"TA-DA!"

As the lid of the gift box flipped open, accompanied by a dazzling Rainbow Light and a PUFF! of pink Smoke, Qiao Muyi stood up from within, making a sparkling entrance!

Whether she had the day off or not, she wasn't wearing her Tactical Team Leader Vest. Instead, braving the cold, she wore an off-the-shoulder white blouse with a straight neckline. Below her slender waist, she wore a wine-red miniskirt paired with black over-the-knee socks. She cradled a large cake, generously frosted with cream and topped with candles, exuding a sweet fragrance.

"Happy birthday!" Qiao Muyi blinked and smiled sweetly. "Surprised? Didn't expect this, did you?"

Ren Suo took the cake, which had 'Happy Birthday, Xiao Suo' written on it, and said modestly, "Thank you... um, this is really surprising."

He was indeed very surprised. He had thought that perhaps only his sister would send him a 'Happy Birthday' wish at midnight, along with automated birthday texts from various well-meaning acquaintances—since QQ reminded friends of birthdays. Since it took no effort, he usually received a heap of timely birthday wishes, though none ever came with red packets.

For example, Chairman Xie would certainly send a message. Ren Suo had noticed several times in the Lianjiang Transcendents' chat group that whenever someone had a birthday, Chairman Xie was almost always the first to offer well wishes, sometimes even sending a small red packet to liven things up.

Although not everyone might appreciate his gestures, no one disliked him for it. When it came to maintaining a public presence, Chairman Xie was a professional.

Qiao Muyi, on the other hand, rarely participated in group interactions, aside from occasionally posting her 'toxic chicken soup.' However, judging by the general sentiment in the chat group, she was actually quite adept at socializing, often appearing in photos from team-building events with the Countermeasures Team members.

Of course, more importantly, Qiao Muyi was one of the few Third-turn Cultivators from their civil servant training. Now, some people even subtly regarded her 'toxic chicken soup' as truth. Among Third-turn Cultivators, she was definitely the most approachable.

Once Qiao Muyi advanced to the fourth transformation, Ren Suo figured articles like 'Ten Pieces of Advice for Young People from Qiao Muyi' would start trending.

Thus, Ren Suo quickly accepted that Qiao Muyi had gone out of her way to celebrate his birthday precisely at midnight. However, he soon found himself in an awkward situation.

While he didn't dislike social interactions, he had little enthusiasm for complex ones. He preferred gatherings based on shared interests like food, travel, gaming, or movies... not for celebrating someone's birthday.

According to the principle of reciprocity, if someone celebrated his birthday, Ren Suo would naturally have to prepare a gift and congratulate them in return. He felt he lacked this ability—how could someone who didn't even care about his own birthday remember anyone else's?

Being thoughtful towards others was truly a formidable ability.

Moreover, people often had extensive social circles. For instance, when Chairman Xie had his birthday a couple of months ago, he'd booked several tables at a restaurant (Ren Suo hadn't attended). Guests came from Public Security, the Countermeasures system, and even neighboring cities. Ren Suo had glanced at the birthday photos and hadn't recognized a single person in the background.

Perhaps such gatherings were great opportunities for social butterflies to expand their networks, but for Ren Suo, they were overwhelmingly uncomfortable. He had no interest in mingling with a crowd of strangers and would much rather 'send a gift in lieu of attendance' and stay home gaming.

For various reasons, combined with his family's indifference to birthdays (though his parents would mysteriously disappear for an evening on his mother's birthday), Ren Suo had deliberately downplayed birthday socializing since high school. Even if others brought it up, he would laugh it off, simply hoping for a 'live and let live' kind of peace.

I need to mark Qiao Muyi's birthday on my calendar... Ren Suo sighed inwardly. He figured that an increased Bond Level wasn't entirely a good thing; he really wasn't used to being so considerate of others.

Qiao Muyi easily folded and packed away the gift box; it seemed to be a prop specially designed for such occasions. She walked in, looked around, and said, "Perfect timing, right at midnight? Not too early, not too late. I'm the first one to wish you a happy birthday, aren't I?"

The more Ren Suo heard, the more awkward he felt. It seemed he would have to be the first to wish Qiao Muyi a happy birthday when her time came. Does that mean I'll have to stuff myself in a box and present myself at midnight like she did? That sounded a little creepy.

"Yeah," Ren Suo scratched his face. "I thought nobody would know since I didn't mention it... I haven't prepared anything, no plans at all."

"That's okay." Qiao Muyi sat down, crossed her legs, and smiled, a sly glint in her fox-like eyes. "Then we'll blow out the candles, cut the cake, and just relax."

Ren Suo shook his head. "You can't really get a taxi from the Heavenly Lotus Academy area at this hour... How will you get home later?"

Qiao Muyi gave him a puzzled look. "Then I won't go home. I'll sleep here."

"Hm?" Ren Suo blinked. "Oh, sure. I clean the guest room often. I assure you it's spotless, so you can rest easy."

"The guest room... works," Qiao Muyi said softly, glancing at him with a smirk and a shrug.

Qiao Muyi's unspoken dissatisfaction seemed to echo in the air: I don't want to sleep in the guest room.

If you don't want the guest room, does that mean you want the master bedroom? Ren Suo muttered to himself. Qiao Muyi's gesture had indeed touched him. "If you want to sleep in the master bedroom, I can take the guest room," he offered.

Qiao Muyi scoffed. "No need... Let's blow out the candles and make a wish."

Her tone doesn't sound like she wants to sleep in my den... Ren Suo muttered. He sat at the dining table, looked at the large cake before him, and asked, "What should I do?"

"You don't know?" Qiao Muyi asked, surprised.

"Where I'm from, the birthday custom is to eat red-dyed eggs and go out for a meal..." Ren Suo shook his head. "In college, when classmates had birthdays, we'd have cake, but there wasn't any particular ritual; we just ate it."

"Is that so..." Qiao Muyi drawled. "Well then, let's use the method I know for blowing out candles."

"You need to blow out all the candles in one breath, then close your eyes for ten seconds—I'll count for you. During these ten seconds, you can make as many wishes as you want, until I tell you time's up."

"However, throughout this process, I'll keep distracting you. You can't make a sound or open your eyes, or your wishes will fail."

Ren Suo couldn't help but click his tongue. "Can I really make multiple wishes? Isn't that a bit greedy?"

"People are very greedy, you know. If we can't get everything we want, what's the point?" Qiao Muyi said with a charming laugh.

Ren Suo didn't hesitate. He took a deep breath, blew out all the candles, then closed his eyes and clasped his hands together to make his wishes.

Just then, Qiao Muyi walked up to him. She poked his cheek, rubbed his hands, and tugged his ear, laughing as she said, "You can't open your eyes or make a sound, okay?"

Despite Qiao Muyi's interference, Ren Suo furrowed his brow and remained silent, stubbornly making his wishes. Qiao Muyi couldn't help but laugh. He's so silly.

She pinched Ren Suo's cheeks with both hands, pulling them playfully. It felt just like the experience described in 'Xiao Suo's Secret Diary.' Ren Suo's face wasn't chubby, but his cheeks were very pinchable.

So, would other experiences be the same? Qiao Muyi's smile faded. She held her breath, gently pinched Ren Suo's lips, then leaned down. Looking at his endearingly earnest face, she slowly moved closer—

CLICK.

Ren Suo opened his eyes. Small stones were hitting the glass of the balcony's French doors again.

Qiao Muyi, who was still pinching Ren Suo's cheek, turned her head to glance at the balcony. "The winter night wind must be strong to blow pebbles this high..." she muttered. How annoying.

Knowing another guest had arrived, Ren Suo asked, "Has it been ten seconds?"

"No."

"I feel like it's been longer than that..."

"No, you'll have to make another wish later. Besides, the most important thing when wishing is sincerity. Sincerity makes it come true," Qiao Muyi said. "What did you wish for?"

"Well, I wished that in my lifetime, I'd get to play 'Ancient Scrolls 6,' 'Wasteland Scavenger 5,' 'Monkey's Aspiration Chronicles 6,' 'Yggdrasil,' and a whole bunch of virtual reality games..."

He rattled off the game titles as if reciting a menu, just as the doorbell rang.

Qiao Muyi's expression changed. "Who is it?"

"My sister, I guess?"

Ren Suo stood up to open the door, but Qiao Muyi stopped him. "Wait a moment."

Although she couldn't sense the Qi Cyclone of the person outside, Qiao Muyi instinctively felt it might not be his sister. What kind of sister visits her brother at midnight to celebrate his birthday?

Is it Bai Ji or Dong Chengling?

Qiao Muyi's mind raced. Regardless of who it was, she had no intention of sharing this night. If she couldn't have him all to herself, what was the point?

She was very greedy, after all.

"Maybe it's one of your teacher friends, like Zhao Huo," Qiao Muyi said calmly. "If someone saw me in your apartment in the middle of the night, wouldn't that be a bit awkward?"

Ren Suo hesitated. He hadn't expected Qiao Muyi, a fierce Transcendent, to care about such small details. "It would indeed be a bit awkward."

"So, how about we just ignore whoever is outside?" Qiao Muyi suggested with a playful smile. "Just pretend you're asleep. They'll eventually give up and leave, and no one will see me. It's already past midnight; if you say you were asleep, no one can blame you. Not opening the door would be perfectly normal."

Ren Suo glanced at the still-ringing doorbell and tilted his head slightly. "Hmm... I guess that's true..."

Seeing Ren Suo about to fall into her trap, Qiao Muyi smiled. "See? Once they realize you're asleep, they'll leave and come back tomorrow. It's definitely not an emergency; if it were, they would have called you..."

CLICK!

The lock cylinder of the security door made a crisp CLACK, the sound echoing loudly in the silent night.

Qiao Muyi stared at Ren Suo, momentarily stunned. Ren Suo said, "My sister has a key."

Qiao Muyi blinked; she already had a Plan B. Quickly picking up the cake, she whispered to Ren Suo, "Quick, get Little Star back to her dorm. I'll hide in the guest room. And remember, you still need to blow out the candles and make your wishes later!"

Qiao Muyi wasn't worried about Ren Xingmei misunderstanding her relationship with Ren Suo—no matter how scandalous Ren Xingmei's assumptions, they wouldn't exactly be a misunderstanding.

It was just that Qiao Muyi and Ren Xingmei weren't particularly close, whereas Ren Xingmei and Dong Chengling were very close; Ren Xingmei was Dong Chengling's prized student.

Moreover, at previous gatherings, Qiao Muyi had faintly sensed that Ren Xingmei seemed to favor Dong Chengling. If Ren Xingmei found her here now and told Dong Chengling, Dong Chengling would probably Teleport over immediately and ruin the entire night.

Better to have Ren Suo send his sister away first, Qiao Muyi thought. The night is still young!

Ren Suo watched, somewhat perplexed, as Qiao Muyi darted into the guest room like a whirlwind. He went to open the inner wooden door (the teachers' dorms had a security door and then a wooden one) and froze.

The visitor wasn't his sister, Ren Xingmei. It was Dong Chengling.

Dong Chengling, having just unlocked the security door, pocketed her key. She glanced calmly at Ren Suo, then suddenly frowned. Her small nose twitched as she leaned closer to him and sniffed him several times.

"You smell of perfume."

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