"Wen Yao."

Wen Yao slowly raised her head, looking at the person in front of her.

"I got the cake." Jiang Shuyi said, gently raising the cake box in her hand.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang Shuyi followed Wen Yao's gaze but only saw a crowd of pedestrians.

Earlier, in order to keep Wen Yao from knowing what the cake looked like, Jiang Shuyi had made Wen Yao sit at the entrance of the cake shop, waiting for her.

"Nothing," Wen Yao said quietly as she stood up from the bench. "Let's go back."

Jiang Shuyi followed her, leaning closer to Wen Yao.

"Wen Yao, can you link your arm with mine? I feel like my hands are empty..."

". . ." Wen Yao glanced at the shopping bags Jiang Shuyi was carrying and didn't feel that way at all.

Because Jiang Shuyi wanted everything she saw, especially paired items, she ended up buying a bunch of things, from toothbrushes to drinking cups. Now she was carrying a load of bags.

There was absolutely no room for another hand in that arm.

Yet despite this, Jiang Shuyi's face was still full of joy, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Comparing their expressions, Wen Yao momentarily couldn't tell who was actually celebrating a birthday.

"Don't you feel tired?"

Instead of linking her arm, Wen Yao took a few of the paper bags from Jiang Shuyi's hands.

"Not at all," Jiang Shuyi replied cheerfully, lightly bumping her head against Wen Yao's. "Are you worried about me?"

"Of course, you're worried about me." Jiang Shuyi smiled.

The two strolled down the street, leisurely making their way back home.

---

Upon returning home, Jiang Shuyi set the items aside. Without even taking off her coat, she eagerly hugged Wen Yao and gave her a kiss.

"We're finally home."

---Home...

Wen Yao blinked.

Jiang Shuyi kept exclaiming that it was Wen Yao's birthday, urging her not to go into the kitchen, then walked in with candles and a cake.

Wen Yao didn't say anything and slowly began to organize the items in the bags.

She looked at the matching cups Jiang Shuyi had picked out and couldn't help but find it a bit silly.

Even though she had said the cups at home were the same style, Jiang Shuyi insisted, "The patterns are different, and this one is cuter," adding, "It's not expensive," and tossed it into the shopping cart.

Opening the shopping bag revealed that Jiang Shuyi had also bought some completely useless items.

Wen Yao didn't understand why there were so many unnecessary things in the world, nor why Jiang Shuyi felt compelled to buy them.

—Shouldn't this alpha have less disposable income?

". . ." Wen Yao frowned.

Before she could organize for long, Jiang Shuyi turned off the living room lights and came out singing "Happy Birthday" while holding the cake.

Jiang Shuyi sang fairly well, but Wen Yao felt an overwhelming sense of dissonance.

Happy birthday song.

This wasn't something particularly rare to hear, but hearing it on her birthday made Wen Yao feel like it was a long time ago.

"Happy birthday."

Jiang Shuyi seemed really happy as she placed the cake in front of Wen Yao, clapping her hands and putting the little hat from the cake shop on Wen Yao's head.

"The filling of this cake has special pudding, inside there are fruits you like to eat, and the cream is not the heavy kind, it's one I chose after a long time."

"How is it, Wen Yao?"

Jiang Shuyi sat beside her with a big smile, as if asking for her praise.

"Do you like this cake?"

". . ." Wen Yao felt quite uncomfortable with the hat on her head.

The candles on the cake were burning, and a sparkler was placed in the center. The firelight illuminated Jiang Shuyi's face, and her smile was very sincere.

"Mm."

Wen Yao didn't understand how Jiang Shuyi could always be so happy. She looked at the eager flames, then glanced at Jiang Shuyi beside her and quietly said, "...Thank you."

Regardless, there were indeed people in this world who didn't celebrate their birthdays, and Wen Yao was one of them.

However, if she were to say whether she would be happy that someone celebrated for her, she couldn't bring herself to say "not happy."

Jiang Shuyi was eagerly watching her.

"Wen Yao, Wen Yao, remember to make a wish before you blow out the candles."

"Make a wish..." Wen Yao repeated.

"Huh? You didn't know? When you blow out the birthday cake candles, you can make three wishes."

Thinking she had discovered Wen Yao's blind spot, Jiang Shuyi began to explain.

"I know."

Wen Yao looked at the candlelight reflected in Jiang Shuyi's eyes, sighed quietly, and said:

"In the past, people believed that the smoke rising when blowing out the candles would go to heaven, so they made wishes to the candles."

"Because people believed that the smoke would carry their wishes to heaven."

It wasn't that she didn't know, she just couldn't do what Jiang Shuyi suggested—sincerely close her eyes and make a wish.

Making a wish on a cake was something only children did.

Wen Yao believed even more firmly that nothing would happen just by making a wish on a cake. The idea that blowing out candles would grant wishes was merely a non-scientific saying, a value attributed by people.

If simply wishing on a candle flame could make wishes come true, then there wouldn't be any candles left in the world...

"I see."

After listening to Wen Yao, Jiang Shuyi nodded and immediately ran to open the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.

As soon as the window was opened, the cold air from outside rushed in.

"What are you doing?" Wen Yao frowned.

"If we open the window, the smoke should be able to dissipate faster."

Jiang Shuyi hugged her own shoulders and looked at Wen Yao, taking a deep breath, "Wen Yao, hurry up and make a wish."

—Idiot.

Wen Yao thought this but, in such an atmosphere, closed her eyes for a moment.

After counting an appropriate amount of time in her mind, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Jiang Shuyi, who was sitting beside her, watching her with anticipation.

"Mm, done." She said dismissively.

Jiang Shuyi tugged at her sleeve. "What did you wish for?"

Jiang Shuyi asked softly, as if afraid of startling the candle flames.

"Why do you ask this?" Wen Yao looked at Jiang Shuyi, furrowing her brows slightly.

"I want to know what wish you made, of course, it's to understand you better." Jiang Shuyi smiled, refusing to let go,

"I also want to know if your wish has something to do with me. If it does, then the smoke from the candles doesn't need to go to heaven, I can help you fulfill it..."

Jiang Shuyi looked at Wen Yao seriously, speaking confidently.

Wen Yao, holding her chin, looked seriously at Jiang Shuyi, squinting her eyes.

"Is that so."

Wen Yao's voice was faint, subtly shifting her gaze away without a trace, gently blowing out the candle.

"Hey... why do you still not believe me?" Jiang Shuyi said, a bit dissatisfied. Every time she spoke seriously, Wen Yao treated it like a lie.

"Just say it, I won't tell anyone else."

Jiang Shuyi held Wen Yao's hand, determined to get an answer.

"Go close the windows, you might catch a cold." Wen Yao said quietly.

---

"This is for you."

As Jiang Shuyi recited the ingredients of the cake, she brought the chocolate caramel piece with Wen Yao's name on it to Wen Yao's mouth.

Wen Yao gently opened her mouth and ate it.

"There's a bit left," Jiang Shuyi said, looking at the melted chocolate on her thumb and forefinger, licking it without a care. "This is so good."

—She was just causing a ruckus earlier, and now she's suddenly so happy.

Wen Yao, resting her chin on her hand, looked at Jiang Shuyi in disbelief.

"Baby, this is for you." Jiang Shuyi jiggled her shoulders and placed a large piece of cake in front of Wen Yao.

Wen Yao frowned slightly at the large piece of cake on her plate.

The two of them had already eaten dinner outside, so Wen Yao felt that the size of this cake exceeded her expectations.

But Jiang Shuyi was enjoying it, her face covered in cream, as messy as ever.

Wen Yao quietly pushed the strawberry and pudding parts of the cake over to Jiang Shuyi. "Have some more."

Jiang Shuyi nodded happily.

---

After eating the cake, Jiang Shuyi once again took Wen Yao to the yard because the Spring Festival had passed, and there was no place nearby where they could buy fireworks anytime.

Jiang Shuyi bought sparklers from the mall, although these were not as loud as firecrackers and the sparks were not as big, they were safe and beautiful.

Not wanting to use a lighter every time, Jiang Shuyi lit a large candle in the yard.

"I'm so happy." Jiang Shuyi sighed.

"Let's go somewhere farther in the future?"

—How long is "in the future"? And how far is "farther"?

Wen Yao lowered her gaze.

Jiang Shuyi discreetly observed Wen Yao's expression, "What are you thinking about now, Wen Yao?"

"I'm not quite sure." Wen Yao seemed to come back to her senses, looking up at Jiang Ruyi.

"Then I guess you must be head over heels for me by now."

Jiang Shuyi whispered softly in her ear.

She had been saying this a lot recently.

The orange candlelight and sparks illuminated Wen Yao's face as she raised her head to look at Jiang Shuyi, who was also gazing at her.

Wen Yao noticed her own reflection mirrored in Jiang Shuyi's pupils, the sparks and her own shadow looking intensely vibrant in this person's eyes.

Wen Yao gazed into Jiang Shuyi's eyes and couldn't help but reach out to wrap her arms around her neck and kiss her...

---

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