Birthday Celebrations

Lin Qiong:...

"Don't tell your uncle for now."

Fu Jinglin, thinking he guessed it right, confidently smiled, "Are you afraid Uncle will spoil the surprise?"

Lin Qiong looked at this unlucky kid, "I'm afraid your uncle will beat you to death if he finds out."

"..."

Fu Jinglin froze for a moment, then patted his chest and gestured to Lin Qiong, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

----

Later, sitting in the car, he pondered deeply,

Should he give Ultraman or card games this year?

----

Early the next morning, after dropping off Fu Jinglin, Lin Qiong drove to the private customization studio to participate in the crafting process.

Lin Qiong looked at the sizable dark wood and swallowed, "Do all of these need to be polished?"

The designer nodded, "Mr. Lin, just watch on the side, no need to get your hands dirty. Supervising is also a form of participation."

Mainly, knowing Lin Qiong's background, they didn't dare to let him do the work himself. If anything unexpected happened during the process, it would be troublesome.

Lin Qiong shook his head, "It's okay, I can do a small part."

Seeing that the persuasion was in vain, the designer agreed.

Although he had lived two lifetimes, this was the first time Lin Qiong had done this kind of work. He participated in polishing and carving with some of the staff. However, just the polishing took a whole day. When Lin Qiong came out of the studio, he felt like his hands weren't his own, with a lingering, trembling sensation.

When he arrived at the school, Fu Jinglin looked at the tiny, hard-to-clean wood chips on Lin Qiong's body, "What did you do?"

Lin Qiong started the car, "Just experiencing life."

Lin Qiong glanced at Fu Jinglin, "Why haven't you gone home yet?"

Fu Jinglin closed his mouth, muttering, "My mom went abroad and won't be back until next month."

Lin Qiong was surprised. Fu Yuan had always been a gentle woman. "Your mom didn't contact you?"

"She did." Fu Jinglin continued, "She initially wanted me to come home, but I called her fat, so she told me not to come back."

Lin Qiong:...

It's said that actions have consequences.

----

For the next two weeks, Lin Qiong worked tirelessly, coming and going early and late every day. At night, Lin Qiong was exhausted, but he still diligently went to Fu Xingyun's room to give him a massage.

Looking at the obviously tired person, Fu Xingyun said, "If you're tired, go to sleep."

Lin Qiong shook his head, "I'm not tired."

"What's wrong with your hands?"

Lin Qiong was startled and looked down. He saw many small cuts on the fair skin of his hands. They weren't large, but there were quite a few.

Lin Qiong casually made up, "Got bitten by mosquitoes and scratched them."

"Do mosquitoes exist in winter?"

Lin Qiong nodded vaguely.

Seeing the person avoiding eye contact, Fu Xingyun licked his lips, "Come here; let me take a look."

After some contemplation, Lin Qiong slowly approached like a cautious cat.

Fu Xingyun wanted to reach out and hold the other's hand, but due to it being the first time, he hesitated a bit. Eventually, he lifted Lin Qiong's hand and examined it closely.

In the past, he wouldn't even bother looking at such minor injuries on a grown man. A little scratch on a big man, what's the big deal? But now, with Lin Qiong, his attitude changed.

Furrowing his brows, Fu Xingyun said, "Go to the hospital."

Lin Qiong was instantly dumbfounded, "Huh?"

"You're injured." Fu Xingyun sat up from the bed, looking serious. "Go to the hospital and get it bandaged."

Lin Qiong quickly pressed him back onto the bed, observing the small wounds on his hand that had already healed within a day. "No need to go."

"Why?"

"The wounds have already healed by now."

"..."

Going to the hospital for such small cuts would be embarrassing.

Lin Qiong had to take a lot of time to persuade Fu Xingyun that he did not need to go to the hospital. 

----

Finally, when the custom-made cane was completed, Fu Xingyun's birthday was fast approaching.

Sitting in his room, Lin Qiong started making phone calls.

"Ji Yao, are you free the day after tomorrow?"

"Li Hanyang, do you have overtime the day after tomorrow?"

"Qin Heng, are you coming for Xingyun's birthday? Qin Wei Chu is also invited."

Lin Qiong looked at his contacts and was about to make another call when an incoming call notification popped up on his screen. Without checking, Lin Qiong answered, "You can come at six the day after tomorrow."

"...I'm Wang Cheng."

Lin Qiong, without looking at the number, slightly moved the phone away to check. "Sorry, I got things mixed up."

Wang Cheng, curious, asked, "What things?"

Lin Qiong didn't hide anything, "It's my husband's birthday."

Wang Cheng acknowledged, "A big celebration is indeed necessary for an elders birthday."

Lin Qiong:...

Wang Cheng asked without concern, "The movie release date has been moved up."

Surprised, Lin Qiong inquired, "Moved up to when?"

"From the end of March to the beginning of March."

"That's not too much of an advance."

Wang Cheng said, "You don't understand. Moving up by a whole month means the film crew needs to start promoting earlier."

Flipping through his schedule, he continued, "For the next two months, you have promotional activities to attend."

Lin Qiong was shocked, "Two months?!"

The time seemed too long. "Isn't there any that only last a few days?"

Wang Cheng, with a somewhat disappointed tone, said, "Lin Qiong, don't be a slacker. The last time our endorsement got snatched away. If you don't work hard to become popular, such things will happen frequently in the future."

Lin Qiong hesitated for a moment, understanding Wang Cheng's hard work when traveling back and forth for work, negotiating for resources today, and planning the development route of such an unruly artist.

Moreover, the other party was not like him. He could be a laid-back salted fish at home, but the other party couldn't afford to.

Lin Qiong, filled with guilt, said, "Then I'll make sure to get ready."

Wang Cheng, upon hearing this, burst into joy, "Great."

----

In the next two days, Lin Qiong started preparing for Fu Xingyun's birthday. The number of people invited wasn't too many or too few, totaling eight or nine.

On the day before the birthday, Lin Qiong hid the custom-made cane he brought home. Then, he discreetly found the doctor who helped Fu Xingyun with rehabilitation.

As soon as the doctor entered, he saw Lin Qiong acting like a thief. "Mr. Lin, is there something wrong?"

Lin Qiong didn't beat around the bush. "I have an awkward request. I'm not sure if I should tell you."

"Mr. Lin, are you going to tell me or not?"

"I'll tell!" Lin Qiong then said, "Tomorrow, could you please take Xingyun out for a while? It's his birthday, and I want to decorate the house for him."

The doctor understood instantly. "Of course, we can do that. We need to use some instruments to check the recovery of Mr. Fu's legs anyways."

Lin Qiong expressed his gratitude. "Thank you, doctor."

"No problem, no problem."

Thinking about the past three months of rehabilitation, Lin Qiong asked, "Has his condition improved now?"

The doctor hesitated, considering that Mr. Fu could now stand for a few seconds. Finally, he shook his head. "Mr. Fu's situation is not very optimistic. It may take more time for recovery."

Although Lin Qiong's concern was genuine, the doctor thought that if Mr. Fu didn't want Lin Qiong to know, they wouldn't disclose any information.

Lin Qiong nodded after hearing this. "Thank you for your efforts. Please continue to take care of him."

Fortunately, Fu Xingyun's birthday fell on a weekend, and Lin Qiong could count on Fu Jinglin to help with the preparations.

----

In the early morning of the day of the birthday, Lin Qiong had some free labor in the form of Fu Jinglin.

Lin Qiong was busy in the kitchen with the cake. Not long after, the doorbell rang.

Lin Qiong stuck his head out of the kitchen to look into the living room. "Jinglin, please open the door."

Fu Jinglin, who was stuck acting like an emotionless balloon machine, got up to open the door when he heard someone coming.

Here they are, free labor has arrived!

As soon as the door opened, Qin Heng's handsome face appeared. Behind him was Qin Wei Chu, holding something.

"Hey, the big nephew is here too."

Qin Heng's words had just fallen when his hands were stuffed with a balloon pump.

?

Qin Heng smiled, "What do you mean by this?"

Fu Jinglin: "Since you're here anyways."

When Lin Qiong came out, he saw the three of them sitting in the living room inflating balloons.

Lin Qiong handed water to them. "Thank you for your hard work."

Qin Wei Chu looked at him, "Not that hard."

Fu Jinglin silently glanced at him, he had just been refusing to work.

"After I finish making the cake, I'll come to help with the decorations."

Qin Wei Chu took a sip of juice. "Take your time."

Lin Qiong was stunned. "You've become considerate."

Qin Wei Chu didn't say much. After the others left, he made a triumphant gesture.

"... "

Qin Heng: "What are you doing?"

Qin Wei Chu self-satisfied, "He praised me."

"Did you forget that you came here to celebrate his husband's birthday?"

Qin Wei Chu: ...

Not long after, Ji Yao and Li Hanyang also arrived. After a busy day, everything was almost ready, waiting for the birthday star to return.

Fu Jinglin, tired, went into the kitchen to eat something.

Lin Qiong casually made a sandwich for him. "Are you feeling tired?"

Fu Jinglin finished the sandwich in a few bites. "Not really, it's just that Qin Wei Chu is a bit annoying."

Lin Qiong was surprised. "I thought you two would become friends."

"Why?!"

"Because your temper and personality are similar."

Fu Jinglin suddenly became dumb, "Am I really like him?"

Lin Qiong nodded.

With a sigh, the young man said, "I always thought that someone with my personality would be very popular, until I met Qin Wei Chu today."

After hesitating for a moment, he sighed, "I want to go up and give him a couple of punches."

"..."

Before six o'clock, everyone had arrived. It gets dark early in winter, and by six o'clock, it was already pitch dark outside.

Lin Qiong originally planned to turn off all the lights, but because Fu Xingyun had difficulty moving, he finally left a lamp at the entrance.

After hiding, everyone whispered.

The sound of the password lock echoed, and the dark environment instantly fell silent.

Fu Xingyun pushed the wheelchair and entered. He looked at the pitch-black surroundings, frowning, "Lin Qiong?"

No one responded.

The man pushed the wheelchair forward.

With a bang, fireworks and lights appeared simultaneously.

The man paused, looking at the suddenly added eight heads, unable to speak for a moment.

Several people led by Qin Heng went forward to wish Fu Xingyun a happy birthday. Lin Qiong quickly ran to get the cake, lit the candles, and placed it in front of the man. "Make a wish."

Fu Xingyun glanced at him, "Did you prepare this?"

Lin Qiong smiled and nodded.

Fu Xingyun looked at the cake in front of him, and his emotions were mixed for a moment. After he blew out the candles and made his wishes, a new round of partying began.

A birthday feast naturally lacked no wine, and many people tried to get Fu Xingyun to drink, but Lin Qiong intercepted them.

Lin Qiong patted his chest, "I'll handle this."

Due to "handling it", no one knows how many glasses Lin Qiong had.

Lin Qiong considered himself to have a good tolerance for alcohol, but red wine had a strong kick. After drinking a lot, Lin Qiong's face turned red, and he felt a bit disoriented.

Fu Jinglin had been active in livening up the atmosphere. Later, he handed the microphone to Lin Qiong and Fu Xingyun. "Do the two main characters have anything to say?"

Both of them, one like an iceberg, and the other, a drunkard, didn't have much to say.

No one spoke, and Fu Jinglin felt awkward. "If you don't have anything to say, just kiss each other."