Receiving a call from Shi Yumei on her birthday came as a surprise to Yu Wan.
Afraid that Shi Yumei might suddenly lose it, she decided to take the call outside just to be safe.
The corridor wasn’t empty, and as she stepped out, the servers greeted her warmly with nods. She walked all the way to the end and pushed open the door to a small balcony with a nice view—no one to disturb her there.
“Anything wrong?” Their previous conversations had all been unpleasant, so almost instinctively, Yu Wan’s tone turned curt.
She didn’t need to pretend otherwise; Shi Yumei never cared about her feelings anyway.
“I suddenly remembered it’s your birthday today. Wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”
After Shi Yumei remarried the rich merchant, Yu Wan’s birthdays had become the most uneventful days of her life. As for birthday cake, she could only snag a small slice from the one prepared for her little brother’s lavish celebration.
The little brother was picky and didn’t like it, so the rich merchant and Shi Yumei cut the cake, first serving it to the relatives and friends there to celebrate, then the household staff, and finally Yu Wan.
Yu Wan had secretly stuck a candle in her slice and made a wish on a birthday that wasn’t hers, prematurely cashing in her wish.
To be “suddenly” remembered after several decades—truly an honor.
Yu Wan would rather she had forgotten, sparing her from dredging up those painful memories and dousing her good mood with a bucket of cold water just when it was lifting.
She gave a faint “Mm”: “Nothing else? I’m hanging up.”
“Why so rushed? Mom wants to chat with you.”
The line went unusually quiet—nothing like their past calls. No frantic yelling from someone who’d lost at gambling, no sounds of machines humming.
This rare restraint was already a huge improvement for Shi Yumei.
Yu Wan glanced at her watch: “Five minutes max. I’m eating.”
“With who?”
“Xiao Ge.”
“Xiao Ge…” Shi Yumei suddenly sounded wistful. “I haven’t seen Xiao Ge in years. I catch glimpses of her on TV sometimes. How’s she doing? Is she okay?”
Yu Wan sneered inwardly.
Mother-daughter bond? What Shi Yumei cared about was probably just her celebrity status, so she could brag about it and bask in the reflected glory.
Thank goodness the court had awarded custody to Shi Yumei herself back then—otherwise, Quan Cige would’ve been treated like a money-making tool, and her whole life ruined.
“She’s doing great.” No one fared worse after cutting ties with Shi Yumei.
Shi Yumei seemed to run out of things to say, yet she dragged it out with endless nagging. She pried into how Quan Cige had gotten in touch with her, gossiped about whether she’d dated anyone in the industry—vulgar, boring questions.
Eventually, the topic circled back to Yu Wan.
That was when her true colors showed: asking if she’d received Chen Yuyang’s gift.
Time was running out, and Yu Wan’s patience was wearing thin. Hearing Chen Yuyang’s name was like a catalyst speeding it up.
“Do you know he’s been stalking me?” Yu Wan hadn’t planned to pursue it—she had a hunch but no evidence to call the cops.
After leaving Fang Nianchen’s place that day, she’d run into Chen Yuyang. When she asked how he’d found her, he claimed he’d been shopping nearby and recognized her license plate.
Even kindergarteners wouldn’t buy that excuse. Chen Yuyang’s shameless behavior infuriated her.
“So what? He likes you and wants to know more about you—what’s wrong with that?” Shi Yumei’s shrill voice cut in. “He’s not gonna do anything to you.”
The words hit like a jolt, sending Yu Wan’s nerves twitching, her blood pressure spiking.
Her head throbbed as she fought the rage: “Did you hear me? I said ‘stalking’. He’s acting like a creep, following me around. He’s not normal anymore.”
“How can you say that about him? Ah Wan, Mom was out of line that day—I shouldn’t have threatened you. Even for my sake, just try dating him first and see?” Shi Yumei prattled on persuasively. “He’s liked you for so many years—that’s real patience. How many guys these days are that devoted?”
Yu Wan knew she’d never get through to Shi Yumei; in her eyes, Chen Yuyang was some model citizen.
But his creepy deeds went beyond that—thinking about them made her stomach turn.
Afraid of bringing bad vibes back to the private room and ruining the mood for the other two, she hung up at the right moment.
The call had lasted longer than expected. When Yu Wan returned to the room, she saw Quan Cige laughing happily, regaling Fang Nianchen with fun stories from the set.
Quan Cige was a natural social butterfly, quick to warm up to anyone. For her to hit it off so fast with someone as reserved as Fang Nianchen was a real talent.
But were they sitting… a bit too close?
Yu Wan cleared her throat: “All the dishes here yet?”
“All served—I’m almost stuffed.” Quan Cige scooted back to her seat. “We were having a great chat. She’s so cute.”
Calling a woman in her early twenties “cute” wasn’t weird, but saying it to her face still made the person shy.
Especially after enduring mental torment for a while, Fang Nianchen wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table and hide.
Those words from Quan Cige’s mouth had nearly killed her.
Hearing anyone say she liked Yu Wan—even in jest—made her hairs stand on end, like being stripped bare in the snow, bone-chilling cold piercing through her.
Luckily, Quan Cige seemed to be joking and dropped it after laughing.
But she’d truly been scared, so even as Quan Cige chattered on about things she didn’t care about, she pretended to listen attentively.
With the birthday girl back, Quan Cige called the server to bring in the pre-prepared cake, holding the floppy birthday hat. She thought for a second and handed it to Fang Nianchen: “Mind folding this for me?”
She blinked innocently, looking pure and harmless.
Fang Nianchen had no idea what she was up to. After folding it, as she went to hand it back, Quan Cige said: “Why give it back to me? Put it on the birthday star.”
The birthday star being… Yu Wan.
Fang Nianchen looked at her, meeting her gaze. Yu Wan looked perfectly calm, even nodding slightly and leaning in cooperatively.
Fang Nianchen took a deep breath and gently placed the hat on her head. A couple of stray hairs stuck up rebelliously. Her hand reached out, inexplicably reminded of that night when Yu Wan had patted her head, then hesitated. She just said: “Your hair’s sticking up a bit.”
“Where?”
“Here.” Fang Nianchen fiddled with her own hair to demonstrate.
“I can’t see. Help me out.”
Feeling it might be tricky for her to do it herself, Fang Nianchen reached up, gently smoothing Yu Wan’s hair aside. As she withdrew, her sleeve carried a faint fragrance. She chuckled lightly: “There, fixed.”
Just as they lit the candles here, Quan Cige flicked off the lights with a snap.
“Ahem.” Quan Cige took the lead, drawing everyone’s eyes. “My dear sister, our beautiful Miss Yu Wan, has finally welcomed her thirtieth birthday today. They say a woman at thirty is like a flower in bloom—may she spark the flames of love in her thirtieth year~”
Thirtieth, thirtieth… Did she have to emphasize the number?
“That’s enough.” Yu Wan frowned slightly to stop her. “No need to be so formal.”
No need to keep reminding her she was thirty.
Quan Cige raised a brow: “Close your eyes and get ready to make a wish. We’ll sing for you. Remember—a wish that’s close at hand.”
Subtle or not, she was playing matchmaker.
Since it was her birthday, Yu Wan was willing to go through the motions and gently closed her eyes.
With one sense blocked, the others sharpened intensely.
She heard fabric rustling nearby, steady breathing.
Quan Cige started the song, then… nothing.
Fang Nianchen couldn’t figure out how “we’ll sing together” turned into her singing solo. Bathed in candlelight, Quan Cige simply raised her phone to cover her face and started recording.
Singing alone made her nervous, but she couldn’t stop now or it’d ruin Yu Wan’s wish-making. Fang Nianchen’s voice trembled a bit at first, steadying after half a line.
Yu Wan listened quietly, her thoughts on the wish overtaken.
It was her first time hearing Fang Nianchen sing—her voice soft and gentle, like Little Briquette’s paw pads stepping on her, light and plush.
So, she wished a more selfish wish: to hear more, for longer.
Afraid too many wishes in the world would drown hers out, Yu Wan silently repeated it three times devoutly.
“Happy Birthday to you…” Seeing she hadn’t finished, Fang Nianchen switched to the English version and kept going.
What would she wish for? Career success? Good health? Yeah, probably those.
Yu Wan finally opened her eyes and blew out the candles.
She turned: “Thank you.”
Fang Nianchen smiled shyly: “You’re welcome.”
—
After dinner, after sending Fang Nianchen home, Quan Cige threw a tantrum and refused to leave Yu Wan’s car. She insisted on staying over at her place tonight—otherwise, she’d sleep in the car, and tomorrow’s hot searches would feature headlines like “Famous Film Star Reduced to Sleeping in a Sedan.”
Yu Wan was in a good mood today and handled her occasional coquetry quite well, bringing her back to her home in North City.
After showering and coming out, she saw Quan Cige sprawled on the sofa playing with the cat. Surprisingly, even Little Briquette had dropped its aloof demeanor and was getting along great with her.
Not just people—even the cat was so tolerant of Quan Cige. Exactly what was wrong with her?
Yu Wan mulled it over as she tilted her head to dry her hair.
Without turning around, Quan Cige called out to her: “Sis.”
“Hm?”
“I feel like… does Fang Nianchen kinda like you too?”
Yu Wan’s heart felt like it had been stepped on, only to softly rebound with a tingling numbness.
The hand drying her hair paused. “Why?”
“Um… You stepped out to take that call today, right? So I asked her whether she thought you were prettier or me. She said you. Hey! I’m a big star standing right there in front of her, and she picks you!” Quan Cige grumbled in dissatisfaction. “I was even wearing makeup today…”
“That doesn’t prove anything.”
“No, no, the key part is what happened next.” Quan Cige abruptly sat up, scooping Little Briquette into her arms. “I was just teasing her as a joke, saying, ‘Do you like my sis or something?'”
“You should’ve seen her face—it went bright red in an instant, and she started stuttering.” Quan Cige explained with dead seriousness. “In our acting classes, that kind of reaction is called ‘being shy.’ It’s super hard to fake, so performers have to really immerse themselves and briefly feel that ‘heart-flutter’ toward the other actor. So, my clever sister, was her shyness a case of her heart moving for me?”
After a moment of silence, Yu Wan set down her towel. “You should get to bed early.”
“Aiyo—” Quan Cige squeezed her eyes shut in agony. “What’s the harm in just assuming she likes you…? Why torture yourself like this? Go confess and see!”
“When I was chatting with her, I asked, and tons of people have confessed to her before. She’s so popular—if you’re not proactive, someone else will snatch her right up!”
Yu Wan spoke slowly: “If the timing is right, I will.”
“You and your old-fashioned ways. What even is ‘timing’ in love? Other people switch partners ten times a month—who hesitates and overthinks like you? Ridiculous.”
“Love isn’t ridiculous. Sincerity isn’t ridiculous. What’s ridiculous are people who don’t treat love seriously.” Yu Wan sat down beside her and patiently explained, “I’m approaching this with the mindset of spending my life with her, so I won’t confess lightly just to let her know I like her. I need some time for her to get to know me, and once she fully understands what kind of person I am, then we can talk about it. That way, we’ll both be prepared.”
“And look at my life right now—it’s not all that glamorous. I don’t want to drag her into dealing with all those annoying people and things. Once I’ve sorted it out, we can be together happily.”
“Fang Nianchen is a very kind person. I treasure her—I don’t want to fight with her or see her upset. So… let’s wait a little longer. And if it’s really like you say, and she likes me too…” Yu Wan smiled faintly. “Then carrying these feelings will give me even more courage to stand up to those annoying people.”
For some reason, Quan Cige stared blankly at the person before her, a pang of heartache hitting her.
She’d shouldered so much, yet received so little in return.
She shouldn’t have called her hesitant—it was just her usual gentleness, taking every possible factor into account.
“Sis. Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that about you.” Quan Cige’s mood sank.
“I don’t blame you.” Yu Wan gently stroked her back. “I know you’re worried about me and have my best interests at heart.”
“So thank you.”
Quan Cige took a deep breath. Every time Yu Wan treated her this gently, it always threw her off. Now her whole body was tingling again, so she puffed out her chest to feign strength. “How many wishes did you make earlier?”
“One.”
“Just one? You dummy.” Quan Cige started ribbing her again. “You totally wasted the other two!”
“One’s enough. Don’t get greedy.”
“No way—we can’t skimp on something like this!” Quan Cige slapped the sofa and jumped up, unpacking the leftover cake they’d brought back and reinserting the candles.
“There’s still over two hours left in the day. Hurry and make up for it while you can.”
Yu Wan stayed seated. “I’m sleepy. Time for bed.”
“Tch…” Quan Cige rolled her eyes at her. “If you won’t, then I’ll do it for you. We’re twins from the same womb, after all—I can represent you.”
Yu Wan had no recourse but to smile and acquiesce.
Quan Cige pressed her palms together, closed her eyes, and said devoutly: “The person my sis likes also likes her back!”
How is she even more eager about this than I am…
“Saying the wish out loud makes it not come true, right?” Yu Wan reminded her helplessly, though she didn’t put much stock in it herself.
But this particular wish—she secretly hoped it would come true.
“Ah? Then what do we do?” Quan Cige blinked innocently, looking at her in panic. “No, it has to come true—this is about your happily ever after! It must!”
“Can I make another one? You only did one anyway.”
Yu Wan curved her lips. “Go ahead.”
As if performing some solemn ritual, Quan Cige rubbed her hands vigorously and bowed devoutly toward the birthday candles.
This time, she didn’t say it aloud. Pursing her lips, she chanted silently in her heart:
Fang Nianchen must marry my sis.
