Chapter 43: Happy Birthday

“Sister Yuan, leave dinner to us. Go rest in your room for a bit.”

I nudged Sister Yuan into her room and, with a wide smile, said to her.

“Do you two really know how to cook, Xiao You? You’re not going to blow up the kitchen, are you?”

“Don’t have so little faith in us. It’ll be fine. You can count on us,” I promised, patting my chest.

I had already discussed it with Miss Yun Rou a long time ago.

We would prepare a big cake for Sister Yuan and cook a sumptuous dinner for her together.

Although Yun Rou still wasn’t particularly fond of me, when it came to matters concerning Sister Yuan, her opinions were highly consistent with mine.

Strangely, despite being blood-related sisters, Miss Yun Rou’s cooking skills were actually on the same level as mine.

The food she made was edible, but it definitely couldn’t be called delicious, let alone be compared to Sister Yuan’s.

For this, we each picked a few dishes and practiced them countless times with painstaking effort until we could finally make them look presentable.

At least in terms of taste, they passed our own standards.

After being busy in the kitchen for a long time, I brought the last dish I had made to the dining table.

I took a satisfying bite and asked the figure still bustling in the kitchen, “Are you almost done, Miss Yun Rou?”

“Mhm, it’s ready. Go and call Sister out,” Yun Rou said as she poured the fragrant and colorful dish from the pot onto a plate and brought it to the table.

I opened the door to the room.

Sister Yuan was sitting upright on the edge of the bed, her face in her hands, admiring the afterglow of the setting sun through the window.

The dim, magnificent residual light caressed her face, her long eyelashes exuding a sense of ease.

When she looked back and smiled, her beauty was enough to topple a city.

“What are you thinking about, Sister Yuan?”

“I was thinking about the first birthday I spent after moving here. I was so lonely back then.”

Sister Yuan’s expression was momentarily tinged with a shade of loneliness, the not-so-beautiful past still fresh in her memory.

“Don’t worry. I’ll always be with you from now on, Sister Yuan. I’ll never let you be alone again.”

Sitting down beside her, I gazed at the same scenery outside the window that she had been staring at.

“Besides, who asked you to move out on your own, Sister Yuan? It would have been so nice to live with Auntie Yun Xi and Miss Yun Rou. At least you wouldn’t have been all by yourself.”

“You wouldn’t understand, Xiao You. At least not yet. Is dinner ready?”

“Putting on a mature act with me again, even though you’re not that much older than me, Sister Yuan.”

I bent the middle finger of my left hand, placed it on Sister Yuan’s forehead, and, overestimating my own strength, gave her a light flick.

“Dinner’s ready. Let’s go eat. It’s your birthday today, so don’t think about unpleasant things. Be happy.”

“You have no sense of seniority. You even dare to flick my head now.”

Sister Yuan raised her hand and gave me a neither-light-nor-heavy rap on the head, then stood up and left the room.

“It looks delicious, and it smells so good. When did your cooking skills get so good, Xiao You and Xiao Rou?”

Sister Yuan’s praise for the table full of dishes was written all over her face, the smile on her lips unconcealed.

A huge cream cake occupied a large area of the table.

Twenty candles stuck on top surrounded a square plaque made of dark chocolate.

Neatly engraved on the plaque were the words “Happy Birthday, Big Sis/Sister Yuan!”

Yun Rou and I had different ways of addressing Sister Yuan and were unwilling to yield to each other.

After arguing for a long time, we came up with this strange solution.

“I made these dishes after torturing myself with the recipes N times. Hurry up and try them, Sister Yuan. I guarantee they’re delicious.”

I picked up a piece of the stir-fried pork I had made with my chopsticks and placed it in Sister Yuan’s bowl.

“Mmm~” Sister Yuan picked it up, tasted it, and savored it for a moment. Her expression gave its verdict before her words did. “It’s very well made. Not dry, not greasy. It’s even better than mine.”

“Not at all. It definitely can’t compare to yours, Sister Yuan.”

“Sister, Sister, hurry and try this one. I also spent a lot of effort making it.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll try them all. Mmm~, it tastes very good. Xiao Rou, you were really attentive.”

A shy crimson flush spread to her earlobes, and the joy of having her efforts recognized appeared on Miss Yun Rou’s face.

After we had both eagerly had Sister Yuan taste the fruits of our labor, Yun Rou reached behind her, took out an exquisitely wrapped flat box, and handed it to Sister Yuan with both hands.

“Sister, this is the birthday gift I prepared for you. Please continue to take care of me in the future.”

Sister Yuan took the gift from Yun Rou and smiled faintly. “What a beautiful box. Can I open it?”

“Mhm, of course you can. I hope you like it.”

After untying the ribbon bow on the paper box, Sister Yuan took out an amethyst necklace from the deep black box that radiated a pure light and had a crystal-clear color.

I let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness she didn’t actually believe my nonsense and give Sister Yuan a cup.

“What a beautiful necklace. Thank you, Xiao Rou. I like it very much.”

Sister Yuan expressed her gratitude briefly, then put the exquisite and luxurious necklace back in the box and put it away.

“There’s mine, too! Mine, too! Sister Yuan, quick, see if you like it.”

I took out the shopping bag that had been hidden in my room for two or three days and excitedly handed it to Sister Yuan.

“Go on, open it. I don’t know if it’ll meet your standards, Sister Yuan.”

“As long as it’s from you, Xiao You, I’ll love it.”

Sister Yuan reached into the bag and took out the black and white openwork silk gauze long dress, placing it on her lap.

The moment she saw the full view of the dress, a surprised delight bloomed completely on her slightly flushed, pretty face.

Sister Yuan then examined it carefully from top to bottom once more.

“What a beautiful dress. I love it very much. When did your taste in clothes get so good, Xiao You?”

“This is the reason I went to work at the café before. I wanted to use my own labor to offer my congratulations to you, Sister Yuan.”

The mention of my taste in clothes made me feel a little guilty.

I quickly diverted Sister Yuan’s attention.

Of course my taste wasn’t this good; the one who was good at picking clothes was An Xue Ruo.

Of course, I wouldn’t dare tell Sister Yuan about this unless I had a misunderstanding about the resilience of my own life.

“It seems I misunderstood you before, Xiao You. I’m sorry.”

Sister Yuan apologized to me with a smile as beautiful as a flower, hugging the long dress tightly as if it were her most precious treasure.

This three-person celebration was much livelier than before.

If Auntie Yun Xi were also here, it would probably feel more like a family.

‘Sister Yuan… why would she prefer a birthday with just the two of us?’

After the celebration ended, Yun Rou and I washed the dishes and returned to our respective rooms.

Sister Yuan was sitting by the bed just as before, looking out the window.

Everything that had been under the setting sun before dinner was now shrouded in darkness.

The rows of tall buildings lit up with brilliant and colorful lights, and the night sky, dotted with countless stars, was like a dream.

“Xiao You, come over and lie on my lap.”

Hearing the door open, Sister Yuan turned her head, waved at me, and gently invited me over.

I carefully rested my head on Sister Yuan’s warm, joined thighs and cast my gaze towards the interweaving of light and dark outside the window.

“Sister Yuan, it’s been a long time since you’ve celebrated a birthday like this, hasn’t it? It feels pretty good, right?”

“Mhm. As long as it’s a birthday with you, Xiao You, I’m happy.”

Sister Yuan’s gentle words stirred my heart as her palm caressed the ends of my hair.

“I really love the dress you gave me, Xiao You. But for me, the most precious gift… I’ve already received it long ago.”

“But I’m always a bit too greedy. I always want to take more, to possess this thing that’s already mine more completely.”

“Xiao You, can I ask you for one more gift?”

I swallowed hard, feeling the warmth from Sister Yuan’s thighs, a little at a loss.

I’m not good at having serious conversations with people, nor am I good at handling situations where true feelings are revealed, especially when the one pouring out these words is Sister Yuan.

When my head gets hot, I unconsciously ruin this quiet and beautiful atmosphere.

“If you’re saying all this serious stuff just to get lewd, Sister Yuan, I’ll… I’ll…”

“You’ll do what? Silly Xiao You, still trying to threaten me.”

Sister Yuan pinched my nose and teased softly.

“You even gave the privilege of cooking together to Xiao Rou. Aren’t you going to compensate me, Xiao You?”

“Huh? You’re even jealous of Miss Yun Rou? We just cooked a meal together, Sister Yuan. There’s no need for that, is there?”

“I’ve already said that no one else is allowed. The same goes for Xiao Rou. You really are forgetful, aren’t you, Xiao You.”

Sister Yuan’s voice turned cold, and her hand, as smooth as jade, began to crawl up my neck.

“You haven’t had enough of the lesson from last time, Xiao You? You’ve forgotten so quickly. It seems I need to make you understand the concept of ‘any other woman’ more clearly.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was wrong, Sister Yuan! I’ll remember clearly now. Please don’t be angry.”

“Alright, I’ll let it slide this time. Give me a kiss. That’s the last gift I want.”

A blush began to creep onto my cheeks.

I faced Sister Yuan and, against the backdrop of the night, slowly leaned my head closer.

“It has to be on the lips. And you have to stick your tongue out on your own,” Sister Yuan commanded in a firm tone, even as she presented herself as if ready to be plucked.

Forcing down my shame, I touched my lips to Sister Yuan’s.

The moment my tongue poked out, she suddenly became even more proactive, sticking to me and pushing me down onto the bed.

The one who was supposed to receive had turned into the aggressor.

After the prey had taken one step into its territory, the venomous snake leaped out, coiled around it tightly, and plundered at will.

After a long while, Sister Yuan lifted her head.

Her clear eyes were now stained with thick, dark ink.

Looking at me, pinned beneath her on the bed, a morbid flush gradually spread across her face.

“I’ll keep my word and won’t ask for anything more. But on the day I take everything from you, Xiao You…”

“Just watch me drain you completely dry.”