Chapter 62 – Birthday
In the second round of the regular season, although there were wins and losses, the team managed to defeat the final opponent, securing their place in Group S with the additional points.
… And then it happened to be Lin Xingling’s birthday, which was very auspicious.
On the fifteenth day of the ninth lunar month, it coincided with the Frost Descends solar term on the twenty-third day of the tenth month in the Gregorian calendar.
The team members woke up early and followed the captain’s plan to go to the nearby flower forest to pick osmanthus flowers and make osmanthus sugar. Liang Feng was responsible for buying groceries in the city and picking up the custom-made cake.
Everyone was busy with their tasks.
After returning from picking flowers, the task of removing leaves and flower stems and selecting intact osmanthus flowers was assigned to the most meticulous Liu Ying and Phantom, while Wu You was responsible for cleaning the osmanthus flowers they prepared.
Lin Xingling was in charge of making osmanthus sugar, and Cheng Che was responsible for overseeing.
Putting the osmanthus flowers into a small pot and adding some maltose… Lin Xingling chuckled as he saw the puppy eagerly staring at his hand, and he scooped a spoonful of sticky sugar with another small spoon and gave it to him.
“Here, stop staring.”
Cheng Che, who was watching his hand: …
“I’m not only responsible for watching, but also for eating.”
Lin Xingling added a little salt to the weighed granulated sugar and spread the mixed osmanthus flowers on another small pot, layering osmanthus flowers and sugar.
Phantom, who was usually indifferent, was now just like Cheng Che and the others, curiously watching.
Just as Lin Xingling finished spreading the osmanthus sugar, his clothes were tugged by Cheng Che… He turned to look at him. “What’s up?”
Cheng Che pointed at the sugar and asked if they could eat it.
Liu Ying and Wu You, who had never seen such a thing before, looked expectant.
“This is still a work in progress, not ready to be eaten yet.” Lin Xingling smiled and shook his index finger.
“Okay…” The children were disappointed.
The oldest was eighteen, the other two were seventeen and a half, and there was one who was almost seventeen… The average age of the team members was quite young.
… They had just started their professional esports careers, still naive and exuding the loveliness of young people.
“Steam for about twenty minutes until the sugar is dissolved.”
The water was boiling, and Lin Xingling put the pot containing the unfinished product into the steamer, wiped his hands with a towel, and led them to the living room.
Cheng Che didn’t leave and wanted to stay in the kitchen to watch the sugar steaming process.
After fifteen minutes, Lin Xingling came to check and found Cheng Che’s hand resting on the lid handle.
“Did you… sneak a taste?”
Cheng Che: “I didn’t, I was just, just about to…”
Such a cute kid…
Lin Xingling approached and patted his head, saying with a smile, “If you’re caught, then you can openly eat it.”
“Huh?” (Che)
“When it’s done steaming, it’s not ready yet.” (Xing)
…
The steamed osmanthus sugar was not completely dry yet, still sticky. Cheng Che and the others couldn’t resist and each scooped a spoonful of the corner scraps and tasted it. It was very sweet, but the sugar stuck to their teeth.
Lin Xingling laughed and told them to fetch warm water to dissolve the sugar. Everyone obediently fetched water to drink, except for Cheng Che, who needed some coaxing.
“Good boy, drink some water.”
Cheng Che: A person in his twenties who was reincarnated blending in with minors without any sense of incongruity, even more childlike than elementary school students.
Not very accomplished, but very happy.
After Liang Feng brought everything back, Liu Ying immediately put on an apron after putting the cake in the refrigerator. “I’ll start cooking right away!”
“Yeah, you guys can have lunch. I’ll go home for a while and be back in the afternoon,” Lin Xingling said.
Originally, he had planned to celebrate his birthday with the team at the team’s headquarters, but after thinking about his twin sister Xiaorong, he couldn’t bear the thought of her celebrating her birthday without her brother.
(Xiaorong: I don’t think so… um um um!
Da Ling: It’s not up to you!!!)
Their mother messaged them, suggesting they come home for a lunch together and celebrate there as well.
Lin Xingling agreed.
When Lin Xingrong came to pick him up in the car, Cheng Che and the others followed and saw Lin Xingling off downstairs.
Audi A5, glacier white.
They got in the car and drove away.
The few who were not well-informed about the captain’s family: Eh…
Wu You: “Is that Star’s girlfriend?”
Liu Ying: “I don’t know.”
Phantom: “…”
“Should be, but Star never mentioned it… um, maybe he’s bringing his girlfriend home to celebrate his birthday at noon?”
“Really, Star’s girlfriend is quite pretty… although it’s hard to see clearly with the mask on, but that figure… slim, tall, and slender, almost on par with my sister A Hua~” (You)
Wu You’s chattering voice kept coming into Cheng Che’s ears, and he was quite annoyed, taking two steps at a time to create some distance from him.
Wu You: “Brother Che has short legs, but he’s agile when going upstairs.”
Cheng Che:…
While others sell twilight and sunset in the mortal world, Wu You sells swords.
Back in the room, Cheng Che sat alone on the edge of the bed, feeling sulky.
He thought about many things, not inferior to thoughts like “How can Stars have a girlfriend?” or “How can he?” but none of them could escape the phrase “It’s none of your business.”
He wanted to send him a message to ask, but he didn’t know what to say after he received a reply saying “Yes.”
Stars has a girlfriend… the impact on himself…
Cheng Che logged into his alternate account and opened the anonymous Q&A system.
In the car, the siblings argued for a while about the speed of driving, and it ended with Lin Xingrong winning and continuing to drive fast.
Since he couldn’t find the answer, Lin Xingling found something else: “I should have introduced you to the team earlier, damn…”
“I’ll introduce them when I take you back.” Lin Xingrong interjected.
“That works too.”
Standing there with nothing to do, Lin Xingling opened his phone, and another anonymous question popped up.
Recently, Lin Xingling had been particularly interested in anonymous questions.
Since he found out that Cheng Che also used this feature on his alternate account, he often paid attention to the anonymous questions he came across, hoping to come across his own… to see what kind of questions Cheng Che had.
But then again, someone like Cheng Che who spends his days eating, sleeping, playing, training, and competing, and occasionally acts like a cute little cat when he’s bored… what kind of questions could he have?
Do little cats also have worries?
Question notification: “What is it like living with a significant other?”
Lin Xingling:…
I’m only twenty-five (crossed out)… only twenty-one, how would I know.
Next one: “Help, my roommate has a girlfriend, what should I do?”
Most of the answers inside were like “Jealous?” “Do you like him?” “What kind of question is this,” and so on.
Lin Xingling thought for a moment and didn’t reply.
But when he returned home and cut the cake with his sister and had dinner, he hurriedly asked Xingrong to take him back.
On the way back, he asked her to go upstairs to get osmanthus sugar, and then he solemnly introduced his beloved twin sister to his teammates:
“This is my sister, Lin Xingrong. We’re fraternal twins, so we don’t look alike.”
“Just call me Sister Xiaorong.” (Xiaorong)
After Cheng Che heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly felt much relieved.
“Roommate doesn’t have a girlfriend, happy now.”
“Happy birthday to Xiao Rong, too!” Wu You started, and everyone followed to wish Lin Xingrong.
Lin Xingrong politely said thank you and then carried the jar of osmanthus sugar that Lin Xingling had given to the family downstairs. “No need to see me off.”
Lin Xingling glanced meaningfully at Cheng Che. Although there was no expression on his childlike face, judging from his eyes… he was happy now.
Indeed…
In the evening, Liu Ying cooperated with Lin Xingling to prepare a table full of delicious dishes. White wine and Sprite were poured, the cake was placed in the middle, and they blew out the candles and had the cake.
Since fans wished to see him celebrate his birthday, Lin Xingling livestreamed the entire birthday celebration using Cheng Che’s account this year.
“Wishing you a happy birthday, wishing you a happy birthday… happy birthday to you~”
[“Happy birthday, Dad Star”]
[“Make a wish, make a wish”]
Lin Xingling clasped his hands together and closed his eyes, sincerely making a wish in his heart. When he opened his eyes, he blew out all the candles in one breath.
[“On Star Dad’s birthday, I have a wish too: I hope the DCT team wins the championship!”]
[“Then I’ll make a wish for Starry Clear forever and ever”]
[“Help, I’ll just wish for everyone to be better”]
“What did you wish for?” Liang Feng asked.
Cheng Che answered quickly, “If you say it out loud, it won’t… it won’t come true.”
Everyone ate, Cheng Che drank his beverage, one cup after another. He drank almost half a bottle of Sprite from the large bottle.
Lin Xingling stared at him in disbelief–
[“The way he looks at a person can’t hide anything”]
[“Brat! My brat! Dad Star is going to fight someone! Run!”]
[“Cheng Che really is the team’s stress relief medication”]
“Eat your food,” Lin Xingling said succinctly.
It was his birthday today, and he didn’t want to confiscate the Sprite and make the kid angry, but if the kid didn’t restrain himself, then don’t blame him for being impolite.
Cheng Che obediently put down his cup and started eating the food. Just as he took a bite, he grimaced. “Sss… my teet, teeth are sour.”
Liang Feng said, “It won’t be sour if you drink more.”
[“Liang teaches the ways of the yin and yang”]
[“Looking at this situation, I can’t help but wonder if the official account is all Liang’s doing… Liang can’t possibly be that cute”]
[“That’s a cute little D, while this is my old baby”]
Cheng Che pursed his lips and didn’t say anything.
“Here,” Lin Xingling calmly picked out a plate of tender stewed meat and soft steamed buns that were easy to chew, and pushed the plate towards him. “Have some of this first.”
Rank 5: [“I want to eat that good friend too”]
[“Clear: Get lost, idiot”]
[“Rank holder, did you owe a donkey a roundhouse kick?”]
“Uh…”
…
After dinner, there was a tapping sound coming from the balcony. When Cheng Che went to take a look, the rain had already become very light, so he returned and told Lin Xingling, “It’s drizzling outside.”
Lin Xingling looked at him with his chin resting on his hand. “So it’s Drizzle-sama, nice to meet you.”
Cheng Che: Dumb–
[“Damn, it’s Drizzle-sama”]
[“Star Dad’s puns will cost him a fortune, a big fortune”]
[“Drizzle-sama is so cute!!!”]
While Lin Xingling went to the kitchen to wash the dishes, everyone quickly put on the rabbit ear headbands they had prepared in advance.
They performed as the Rabbit Rabbit Family for Stars.
Liu Ying and the others wore white ones, but Cheng Che wasn’t happy about it and picked a gray one.
It looked quite good on him when he put it on.
When Lin Xingling returned, the first thing he noticed was Cheng Che wearing it. “All the other kids are wearing rabbit ears, why are you wearing donkey ears?”
Cheng Che: ????
For a moment, he really wanted to know if it was illegal to intentionally murder a minor.
[“I get it, you damn owe Cheng Che a roundhouse kick?”]
[“Okay, Che is a donkey”]
[“I really want to know who the beneficiary of Star Dad’s life insurance is”]
Enduring it, Cheng Che said, “These are gray rabbit… rabbit ears.”
Wu You: “They are gray rabbit ears~”
Phantom patted his back.
Liu Ying: “Pfft…”
Cheng Che glared fiercely at Wu You.
“Brother Che… Xiao Pei, save me!!!”
Wu You quickly noticed and hid behind Phantom, holding onto his arm tightly.
“You two are really rivals.”
Lin Xingling grabbed Cheng Che’s arm and earnestly said, “Alright, alright. We’re live-streaming, so calm down for a moment.”
[“We love watching these two mess around”]
[“I have to say, our team is the most good-looking in KPL [thumbs up]]
[Little Brother Ying is so obedient]
“Fine…” Cheng Che reluctantly shook his head and wiggled the rabbit ears on his head.
Wu You teased, “Brother Che, can you hear the sound of water in your head?”
Phantom gave his arm a strong twist.
“Hey… hey… sss—”
Finally, they settled down.
…After a few minutes, Wu You said, “Hey Brother Che, let me tell you a joke.”
Cheng Che replied, “Go ahead.”
[“Why are these two starting again”]
[” Dad Star shakes his head helplessly”]
[“Grandpa, your favorite children’s channel is broadcasting”]
“Cough.” Wu You cleared his throat and began, “A nurse comes out and asks a man, ‘Do you want to save the adult or the child?’… The man cries and asks, ‘Can’t we save both?'”
“Then the nurse says, ‘I lied, we lost both the big and the small ones.'” Cheng Che blurted out, “It’s an ancient joke that’s been around for centuries.”
[“Che doesn’t spare any mercy for You”]
[“Xiao You: It’s really awkward now”]
Liu Ying giggled a few times but immediately covered his mouth when Cheng Che glanced at him.
…Brother Che is so scary.
Wu You:…
“No, the man asked if we couldn’t save both, and the nurse said, ‘Yes, I just asked casually.'”
Phantom: “Pfft…”
Liu Ying: Laughing silently—
[“Liu Ying is such a good sport, he laughs at the right time”]
[” Little Brother Ying is really cooperative”]
[“My mom asked me why I’m laughing like crazy in front of the screen”]
From being expressionless to finally reacting and smiling, Cheng Che turned his face away and refused to look at him.
It dragged on until nine o’clock at night, the time to send gifts to the fans.
Lin Xingling: “Deduct six to draw people and send Supreme Treasure.”
Cheng Che: “Deduct eyeballs and send Empress Wu Zetian.”
[“666666”]
[“Help, deducting eyeballs hahaha”]
Wu You chimed in, “Deduct pi and send Brother Che~”
[“Can’t deduct it”]
[“Thanks for the invitation, but I can’t deduct”]
Cheng Che was about to retort, but suddenly Lin Xingling grabbed his hand from below, “Huh?”
Lin Xingling opened his palm and used his index finger to draw a few lines reverently.
3.1415926
That’s all he could remember.
Author’s Note:
(* `ˋ*)