Huaijin's words carried too much weight for Ye Jiu to bear.
She couldn't give any response.
She changed the subject, "I ordered a cake, let's go to the backyard, it'll just be the two of us." She pointed to Huaijin and then to herself, indicating that it was just the two of them.
Huaijin was not discouraged by the lack of response; he knew he should proceed cautiously.
"Okay, let's go to the backyard."
The protagonist of this absurd coming-of-age ceremony secretly ran away from the banquet when no one was paying attention.
It's 8 p.m. The warm yellow lights in the backyard illuminate the road. There's also a small garden in the backyard, but it's not as well maintained as the front yard. However, it's precisely because of this that the backyard garden has a more natural beauty.
In the gazebo in the backyard, Ye Jiu unpacked the birthday cake she had brought back from the front door. The cake wasn't very fancy; with the development of nutrient solutions, these impractical dessert techniques were also declining.
"So ugly," Ye Jiu commented. "The picture and the real thing are completely different. They even photoshopped it. That's too much."
Huaijin wasn't surprised. "That's standard business practice. They try every possible way to maximize profits."
"I should have done it myself. I was thinking this design was too difficult, so I decided to take a shortcut," Ye Jiu said regretfully. It was truly frustrating to leave Huai Jin with such a memory for his eighteenth birthday.
She had compared four or five companies before finally choosing this one, but it didn't work, and she got angrier and angrier the more she thought about it.
Ye Jiu shook off these random thoughts and took out candles to stick on the cake.
There are certainly better ways to celebrate birthdays now, but candles used to be more ceremonial, so they have been preserved.
The flickering candlelight cast a halo around Ye Jiu's profile, and a gentle night breeze caressed her face, cool but not freezing.
"Make a wish," Ye Jiu gestured for Huai Jin to close her eyes. "Silently say your birthday wish, then blow out the candles."
"Because it won't work if you say it out loud?" Huaijin asked.
You know?
"I've heard of it."
"I thought nobody cared about this anymore. But it doesn't matter, it's still a beautiful thought. Hurry up and make a wish, the candles are about to burn out."
Huai Jin closed his eyes, and many thoughts popped into his mind at that moment, but they all came down to two words—Ye Jiu.
He thought, "I'll just be a little greedy for my birthday."
He hoped that his sister would not despise him and would allow him to stay with her for the rest of her life.
Ye Jiu gently blew out the candle and clapped her hands.
Happy birthday! Xiao Jin is now a fully grown woman!
Huaijin was charmed by Ye Jiu's smile.
He looked at him intently, wanting to etch this moment into his heart. He would never forget today, never forget this night, never forget those words, "Happy Birthday."
...
Although it wasn't a good day, the first thing Su Huo and Pei Zhiyu did upon returning to the army was to check on Ye Jiu.
Within reasonable limits, they learned everything about Ye Jiu.
So, after receiving Huaiyou's invitation, which was meant to be a test, they came anyway, even though they knew there would be no benefit in accepting it.
The two officers looked out of place in this gathering full of businessmen; thankfully, they were wearing suits instead of military uniforms.
As soon as I walked in, I was surrounded by people in circles.
Su Huo was genuinely not good at handling such situations, while Pei Zhiyu seemed much more at ease. He himself grew up in such an environment and knew best how to deal with it.
After dealing with the last group of people, Su Huo took a deep breath and said, "I need to go out for some fresh air."
"I'll go too."
"You seem to be handling things quite well, don't you?" Su Huo said as he walked out.
"Being able to cope and wanting to cope are two different things." Pei Zhiyu's voice sounded a bit tired; such social activities were truly exhausting.
The two, unfamiliar with the area, intended to go to the front yard for some fresh air, but unexpectedly stumbled into the backyard.
Unlike the brightly lit front yard, the back yard only has a warm yellow streetlight, which is completely different from the front yard.
It's very quiet, perfect for going out and enjoying the breeze.
Su Huo breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems like we've gone the wrong way, but this place is clearly better."
Pei Zhiyu noticed someone in the pavilion not far away, stared at the figure in the pavilion, and said with an ambiguous expression, "Is that so?"
Pei Zhiyu stared at that spot for too long, and Su Huo couldn't help but follow his gaze toward the pavilion.
"Is that... Ye Jiu?"
Pei Zhiyu withdrew his gaze. "It looks like it."
“Let’s go say hello. I was wondering why I didn’t see her inside; she was hiding here.” Su Huo strode towards the pavilion.
Pei Zhiyu: ...
Sometimes I really envy his carefree personality.
After hesitating for a moment between staying where he was and following Su Huo, he also stepped towards the pavilion.
It all comes down to individual ability.
It was unclear from a distance, but upon closer inspection, it became apparent that Ye Jiu had another person with her.
As Ye Jiu took a bite of cake, she glanced up and saw two familiar figures.
Ye Jiu paused, "Hmm? Su Huo? Pei Zhiyu?"
Why are they here?
Ye Jiu's mind went blank for a moment, then she realized that she must have been invited to the banquet, but...
Why would a businessman like Huaiyou give them both invitations?!
But now is not the time to think about that.
Su Huo made no attempt to be a stranger, dragging out a chair and sitting down directly.
Huai Jin was hostile to this unexpected guest, especially after discovering that he was the same person who had come out of Ye Jiu's room that day.
Soon, another person sat down opposite Huaijin; it was Pei Zhiyu.
A subtle atmosphere arose among the group.
Completely oblivious, Ye Jiu took another bite of cake and stared blankly at the three of them.
After a long silence, Ye Jiu couldn't help but speak up, "Um... let me introduce it."
"This is Huaijin, the main character of today's birthday banquet. Due to some special reasons... we're celebrating with him here." Ye Jiu said vaguely, unable to explain the messy reasons in just a few words.
"This is Su Huo, Major General Su Huo, who is currently in the military. I met him when I went to observe his mecha. That is Major General Pei Zhiyu, whom I also met while observing his mecha."
Huai Jin smiled and adopted the demeanor of a host, "Welcome, two major generals."
"You're too kind."
This wasn't the first time Su Huo had met Huai Jin. From the day he saw him enter Ye Jiu's room, he guessed that his relationship with Ye Jiu was unusual. He just didn't expect that the younger brother Ye Jiu mentioned seemed to be him.
This was Pei Zhiyu's first time meeting Huai Jin; he had never heard of this person before.
The two people understood each other perfectly with just one glance, perhaps because they were so similar in some way. Since they were the same kind of people themselves, they understood each other all too well.
Huai Jin couldn't tell on the surface, but his heart was bleeding. Had his sister really had such a fulfilling time during those days he missed?
Not only one, but two.
And what about him? Does he still hold a place in her heart?
He said sourly, "My sister had a really fulfilling three days at the sanatorium."
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