Song Mianfeng finished showering and heard his phone ringing as he came out. Lu Yin Zhen stared at the caller ID with a slight frown, seeming hesitant to answer.

He walked out while drying his hair, feeling curious about who would call at this hour. “Whose call?”

“It’s Old Wang….”

“Oh, Wang Letian.” Song Mianfeng took the phone from him and answered, putting it on speaker.

“Song Er~”

Wang Letian’s voice sounded particularly lively, and Song Mianfeng didn’t know what was up with him, feeling regretful for putting it on speaker. “Speak plainly, it’s late at night, what’s the matter?”

“Hehe…” Wang Letian chuckled twice, “Didn’t mean to disturb you guys.”

Song Mianfeng: “…”

“If there’s something, just say it. If not, I’ll hang up.”

“Don’t, today’s Lu Ge’s birthday, isn’t it?” Wang Letian said seriously, “I just called to wish our Lu Ge a happy birthday.”

“Don’t ‘our’, who’s ‘our’?” Song Mianfeng raised his eyebrows, “And it’s already thirty-seven minutes past midnight, it’s been thirty-seven minutes since his birthday.”

“Alright, alright, he’s all yours.” Wang Letian impatiently said, “Okay, okay, I’m hanging up.”

Lu Yin Zhen chuckled as he listened on the side, and laughter erupted from the other end of the phone, obviously a group of people enjoying the spectacle.

Song Mianfeng’s hand hesitated over the phone as he frowned slightly, asking in a low voice, “Wang Letian, why do I hear a bunch of men’s voices around you at this hour? Did you go fooling around?”

“Me? fooling around…” Wang Letian probably cursed, but someone forcibly covered his mouth, and another voice spoke in the receiver, “We’re just gathering for dinner, playing Truth or Dare, and since Letian lost, it was Wu An’s idea for him to call you…”

Mei Siye quickly threw Wu An under the bus, not finishing his sentence, but Song Mianfeng knew that this group of mischievous friends had some ill intentions.

Wu An, feeling exposed, jokingly scolded, “Mei Siye, you have no conscience. You were the one instigating the most earlier.”

Now that everyone was exposed, Fu Qingshan tried to change the subject, “Why are you still up so late, Song Er?”

All four of them, every single one of them, were there.

Song Mianfeng rubbed his temples with a headache. “What are you guys gathering for at this hour? It’s not a holiday or anything… And Fu Qingshan, didn’t you just finish filming? You’re already out partying?”

Wang Letian grinned and spoke up again, “It’s Lu Ge’s birthday today, so we’re just gathering to celebrate. Sending our heartfelt wishes to Lu Ge from afar.”

As soon as Wang Letian finished speaking, there were two echoes of “Happy Birthday” from the other end. Fu Qingshan sighed, “Just ignore them, they’re drunk and not thinking straight.”

But indeed, they had gathered for dinner because it was Lu Yin Zhen’s birthday. Although this reason sounded far-fetched, like an excuse to get together, Wang Letian had actually said this in the group chat. However, Song Mianfeng hadn’t paid much attention to his phone all day, and he was playing games in the evening, so he hadn’t seen what the group chat was about.

Song Mianfeng: “…Okay, as long as you guys are happy.”

Lu Yin Zhen had been quietly listening to their conversation. Now he spoke up, “Thank you.”

“Thank you for your gifts and birthday wishes. I’ve received them all.”

“Hey, Song Er, you’re on speaker too.” Wang Letian suddenly realized, “What’s there to thank for, we’re like brothers.”

He continued, “We really are playing Truth or Dare.”

He had been drinking quite a bit, and now his speech was slurred, reminiscent of how he sounded after staying up for two days sorting through photos caused him to stray from his usual tone, “Originally, we wanted to prank Fu Qingshan, but I lost in the first round.”

Seeing that they were about to continue chatting, Lu Yin Zhen got up, took his bathrobe from the bedside, and said quietly, “I’m going to take a shower first.”

Song Mianfeng responded with a “Hmm” and then asked on the phone, “What were you planning to do to Fu Qingshan?”

“He went on a blind date recently, didn’t he?” Wu An interrupted, “Well, yesterday, as soon as he returned to S City, he and a girl got into the hot search.”

Song Mianfeng was curious, “Whose girl?”

He hadn’t been keeping up with Weibo these days and needed a bit of catching up.

“Chu Zhaoying.” Wang Letian and Wu An echoed each other, throwing Fu Qingshan under the bus, “She played Chu Zhaoying in ‘One Scoop of Pearls.'”

Song Mianfeng didn’t understand, “Wasn’t she introduced by the family? How is she also from the entertainment circle?”

Wang Letian was about to say something else, probably being suppressed by Fu Qingshan, then Mei Siye took over, “She was arranged by the family, and we’re also curious about what’s going on. That’s why we made plans to get together, play Truth or Dare, and use torture to extract confessions.”

It was noisy over there, but Song Mianfeng found it quite amusing to listen to. “Did you find out anything?”

Fu Qingshan defended himself, “we’re just ordinary friends.”

Wang Letian yelled, “I don’t believe you.”

Wu An added, “Just ordinary friends, yet you went to see her as soon as you returned to S City. We’ve known each other for years, and we haven’t received this treatment.”

“Yeah, as soon as you returned to S City, you made plans to meet up for dinner. Fu Qingshan still denies having any improper intentions towards the girl, what a rotten old man.”

After listening, Song Mianfeng roughly understood what was going on. He couldn’t help but laugh at Fu Qingshan’s expense, “Fu Qingshan, you know you’re being chased by paparazzi recently, and yet you dare to ask a girl out for dinner. Isn’t that tarnishing her reputation?”

Fu Qingshan couldn’t explain it to these drunken guys, and after being teased by Song Mianfeng, he had no choice but to change the subject, “Why aren’t you asleep yet? It’s so late, doesn’t your boyfriend take care of you?”

“He’s taking a shower.” Song Mianfeng had enough of the gossip and excitement, “I’m planning to sleep now. You guys should disperse soon, or else you’ll end up in the hot search again.”

Fu Qingshan sounded even more helpless, “…We gathered at my place, and these guys have no intention of leaving.”

“Okay, thanks again.” Song Mianfeng smiled and spoke in a warm tone, “Thanks for the gifts, you really put in a lot of effort.”

…

When Lu Yin Zhen finished showering and came out, dried his hair, and lay down, it was already past one in the morning.

Song Mianfeng usually had a regular schedule during his time at the Meng family’s house. This was the first time he stayed up so late, and just as he was feeling drowsy, Lu Yin Zhen hugged him. He leaned into Lu Yin Zhen’s embrace, found a comfortable position, and mumbled, “Good night.”

Lu Yin Zhen kissed his forehead and whispered softly, “Good night.”

As the sky gradually brightened, the incessant chirping of cicadas came through the window, disturbing the peaceful dreams.

Song Mianfeng woke up in Lu Yin Zhen’s arms, his sleepy eyes half-opened. He yawned lightly and reached for his phone, but Lu Yin Zhen held his wrist.

Lu Yin Zhen had been awake for a while, but feeling groggy, he intended to continue sleeping. Sensing movement from the person in his arms, he furrowed his brows slightly, “Just sleep a little longer.”

Song Mianfeng rubbed against him, calling softly, “My Mr. Lu.”

Lu Yin Zhen opened his eyes, his voice hoarse, “What is it?”

When Song Mianfeng wasn’t fully awake, he sounded clingy, and with his soft voice, it sounded like he was being coquettish, “I’m hungry…”

Lu Yin Zhen relaxed the hand around his waist a bit and said in a resigned tone, “Then get up.”

Song Mianfeng was actually feeling sleepy too, hesitating between continuing to sleep and getting up to eat. He wanted to delay a bit to shake off the drowsiness before getting up, but ended up falling asleep again. When he opened his eyes again, Lu Yin Zhen had already gotten up, dressed neatly, and brought breakfast to the room. The aroma of the porridge tempted him to get up, so he went to the bathroom to wash his face and wake up a bit. He didn’t even bother changing into proper clothes, just sat down at the table and drank some porridge.

Lu Yin Zhen sat beside him, not doing anything, just watching him eat.

Song Mianfeng was a bit slow to react, “Have you eaten?”

Lu Yin Zhen replied calmly, “Yes.”

“Then why are you staring at me?” Song Mianfeng couldn’t help but laugh inexplicably, “Is there something on my face?”

Lu Yin Zhen “Hmm’d” and made a lame joke, “I’m admiring your beauty.”

“That’s not quite right.” Song Mianfeng raised an eyebrow, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

Lu Yin Zhen shifted his gaze away, lowered his eyes, as if he had done something wrong and wasn’t sure how to speak up.

Song Mianfeng realized the seriousness of the situation, set down his spoon, and asked, “There really is something, isn’t there? What is it?”

Lu Yin Zhen hesitated before speaking carefully, “This morning, Auntie called you… I answered.”

He had just been woken up by the ringing, intending to hang up the call, but accidentally answered it instead. Upon hearing the voice on the other end and seeing the caller ID, he instantly became alert. It wasn’t appropriate to hang up on Aunt Su Jieyi’s call, so he could only chat with her for a few minutes, but he felt like Aunt Su Jieyi was somewhat unhappy, which made him uneasy.

Thinking about it, any parent calling their child in the morning and someone else answering the phone instead wouldn’t lead to a pleasant outcome… This made him even more discouraged.