Chapter 39
The next morning.
When Ji Ting woke up, her phone screen was filled with messages. Ji Lindong had sent her a red envelope of 8888 yuan, and so had Xiao Xi. The amount was the same as Ji Lindong’s; they gave this amount every year and never missed a year.
Ji Ting, with her messy hair, leaned against the headboard and replied to Xiao Xi and Ji Lindong.
Xiao Xi: Dress up nicely today and let Yucheng help you celebrate your birthday. I’ll watch your live broadcast on Moments.
Ji Ting smiled helplessly: Okay, I’ll send you pictures, Aunt Xiao.
Xiao Xi: Good~
Ji Lindong sent: Come back and have longevity noodles.
Ji Ting replied affirmatively, and then got out of bed. As soon as she was exposed to the air outside the blanket, she could feel that it was colder today than yesterday. Checking the weather forecast, it was indeed 7 or 8 degrees colder than yesterday; it seemed the cold air had arrived as expected.
Ji Ting opened the curtains and saw a misty scene outside. It was likely to be very cold tonight.
After washing up, she changed into long pants, a sweater, and a coat, and also put on a red scarf. Then she went downstairs, drove home, where Qiu Dan had already prepared a bowl of longevity noodles with an egg. Ji Ting picked up her chopsticks and ate the never-ending noodles, realizing she was a year older.
Qiu Dan, standing with her hands on her hips next to Ji Lindong, said, “Our Tingting is a year older now.”
Ji Lindong smiled and said, “Still a child.”
Qiu Dan replied, “How can she still be a child? She’s a big girl now.”
Ji Ting listened to their conversation as she finished eating the noodles. It was quite a challenge, but she managed to finish them. She looked up at her parents and got up to hug them.
“I’m not just a year older but I’m also becoming more capable of relying on it.”
Qiu Dan patted and embraced her.
She reminded her to enjoy her birthday tonight and not to drink or stay up late.
Ji Ting agreed.
She then drove back to Sunset. As soon as she opened the door, three bouquets of flowers were presented to her. Xiao Wan and the others peeked out from behind the flowers, smiling, and said, “Sister Ting, happy birthday!”
Ji Ting was momentarily stunned. She took the flowers from them and smiled, “Thank you.”
Xiao Zhou, leaning on Xiao Wan’s shoulder, smiled and said, “On New Year’s Day, when we saw Brother Tan Yucheng giving you flowers, we thought you suited flowers so well. So, for your birthday, we decided to each give you a bouquet of different types.”
Hearing Tan Yucheng’s name, Ji Ting paused. She touched the champagne-colored roses and looked up at them, “Thank you, I really like them. It’s just too much.”
“No, no, we’re glad you like them.”
“Flowers with a beauty like you should be just like this.”
Ji Ting smiled again, feeling deeply grateful. Yesterday might have had a bit of gloom, but today it had all been cleared away. Xiao Wan asked, “Sister Ting, can we help you celebrate your birthday tonight?”
Her eagerness to join the fun and enjoy the food was so apparent that Ji Ting laughed and said, “When have I ever left you out?”
“Yay!”
With the promise, Xiao Wan jumped up with excitement.
Ji Ting smiled as she carried the flowers into the lounge. Zhang Yang turned and said, “Then I’ll make a bigger cake.”
“Where are we celebrating tonight? Sister Ting, do you have any ideas? Or should it be the same as last year, with Brother Tan Yucheng helping you celebrate…?” Xiao Zhou asked as she followed into the lounge. Ji Ting placed the flowers down and responded gently, “Hmm, it’ll be the same as last year.”
“Wow!”
Xiao Zhou left the lounge with this information.
Ji Ting looked at the flowers and then out the window. It seemed like everything was back on track.
That was good.
Those three months were like a dream.
In the afternoon, the black profile sent her a location pin for his newly opened Fusion restaurant. Ji Ting replied with a “nice” and did not receive a further response. The teasing and ambiguous messages seemed to have vanished from the page.
Ji Ting held her phone for a few seconds before putting it away in the drawer.
Long Kong should also have received the address for the birthday party and sent it to Meng Jia and the others.
The weather was indeed cold today. As soon as the café door opened, a lot of cold air came in, with not a trace of sunshine. The number of hot coffees made was much higher than yesterday, while dessert sales had significantly dropped.
Xiao Wan and Xiao Zhou were very excited in the afternoon.
As it approached six o’clock, they went to the lounge to touch up their makeup. Last year, Tan Yucheng had rented out a bar for Ji Ting’s birthday, and that night had been quite wild, with unlimited drinks, live music, and even a handsome bartender. There were also a few young single men, which made it a very enjoyable evening for Xiao Wan and Xiao Zhou.
At six-thirty, Sunset closed on time and hung up the “Closed for Business” sign.
Ji Ting did not touch up her makeup but applied some lip gloss instead.
She drove them to the Fusion restaurant. She had been here once before on a date with Lu Hai, but she hadn’t driven here since. Parking was still difficult; the tea house upstairs had taken all the parking spaces downstairs. At the traffic lights, Ji Ting saw this and had to turn her car around and park in a residential area.
There was a secluded open area used as a parking lot. After parking the car, Xiao Wan linked arms with Ji Ting, Xiao Zhou linked arms with Xiao Wan, and Zhang Yang walked behind them. The four of them headed towards the Fusion restaurant.
As they got closer, Xiao Wan and Xiao Zhou gasped in surprise.
“Wow, wow—”
The restaurant, originally decorated in beige tones, was now transformed into a romantic, high-end castle. A large sign with “Ji Ting” written in Tiffany blue, beige balloons and flowers, transparent balloons with sparkling sequins, and blue gift boxes piled next to the sign created a luxurious birthday party atmosphere.
The entire restaurant had been transformed into an elegant birthday party venue.
Tan Yucheng, wearing a black shirt with rolled-up sleeves, was sitting on a chair in the corner, inflating balloons. He was focused on adding air to a few balloons and hadn’t noticed their arrival.
At the entrance, besides them, a few passing girls were taking photos with their phones.
“Ah, ah, ah, it’s Brother Tan Yucheng who prepared this for you, Sister Ting!” Xiao Wan shook Ji Ting’s shoulders in shock. “He’s still over there inflating balloons, ah, ah, ah.”
Ji Ting remained still.
Behind her, Yu Xi, Meng Jia, and Long Kong had just arrived and stood by her side, looking at the scene. Yu Xi was stunned and said, “Is this still the same restaurant he started with? Damn.”
Long Kong was silent for a few seconds and said, “This level of thoughtfulness is incredible.”
Meng Jia instinctively looked at Ji Ting while hugging her arms.
Ji Ting pressed her lips together, walked forward, ascended the steps, and pushed open the restaurant door. Just then, Tan Yucheng had finished inflating the last balloon and handed it to the restaurant manager. The door opened, and Tan Yucheng looked up.
Ji Ting was the first to push open the door and made eye contact with him. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Tan Yucheng raised an eyebrow, stood up, and said, “Come in. What are you doing standing at the door?”
Ji Ting suppressed her chaotic thoughts, walked in, and said in a normal tone, “You’ve made it so beautiful.”
Tan Yucheng glanced at her while opening a durian box on the table, “As long as you like it.”
Meng Jia, walking behind, heard this and clenched her teeth. There was no doubt that their relationship was no longer just a simple friendship. However, Shu Xiao had already returned, so she instinctively looked at Ji Ting, who was removing her red scarf. Xiao Wan and Xiao Zhou came in, exclaiming with excitement and taking photos, while the table was covered with food.
There were drinks, fruits, and various snacks, with some board games piled nearby for entertainment. The restaurant’s location, opposite Binjiang Park, provided an unparalleled view with beautiful lighting and scenery.
Long Kong clicked his tongue, glanced at the decorations, and asked Tan Yucheng, “Did you do all this yourself?”
“Not that impressive. Just inflated a few balloons.”
The restaurant manager smiled and said, “Brother Tan asked me to arrange for the setup. A few balloons deflated earlier, so Brother Tan just fixed them.”
He turned to Ji Ting, “Sister Ting, happy birthday.”
Ji Ting smiled slightly at the manager, “Thank you.”
Yu Xi exclaimed and took photos of the sign and balloons.
She also took pictures of the food on the two large tables, which were filled with various dishes and games.
Then she immediately posted them on Moments.
Yu Xi: Our Tingting’s birthday is so luxurious, love it.
Picture X9
Zhong Yu liked it, Shu Xiao liked it, Feng Yingying liked it.
Feng Yingying: Unfortunately, I was taken away by my mom today. [Crying]
Zhong Yu: It looks beautiful.
Yu Xi replied to Feng Yingying: It’s really a pity for you. There’s so much food tonight, and the scene is really impressive.
Feng Yingying replied to Yu Xi: Did you arrange this?
Yu Xi responded: Of course not. It was arranged by Tan Yucheng. It’s in his restaurant. We were stunned when we arrived; it looked like a castle.
Feng Yingying was stunned.
Feng Yingying: Tan is really good to Ji Ting.
Yu Xi replied: Definitely~
After everyone took photos, they gathered the gifts for Ji Ting and then all sat together on the sofas and chairs. Ji Ting sat in the main seat, Tan Yucheng opposite her, and Long Kong sat with him, chatting casually. Ji Ting did not turn her gaze towards him as she was being pulled by Xiao Wan, Xiao Zhou, and Yu Xi to play cards.
Meng Jia lost interest as soon as she saw they were playing Werewolf. She leaned back in her chair and looked at her phone.
Zhang Yang took photos to share with his girlfriend, who said that next time for her birthday, he should do something like this too.
Zhang Yang had to soothe her and agreed.
In the Werewolf game, Ji Ting was quite skilled. She played cleverly, constantly pretending and confusing others. Long Kong was also pulled into the game. Since there was not enough space, Tan Yucheng stood up from the corner and sat down next to Ji Ting. The faint scent of ebony immediately reached Ji Ting’s nose, making her pause.
She watched him as he reached for a card.
He joined the game and placed his card aside after picking it up, leaning against the back of his chair, not far from Ji Ting. Ji Ting glanced at his card as it was his turn to speak.
Tan Yucheng’s voice was lazy and steady, making it hard to guess his intentions.
After he spoke, Ji Ting felt that he had many identities.
She looked at Long Kong, planning to team up with him. Long Kong grinned, touched his nose, and Tan Yucheng’s voice came from behind Ji Ting, “You’d better team up with me.”
Ji Ting paused while holding her card and turned to look at him.
He was leaning back in his chair, positioned in the dim light, but his eyes were intently fixed on her.
At that moment, some fleeting emotion appeared in his eyes.
A few seconds later, he said, “Turn around.”
“Quite the smooth turn.”
Ji Ting’s expression froze, realizing what he meant. She pursed her lips, unsure of how to respond, as it was her own thoughts. She turned back and intended to continue the game when the delivery guy from the local courier service called out from outside the door, “Who is Ji Ting?”
Everyone looked towards Ji Ting. She snapped back to attention, immediately stood up, and said, “I am.”
“There’s a package for you. Please sign for it.”
Ji Ting responded, stood up, and walked outside. Xiao Zhou and the others made way for her. At the door, the courier handed her a gift box. Ji Ting took it, signed for it, and returned the pen to the courier.
She carried the gift box back.
Yu Xi turned and asked, “Tingting, who sent this gift? They even knew we were here.”
Ji Ting shook her head, indicating she didn’t know.
She opened the gift box at the table. Inside was a Ferris wheel music box, a very European style, with a card on top. Ji Ting picked it up; the handwriting was neat and elegant.
Ji Ting, happy birthday
—Shu Xiao
It turned out to be from Shu Xiao. She paused, put the card back in the box.
Yu Xi asked curiously, “Who else knows we’re here? Tingting, could it be an admirer of yours?”
Meng Jia, who was nearby, glanced over and raised her eyebrows, “Shu Xiao?”
Everyone was surprised and looked at Tan Yucheng with a subtle curiosity.
Tan Yucheng, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, watched Ji Ting open the gift box. Upon hearing the name, his expression remained unchanged, but the mention of Shu Xiao made him lose interest in the gift box.