What have I been doing? Yan blinked. I’m not telling you!
Han Qing glanced over at her when she did not respond, then grabbed her wrist. “Well?”
Thus, she responded mysteriously, “I can’t tell you yet. You’ll find out soon anyway!”
Looking at her secretive expression, he did not continue with his questions. Besides, he wasn’t in a good mood today. Afterward, silence quickly filled the car.
As soon as he stopped talking, she sensed that the mood around him dipped again. Thus, she had a niggling feeling that something was wrong. Why does he seem to be in a bad mood today? As she had been preparing a surprise for him, she had not wished him a happy birthday nor given him a birthday present yet. Naturally, she began to wonder if he was upset because of that. With no other options, she could only console herself in her heart. Bear with it a little more. Once we reach the restaurant, he will see the surprise I prepared for him. After that, he won’t be so moody anymore. Unfortunately, if Yan knew of the incidents that would unfold after this, she wouldn’t have prepared this surprise for him, nor tried to celebrate his birthday with him.
…
At the restaurant, the staff members couldn’t help sighing and whispering to each other excitedly when they saw Yan walking in with Han Qing. “Oh my God, Miss Zhou’s boyfriend is so handsome! No wonder she is willing to prepare a surprise for him. If I had such a good-looking boyfriend, I would be willing to prepare a surprise for him every day!”
“I agree!”
“Her boyfriend looks like an idol, but Miss Zhou looks so ordinary. Moreover, the two of them are a couple, yet Miss Zhou is the one preparing a surprise for her boyfriend. No matter how you think about it, it seems… umm…” Although the sentence was left trailing, everybody who heard it knew what she meant.
Then, the leader interrupted them. “Alright, enough with the nonsense. As long as they pay us, they are customers. Why do you care so much about their personal affairs? What we need to do is ensure that our customer service is top-notch! You are not allowed to make other assumptions of your own; do you understand?”
“Understood.”
When Yan walked in, she told Han Qing, “I’ve made a reservation. This restaurant is very popular. If you don’t make a booking in advance, you won’t be able to get a table at all.”
Han Qing seemed to be deep in thought about something and made a noncommittal grunt in reply, his mind drifting into the distance.
Holding his hand, she walked upstairs with him. The private room held her surprise in it. Once the door was opened, the different atmosphere inside the room would become obvious. When they opened the door and walked in, they were greeted with a girl’s dreamy idea of romance. The room was decorated with all kinds of hearts—it looked like it came out of a dream. However, Han Qing didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary. Or, perhaps he saw it but simply dismissed it as part of the private room’s decorations.
Soon, the staff members brought in the dishes that were specially prepared for today. It was all items that were normally sold on the menu and nothing stood out in particular. Therefore, Han Qing failed to notice anything. If his thoughts were not so scattered, he would have noticed that something was different about today. However, his mind had drifted off into the distance. Thus, when the staff members cooperated with Yan to turn off the light, the sudden darkness that covered the room made his eyebrows twitch. Finally, he noticed that something was wrong.
In the darkness, a small hand reached over and covered the back of his hand. Her hand gently covered his; her soft fingers lightly tapped against him. Thus, he assumed that the young lady wanted to comfort him by putting her hand over his, thinking that he was frightened by the lights that had been turned off suddenly. This silly young lady, he thought. He reached out to take her hand in his, intending to assure her that she didn’t need to do that because he was not afraid.
At that moment, a light appeared in the private room. However, the light was different from before—it was a faint light coming from a small lamp. Moreover, a cake had appeared on the table at some point. Then, Yan took out a lighter and stood up to light the candles on the cake. After the candles were lighted, her delicate face brightened amid the dancing glow of the candles. There was a bright smile on her face as she started to sing a birthday song while facing him.
Unfortunately, the moment Han Qing saw the cake, something in his memory seemed to surface. It easily and horrifyingly penetrated his consciousness and destroyed all sense of reasoning. As the flames began to dance, what appeared before his eyes was not the current scene, but a different kind of flame that reached toward the sky. The flames burned so strongly that it practically covered the horizon with sparks, searing his eyes. At the same time, the birthday song ringing in his ears turned into grisly screams. In his mind, the soaring flames, accompanied by the helpless screaming, nearly tore the sky apart.
At the same time, cold sweat oozed out of his forehead; his complexion turned pale; the color of his thin lips became an earthy color; his veins popped out against his skin; his breathing turned ragged. Meanwhile, the young lady’s face dancing under the candlelight’s glow became distorted, returned to normal, then became distorted again.
“Happy birthday!” Yan finally finished singing the birthday song, then she wished him ‘happy birthday’ loudly. Unfortunately, this was the sentence that finally broke the string holding his heart together. After that, she urged him to blow out the candles, telling him with utmost sincerity, “Remember to make a wish before you blow out the candles. What do you want to wish for?”
However, she did not receive a reply. He sat opposite her and seemed to be unnaturally quiet. Besides, there was something wrong with his expression…
“Han Qing?” she called out his name tentatively.
In response, he lifted his head suddenly and stared her straight in the eye. His gaze was deep and gloomy, and it made a chill run down her back.
“W-What’s wrong?” she asked in a trembling voice. She did not understand what was going on; her mouth moved as if she wanted to say something. Then, he stood up suddenly and continued to stare at her silently. Upon seeing this, she stood up as well. “What happened?”
The only thing filling his mind were those horrible images and nothing else; he could barely hear her voice either. In all the time she had known him, she had never seen him like this before—his eyes were so dark he seemed like an emotionless being. For the first time, she felt a terrifying aura coming off his body. Just what is going on?
Unfortunately, Han Qing did not give her an answer. Then, he practically staggered out of the private room. When the staff members saw him walking out pale-faced, they could not understand what was going on. Thus, they hurriedly entered the private room. “What happened, Miss Zhou? Why did your boyfriend leave?”
Yan stood frozen to the spot despite being questioned. She was shocked for a long while, wondering if she had done something wrong. Still, it didn’t seem like she had done anything in particular. All I did was wish him a happy birthday. Don’t tell me… that was a mistake? The more she thought about it, the more her thoughts spun around in her head.
Yan stood dumbstruck until a staff member mentioned, “Your boyfriend didn’t look too good when he left. Did you quarrel with him? Or, is there a problem with our preparations?”
The staff member that had previously disapproved of Yan’s actions couldn’t help muttering, “Maybe he didn’t need you to celebrate his birthday for him.”
