Chapter 43- Birthday
Bai Jinyan chuckled and took the umbrella from his hand, saying, “The rain isn’t very heavy.”
Qiao Huaiyao raised his eyebrows and replied, “Getting wet in the rain is never good, regardless of how heavy it is.”
The sunshower showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Bai Jinyan wanted to reach out and ruffle his hair like he used to, but the thermos in his hand hindered him. He said, “Let’s go back.”
“Alright.”
The kitchen was located in a large farmhouse courtyard. Zhao Jiamo had divided this place into separate sections, and the guests came at different times, so there was no need to deliberately avoid them; they naturally wouldn’t run into each other. Zhao Jiamo stood in the corridor, watching Qiao Huaiyao and Bai Jinyan walk away, raising an eyebrow.
He took out his phone and made a call, “Hello? Ask on the intercom, what are the guests from the group other than Bai Jinyan doing on the kitchen side? It’s raining; they should know to come out and look for an umbrella.”
Whether they find it or not is another matter, but having the intention to search for someone is what matters.
The opened umbrella was left on the ground outside, waiting for the rainwater on it to dry before being put away. As soon as Bai Jinyan entered the house, he caught a faint sweet scent. It was so subtle that he might not have noticed it if he hadn’t come in from outside.
“Brother, try these strawberries. They’re delicious,” Qiao Huaiyao picked up a plate from the table, strawberries garnished with cream, not only tasty but also beautifully presented.
Bai Jinyan picked one up, “Did you make these?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Huaiyao’s eyes lit up, and he stared at Bai Jinyan without blinking, waiting for his feedback after tasting. “How do they taste?”
Actually, for this kind of cream strawberries, it would be better to use slightly tart strawberries. The sweetness of the cream could balance the strawberries’ acidity and enhance their original aroma. However, there was no way to find those less sweet ones, and buying them online was uncertain. So, it was better to use the strawberries in the fridge.
Bai Jinyan ate one strawberry, his expression remained unchanged, and he calmly said, “They taste good.”
After a pause, he added, “The craftsmanship is excellent, and the sweetness is just right.”
Qiao Huaiyao was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but curl his lips. What craftsmanship was there in putting whipped cream on strawberries? He simply squeezed whipped cream onto the strawberries. Seeing Bai Jinyan’s serious praise, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t know what to say, so he picked up a strawberry and tasted it himself.
He made a full plate of them, arranged in two rows, and the whipped cream held up well even after sitting for so long. If the taste was fine, there would be no need to adjust the cream when making the cake.
The cream that Zhao Jiamo had bought was animal cream, one of the better-known brands among animal creams. It had a subtle sweetness and a smooth texture.
“Let’s eat dinner first and have fruits afterward,” Bai Jinyan said. When he opened the lunchbox on the table, he said, “These are from the live stream earlier in the morning. Let’s see if they suit your taste.”
Qiao Huaiyao thought the lunchbox contained the lunch portions for each group of guests provided by Zhao Jiamo, but he was surprised to find that it was made by his brother. He handed the plate of strawberries to Bai Jinyan and said, “I’ll serve it.”
There were five dishes, two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a soup. They weren’t too spicy, had a hint of the soup’s flavor, and looked very appetizing. Bai Jinyan had steamed the rice in the kitchen.
However, Qiao Huaiyao had eaten a lot of experimental cake batter earlier, so he was still full. He said, “Brother, don’t give me rice; I had breakfast late. I’ll just taste the dishes.”
Bai Jinyan raised an eyebrow, “No rice? All right.” He got a new bowl for the soup since there was no rice, and Qiao Huaiyao tasted the dishes.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment and said, “Brother, I have an online class early tomorrow, so I might not wake up in time. Can you help me with tomorrow’s class?”
He paused and put some spare ribs in Bai Jinyan’s bowl. “Could you help me with tomorrow’s class?”
Tomorrow, he needed to prepare a surprise, and he couldn’t do it without being here. That’s why he had signed up for two days of the live streaming course.
Bai Jinyan nodded slowly, “Sure.”
“Thank you,” Qiao Huaiyao smiled and put some vegetables in Bai Jinyan’s bowl. “I appreciate it, Brother.”
Qiao Huaiyao had already prepared most of the cake-making steps. He just needed to finish making the cake when the time came, before Bai Jinyan returned.
The next morning, his phone on the bedside table kept buzzing.
Buzz, buzz…
Qiao Huaiyao woke up early, studying and taking notes for his professional class. When he heard the sound, he glanced at the caller ID on the screen and saw that it wasn’t his phone.
Without answering, he got up and went outside to find someone. In the small garden outside, he saw Bai Jinyan watering plants. He handed him the phone and said, “Brother, it’s Aunt Meng’s call.”
“Did it wake you up?” Bai Jinyan glanced at the vibrating phone but didn’t rush to answer it.
“No,” Qiao Huaiyao said. He had woken up early today because he had a lot to prepare. Although he had seen discussions about class notes in the dormitory group chat this morning, he hadn’t gone out to fix his handwriting. He took the hose from Bai Jinyan and said, “Let me handle this; you can answer the call.”
“It’s almost done,” Bai Jinyan evaded his hand, put the hose back in its place, and turned off the faucet. “Let’s go inside; I’ll go to the kitchen.”
It was almost time for online classes, and Bai Jinyan went to the kitchen after answering the call. Qiao Huaiyao saw this and went to prepare his surprise.
Zhao Jiamo helped Qiao Huaiyao carry the things he had bought. When he arrived and saw him whipping cream, he couldn’t help but laugh and say, “You’ve prepared quite a feast for dinner, and you’ve even made a cake. Is it someone’s birthday?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head, “It’s my brother’s birthday.”
“Oh?” Zhao Jiamo looked puzzled, thinking, “When is Bai Jinyan’s birthday? I don’t even know, but all of his fans know. Bai Jinyan’s birthday is always hyped on Weibo, with special profile pictures and celebrations. But now, there’s no sign of it.”
Zhao Jiamo hesitated, “Did you remember correctly?”
Although he felt the possibility was very low, it wasn’t impossible.
“No,” Qiao Huaiyao explained, “He celebrates his birthday on the lunar calendar. The one on Weibo should be the lunar calendar.”
Zhao Jiamo looked bewildered. He had never heard of such a thing. As far as he knew, Bai Jinyan didn’t care about birthdays and rituals. Whether to eat cake and make a wish or not was irrelevant to him. As for celebrating birthdays on both the lunar and solar calendars, this was the first time he had heard of it.
Qiao Huaiyao explained, “It’s probably because of family traditions. When my brother celebrates his birthday, there are always many people, even if he doesn’t host a birthday banquet, there will be relatives at home.”
Compared to birthday celebrations, it was more about maintaining family relationships.
“For the solar calendar birthday, we won’t hold this kind of banquet.”