41. Wen Zhihao’s birthday

The next day was Wen Zhihao’s birthday. His real age was twenty-something, but this body was technically twenty.

He woke up feeling particularly invigorated because today Aunty Liu Jing had promised she would be nicer to him and cook his favourite dishes instead of blatantly favouring Sun Fuyu.

(Not that he didn’t support favouring Sun Fuyu!)

Wen Zhihao cleaned himself up and headed to the kitchens. This time, Sun Fuyu was waiting for him.

Sun Fuyu looked a little nervous, but he greeted Wen Zhihao as normal. “Good morning, Wen-ge. Happy twentieth birthday. I wish you happiness and good health!”

“Thank you Xiao Yu. Do you know what Aunty Liu has planned?”

Sun Fuyu’s lips turned down in confliction. “Wen-ge, she told me to keep it a secret…”

Wen Zhihao laughed. “En, it’s good that you listen to her. Let’s go!”

Because they had more time to prepare, and because Wen Zhihao was apparently turning twenty—an auspicious age—the decorations were many. Wen Zhihao cheekily accepted the red envelope that Aunty Liu gave him. It was definitely better to pretend that he was twenty in order to receive this!

“This is a lot of food for breakfast!” Wen Zhihao said brightly.

Liu Jing gave him a look. “Your shidi has something planned for you in the evening, so we can only celebrate during the day like this. And don’t pretend that you wouldn’t be upset if you had to wait till lunch!”

Wen Zhihao glanced at Sun Fuyu. “Is that so? Thank you, Aunty Liu.” Wen Zhihao went on to thank every person present.

“Eat. Of course, you can keep whichever dishes you like,” Liu Jing added, knowing Wen Zhihao’s temperament well.

Wen Zhihao ended up spending the entire morning hanging around the kitchens, and so did Sun Fuyu. They ate food, including birthday cake and longevity noodles, tended to the plants, and rested while Sun Fuyu recounted things that happened on his missions to an interested audience of Wen Zhihao and other kitchen staff.

Then, Wen Zhihao showed off his new brush with its internal ink reservoir. Sun Fuyu looked at him with admiring eyes, the words Wen-ge is amazing written clearly across them.

“Ah, but I should make some more…” Wen Zhihao said.

Aunty Liu Jing showed again how well she knew Wen Zhihao’s temperament, suggesting, “There are some brush makers in the nearby town. You can ask them to make these new brushes.”

Wen Zhihao clapped his hands. “Aunty Liu, you’re so smart! I can even use the lucky money you gave me!”

“Stinky boy,” Liu Jing said affectionately. “I’ll make ice cream tomorrow for you.”

Wen Zhihao beamed. “Thank you! Xiao Yu, you’ll love ice cream. Later, when the fruits are ripe, we can even make fruit ice cream!”

Sun Fuyu perked up. “Mango ice cream?”

“Of course!”

“That can be done,” Liu Jing said, her eyes going softer at Sun Fuyu.

“You can also make mango pudding, mango soup with tapioca, mango cake…” Wen Zhihao continued.

Liu Jing’s soft eyes disappeared when she looked at the troublemaker Wen Zhihao. “If Xiao Yu likes it, then I will make it.”

Wen Zhihao smiled helplessly. Aiya, just like me, Aunty Liu likes Sun Fuyu best!

Sun Fuyu blushed, which only made both Wen Zhihao and Liu Jing adore him more.

As the evening approached, Sun Fuyu became more anxious.

“Alright, Xiao Yu, what do you have planned for me?”

“Going to town,” Sun Fuyu said nervously. “To have dinner at a restaurant.”

Wen Zhihao was amazed that Sun Fuyu remembered his restaurant suggestion months ago. Back on 21st-century earth, many of his birthdays were celebrated by going to eat out, especially when he was younger.

His parents were divorced, and both had a distant hands-off approach to raising him. Going to a restaurant for his birthday was the easiest thing for them to do, but Wen Zhihao had cherished those moments.

Unfortunately, as Wen Zhihao got older and went off to university and his parents remarried others and had more kids, his parents stopped caring about him beyond a diminishing-to-zero monthly allowance.

Wen Zhihao patted Sun Fuyu. “I’m looking forward to it.”

The two of them got on their swords and flew out of the sect. To Wen Zhihao’s surprise, they went to the lake-side restaurant that Wen Zhihao had initially suggested for Sun Fuyu’s birthday.

When they landed, the mortals quickly stepped back. Since this wasn’t a town they often went to, the residents were not familiar with them and so treated these cultivators with a mixture of fear and respect.

This particular restaurant was relatively avant-garde in comparison to its time period. The waiters were all dressed in neat uniforms, and they were able to suppress most of their surprise when a golden robed cultivator and yellowed robe cultivator from the Golden Sun Sect walked in.

“A private room overlooking the lake,” Sun Fuyu said.

“Yes, Master Cultivators,” the waiter bowed.

The private room they were taken to was opulently decorated in the detailed, intricate style favoured in this ancient era. The place was rich enough to have glass in the windows, allowing them to see the lake, the surface rippling with light from the lakeside buildings. The waiter gave them a menu each and retreated.

“Order whatever Wen-ge likes. I have the money!” Sun Fuyu said, his posture straight and his face perfectly serious.

Wen Zhihao laughed. “Yes, Xiao Yu.”

Together they ordered multiple dishes. Wen Zhihao picked some favourites for both of them and some dishes that Aunty Liu Jing hadn’t cooked for him yet.

The food came out quickly. Between bites, they talked about the more complex details about Sun Fuyu’s missions and Wen Zhihao’s qi-infusion ink process that wouldn’t have made sense to the kitchen staff.

During the long series of missions, Sun Fuyu had fought evil demons, malicious demonic cultivators, collected rare plants, and even visited a hidden realm! Sun Fuyu was really admirable and very strong. He was a true proper sword cultivator.

“You are very strong and very admirable,” Wen Zhihao praised.

Spots of pink appeared on Sun Fuyu’s cheeks. “En.” He was happy that Wen-ge noticed all his hard-work. He was going to continue to live up to Wen-ge praise! He was a sword cultivator and Wen-ge was a talisman cultivator. It was a very good match!

Once dessert came out, though, Sun Fuyu started to shift restlessly, giving Wen Zhihao sneaky looks.

Wen Zhihao: ...

But it was cute, so Wen Zhihao pretended not to notice for now. He unhurriedly ate his tangyuan, while asking Sun Fuyu whether or not he had seen Zhang Wu talking to his senior martial siblings yet.

“Zhang-shixiong?” Sun Fuyu’s lips turned down. “Why?”

“If all goes well, he will be ending his career as a teacher and going on missions instead,” Wen Zhihao said. “If the others under Senior Liu Zhongmin are anything like you, then I’m sure they will be excellent cultivators to work with.”

Sun Fuyu took a moment to parse the hidden compliment. He smiled shyly. “In the future, will Wen-ge work with me?”

“Yes.” As long as I don’t have to fight, Wen Zhihao internally sweated. “Xiao Yu, you don’t like the tangyuan? I’ve seen you eating tangyuan before...Oh, Xiao Yu, slow down!”

Sun Fuyu had hurried to show that he was eating, but tangyuan couldn’t just be swallowed like that! They need to be chewed!

After they finished eating, Sun Fuyu paid. The two of them headed out for a stroll along the lakeside to help digest their food.

Some parts of the lakeside path were dimly lit, so there weren’t many others around. Since they were cultivators, the low light did not bother them.

Sun Fuyu played nervously with his sleeves. Wen Zhihao glanced at him with an unconscious fond smile on his lips. It was really time to put Sun Fuyu out of his misery.

Wen Zhihao stopped walking and asked, “Xiao Yu, is there something else on your mind?”

Sun Fuyu became even more nervous. “Yes…” he admitted. He fiddled with his robe pockets. “I have a gift for ge.” He took out a refined ring box and held it out to Wen Zhihao. “Happy Birthday, Wen-ge. I hope you like it.”

Aunty Liu Jing: Sun Fuyu is such a lovely young man. Wen Zhihao on the other hand...

Sun Fuyu: Wen-ge, Wen-ge… *bright eyes following Wen Zhihao*

Aunty Liu Jing: Aiya, but the cabbage is running after the pig…