Shen Yu Ming suddenly chuckled lightly. “Hmm.”

People celebrating their birthday have privileges, so he shouldn’t mind too much.

Yu Yan cleared his throat. “Are you done eating?”

“Mm, do you need something?”

Shen Yu Ming raised his eyes slightly. In his deep, dark eyes, there seemed to be a mist, and while his gaze appeared no different from usual, Yu Yan could distinctly sense a touch of loneliness in it.

“There’s a mall nearby, how about we go shopping? I’ll buy you some clothes and also get some cashmere yarn.” Yu Yan fiddled with his phone, not looking up.

“Buy me clothes?” Shen Yu Ming raised his eyebrows slightly, pausing for a moment before his calm voice rose a bit. “A birthday gift? I don’t celebrate my birthday.”

Yu Yan immediately explained, “No, it’s just that last time at the welfare home, I got your clothes dirty, so I’m compensating you.”

Shen Yu Ming had accepted him into the company as a favor, so it would be reasonable for him to send a birthday gift.

However, bringing the birthday person along to choose the gift on the day itself was unnecessary. Not only did it lack sincerity, but it also deprived the birthday person of the joy of unwrapping a present.

“Okay,” Shen Yu Ming didn’t refuse and then asked, pretending to be surprised, “So what’s the yarn for?”

“To knit a scarf.”

The shop assistant sent a confirmation message, and Yu Yan breathed a sigh of relief, locking his phone and setting it aside.

There had been a few kilos of cashmere yarn at home, but Jiang Mo had suddenly decided to learn knitting scarves and wasted most of it.

Recently, Yu Yan had knitted a scarf halfway, but there wouldn’t be enough yarn left.

Shen Yu Ming parted his lips slightly, seeming surprised. “You know how to knit scarves?”

Yu Yan quickly explained, “Yeah, I can knit sweaters too. When I was little at the welfare home, I learned from the director’s mom. We would take apart donated sweaters that were too warm or didn’t fit, boil the yarn for a while, and then use it again to knit new clothes.”

Shen Yu Ming lowered his gaze, his voice soft, “When I was little, my mom would knit scarves for me.”

Why “when I was little”?

Yu Yan didn’t have a habit of prying into others’ privacy, so despite his many questions, he didn’t ask.

He softened, tentatively speaking, “How about… I knit you a scarf? Consider it a birthday gift?”

To Yu Yan, gifts made with one’s own hands always had a special sense of ceremony, even if they weren’t valuable.

“Is it troublesome? If it is, then forget it.” Shen Yu Ming raised his head, slightly surprised.

“It’s not troublesome at all. We can pick the yarn together,” Yu Yan quickly responded.

In this brief moment, the matter with Shen Mu Yang had already slipped from his mind.

After paying the bill, the two went straight to the neighboring mall. Yu Yan found a store selling cashmere yarn and let Shen Yu Ming choose for himself.

Jiang Mo liked cream white and apricot colors, Yu Lin liked gray and black, and Yu Chen only liked black because he thought it looked powerful.

After they finished picking, Yu Yan turned and saw that Shen Yu Ming had chosen several bundles of indigo cashmere yarn. Just as he was about to scan the payment code, Shen Yu Ming suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“Chen Ge, I’ll pay.”

Yu Yan tugged lightly, but couldn’t break free.

He had bought more items, and since the scarf was the birthday gift he had promised Shen Yu Ming, it didn’t make sense for the birthday person to pay for it.

“I have a shopping card, it expires at the end of the month.”

Yu Yan suddenly realized, and without a word, he put his phone away.

The shop assistant hesitated for a moment after taking the shopping card but silently swiped it.

After buying the yarn, Yu Yan took Shen Yu Ming to an upstairs clothing store.

“This is for the clothes I ruined, so I’ll pay.”

Shen Yu Ming didn’t say much, glancing at the store. “The style is very much like you.”

At a glance, all the items had prominent logos. Wearing this would be like wearing a sign saying, “I’m wearing designer clothes,” or “I’m wealthy.”

Putting the logos aside, the clothes were still quite stylish. This was the same chain store where Jiang Mo had taken Yu Yan to buy clothes before.

But this style clearly didn’t suit Shen Yu Ming.

“Let’s go to another one.” Yu Yan pulled him out.

Fortunately, Shen Yu Ming wasn’t as picky about clothes as he usually seemed. It didn’t take long for him to pick out a black trench coat.

It cost a five-figure sum, and Yu Yan winced a little when swiping the card.

After buying the clothes, Yu Yan received a call from Yu Chen.

He muttered a few words, said he’d be home soon, and then hung up.

“Is there an emergency?” Shen Yu Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.

Yu Yan shook his head. “No, it’s just curfew.”

The Yu family’s curfew was 10:30 PM, but it applied only to him. Jiang Mo was worried he might stay out late, so she set the rule.

But when the time came, Jiang Mo and Yu Lin wouldn’t call to hurry him, at most they’d send a few messages, unlike Yu Chen who would call every ten minutes.

“I’ll take you home.” Shen Yu Ming glanced at the time.

Yu Yan checked his phone. “Wait a bit more, I still have something to do. I’ve already told my parents I’ll be late.”

“What about your brother?”

“Don’t worry about him.”

Yu Yan dragged Shen Yuming around the mall for half an hour, buying several Lego sets, saying he would build them when bored in the office.

Of course, everything was charged to Shen Yuming’s shopping card, which was supposedly “expiring” at the end of the month.

After half an hour, Yu Yan answered a phone call and pulled Shen Yuming towards a dessert shop on the first floor.

He was holding shopping bags in one hand and a birthday cake from the dessert shop in the other, walking much slower than before.

Shen Yuming swallowed, staring at the cake for a while. “Is this the ‘something’ you had to do?”

“Yeah, it’s not midnight yet, so I’m celebrating your birthday,” Yu Yan chuckled, his eyes curved with a smile.

The mall closed at 10 PM, and with Yu Yan’s family curfew, they didn’t find a place to rest but took the cake to the car instead.

Yu Yan placed the cake on the center console and held a candle in his hand. “Give me the lighter.”

Shen Yuming paused for a moment before pulling a lighter from his pocket.

It wasn’t one of those cheap one-yuan lighters from the roadside. This one had a silver metal casing with a pattern engraved on it, looking quite expensive.

Yu Yan fumbled for a while, unable to find the switch, and looked up to find Shen Yuming watching him.

“How do you open this thing?”

He handed it over, but Shen Yuming didn’t take it. Instead, he pressed the switch underneath with his hand.

Yu Yan took out the object that popped up and realized it wasn’t a lighter at all, but a cigarette lighter.

“Wow, high-end!”

So why didn’t they just use the car’s cigarette lighter?

The candle was soon lit, and its flickering light reflected on the windshield.

“Make a wish already.”

With Yu Yan’s repeated urging and his expectant gaze, Shen Yuming suddenly smiled and slowly closed his eyes.

The air in the narrow car stagnated. The warmth from the candlelight spread across his face, and the faint scent of the candle lingered in the air, while the cheerful tune of “Happy Birthday” played in the background.

The light and shadows swirled on his eyelids, and the song became fuzzy, only to gradually clear up again. Shen Yuming could almost picture Yu Yan clapping and singing the birthday song.

He seemed to have really given up on competing for the company, even though it was supposed to be his. He didn’t even mind the surveillance and investigation from both Shen Yuming and Yu Chen.

Shen Yuming didn’t make a wish. He never believed in these empty things. He only believed that if you wanted something, you had to take it. If you couldn’t take it, then steal it. And even after stealing it, you had to be wary of others.

When the time seemed right, he slowly opened his eyes, blew out the candle, and looked at the person in front of him.

Yu Yan smiled, showing two beautiful dimples. While saying “Happy Birthday,” he quickly took the candle off and started cutting the cake.

Yu Yan gave the first piece to Shen Yuming, taking the second piece for himself.

“Eat it.” Yu Yan noticed Shen Yuming staring at him and blinked twice.

When Shen Yuming took a bite, he asked, “Is it good?”

“Good. Quite expensive, right?” Shen Yuming casually asked.

Yu Yan shook his head. “The cake isn’t expensive. It’s just that they were about to leave, so I paid extra for them to make it.”

Shen Yuming suddenly smiled. “How much extra?”

“Not much,” Yu Yan mumbled.

Because of the curfew, Yu Chen kept calling, but Yu Yan deflected him each time.

Having eaten earlier, neither of them was hungry. Yu Yan packed the remaining half of the cake into a box, placing it on the back seat for Shen Yuming to take home and store in the fridge for later.

At exactly 11 PM, when Yu Chen called for the sixth time, the black Rolls-Royce finally stopped at the intersection near the villa.

Yu Yan didn’t rush to leave after getting out of the car but knocked on the car window.

Shen Yuming, understanding, rolled the window down and glanced up slightly.

“Drive carefully when you head back. If the cake is ruined, don’t eat it.”

Shen Yuming lifted the corner of his lips. “Mm.”

It was just one sentence, but Yu Yan waved his hand and quickly jogged back with the items in hand.

His family was still awake, watching a movie and waiting for him.

“Why so late?” Yu Chen took the items and looked at him disapprovingly.

Jiang Mo immediately chimed in, “What did you play, darling? Did you have fun?”

Yu Yan sat down on the sofa. “When we visited the welfare home before, I accidentally got Chen Ge’s clothes dirty, so I bought him a new one to replace it.”

He had donated supplies to the welfare home and promised to help support the children’s education. His family already knew about it and fully supported the idea. They even suggested starting a charitable foundation, with Yu Yan taking the lead.

However, since he had little experience, he politely declined, saying he would consider it again when a more suitable opportunity arose.

In fact, when they first acknowledged him, Yu Lin and Jiang Mo had already made a generous donation to the Rongcheng welfare home, and it even made the news.

“Did he force you to compensate him?”

Yu Chen furrowed his brows, holding his phone in his right hand, as though he would immediately call Shen Yuming the moment Yu Yan said “yes.”

“No, it was my own decision. I thought if I dirtied his clothes, I should compensate him,” Yu Yan glanced at the time. “It’s getting late, you should go back to sleep.”

Jiang Mo yawned, “Goodnight, darling.”

“Goodnight, Mom and Dad, goodnight, big brother.” Yu Yan waved his hand and took the cashmere yarn back to his room.

“Don’t stay up late making scarves, darling, there’s no rush for this one,” Jiang Mo reminded him.

Yu Yan made an “OK” gesture. “Okay, Mom, no problem, no problem.”

Back in his room, Yu Yan opened Shen Yuming’s WeChat, intending to ask if he had arrived home, but suddenly noticed his profile picture appeared on the Moments.

Shen Yuming posted on Moments?

He clicked on it and saw that his previously empty Moments now had a photo—of a half-eaten cake.