The dinner was so magnificent that I really couldn’t help but overeat. Right now, I was so bloated that my stomach was aching, and I was standing out on the balcony, letting the breeze help me digest.
Suddenly, a furry sensation brushed against my ankle. It was actually quite warm. Startled, I practically launched myself into the air out of reflex. Who would have thought that my explosive movement would scare the little furball just as much?
“Cungu! When did you sneak over here?”
I felt helpless. Cungu was already a naturally timid cat, and having been thoroughly spooked by me, she had now squeezed herself into a tight crevice. No matter how much I tried to coax her, she wouldn’t budge.
Heaven knows I didn’t mean to do it.
She was already terrified, and the moment my hand brushed against her, she began to tremble violently. I seriously worried she might die of fright before I could even fish her out of there.
Didn’t they say cats get braver as they grow up? I thought. Turns out she’s still the exact same scaredy-cat as always.
“What are you doing?”
I looked up to find Zhang Youning standing behind me with a lollipop in her mouth. Who knows how long she had been watching.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I said, “I accidentally scared Cungu, and now she’s hiding in the corner and won’t come out.”
Without a word, she squatted down, reached her hand straight into the gap, and cleanly yanked Cungu out by her two ears, tossing her straight into her cage.
“You spoil her too much. She’s just being dramatic,” Zhang Youning said expressionlessly, clapping the dust off her hands.
I was honestly a little stunned by the sheer efficiency of her movements.
I didn’t press further, and she didn’t offer any explanations. Instead, she took my hand and led me away from the balcony.
“Let’s eat cake.”
Back at the dining table, an exquisitely unique cake instantly caught my eye.
While its overall shape wasn’t overly bizarre, the decorations on top were incredibly eye-catching. Right in the center stood two adorable, cartoonish little girls. Flanking them on both sides of the cake were numerous little cats, each captured with a different, lifelike expression. The cake was also painted with vibrant, colorful meadow flowers. It looked like a genuine piece of art…so beautiful that it felt like a sin to even cut into it.
Seeing the look of awe on my face, Zhang Youning smiled faintly and picked up the candles and a lighter. Reacting quickly, I snatched them out of her hands and gently pushed her down into a chair. “The birthday girl should sit back and relax. Let me handle the candles!”
She didn’t stop me. Instead, she cooperatively handed me the candles one by one.
Terrified of ruining this masterpiece, I placed them with absolute precision. I pushed the digits “1” and “8” right next to the two little figurines, and placed the thickest, sparkler-like candle off to one side. Once everything was set, I glanced at Zhang Youning. She nodded in approval, but I still felt like something was missing.
“There! Perfect.”
I fished out a glowing, pink birthday hat and popped it onto Zhang Youning’s head, thoroughly satisfied with my masterpiece.
She resisted at first, but seeing how happy it made me, she submissively kept it on.
I handed her the lighter, gesturing for her to light the candles. It wasn’t that I was too scared to do it, but rather, the moment demanded proper birthday etiquette.
However, this particular candle seemed a bit unusual.
I had been wondering why anyone would design a birthday candle this massive…turns out, it actually was a firework.
A shower of golden sparks instantly illuminated the room. Shocked but utterly intrigued, I turned to look at Zhang Youning.
A relaxed, blissful smile graced her face as she gazed at the beautiful little indoor firework, her eyes reflecting the dancing golden light. For a split second, my breath caught in my throat, completely captivated by how breathtakingly beautiful she looked in that exact moment.
She really was beautiful…the kind of beauty that defied description.
The indoor firework was brief; it fizzled out before we even had a chance to sing the birthday song.
But no matter. I grabbed the lighter and lit up the number 18 instead.
Just before we started singing, a question popped into my head: Can Zhang Youning actually hear this?
Oh, whatever. Whether she could hear it or not was one thing; setting the right atmosphere and keeping up the tradition was what truly mattered.
With me leading the charge, Zhang Youning’s parents and Zhang Youning herself joined in the song.
To my absolute surprise, despite never having heard music before, Zhang Youning actually managed to stay perfectly on key.
“The girl by your side knows everything…”
The random phrase suddenly echoed in my mind.
I looked at Zhang Youning once more.
She was smiling with pure, innocent joy…just a young girl filled with hope for the future.
“A-Ling, cake.”
Looking at the slice she handed me, I nodded and shoved a massive spoonful straight into my mouth without hesitation.
Who cares about the weird mysteries? You only live once, might as well enjoy it. It’s not like she’s some kind of monster or demon.
The little figurines from the cake had been taken down and wiped clean of frosting, and were now lined up on the far end of the table alongside the toy cats. I was incredibly intrigued and wanted to pick them up and play with them, but fearing I might break them, I hesitated and ultimately held back, merely staring at them longingly.
Zhang Youning seemed to think I was staring at the cake because I was still hungry. The next second, she brought the knife down and sliced me another massive piece.
Too embarrassed to refuse, I could only finish it with tears in my eyes.
The consequence? I was now so full I could barely move.
I sat in the living room for ages trying to recover, patting my stomach and letting out a loud burp, sighing deeply at the thought of the inevitable weight gain waiting for me tomorrow.
Suddenly, Zhang Youning sidled up to me, wrapping her arms around mine and resting her head gently on my shoulder, seemingly lost in thought.
Don’t tell me she overate too?
“A-Ling, don’t leave tonight. Stay with me.”
I froze.
Right on cue, her mother walked out of the kitchen and chimed in, “She’s right, Xiao Ling. The guest room is already made up, and it’s getting so late anyway. Why don’t you just sleep over?”
I was fully prepared to decline, but when I turned around, I caught the painfully endearing, puppy-dog eyes Zhang Youning was throwing my way. Fine, I’ll stay.
Since I hadn’t brought a change of clothes, Zhang Youning graciously offered up her wardrobe.
As I rummaged through her clothes, she didn’t show a hint of annoyance. In fact, she very patiently recommended a set of pink bunny pajamas for me.
I had to admit, she really was a sweetheart…not only was she not bothered by me borrowing her clothes, but she even picked out a style she knew I’d love.
The guest room had been meticulously cleaned; the floors and tabletops were spotless, and even the white curtains maintained their pristine color without a speck of dust or yellowing.
In a wonderful mood, I flipped onto my side on the bed, hugging the cute pillow Zhang Youning had brought me while blasting the AC and scrolling through videos on my phone.
Suddenly, the bedroom door cracked open. Glancing over casually, I spotted Zhang Youning peeking in from the hallway. Catching my eye, she instinctively tried to shrink back. The sight was so adorable I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Seeing her lingering nervously at the door, I got out of bed, walked over, and pulled her into the room.
She was wearing a white bear pajama set that looked remarkably similar in style to my bunny ones. It looked incredibly cute on her…a style I had never seen her pull off before.
“What’s up? Need something?”
She studied my lips for a good while. Whether she actually understood me or not, she just nodded.
“What is it?”
Then she shook her head.
I swear, turning 18 just made her act like she was three years old again.
The next moment, she pulled out the entire collection of little figurines from the birthday cake and stuffed them into my hands.
Overjoyed, I cradled them delicately, walked over to the bed, carefully set them down, and lay on my stomach to inspect them up close.
She remained silent the whole time, simply standing by my side and watching quietly, letting out a soft smile whenever she saw how happy I was.
“This one,” she said, picking up a figurine with golden hair and a white dress and handing it to me. “Pretty. It’s you.”
Golden hair, a white dress, a gentle and quiet girl-next-door… which part of this looks remotely like me?
But then I looked at the other figurine…long, straight black hair, thin-framed glasses, and a sharp black suit. That one looked even less like me.
Even if she bought them online, she could have at least looked for something that bore a passing resemblance. This one looked straight-up like a foreign girl.
Still, since it was a heartfelt gift from Zhang Youning, I had no reason to complain. Besides, I genuinely adored them.
The four cats needed no introduction…Jinhu, Wuxue, Ningyu, and Rongcai. Their distinct features made them immediately recognizable, and they had even clearly distinguished the male cats from the female ones.
“Does A-Ling like them?”
I nodded vigorously. “I love them!”
“Then they’re yours.”
“Really?!”
“Really. If A-Ling likes them, I give them to you.”
That was brilliant. I had just been trying to think of a good excuse to borrow them for a few days, and here she was generously gifting them to me.
Consequently, I fell asleep that night clinging tightly to the pile of little toys.
I slept incredibly well that night…no bizarre dreams, no sudden awakenings. There was an inexplicable sense of security washing over me, making the night exceptionally comfortable.
When I finally sat up the next morning, I noticed that besides the side I slept on, the other half of the bed also looked like it had been slept in.
I must have been tossing and turning like a maniac last night, I thought. Thank goodness I sleep alone, otherwise anyone lying next to me would’ve probably been crushed to death.
After washing up, I headed out to find that Zhang Youning had been awake for a while, already changed and eating breakfast in the dining room.
I glanced around the house but didn’t see anyone else. Sensing my confusion, Zhang Youning spoke up directly: “My parents went to work. It’s just you and me.”
Sleeping in so late while everyone else was already productive definitely made me feel a bit guilty.
“Come eat. You’re coming to the shop with me later.”
I sat across from her, scooping myself a bowl of thick, velvety white porridge, eating slowly while sampling a few pieces of braised sides.
It wasn’t until after breakfast that I realized a severe crisis: my clothes were missing.
I rushed out in a panic to ask Zhang Youning, only to find her out on the balcony messing with the washing machine.
However, she very generously offered up her wardrobe again, letting me know I could pick whatever I wanted.
So, I immediately gravitated toward a vibrant red skirt that looked anything but cheap.
Instantly, Zhang Youning’s face fell. She snatched the skirt away, refusing to let me wear it.
Pouting in annoyance, I protested, “You’re the one who washed my clothes, and you explicitly promised I could pick whatever I wanted! Why are you backing out now?”
“Not this one. Change to something else.” I could tell she was anxious, but struggling to form the words, she could only condense her frustration into that single sentence.
She’s just being stingy because she doesn’t want me wearing her nice stuff, I thought, annoyed.
Losing all enthusiasm to keep browsing, I haphazardly grabbed an oversized T-shirt and threw it on.
Because we got a late start, Cheng Yu was already hard at work by the time we arrived at the bakery, frantically managing the day’s orders. The moment she saw us walk through the door, she looked at us like we were her saviors and immediately dragged us in to help.
Flipping through the recipe book, Cheng Yu complained, “We have way too many orders today! We have three cakes due before two o’clock alone, another three for the evening, and the shipping orders aren’t even finished yet. How do you accept reservations without checking our existing workload first?”
Zhang Youning instantly played deaf and dumb, purposely averting her eyes from Cheng Yu. Pushed to her limit, Cheng Yu ended up kicking her.
Instead of getting angry at the kick, Zhang Youning actually laughed. “Well, look at that. Free labor just arrived.”
Both of them turned their heads in perfect unison to look at me.
A sudden, terrible wave of foreboding washed over me.