Huang Yan pulled the two of them back into his lounge in one go.
As soon as Jian Jingyu and Wang Tianwei entered, they visually measured the length and width of the room and exchanged a glance: not a bad place!
"Sir Huang! Don't blame me for not warning you, start recording right now, or you won't have anything to look back on later!"
"..."
Huang Yan didn't know why he was being so obedient... not only did he turn on the recording, but he also set the resolution to the highest!
Had he been drugged or something?
The two bustled about in their formal wear while Huang Yan stood to the side, seriously reflecting on himself.
That was until the lounge was strung with colorful banners, and every single banner was printed with his photo and birthday wishes...
Thank goodness for his sixth sense! He didn't just leave them downstairs!!!
...He had only ever seen such a gaudy, colorful color scheme on the packaging of a beverage brand that had been passed down for centuries!
The photos included livestream screenshots from his freshman training period, candid shots taken by who-knows-who, and a selfie of the four of them wearing masks...
"Click!"
He locked the lounge door with his hands behind his back. No one was coming in here today!
He thought it would end there...
Who knew Wang Tianwei would fiddle with her optical computer for a moment, and Jian Jingyu would directly start a video call with Zhang Lyra.
"I'm playing it!"
A life-sized 3D holographic projection suddenly appeared in front of Huang Yan...
Wang Tianwei, Jian Jingyu, and Zhang Lyra were all wearing pastel yellow outfits printed with the yellow weasel mask pattern he used.
Wang Tianwei additionally wore sunglasses, Jian Jingyu held the very bouquet of eternal flowers he had now, and Zhang Lyra wore a matching bandana.
Following that, dynamic music started playing, and the three of them simultaneously began to writhe in a hypnotic, bizarre dance...
"Happy birthday to you! May happiness and joy always be with you..."
Hearing the music, the room's service robot adjusted the lighting to match the vibe, instantly turning the lounge into a raving nightclub!
There was no embarrassment in Wang Tianwei's eyes, only pure satisfaction and pride at how perfectly synchronized their movements were!
If her dress hadn't restricted her, she would be dancing along right now!
Jian Jingyu excitedly pointed the video frame at the playing 3D projection and Huang Yan, who had completely lost control of his facial expressions. Only half of a bashful bear head was visible in the video feed...
Shirley Zhang was sitting on her sister's lap, excitedly wiggling along! She was even singing the lyrics,
"...always be with you!!"
As the song ended, Jian Jingyu got down on one knee and presented his gift of eternal flowers.
"Happy birthday, Sir Huang! May our friendship last as long as this eternal flower!"
"...Th-thanks."
Huang Yan felt like his brain had short-circuited; his speech was stuttering...
Wang Tianwei also pulled a metal plate out of a velvet bag. Flipping it over, it turned out to be a plaque!
In the middle were the words "Happy Birthday" in bold red letters! Above that was his name, "Huang Yan."
Around the outer edge, curving in an arc, was the phrase "May our friendship be as hard as memory steel," and at the very bottom was today's date.
"This is Lyra's birthday gift to you!"
Zhang Lyra finally revealed one eye in the video feed.
"...Happy birthday."
Shirley Zhang grabbed the virtual screen and pulled it down, framing both herself and her sister.
"Happy birthday, Brother Huang!"
"...Thank you guys."
"Brother, did my sister dance well!? I recorded her so many times mmm..."
Zhang Lyra clamped a hand over her sister's mouth, her face flushed red as she gave an awkward laugh at the video.
"Hehe, hehehehe..."
With the eternal flower in one hand and the plaque in the other, Huang Yan squeezed out a fake smile as he was sandwiched between his two friends for a photo in front of the banners.
Jian Jingyu even held up Zhang Lyra's video call to ensure she was in the shot too...
"If this photo ever gets out... you're both dying with me."
Wang Tianwei slapped his arm.
"It's a great day, don't talk about dying!"
After the photo was taken, Huang Yan let out a breath as if he were collapsing from exhaustion.
"...That's it, right??"
His energy for the day was already depleted. Did he really have to attend the banquet later?
Wang Tianwei pulled a self-heating small pot out of her spatial button, along with a series of pre-portioned noodles, scallions, and eggs...
"Of course not! There's still mine!"
A short while later.
"Here it comes, longevity noodles cooked by my own hands! Hurry up and eat, eat the egg too! The portion isn't big, just something to line your stomach first!"
"..."
Sitting at the table slurping the piping hot longevity noodles, Huang Yan would occasionally look up at the pile of banners, then glance at the giant eternal flower and the memory steel plaque, and inexplicably laughed out loud.
These were the most absurd birthday gifts he had received in his entire life~
By the time he finished the noodles, there were only fifteen minutes left until seven o'clock, and someone outside was calling for him to come out.
Huang Yan stored all of his friends' gifts into his spatial button, not even sparing the banners. Before opening the door, he repeatedly instructed the two of them.
"Taihe invited a lot of people today, I don't even know exactly who. But the venue is big, so if you run into anyone you don't want to talk to, just stay away from them.
After the dance, you can go soak in the hot springs. After cutting the cake, I might have to mingle for a bit. Keep an eye on each other, and no drinking..."
"Yes, Sir!"
They both made an OK gesture.
Going downstairs, Wang Tianwei and Jian Jingyu originally planned to let Huang Yan go first.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go."
"Oh!"
A spotlight constantly followed Huang Yan, illuminating the two people beside him as well. The scene looked quite beautiful.
"Who are those two?"
"Young Master Huang's good friends? What's their background?"
"Wang Tianwei..."
"I've never heard of Huang Yan being particularly close to anyone?"
"That looks like Chief Judge Jian's son!"
"Gasp!"
"Tianwei, over here."
Seeing her daughter looking around after coming downstairs, Cheng Yin guessed she was probably looking for them and walked over to quietly remind her.
Wang Tianwei finally found where her family was located and pulled Jian Jingyu over.
"Dad, Mom, this is Jian Jingyu, my good friend at Qilin! You've seen him on video before."
"Hello Auntie, hello Uncle! Thank you so much for the gifts! You really spent too much! We all love them!"
Jian Jingyu greeted them cheerfully!
"As long as you like them! Haha, this kid is truly a handsome talent!"
"This is my younger brother, Wang Kaiyu. He's also an S-rank single soldier."
"Sister Ma's brother is my brother! Hello, brother!"
"B-brother... hello?"
Wang Kaiyu spoke, unconsciously feeling doubtful of himself... He didn't think he had ever called anyone 'brother' before, why did it feel so unnatural!?
This was Jian Jingyu's first time meeting Wang Kaiyu.
"Uh... you're actually this tall!?"
After saying that, he looked at Wang Tianwei in surprise, only to get a smiling elbow to the stomach from her.
"..."
Huang Yan was invited on stage to give a speech.
"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come to..."
To the ears of his two squadmates, this official speech just sounded like "Blah, blah, blah..."
"What is he mumbling about?"
"I don't know... I'm hungry, let's eat something!"
The two of them appeared together around the snack bar. As Huang Yan was speaking, he glanced over and saw Wang Tianwei rolling her eyes as she choked on a piece of cheese.
"...Anyway, I hope you all enjoy tonight's banquet. Thank you."
