Shen Yujing: "..."
He licked the cream from his lips - it was actually quite tasty.
In the next moment, Shen Yujing wiped the cream off his face and promptly smeared it onto Quan Le's face beside him, shouting while running away: "Song Yi! I'm sorry! But still, happy birthday!"
Quan Le: "...?"
Was this really a valid reason for Shen Yujing to smear cream on his face?
Quan Le wasn't one to take such treatment lying down, so he grabbed a handful of cake and chased after Shen Yujing.
Shen Yujing ran in a circle before hiding behind Song Yi and Murong Huan, occasionally poking his head out to taunt Quan Le, "Can't catch me, can't catch me!"
Determined to defend his dignity, Quan Le kept his eyes fixed on Shen Yujing, waiting for the right moment to strike—
"Splat!" His hand landed squarely on Murong Huan's face.
Accompanied by Shen Yujing's loud laughter, Murong Huan roared, "Quan Le! I'm going to kill you!!!"
The original attacker, Quan Le, was now forced to join Shen Yujing in their escape, and as they ran, they continued to assault each other with whatever cake remained on their hands.
Of course, in the end, neither of them managed to escape, and they even managed to drag Jiang Yiheng into their mess.
As chaos ensued, Shen Yujing suggested: Since the cake was no longer edible anyway, they might as well have some fun with it.
Everyone held pieces of cake, eyeing those around them warily. Though their faces were covered in cream, their eyes sparkled with laughter.
Among them all, Shen Yujing and Murong Huan were having the most fun, sparing no one as they chased people around the room.
Murong Huan seemed to have forgotten she once had a crush on Jiang Yiheng, as she didn't hesitate to smash an entire piece of cake onto that handsome face she had admired for so many years.
Jiang Yiheng stood frozen in place, his usually cold eyes narrowing slightly as he wiped cream from his nose bridge.
He reached into his pocket for some napkins, about to clean himself up.
Seeing Jiang Yiheng's silence, Murong Huan thought he was angry. Her previous bravado instantly deflated as she began, "I'm sorr—ah!"
Before Murong Huan could finish her apology, Jiang Yiheng raised his hand and immediately smeared the cream back onto her face.
Murong Huan continued to roar: "Jiang Yiheng!!!"
Why? Why had Jiang Yiheng joined in this madness too?!
Meanwhile, Song Yi had cornered Shen Yujing with a large chunk of cream.
Shen Yujing shouted: "Don't come any closer! Stay back! If you come any closer, I'll call for help!"
Song Yi smiled wickedly, like a bandit who had captured an innocent maiden, saying: "Go ahead and shout. No one's coming to save you today, no matter how loud you yell!"
So Shen Yujing called out: "Hang Feng! Hang Feng!"
What good would calling Hang Feng do? Song Yi remained unmoved, coldly smearing the cream all over Shen Yujing's face.
Shen Yujing resigned himself to his fate, and she even placed a strawberry on his nose bridge, making him look like a clown with a red nose, both ridiculous and amusing.
Song Yi finally withdrew her hand, satisfied, but when she turned around, she saw Hang Feng standing right behind her, startling her into taking two stumbling steps backward.
Shen Yujing shifted to the side, making room for Song Yi, "I told you Hang Feng was behind you, but you wouldn't listen."
Song Yi: "..."
How was she supposed to know that's what he meant?
The two of them huddled together in the corner, looking small, weak, and pitiful as they faced Hang Feng.
Compared to their cream-covered, disheveled appearance, Hang Feng was spotlessly clean from head to toe - the very picture of dignity.
Hang Feng held a plate of cake in his left hand, looking down at them thoughtfully as he said, "I only have one piece of cake here. I wonder which of you I should hit?"
Song Yi and Shen Yujing had never been more in sync in their lives. They pointed at each other simultaneously, saying in unison: "Him/Her!"
Song Yi said: "Your face is already covered in cream anyway, a bit more won't hurt."
Shen Yujing rolled his eyes and said: "You're the birthday girl, this blessing should go to you."
After arguing for a while without reaching a conclusion, they decided to settle it with rock-paper-scissors.
Best two out of three, Shen Yujing won by a narrow margin.
Shen Yujing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately slipped behind Hang Feng, making faces at Song Yi, saying: "You lost!"
Song Yi, crouching alone in the corner: "..."
He's really gloating? She really wanted to strangle him.
Hang Feng asked: "How much should I use?"
Song Yi was startled, realizing from Hang Feng's tone that there was room for negotiation.
So she began bargaining, saying: "How about just a little bit? Just on the nose, okay?"
She had just managed to clean her face, and she really didn't want to go through all that trouble again!
Hang Feng looked down at Song Yi, whose fair face still showed traces of redness from vigorously wiping off the previous cream.
Her almond eyes gazed up at him, filled with pleading and hope, making it impossible to refuse.
His long, elegant fingers scooped up a tiny bit of cream from the cake and gently dabbed it on the tip of the girl's nose - just that small dollop of cream looked incredibly cute.
She smiled at him, clearly relieved.
Meanwhile, Shen Yujing, who had been ready to enjoy the show, frowned and said, "What's this? No fun at all."
Song Yi's smile instantly vanished as she glared at Shen Yujing through gritted teeth, and the war began anew.
Finally, when everyone was exhausted, some lying down, others sprawled about, only—
Jiang Yiheng was methodically wiping cream off his face with tissues, saying: "I'm the head of the Disciplinary Committee."
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
Murong Huan: "Huh? Why bring that up now?"
Jiang Yiheng glanced around the messy classroom and said: "You have one hour to clean this place up before you can leave."
Everyone: "???"
Shen Yujing stood up and asked: "What about you?"
Jiang Yiheng said: "I haven't moved from this spot. I'll clean the area where I'm standing."
Everyone: "..."
How calculating!!!
Jiang Yiheng looked at them and continued: "Don't count on getting anyone else to clean this up. I'm sure your parents would rather see everyone contribute some labor to the school - consider it exercise."
Quan Le, who was about to call cleaning services on his phone: "..."
Finally, everyone pitched in with the cleanup - some with rags, others with mops, all joining in the effort.
Jiang Yiheng stood by the door with his arms crossed, watching them until Song Yi walked in with a basin of water to clean the walls. He took the basin from her hands, saying, "Let me do it."
Song Yi: "Huh?"
Jiang Yiheng placed the basin on a chair, took out a cloth, wrung it dry, and began wiping the cream off the wall. With his back to Song Yi, he said softly, "Happy birthday."
That evening, everyone gathered at Song Yi's home.
Feeling remorseful about his actions earlier, Shen Yujing ordered an even bigger and more beautiful cake, which made Murong Huan roll her eyes.
Gifts piled up on the table as everyone sat around it. Song's Father was beaming with joy as dish after dish was brought to the table until it was completely full.
Murong Huan stared at the food before her, swallowing hungrily.
Quan Le sat beside her with his arms crossed, laughing at her, "Look at how unsophisticated you are, they're just ordinary home-cooked dishes."
Murong Huan sneered, "Just wait until you eat your words."
Song's Father smiled at them and said: "If you're hungry, go ahead and eat. I'll bring out the last dish and then we'll be complete."
"Thank you, Uncle."
Everyone said in unison, though their upbringing prevented them from picking up their chopsticks before the host was seated.
Song's Father turned and went into the kitchen, quickly returning with a small pot.
Song Yi stood up and cleared a space in the center of the table for her father to set down the pot.
The pot was still covered, but the aroma from all the dishes on the table was already making everyone's mouths water.
Quan Le couldn't help but swallow as well, silently taking back his earlier mockery of Murong Huan, as he too was now hungry.
Song's Father picked up his chopsticks, served a piece of spare rib to Song Yi who was sitting beside him, and said: "Everyone, please eat. If anything isn't to your liking, let me know and I'll improve it next time."
Murong Huan was no stranger to this place. Being relatively familiar with Song's Father, she didn't stand on ceremony and started eating the sweet and sour pork in front of her.
Mmm...
It was so delicious! She felt incredibly happy!
Actually, Murong Huan had thought multiple times about asking Uncle Song to be the chef at her house. Since his health wasn't good, he could just sit on the side and supervise others.
This thought had lingered in Murong Huan's mind for too long, and today she finally couldn't hold back anymore. She looked up—
"Uncle Song, which hotel do you work as a chef at?"
Shen Yujing beat her to speak first, his voice sincere.
It felt familiar because when Murong Huan first tasted Song's Father's cooking, she had naturally assumed that such skill and technique must belong to a professional.
Song Yi had to explain again: "My father isn't a chef, he's a carpenter. The table and chairs you're sitting on were all made by him."
"Wow!" Quan Le exclaimed enthusiastically, quickly swallowing the meat in his mouth before eagerly continuing, "Have you ever considered becoming a chef? How about coming to my house? I used to think our chef was pretty good, but compared to you, it's like heaven and earth!"
Murong Huan stared at Quan Le with disbelief.
What kind of person was he? How dare he try to steal her potential chef!
So Murong Huan jabbed Quan Le hard with her elbow and said sarcastically, "Look at how undignified you're being. It's just ordinary home cooking! Our young master Quan has eaten all sorts of fine cuisine, why are you making such a fuss?"
Quan Le: "..."
Talk about being slapped in the face.
Taking advantage of Quan Le's moment of embarrassment, Murong Huan immediately turned to Song's Father, joining the competition, "Uncle, don't listen to him. Yi and I are the closest friends. If you want to be a chef, you should definitely come to my house first. We have many chefs, you won't need to do any hard work, just supervise from the side. That way you won't get too tired, and I'll pay you ten times the normal salary."
Quan Le quickly interjected, "No, Uncle! Her house is too far! I have many houses in the Imperial Capital. You can choose whichever one is convenient, and I'll buy you the one next door. We'll be neighbors, and your commute will be so convenient!"
Song's Father smiled as he watched Murong Huan and Quan Le's argument, clearly not taking their words seriously.
After all, from Song's Father's normal perspective—
Who would actually believe offers of ten times the salary or gifting a house just for a convenient commute!
Song Yi couldn't watch anymore. Before they could say anything more outrageous that might frighten her father, she interrupted them, "My father's health isn't good, so he won't be working outside for now. Don't even think about it, you two. Just eat your food."
After Song Yi's words, both of them realized neither had any hope, and they snorted, turning away from each other.
Song's Father quickly tried to ease the tension, saying with a smile, "Uncle hasn't revealed the last dish yet. Would you like to guess what soup it is?"
This successfully caught Murong Huan's attention. She thought for a moment, "Corn and pork rib soup?"
Quan Le took a deep breath, "I think it's chicken soup."
Shen Yujing rested his chin on his hand, "Fish soup?"
Song's Father looked at Shen Yujing and praised, "You're half right."
Although Song Yi and Jiang Yiheng didn't answer, they also looked at the covered pot in the center of the table.
Under everyone's expectant and curious gaze, Song's Father lifted the lid to reveal what was inside.
Hang Feng took a sip of water from his cup, his gaze casually glancing toward the center of the table—
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Hang Feng choked on his water and bent down, coughing violently.
Meanwhile, Song Yi's voice cheerfully rang out—
"Yay! It's turtle soup!"
Shen Yujing gave Hang Feng a disdainful look but still unusually handed him a tissue.
Song Yi started serving the soup to everyone. Everyone accepted their bowls except for Shen Yujing and Hang Feng.
For some reason, Shen Yujing suddenly remembered a question Quan Le had once asked him—
"What if the person you like turned into a turtle?"
And then that night he had a nightmare, and turtles became forbidden items in the Shen family kitchen ever since.
Shen Yujing quickly protected his bowl, shaking his head in refusal, "I never drink this."
Song Yi then looked at Hang Feng, saying, "You should drink more, look how pale your face is."
Song Yi reached for Hang Feng's bowl as she spoke.
In an instant, before Hang Feng's brain could even react, his body instinctively copied Shen Yujing's posture and protected his bowl.
He shook his head like a rattle drum, and having just finished coughing, he hadn't fully recovered when he anxiously choked again.
"No- cough cough! No- no tur- turtle soup!"
