Chapter 31
The house was dark. Yu Congyan reached out to turn on the light.
He felt a pang of unease. Had Xia Wansheng gone out? Why wasn’t he home at this hour?
Yu Congyan looked around but couldn’t find him.
He had rushed back specifically to check on him, knowing Xia Wansheng shouldn’t have any scheduled engagements, but he had still refused to accompany him on the business trip.
Respecting his decision, Yu Congyan hadn’t pressed further, but he was worried something might have happened.
He noticed the bedroom and study doors were both open, and Xia Wansheng wasn’t in his bedroom either.
Had he really gone out? Or had something happened…
Yu Congyan stopped his spiraling thoughts, afraid his worst fears would come true.
Just then, he heard a sound from the kitchen downstairs.
He walked towards the kitchen, reaching for the light switch, when he noticed a faint glow in the corner.
The flickering light of a candle.
Xia Wansheng, having finished making his wish, was about to blow out the candles when the lights suddenly came on.
He opened his eyes in surprise and found Yu Congyan standing at the kitchen door, still in the position of turning on the light.
“Why didn’t you turn on the lights?” Yu Congyan asked.
“…” He was about to enjoy his cake.
Xia Wansheng, still in the position of making a wish with his hands clasped together, quickly hid them in his sleeves as if nothing had happened.
He opened his mouth to explain, but didn’t know where to start.
He couldn’t just say he suddenly felt like celebrating his birthday, could he?
Yu Congyan, however, was relieved.
It was good that nothing had happened to Xia Wansheng.
He felt he was being overly anxious, pausing for a second to confirm Xia Wansheng was really there, then noticing the cake and candles on the table, realizing he was secretly celebrating his birthday in the kitchen.
His tone softened,
“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”
Having just come from intense negotiations, Yu Congyan realized his tone sounded like an accusation.
“I did tell you.” Xia Wansheng mumbled.
After his line, he picked off a cherry from the cake and popped it into his mouth, not elaborating further.
In reality, he was frantically trying to come up with an excuse.
He couldn’t force an offline exit without the system, it was better to stay put.
“I would have remembered…” Yu Congyan stopped mid-sentence, realizing something was wrong.
He had asked his assistant for Xia Wansheng’s information, and the birthday listed wasn’t today.
His birthday from last year had passed several months ago, so it wasn’t on his schedule.
“I don’t recall your birthday being today?” Yu Congyan asked.
Was he celebrating early?
Xia Wansheng didn’t answer, cutting himself a small piece of cake.
“It doesn’t matter, you weren’t here anyway.” Xia Wansheng said, taking a bite of the cake.
As a work-oriented CEO, Yu Congyan was naturally away on a business trip that day, crushing his competitors.
This conveniently provided him with a plausible excuse to explain the original owner’s thoughts.
“I…” Yu Congyan was speechless.
He suddenly realized Xia Wansheng had never mentioned his family, and even today, he was celebrating his birthday alone.
His family must not care about him, even getting his birthday wrong in his official records.
Perhaps Xia Wansheng had wanted to tell him that day at the bedroom door, but before he could, he was interrupted by the news of his business trip.
That must be why he was so disappointed.
He wanted him to be there for his birthday, why didn’t he just say so?
“Would you have come back early if you had known it was my birthday?” Xia Wansheng asked self-deprecatingly.
He remembered from the book that Yu Congyan always prioritized his career. If he was on a business trip, it must have been important.
“…” Yu Congyan remained silent.
Being home tonight was already the best outcome.
“I just happened to remember it was my birthday, don’t worry about it.” Xia Wansheng pressed on.
This was his genuine feeling.
He rarely celebrated his birthday before, but he had decided to take a break today, so he might as well do it properly.
Xia Wansheng truly didn’t care about celebrating his birthday, but Yu Congyan felt a pang of guilt.
They sat across from each other at the dining table, the cake between them like a silent accusation.
Xia Wansheng felt this was a memorable birthday.
After all, he had the tall, handsome CEO Yu Aotian accompanying him in the kitchen, eating cake.
Worried he would reveal something if he spoke too much, Xia Wansheng decided they should just enjoy the cake.
He offered to cut a piece for Yu Congyan, then scooped all the mango chunks onto his own plate.
Meeting Yu Congyan’s inquisitive gaze, Xia Wansheng’s hand holding the cake knife froze.
He had only remembered the original book’s setting of the fragile CEO being allergic to mangoes, Yu Congyan shouldn’t have told him about it, right?
“Um…sorry, I like mangoes, so…” Xia Wansheng trailed off, feeling his excuse was weak. There was no way this would fool Yu Congyan.
Yu Congyan naturally noticed his actions immediately.
He was certain no one knew about his mango allergy, he had never told anyone.
And before, when Xia Wansheng was still giving him cookies, he had even given him mango-flavored ones.
There were two possibilities: either Xia Wansheng had thoroughly researched him after being threatened, even exposing his weakness to his enemies without his knowledge;
Or the other possibility…
No, that was impossible. Transmigration and amnesia were things that only happened in novels.
Yu Congyan quickly dismissed his fanciful thoughts, wondering when he had accidentally revealed his allergy to his competitors.
“It’s fine, I don’t really like mangoes anyway.”
Yu Congyan unexpectedly accepted his explanation, not dwelling on the mango issue.
Xia Wansheng thought, as expected of a CEO, not admitting his weakness to avoid being poisoned.
As the clock on the wall approached midnight, Yu Congyan suddenly asked: “Should we sing happy birthday?”
In movies and dramas, people always sang happy birthday during lively celebrations.
Although there were only two of them now.
Xia Wansheng, about to take a large bite of kiwi, almost dropped his spoon in shock, but he maintained his composure: “You can sing?”
Was the CEO an all-rounder?
Yu Congyan shook his head, indicating he wasn’t good at singing.
Xia Wansheng said he understood, it was like those geniuses who would always say “please excuse my poor performance” before showcasing their skills.
“It’s fine, it’s just the two of us, don’t be modest, go ahead.” Xia Wansheng clapped encouragingly.
It was just a pre-performance ritual for geniuses, Xia Wansheng thought confidently.
A few minutes later.
Xia Wansheng, chin in hand, realized another fine quality of Yu Aotian—
Honesty.
He was truly tone-deaf! His speaking voice was quite pleasant, how could he be so off-key when singing even a simple happy birthday song?!
Xia Wansheng gritted his teeth and listened, feeling his expression control skills improve.
If he laughed now, his persona would be completely ruined!
And not laughing at his boss was ingrained in every worker’s DNA.
But although it was off-key, strictly speaking, this was the first time someone had offered to sing happy birthday to him.
So, after the song ended, Xia Wansheng politely applauded, regardless of the off-key performance.
He thought the birthday celebration was over and was about to suggest they return to their rooms.
But Yu Congyan felt something was missing.
There should be a gift-giving segment in a birthday celebration.
“Is there anything you want?” Yu Congyan asked.
Although he had only found out it was Xia Wansheng’s birthday today, it wasn’t too late to make it up to him.
“I haven’t thought of anything yet.” This time, Xia Wansheng was being sincere.
Since arriving here, he didn’t have to deal with scheming colleagues and bosses, nor was he woken up in the middle of the night for overtime work. This was a wonderful vacation.
“Then tell me when you think of something.” Yu Congyan said.
He would keep this birthday wish in mind and wouldn’t forget it this time.
Back in his study, Yu Congyan checked the black card he had given Xia Wansheng, then frowned.
The records showed Xia Wansheng’s spending in recent months was incredibly low.
He seemed uninterested in anything, not even the new theater productions he used to enjoy.
How could a normal person be so indifferent to material possessions? Or was this all an act to distance himself?
