The next day, Xu Lai was woken up early in the morning by his daughter.
"Daddy, wake up, please wake up."
Xu Yiyi’s little face was filled with urgency. "Daddy, Mommy is crying!"
Xu Lai naturally knew why. He lifted the little girl onto the bed and smiled. "Today is Mommy’s birthday. Give her a kiss later, okay?"
Xu Yiyi obediently bobbed her little head and said mysteriously, "Yiyi prepared a gift for Mommy."
"What is it?" Xu Lai’s interest was piqued.
"I’m not telling Daddy."
"You little rascal." Xu Lai playfully booped his daughter’s nose and chuckled. "Go wash up."
By the time Ruan Tang woke up, it was already afternoon.
The afternoon sun slanted down, its light filtering through the curtains and onto her body. Ruan Tang opened her eyes and found her pillow damp, clearly with tears. She didn’t get up. In a rare moment of indulgence, she stayed in bed, hugging her knees and closing her eyes again. But no matter how long she lay there, it was impossible to fall back asleep and continue the dream she never wanted to wake from.
"Get up and wash up. It’s time to go out," Xu Lai’s voice sounded from outside the door at just the right moment.
"I don’t want to," Ruan Tang refused in a very quiet voice.
She had just dreamt of her grandmother. From a smooth, mirror-like ocean, she had seen scenes from her childhood with her grandmother, some of which even she had long since forgotten. She didn’t want to wake up at all!
"A dream is still just a dream, after all," Xu Lai sighed.
"Then I’m coming in to pull off your blanket."
But in the end... Xu Lai really did push the door open and lift a corner of the blanket. "Let me guess. Are you wearing pajamas, or nothing at all..."
"Shut up and get out!" Ruan Tang’s cheeks burned. She never would have imagined that Xu Lai would actually dare to lift her blanket. Although he only lifted a corner and couldn’t see anything, a wisp of cool air still made her heart pound with panic.
"I’ll give you an hour. Remember to change into a beautiful outfit."
"You’ll find out in a bit."
Ruan Tang was annoyed at Xu Lai for always leaving his sentences half-finished, but she still got everything ready within the allotted time. She even put on some simple, light makeup, something she never did. She had a faint suspicion that Xu Lai was planning to celebrate her birthday.
"Alright, I’m ready. Now what?" Ruan Tang asked, walking into the living room with a cold expression.
"How far is it from here to Mount Haitang?" Xu Lai asked casually.
"About twenty kilometers," Ruan Tang frowned, not understanding why he was asking.
"Let me perform a magic trick for you." Xu Lai snapped his fingers and chuckled. "Close your eyes for five seconds. When you open them, you’ll discover—"
Ruan Tang had no idea what was about to happen. She closed her eyes in confusion, and immediately felt a salty breeze and heard the cries of seagulls in her ears.
"You can open your eyes now."
Xu Lai’s words made Ruan Tang hesitate for a long moment. When she finally opened her eyes and saw the scene before her, she gasped. This was the summit of Mount Haitang! Below her, the entirety of East Sea City and the vast, boundless sea stretched out before her eyes.
"H-how did you do that?" Ruan Tang asked, stunned.
Five seconds to teleport twenty kilometers... that’s impossible for the Human Race!
"Don’t ask. If you have to ask, it was magic. And this doesn’t even count as the real gift." Xu Lai lifted his chin. "I’ve booked this entire sea and Mount Haitang just for you!" The source of this content ɪs N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
The line sounded like it was straight out of a cheesy romance drama, but Ruan Tang couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat. "What... do you mean?"
"From now until tomorrow morning, no one else will be here. It’s just us," Xu Lai smiled. "I had a friend book this place for your birthday celebration. The news somehow leaked out, but I hope you don’t mind?"
Ruan Tang looked down at the villas at the foot of the mountain. She could faintly make out the path she had walked with her grandmother for over a decade. The surprise brought tears to her eyes. How could she possibly mind? She couldn’t thank him enough!
"Mommy, happy birthday!" Xu Yiyi suddenly jumped out from behind a tree. She giggled, "Ta-da! This is your present! I want a kiss!"
Ruan Lan also emerged, a complex expression on her face. Earlier in the day, Xu Lai had told her to bring Yiyi here to the mountaintop to wait. At first, she thought it was a ridiculous fantasy. But after his repeated assurances, Ruan Lan came, half-expecting to be disappointed. Instead, she was led respectfully to the summit by the staff. It turned out Xu Lai really had booked the entire Mount Haitang.
"Thank you, Yiyi." Ruan Tang happily crouched down, and Xu Yiyi gave her a loud SMOOCH on the cheek.
Under her little daughter’s expectant gaze, Ruan Tang opened the present. It was a marker drawing of three people: a man and a woman holding a small child’s hand. It was, unmistakably, their family of three.
It touched a soft spot in Ruan Tang’s heart. She kissed her daughter’s forehead again. "Thank you, Mommy loves it."
"This is my gift." Xu Lai took a bracelet from his pocket, made of ten translucent, sparkling stones. Even Ruan Tang, who was normally indifferent to gems and jewelry, felt herself captivated at first glance, feeling an inexplicable fondness for it.
"Let me put it on for you," Xu Lai said with a smile.
Ruan Tang hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Taking her soft, slender white hand, Xu Lai put the bracelet—crafted from ten of the most brilliant stars in the Universe—on his wife. He then gave her palm a playful little tickle.
Ruan Tang, who was already admiring the bracelet, felt her face flush red in an instant. She shot Xu Lai a cold glare.
"Ahem, there are more surprises," Xu Lai said, quickly changing the subject.
"Daddy, where?" Xu Yiyi asked curiously.
"For it to get dark."
There was less than an hour until nightfall. Xu Lai had already set up a barbecue grill on the summit, along with all sorts of ingredients: seafood, a whole lamb, and meat skewers. That’s right. The birthday feast wasn’t some grand Manchu-Han Imperial Feast or a fancy Western dinner, but a simple barbecue.
After all, as Nicholas Zhao Shuren once said: "Barbecue is a great thing!"
While Xu Lai was grilling, Ruan Tang, Ruan Lan, and Xu Yiyi watched the afterglow of the sunset spill across the sea’s surface, then slowly sink below the horizon. A breeze swept by, making all the Haitang flowers on the mountain sway gently. The only slight shame was that most of the Haitang flowers had either withered or had yet to bloom, as September was not their season.
"What a pity. If all the Haitang flowers were blooming together, it would be so beautiful," Ruan Lan remarked wistfully.
Xu Lai just smiled without a word, sprinkling a pinch of cumin on the meat skewers.
The three of them ate their barbecue as they waited for night to fall. When the moon had climbed high into the sky, bathing the land in darkness, Ruan Tang looked at Xu Lai expectantly, waiting for the so-called surprise. Ruan Lan gently nudged Xu Yiyi, who took the hint and called out in her sweet voice, "It’s dark now, Daddy! Where’s the surprise?"
Xu Lai snapped his fingers. The three women stared, completely dumbfounded. In an instant, every single Haitang flower across the entire mountain burst into bloom.
They all emitted a faint, soft glow. Then, petal by petal, they rose on the wind, floating into the air like a swirl of fireflies! The entirety of East Sea City was filled with drifting Haitang petals of every color.
That night, the entire city was fragrant with the scent of Haitang