Chapter 59 Part 2

Gu Yuan smiled faintly. “Looks like the Sleeping Beauty label on me can’t be removed.”

“Of course.” Zhou Chiyu continued describing the party scene in his mind. “Note that the Sleeping Beauty kid must have red lips and white teeth, lively and healthy, because it’s his ninth birthday banquet.”

Ninth birthday banquet?

Gu Yuan’s thoughts slowed. In his ears rang the childish voice of Zhou Chiyu.

It was eight-year-old Zhou Chiyu singing the birthday song.

Back then, Zhou Chiyu was chubby, sang with full vigor, and looked the cutest in the world no matter what he wore.

“At the birthday banquet, the Sleeping Beauty kid received many gifts. His most adorable little brother popped out of a gift box and handed him a Treasure Map.”

“Treasure Map?” Gu Yuan had already started manipulating the code, creating the birthday party scene according to Zhou Chiyu’s idea. “What’s the Treasure Map for?”

Zhou Chiyu paused. “This was the birthday surprise I prepared for you…”

To celebrate Gu Yuan’s ninth birthday, he had prepared for a long time, even spending half a year in advance on nine gifts. He had originally planned to hide them in corners of various rooms for Gu Yuan to hunt for like treasure, but that drowning incident disrupted all his plans.

This was the first time he shared these things with anyone.

Those nine gifts never made it to the USA with Gu Yuan.

Bai Wenran had said that the laboratory where Gu Yuan was staying had extremely strict sterile requirements. Neither the fluffy dolls nor the Quartz Sand Painting he had carefully made could be brought in.

Zhou Chiyu had been extremely disappointed back then, but he knew full well it was all for Gu Yuan’s sake.

“Those gifts are all in your bedroom. If you’re interested, you can go take a look. If not, forget it…”

Zhou Chiyu’s voice grew heavier and heavier. The regrets from when he was eight seemed to linger until now, impossible to let go.

Gu Yuan’s brows slowly furrowed. He said gently, “Of course I’m interested. I’ll check them out after we get back.”

“Mm.” Zhou Chiyu hummed in satisfaction. “I preserved those gifts perfectly. They’re not worn at all.”

“My sweety is amazing.” Gu Yuan ruffled his hair and adjusted the server cluster parameters. “No worries. The birthday surprise you prepared for me can be realized here.”

Zhou Chiyu hesitated a bit. “Will making this affect your competition score?”

“The competition score doesn’t matter.” Gu Yuan slid the log on the touchpad lightly. A chubby little boy model appeared on the display. “What matters is whether you’re happy.”

“The birthday backdrop wall needs to say ‘Gu Yuan is the handsomest’…”

“Bro, can you make my avatar a bit slimmer?”

“Yeah, yeah, just like that—handsome and dashing.”

Gu Yuan put on the VR Glasses and built these details bit by bit according to Zhou Chiyu’s instructions. Suddenly, the debugger reported an error. He discovered his computer was under attack from Archer’s data flood, and the entire Virtual Space plunged into darkness.

“Bro? What’s going on?”

Archer flashed a triumphant smile. “My background is a sci-fi city a hundred years from now. Way more interesting than yours. Want to come visit?”

“No need to worry.”

Gu Yuan calmly tapped the keyboard, swiftly introducing the law of entropy increase. Soon, the screen recovered, continuing to display the lively, joyful children’s party.

Zhou Chiyu noticed that Gu Yuan’s fingers were slender and beautiful. When he raised his wrist to operate the keyboard, it was as relaxed and fluid as a pianist touching the keys.

Admiration filled his eyes. “Bro, you’re amazing.”

In a few seconds, Gu Yuan built a dessert chef for the Little Fat Fish model in the scene. “Your favorite.”

“Indeed.” Zhou Chiyu found programming intriguing. He rested his chin lightly on Gu Yuan’s shoulder. “Bro, I want to learn too.”

Gu Yuan said, “Sure, I’ll teach you later.”

This Hackathon had a 24-hour limit, and everyone was deeply immersed in the intense competition.

“Right, that day I also prepared a fireworks show for you.”

Zhou Chiyu stared at the screen. “Can we try it?”

“Should be fine.”

The “da-da” sounds of typing were rhythmic and smooth. Gu Yuan’s operations were skilled and fluid. Zhou Chiyu watched the screen intently, but the fireworks still didn’t appear.

“Server overload. Your world has collapsed.”

The girl next door said regretfully, “You’ll have to rebuild.”

Gu Yuan’s voice grew heavy. “Mm.”

“No problem.” Zhou Chiyu’s brows furrowed. “I’ll stick with you and start over.”

The scenery on the display began fragmenting and disappearing.

“You can take one last look at Sleeping Beauty kid’s ninth birthday banquet.” Gu Yuan turned his head with a light smile and placed his VR earphones on Zhou Chiyu’s head. “Starting the countdown: ten, nine, eight…”

A brilliant streak of light flashed before Zhou Chiyu’s eyes. The cake, piano, snacks, and even their character models gradually blurred.

He smiled wistfully. “No worries. I’ve already seen it once.”

At that moment, the vanishing scenes sharpened again. The pitch-black sky suddenly burst with a brilliant cluster of colorful fireworks.

The flowing lights of the fireworks fell on the faces of the two little boys. They sat atop a tall castle, heads tilted back, admiring the sky full of fireworks.

The Zhou Chiyu in the scene held a Lollipop in his mouth, looking extremely happy.

“Bro, what happened?”

Before he finished speaking, the fireworks that had dissipated completely rose again, as if rewound. They regrouped in the night sky, forming a line of text—

“You’re my sweety—Gu Yuan’s easter egg.”