Mu Yuze stared at the lavishly decorated living room in front of him, dazed.

He still could not react even as He Juan tugged on his wrist and led him to sit on the carpet, facing the largest fruit cake he had ever seen in his life. There was even a chocolate plaque written with ’Mu Yuze is a Birthday Boy Today!’ and a small love drawn next to it.

"Ta-da!" He Juan settled opposite him and gestured at the cake with a brilliant smile on his face. The flickering candle cast shadows over his sharp features and made his eyes liquid fire. It was as if his entire person was shrouded in a layer of golden halo. "I’ve specially requested a not so sweet cake, so you must give it a try! But first thing first, close your eyes and make a wish, Xiao Ze!"

When Mu Yuze still did not give any other reaction other than blank eyes and stupefied look, He Juan’s expression morphed into one of worry. "Xiao Ze...?"

"Ah," Mu Yuze snapped back to his senses and blinked. His gaze landed on the cakes, slightly disoriented. "Today... is my birthday?"

He Juan looked extremely smug when he said, "I knew you wouldn’t remember it! How is it? I’ve done a good job with the grand surprise, right?"

Again, Mu Yuze was unable to give him a response. He stared at the cake with a vacant gaze, his mind buzzing with white noises. Wait... today was really his birthday? The day he was born into this world?

Now that he thought about it, he had never celebrated it before. Hell, he had never – not even once – wished himself a happy birthday. For what, if there was nothing ’happy’ about it? If there was no one whom he could share it with?

For him, birthdays were the strangest day in the whole year. Strange because he was fully aware that he was one year older than yesterday, yet at the same time, nothing changed about him at all. He was still the same kid who struggled desperately to survive in the harsh and cruel world.

But this year...

He raised his eyelids to stare at the man in front of him. The man who had taken him away from that hellish place and turned his life upside down – in the best and worst way possible. Said man was now gazing at him in concern, most likely because he had not spoken a word since then.

"Xiao Ze, are you okay?" he asked gently, looking as if he was ready to whisk Mu Yuze away if he showed any signs of discomfort. He scratched his cheek awkwardly, "I didn’t make you uncomfortable, did I? I guessed that you wouldn’t like any luxurious celebration, so I settled with doing it at home, just the two of us. But as expected, is it too much for you?"

’Say it. Say that it is not too much, say that you’re very grateful, that he’s the first person who has ever thought of celebrating your birthday!’ Mu Yuze was fully aware that he had to say something or else He Juan would definitely misunderstand him, but then when he opened his mouth, what came out of it was, "So the reason why you took me out today... is because it’s my birthday?"

"Yes," He Juan let out a sheepish chuckle. "I thought that we should make your birthday more special this year, so I took you out to have some fun. Well... I also need to buy my men some time to decorate everything here." He carefully observed Mu Yuze’s face and whatever he found there made him look quite hesitant. "Do you... not like it?" He swept his gaze over the colorful balloons on the ceiling, frowning. "Is it too much?"

Mu Yuze willed himself to say something – anything – but in the end, all that came out of his mouth was a choked sound. His eyes burned hot with tears.

How could it be too much?

How could he not like it?

How could there be a ’more’ special birthday when there was no comparison to talk of?

He had a lot of fun today, so much to the point where he was unwilling to let the day end. He never even thought that there would come a day when he would feel so happy as if... as if he could finally put the bitter past behind him, as if he was finally free of all troubles and concerns that had been haunting him for years. Never had he felt so light and carefree before; he couldn’t even count how many times he had secretly pinched his thigh just to make sure that he was not dreaming.

Everything felt so surreal, so dreamy and too good to be true... just like the man in front of him. Just like He Juan.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Mu Yuze could hear his own heartbeat thundering beside his ears, loud and fast. His stomach fluttered like there was a whole group of gymnasts somersaulting inside, almost making him nauseous. His palms were clammy with sweat, and it took him a few attempts to force out a word, "...no."

The rest became easier once he spoke out loud. "It’s not too much. Not at all. I... like it. I was just... surprised."

His voice sounded strained and raspy like he was choking on tears. But if He Juan noticed it, then he did not say anything. Instead, he looked relieved and gestured for Mu Yuze to blow the candles. "You should hurry up before they completely melt, Xiao Ze! And oh, don’t forget to make a wish, okay?"

Mu Yuze nodded. He inhaled deeply, leaned forward and blew out all the candles in one breath.

He Juan clapped excitedly. "Happy birthday! Now your wishes will definitely come true!"

"Mn," Mu Yuze offered him a tiny quirk of his lips in return. He did not say how he made no wish before he blew the candles, simply because he had received too much lately. He had been so happy and he was afraid that if he became greedy, all of them would end up being taken away from him.

For that, he had to be satisfied with what he had.

Instead, he told He Juan sincerely, "Thank you, Boss."

"You’re wel—" He Juan’s smile instantly froze and he gaped at Mu Yuze in utter shock. "...What did you just call me?"

’Shoot!’ Mu Yuze bit the tip of his tongue and cursed inwardly. Of all times, why did he have to slip now?!

"I..." he tried to say. "But everyone calls you like that so—" Mu Yuze said nothing about the main reason why could not bring himself to call this man ’gege’ was because it... it sounded too damn intimate! Somehow, he had a hunch that if he were to cross this line, then something was bound to change between them. He did not like changes. He was very content to stay where he was now, where he could just secretly gaze at this man’s back.

As expected, He Juan protested out loud. Not only that, he also did it with exaggeration. "Wow..." he barked out a laugh and shook his head in disbelief. "After all the times I’ve been referring to myself as Gege... how could you do this to me?! How ruthless of you, Mu Yuze!"

Mu Yuze lowered his gaze and stubbornly kept mum. If he did not judge He Juan’s character wrongly, then the man shouldn’t be angry at him, not because of something like this. But still, he couldn’t help the way his body grew tense as he waited for He Juan’s next reaction.

"Fine!" The man huffed in exasperation, sounding as if he was making a huge sacrifice. "I will let you off for now. But!" He reached out for the stacks of boxes on the side and dragged them toward Mu Yuze, his lips curling into a sly grin. "In exchange, you have to receive all of them without complaints."

Somehow, Mu Yuze had an ill premonition about this. "W–What are those?"

"Uh-huh," He Juan shook his index finger and refused to tell him any more. "Accept them or call me Gege, choose one. There will be no take backs!"

Cunning bastard! Mu Yuze gritted his teeth in anger. He did not even need to think about it because calling He Juan by such an intimate nickname was not an option. "Fine! I will accept them!" He took the first box and placed it on the table, all the while grumbling under his breath. No matter what was inside, surely it couldn’t be worse than—

Mu Yuze’s vision turned dark for a split second once he opened the box. "Y–You..." he snapped his gaze to He Juan in incredulity.

He Juan laughed in glee as if he had predicted that Mu Yuze would react like this. "No take backsies~"