“I told Zhao Jie that my Lanzhou partner studying music in Shijiazhuang came to Wenzhou to find me,” Shao Mingyin said, “I told her my partner needed me.”

The air froze like that. It was so hot just now, but for some reason, when this sentence came out, the temperature inside the car unexpectedly dropped. Liang Zhen kept blinking, unable to say anything with his mouth open. He didn’t dare look at Shao Mingyin, lowering his head to look down. This quiet and obedient demeanor was unprecedented.

The traffic light turned green, and Shao Mingyin continued driving. The long silence allowed him to come out of that unreal state of heat, and he didn’t mention the previous topic again. It’s not that he regretted it. He did tell Zhao Jie this. But telling Liang Zhen face to face, he felt quite embarrassed being twenty-five or twenty-six.

Liang Zhen, who heard every word clearly, felt even more shy. His ears, from earlobes to ear tips, turned as red as cooked shrimp. Wenzhou had a variety of seafood, and Liang Zhen, who grew up eating beef and lamb, was not used to the local cuisine. However, it had to be admitted that some of the shrimp and crab dishes were indeed delicious. Liang Zhen’s ears, stimulated to a bright red, resembled not only cooked shrimp but also steamed crabs.

“Gurgle—”

Liang Zhen rubbed his stomach. He was hungry.

He raised his head, slightly arched his back, and bit his lip obediently, saying, “I want to eat something.”

“Okay.” Shao Mingyin glanced at the time on the dashboard. It was already past twelve o’clock, and Liang Zhen had been highly nervous and physically excited for three or four hours, so the consumption was significant.

But Shao Mingyin didn’t change direction. Liang Zhen knew the way. In less than a few minutes, the car would reach the old residential area where Shao Mingyin rented.

“Hey, do you remember there’s a barbecue stall at the entrance of the community?” Liang Zhen smacked his lips, “You said I won the championship. How about having a late-night snack tonight and treating ourselves to something good?”

“Weren’t you very disgusted by it before?” Shao Mingyin remembered, “Last month, you complained to me that the lamb kidneys were fake and didn’t provide any nourishment.”

“That’s…” Liang Zhen hesitated, “But there’s nowhere else to go at this hour. Only some barbecue stalls are still open.”

“Do you really want barbecue?”

Liang Zhen just wanted to fill his stomach and didn’t think much about it. He answered, “Yes.”

Shao Mingyin pondered for a few seconds before saying, “Then should I pull over and look for one nearby?”

“No need, let’s forget it, let’s go home.” Liang Zhen sensed Shao Mingyin’s hesitation and instinctively felt that things were not simple.

“Okay.” Shao Mingyin readily agreed.

“Hehe…” Liang Zhen laughed a bit cunningly, “Did you secretly prepare something?” He remembered the text message sent by Song Zhou before, where Shao Mingyin said he went home first and forgot to bring his phone. “Did you prepare a celebration for me?”

Just thinking about it, Liang Zhen’s heart was already blooming. This meant that Shao Mingyin was certain he would win, and he had rightfully won.

“It’s not exactly a celebration…” Shao Mingyin didn’t stop at the barbecue stall at the entrance of the community but drove straight into the garage.

“What is it then?”

Shao Mingyin parked, turned off the engine, pulled the handbrake, and then took out the keys. The light on the dashboard didn’t immediately go out but dimmed slowly after about a second or two – the moment it dimmed was frozen at 0:17, the new day’s 0:17.

“Liang Zhen.”

“Yeah?” Liang Zhen had just unfastened his seatbelt. Seeing Shao Mingyin still sitting, he naturally unfastened the seatbelt for him too. After the belt retracted with a rough and distinct sound of “suo,” there was no sound or light source in the car.

“Liang Zhen.”

“Yeah.” Liang Zhen smiled.

Shao Mingyin probably smiled too, but the light was too dim for Liang Zhen to see clearly. At the same time, Shao Mingyin raised his hand and gently pinched Liang Zhen’s still blushing ear.

“Liang Zhen,” Shao Mingyin said softly, “Happy birthday.”