem so dreamy and dazzling.
"Thank you, Lulu."
Lin Yun pursed his lips and tried to force out a somewhat ugly smile: "Dad...I'm sorry for you in the past."
It has nothing to do with the identity of the magical girl. This is what he said to his daughter simply as a father.
"Um...ah? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?"
Lin Xiaolu scratched her head in confusion, then seemed to realize something and curled her lips: "Oh, you said before, then before is before. If I really want to say it, I was also wrong."
Like Lin Yun, Lin Xiaolu at this time was just a daughter, having a normal conversation with her father.
"I told you before, after I became a magical girl, I realized that some of the things you said and did before were not completely unreasonable."
She gradually stopped scratching her head and started rubbing her hair with her fingers. "If I hadn't been lucky enough to meet Delphinium, I would have been in danger or even died. So, I understand why you don't want to tell me about magical girls. Your worry... is not unreasonable."
The words were spoken so openly that both of them became silent.
Because although the relationship has eased, Lin Yun and Lin Xiaolu are still not close enough. After the truth is said, they need to speak the truth, warm words, or even corny words. But obviously, Lin Xiaolu can't say it now.
Fortunately, the strange silence did not last long. Soon, Lin Xiaolu took the initiative to change the subject:
"Ah, come to think of it, this candle is not just any candle."
She didn't look at the camera again, but pointed at the cake next to her stiffly: "When we bought it, the clerk specially recommended it to us. It is said to be a magic prop. What...heart-severing technique was used?"
[It's astrology.] Xia Liang's voice came from outside the screen again.
"Oh, astrology, and a bunch of other techniques. It's very high-tech. And then, it has a very magical function."
Lin Xiaolu followed suit and continued with what Xia Liang had said: "That's right, this candle doesn't need to be lit. As long as the birthday person gets close, it will burn by itself and start playing the birthday song."
She moved the phone closer to the cake: "Just in time, I'll try to see if it's real now."
Suddenly, the only thing left on the screen of the phone in front of Lin Yun was the cake.
At this moment, a waiter came over with a tray, placed the wine glass in front of Lin Yun, bowed, said "Your Silver Moon Spring Butterfly", and then slowly left.
Lin Yun picked up the wine, put it to his lips and took a sip. The not-so-strong smell of alcohol, along with the crisp aroma of lemongrass, rushed into his nose. The slightly sweet aftertaste lingered in his throat, making him feel refreshed.
Just as he was drinking, Lin Xiaolu took the phone screen away from the cake and asked in surprise: "Why is the candle not responding? I'm not being fooled by them, am I?"
[I think it’s definitely useless over the phone...] Now it was Bai Jingxuan’s turn to speak off-screen.
"It's useless over the phone? Then isn't astrology a little useless?"
Lin Xiaolu still didn't give up: "Um... Dad? Why don't you say a few words to him over the phone?"
"Haha, forget it."
Lin Yun didn't intend to do anything stupid like talking to the cake candles, so he could only laugh dryly: "No need, as long as Dad knows your intentions."
"But it doesn't work, what should I do?"
Lin Xiaolu was still unwilling: "If it's a birthday, the cake candles must be lit."
[Since you are planning to mail it back anyway, why not just stick it in there? It will catch fire when you mail it back.] Xia Liang suggested.
"Oh, it seems to be true."
Lin Xiaolu clapped her arms and said, "Well, Dad, I'll send it back to Fangting City in a few days, remember to receive it."
"Forget it. No need."
Lin Yun didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "It's not that troublesome, just divide it now."
"How can this be possible?"
Lin Xiaolu raised her eyebrows. "What kind of birthday is it if you can't even eat the birthday cake I made just for you? Although it will take a few days to send it back to you now, I've thought about it carefully before. It's more valuable to make it myself than to call a cake shop in Fangting City and order it to be delivered today!"
"Really, that's not necessary. Dad, I'm already old enough to not want to eat cake that much. And this is such a big piece that I can't finish it all by myself. I'm happy enough knowing that you made a cake for me and even called me to celebrate my birthday."
Lin Yun smiled at the screen and said, "Next, instead of asking you to send it back, I would rather watch you eat it. Seeing how you look when you eat the cake will make me happier."
"…What do you think?"
There is no doubt that Lin Yun’s last statement convinced Lin Xiaolu to some extent, so she began to look around and seek help from her two teammates.
[I think I can leave one piece for Dad...Uncle and send it back separately.] Bai Jingxuan said so.
[I think it's okay too. Just remember to leave one piece for the young senior, so that everyone can have one.] This is what Xia Liang suggested.
"You don't have to tell me. If we really have to divide the cake, I will definitely leave some for Delphinium."
Lin Xiaolu rolled her eyes at Xia Liang, then took the phone back in front of her and faced the camera: "Then, Dad, shall we really eat it?"
"Well, let's split it up."
Lin Yun took a sip from the wine glass and made a toast to the screen: "That's enough. Thank you. I'm very happy."
"Okay, then do as my dad says and bring the free cake knife!" Lin Xiaolu no longer hesitated and gave the order.
"This one?"
Bai Jingxuan's voice gradually became clearer, and then she walked into the screen holding a plastic cake knife: "It's right next to it."
"Uncle just said we should share the cake, so I took it out of the packaging."
Xia Liang also slowly walked into the picture from the edge of the screen, and then smiled at Lin Yun through the camera: "But, in fact, I also guessed that it might be like this."
So Lin Xiaolu took the cake knife, Bai Jingxuan held the cake tray, and Xia Liang took the phone and turned it over so that all three of them were included in the phone screen.
The three juniors looked at each other, and then as the cake knife fell, they laughed, made noises, and shouted in unison: - "Happy Birthday!"
(End of this chapter)
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