In the very early hours of the morning, there was no more firewood, and the sparks had gone out of the bonfire. The No. 12 party was coming to an end.

  Some of the students were still wide-eyed and excited, while some could barely suppress their yawns.

  “Get up, walk, walk. Go to sleep in your room.”


  “Damn, I’m so sleepy. I haven’t been awake for so long in ages.”


  “Wow, then you didn’t work hard enough, ah. I studied until the early hours of the morning right before the college entrance exams. My biological clock has already been turned wonky.”


  “Me too. Look at my wide-open eyes.”


  “Give me a hand, ah. My eyelids are stuck together……”
……

  The students were standing and about to shuffle off into the villa when the two rows of lights above them suddenly went out.

  The bonfire had long fizzled out, so they had intended to rely on the lights to guide them. But now that they were gone, the beach was suddenly plunged into darkness. It’s usually cold at the seaside at night, and without any sort of light, the students could feel the chill more starkly. Fortunately, they were a big group, so they weren’t afraid.

  “What happened? Is it a power outage?”


  “No way, so suddenly?”


  “Fuck, I haven’t taken a shower yet, ah. What am I going to do if the power doesn’t come back on?”


  “Wait, we won’t have air conditioning?!”
……

  As the students howled, a light cluster suddenly shined on the path to the villa. They saw two staff members push a beautifully decorated fruit cake towards them.

  The beach was pitch black, with the only source of light being the candles on the cake. Everyone’s eyes were naturally attracted to the cake, so even at a distance, they could see the huge ’18’ on top of the cake.

  “Whose birthday is it?”


  “Wow, someone’s turning eighteen!”


  “Not necessarily. Maybe the cake is the wrong way round? Maybe it’s 81?”


  “Alright, so tell me: Who here in the immediate vicinity do you think is eighty-one years old?”
……

  After seeing his fellow classmates deep in thought, Gou XinDou was speechless. He told them: “Our itinerary was arranged by Boss Zheng. Isn’t it obvious who ordered the cake?”


  He was silent for a moment, then said: “Is there anyone here who dares take ownership of that cake?”


  Students: I dare not, dare not.

  Xu Yao said: “Oh, yes, tomorrow, no today is Ah Qian’s birthday. But……Ah Qian doesn’t usually celebrate his birthday?”


  Zheng PingQing waltzed past them and said: “That was before. But now he has me, so he’ll have as many birthday parties as he wants. In fact, he can have birthdays in each of the 12 zodiac months.”


  Lin Qian looked at him and smiled, but said nothing.

  Zheng PingQing immediately corrected himself when he saw this. “I mean, he has me now, so of course I should arrange a cake for his birthday.”


  Xu Yao: “.……”


  The others: “.……”


  Boss Qian was too awesome.

  A student became embarrassed and said: “Oh, I didn’t know it was Ah Qian’s birthday today, ah. I didn’t prepare a gift in advance……”


  The others nodded.

  Lin Qian hurriedly waved his hand. “No, no, the best gift I received today was being able to spend time with you all.”


  The students were relieved. Between the two gays, Lin Qian was obviously much more reasonable than Zheng PingQing.

  During their conversation, the two staff members and the cake arrived. Maybe Zheng PingQing gave them orders in advance, but the staff members didn’t say much. They simply parked the cart and left the scene, leaving the students to enjoy themselves.

  “Then, we’ll sing you happy birthday!” Xu Yao told Lin Qian.

  Everyone nodded and began to clap their hands as they sang.

  Lin Qian looked at the unusually large ’18’ on the cake and silently gave Zheng PingQing a glance.

  Zheng PingQing relied on his strong shameless personality and pretended like he didn’t see his own obvious hinting. He calmly said: “Congratulations on your transition to adulthood.”


  As if they weren’t on the verge of a certain something.

  Lin Qian lightly replied: “Congratulations to you too.”


  “Happy Birthday-”


  As the song came to a close, Lin Qian blew out the candles on the cake. The scene fell into darkness once more, but soon, the lights above them came back on.

  On the exterior walls of their rented villa, rows of small light began to light up. The dots connected into lines, and then the lines began to outline shapes.

  The students were surprised. The lights were small and mostly transparent glass, so it would be hard to spot them unless you were deliberately looking for them. The students didn’t actually know that they were lights on the outside of the building as they were busy playing during the daytime. No one pays attention to something as innocuous as small, outdoor lights. Even if they did notice them, one would simply think them to be ordinary decorative lights.

  But now, as the lights turned on one by one, a pattern gradually took shape.

  The beautiful villa became outlined by the lights.

  And became a small castle.

  It quietly stood right by the sea in this dark night, looking like it belonged in a fairy tale.

  Zhang FanFan couldn’t help but exclaim: “Wow!”


  Tang WanQi’s eyes became tinged with envy as she said: “So beautiful.”


  Although they all knew who the lights were for, the hearts of these girls still felt satisfied by this romantic picture.

  Everyone turned to the two main characters, their gazes filled with both envy and ridicule.

  Lin Qian faintly smiled, not bothered by everyone’s looks. Instead, he held a hand up to his chest, and gravely said: “It seems that I can only be a prince tonight.”


  Zheng PingQing nodded. “Then, I’m the princess.”


  The others: “.……” So poisonous. Fuck, Boss Zheng was really resilient, ah, no matter the role given to him.

  “I bid you all goodnight.” Xu Yao, one of the more experienced in their group, immediately waved goodbye and ran away without looking back.

  “Oh my, I’m just soooo sleepy. I’m going to go back first.” Gou XinDou followed him.

  Initially, everyone wanted to see what was going to happen next. But no matter how stupid one was, they all knew that it wouldn’t be suitable for them to loiter, so they all eventually left, one after the other.

  “Back to sleep, back to sleep.”


  “I’m so sleepy, ah. Help me……”


  “Wait, we haven’t had the cake yet.”


  “Take it, take it with us. Those two are already full of their love; they won’t need the cake.”


  The single dogs were critically hit by all the love in the air and felt out of balance. In the end, they bravely pushed the cake past the lovebirds and took it with them.

  Soon, everyone dispersed, leaving Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing to stand in place. The illuminated castle became their background.

  Zheng PingQing hummed. “They’re acting pretty considerate and sensible for once.”


  Then, he looked at his boyfriend with a deep and penetrating gaze. “My prince, I have a gift for you.”


  Lin Qian looked at the shorts and t-shirt Zheng PingQing currently wore and figured that he wouldn’t be able to hide any sort of gift on his person. Curious, Lin Qian asked: “Oh? What is it?”


  Zheng PingQing smiled, then took out a purple ribbon from his pocket. Lin Qian didn’t know when he managed to sneak such a thing into his trousers. Zheng PingQing then hooked the ribbon up to his chin, circled it around his head, then finally tied a delicate bow on top.

  His technique was neat and skillfully done. It was apparent that Zheng PingQing practiced this move a lot.

  Zheng PingQing, with his face full of righteousness, told Lin Qian: “Now, would you please open your gift.”


  Lin Qian: “.……” Well, Lin Qian could still say that Zheng PingQing still had a residual sense of shame. After all, he held himself back and didn’t directly tie the bow on a certain indescribable part of his body.

  However, according to Lin Qian’s understanding of this man, the thought probably crossed Zheng PingQing’s mind. However, not being able to implement such a feat must’ve led Zheng PingQing to ultimately compromise by tying the bow on his head instead.

  Lin Qian was silent for a moment. Then, he made a tolerant smile and wrapped an arm around Zheng PingQing’s neck. “I’ve received my gift. Congratulations, you’ve got your wish.”
……

  After a night of indulgence, there was no doubt that all of the students got up late on the next day.

  Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing got up much later than them, but they were eventually woken up by a ringing cellphone.

  “Hello, hello.” A sleepy Zheng PingQing reached for the ringing phone and pressed the answer button with closed eyes.

  After a long silence on the other end of the phone, a familiar, but heavy voice sounded out: “Why are you the one answering the phone?”


  Zheng PingQing took a look at the screen of his phone. Ah, it seems that this was Lin Qian’s phone, and it was Lin YaZhi on the other end of the call.

  Just two days after the college entrance exams, Lin YaZhi was quickly recalled to his old job, leaving Lin Qian alone in the Lin family home. It was only because of this that Zheng PingQing could travel with Lin Qian so easily.

  “Father-in-law, it’s still so early, ah~” Zheng PingQing calmly said without fear. “Wait a moment, I’ll give the phone to Lin Qian.”


  Lin YaZhi: “.……”


  Lin Qian took the call, his voice still a little hoarse as he asked: “Dad, what’s up?”


  Instead of answering Lin Qian, Lin YaZhi became tangled and cried out: “Ah Qian, why did that little bastard……why did Xiao Zheng answer your phone?”


  Lin Qian was a little surprised. Why was Lin YaZhi acting all soft? Did he change his mind and somehow accept them already?

  But just as he was thinking this, he heard Chen ShiYi’s voice in the background.

  Lin Qian: Oh.

  Lin Qian went quiet for a moment, then said: “Dad, do you really want to know?”


  Lin YaZhi seriously thought about it for a while, but eventually replied in an aggrieved tone: “.……I don’t want to.”


  Chen ShiYi’s voice could soon be heard once more. “Ah Qian, happy birthday.”


  Lin Qian, who hadn’t received any birthday blessings from a parental figure for years, replied from the bottom of his heart: “Thank you.”


  Lin YaZhi soon became excited again. “Ah Qian, although I can’t be there to celebrate your birthday together, I bought a gift in advance! Aren’t you happy?”


  Lin Qian didn’t hesitate to say: “Very happy.”


  Lin YaZhi told him: “It’s in the second drawer of my cabinet in my bedroom. Go and open in.”


  Lin Qian replied: “Alright.”


  Lin YaZhi was eager. “Hurry, hurry!”


  Lin Qian hummed.

  After a while, Lin YaZhi asked: “Did you get it??”


  Lin Qian thought about it. It wouldn’t have been easy for Lin YaZhi to schedule a call. Lin Qian didn’t have the heart to disappoint him, so he could only say: “I got it.”


  Lin YaZhi’s voice was full of expectation as he said: “Do you like it?”


  Lin Qian replied: “I like it a lot.”


  Lin YaZhi was a little proud. “That’s the latest model- convenient and quite practical. You can use it when you go to university.”


  Lin Qian tried to recall what new products released this year as he continued to calmly reply to his father: “Yes, it’s very useful.”


  Lin YaZhi said: “Quick, open the album and look at the first photo. What do you think?”


  Album?

  Was it a camera? A laptop? A cellphone?

  Lin Qian looked at his empty hands, then calmly replied: “It’s very nice.”


  Lin YaZhi was obviously unsatisfied with Lin Qian’s simple evaluations, but he continued to excitedly ask: “Who do you think is the best-looking one?”


  Lin Qian: “.……”


  Lin Qian quickly analyzed the situation. Although he didn’t know what Lin YaZhi gave him, nor did he know the contents of the photo, he could tell by the word ‘who’ that it should be a person. Since it was a person, there was a foolproof answer.

  Lin Qian calmly replied: “Me.”


  As expected, Lin YaZhi became very happy. “In the end, it’s still Ah Qian who has great vision! Shao SiJia insisted that my painting skills aren’t very good, humph. But although I haven’t gone to any classes, I still have the emotion and passion, ah! Love is the universal technique!”


  As Lin YaZhi continued his enthusiastic chatter, Lin Qian smiled. In the end, he managed to keep his location a secret, skillfully deflect Lin YaZhi’s questions, and even made his father smile.

  Next to Lin Qian, Zheng PingQing’s eyelids were twitching. His boyfriend’s deception abilities……were so dazzling!

  After thinking back to all the times he tried to sneak around, Zheng PingQing suddenly felt disturbed at the thought that his skills weren’t as good as his boyfriend. Because of this, he quietly reached out to touch Lin Qian’s waist. The skin underneath his fingers was smooth and elastic, making him unable to let it go. In the end, Zheng PingQing couldn’t help but pounce and eat a mouthful.

  Lin Qian had been distracted by Lin YaZhi’s words, so the sudden bite was truly a surprise. Lin Qian subconsciously shouted: “Zheng PingQing, are you a dog? Why are you biting!”


  The voice in the phone stopped into a screeching halt.

  Lin Qian: Zheng PingQing, you’re finished.

  Lin YaZhi was quiet, then he said: “Ah Qian, hand the phone to Xiao Zheng.”


  Then, he said to Chen ShiYi: “ShiYi, you go back to the lab first.”


  Chen ShiYi hesitated but still agreed. “Alright. Don’t be too loud; Don’t let the others hear.”


  Chen ShiYi probably wanted to scold her son just as much as Lin YaZhi at this moment. Anyway, Lin YaZhi can’t physically beat up her son, so Chen ShiYi agreed and left.

  Lin Qian wordlessly handed his phone to Zheng PingQing.

  Zheng PingQing calmly took the phone and preemptively stuck. “Father-in-law, Xiao Xu is bringing breakfast for Lin Qian, so we’ll talk later.”


  After that, without waiting for Lin YaZhi’s response, he quickly hung up the phone.

  Lin YaZhi’s work was strictly confidential, so he most likely couldn’t make a second call.

  Lin Qian: “.……breakfast?”


  Zheng PingQing threw Lin Qian’s phone to one side, then pulled Lin Qian’s body on top of him. “Come, your breakfast is ready.”


  Lin Qian: “.……I’m full.”


  The author has something to say:

  Zheng PingQing: Quick, eat me!

  Sigh, fade to black……