Chapter 61: Birthday Surprise
With recommendations from Li Yizhou, a local of the capital, they finally found a great place suitable for a spring outing.
The weather was bright and clear, the temperature just right, so they chose Peach Blossom Park.
Big guys like Li Yizhou and Ding Yan didn’t even feel like wearing jackets.
Everything felt incredibly novel to Jiang Rong—including going on a spring outing.
In his original world, he’d never been this carefree with friends.
Worried that anything bought on the spot might not be fresh, He Siming paid a restaurant in advance to prepare fresh ingredients for them the day before.
The outing spot allowed tents to be pitched and barbecues to be brought in; all of that was prepared by Yao Shule and the others. Of course, they also took on the responsibility of the birthday surprise.
They arrived an hour early to set things up. The two groups set off at completely different times—by the time the setup was finished, the main character and Jiang Rong should be arriving soon.
He Siming was driving.
Ever since he learned that Jiang Rong planned to wait for the baby to hatch naturally before undergoing surgery, he hadn’t slept well night after night.
Since he’d promised to go on a spring outing with Jiang Rong over the weekend, there was no way he would back out.
But they’d only just gotten into the car—why was Jiang Rong hugging his phone and chatting nonstop?
Not just today—he’d been like this for several days now.
He Siming’s upbringing wouldn’t allow him to snoop on Jiang Rong’s phone, but these past few days he’d genuinely been feeling a little hurt.
Jiang Rong had been glued to his phone, and sometimes even hid in the bathroom to chat.
Had he made some new friends he couldn’t tell him about?
He Siming knew Jiang Rong wouldn’t cross any moral lines, but having little secrets he didn’t share still made him uncomfortable.
He’d already been driving for half an hour, and Jiang Rong hadn’t looked up once, replying to messages the entire time.
A particularly strong sense of loss welled up in He Siming’s heart.
The more people Jiang Rong knew, the smaller the place he himself seemed to occupy in Jiang Rong’s heart.
While He Siming was quietly feeling down, Jiang Rong was chatting animatedly with the others in the group.
Their plan was to set up the tent first, then decorate it—hang some balloons, place some flowers and greenery.
However, who would’ve thought that none of the three of them had any experience pitching a tent? Just setting it up took twenty minutes.
Jiang Rong was extremely anxious. Their progress was truly worrying, and every few minutes he reported to them how much longer it would take before he and He Siming arrived.
With so much on his mind, Jiang Rong didn’t have the attention to notice He Siming’s expression. If the setup wasn’t ready, the surprise for He Siming would be ruined.
What to do?
Plans really couldn’t keep up with changes.
In the next ten minutes, several more problems cropped up. First, the balloon pump broke. Second, the spot they chose for the tent was extremely windy, and several helium balloons bought online were blown away. Finally, when they were organizing the cake box, they realized the shop hadn’t included number candles!
Jiang Rong was so distressed he felt like crying, screaming despairingly in his heart: Oh my god, could you guys be any more unreliable?
Yao Shule wrote in their four-person group chat:
“Rong-bao, don’t panic. These are all small issues. Ding Yan’s driving out to buy other decorations—there are balloon vendors right in the peach orchard. No worries!”
Ding Yan: “Yes, yes, yes! I’m going right now—I’ll be back as fast as I can!”
Yao Shule: “You and He Siming come over half an hour later. Find an excuse to stall him first.”
Jiang Rong: “That’s the only way. You guys simplify things as much as you can.”
Yao Shule: “[Photo]”
Yao Shule sent Jiang Rong a photo of the site. It had been simplified to the extreme—basically no decoration at all. The ground was messy, covered with packaging from their tools. Total chaos, not a hint of hope in sight.
Jiang Rong: “……”
Should they just call it off?
He could come back in the evening and celebrate He Siming’s birthday together. Even having a restaurant decorate things would be better than a drafty tent.
But since it had come to this, Jiang Rong could only think of ways to stall He Siming.
They were ten minutes from the destination, and surprisingly the weekend traffic was great—barely any cars on the road.
Jiang Rong came up with the most reasonable excuse:
“He Siming, I need to use the bathroom.”
He Siming: “We’ll be at the peach orchard in ten minutes. Can you hold it a bit longer?”
Jiang Rong: “Not really—I’m about to burst.”
He Siming knew that after getting pregnant, Jiang Rong needed the bathroom more often. He couldn’t bear to make him hold it in.
Without hesitation, he even sped up: “The map shows a gas station nearby. I’ll detour there.”
From Jiang Rong’s request to entering the gas station took barely three minutes—really fast.
Jiang Rong genuinely needed it and headed straight for the restroom after getting out.
Seeing that He Siming didn’t get out, he asked, “Aren’t you coming with me?”
Feeling a bit better—Jiang Rong still wanted to stick close to him—He Siming said, “I’ll park properly and go with you. If you’re in a hurry, you can go first. I’ll be right there.”
Jiang Rong: “Then I’ll wait for you. There are a lot of people here—help block my belly for me.”
He Siming understood his concern: “Okay.”
After parking, he went with Jiang Rong to the restroom.
When they came out, Jiang Rong asked, “Doesn’t the car need gas?”
He Siming: “No, I filled up last night.”
Seeing the convenience store, Jiang Rong tried hard to stall some more time: “I’ve never been to a gas station convenience store before. Can we look around a bit? Maybe buy some snacks—we don’t seem to have many.”
He Siming thought it reasonable: “Sure, but you can’t eat too much.”
Seeing how reluctant he looked, Jiang Rong grabbed his arm and pulled him inside: “I’ll just have one bite, definitely not much. I swear. You can watch me, okay?”
Listening to his soft, pleading tone, He Siming couldn’t stay firm—he’d never been firm with Jiang Rong.
There were plenty of snacks on the shelves, enough to keep him occupied for a while.
Jiang Rong casually browsed, checking ingredient lists to kill time. When He Siming turned away to find snacks he could eat, Jiang Rong secretly glanced at his phone and quickly messaged them to ask how things were going.
Yao Shule replied promptly: “Working on it, working on it! Stall another half hour!”
Jiang Rong: “Why another half hour?”
Yao Shule: “We’re cleaning up the ground. Ding Yan’s found balloons and is bringing them back. We’ll decorate right away—still need some time!”
Jiang Rong: “Alright. We’ve got ten minutes left on the road. Not sure I can stall that long.”
Yao Shule privately sent Jiang Rong a message with an outrageously bad idea: “Later, get clingy with He Siming in the car. Don’t get out until we tell you it’s okay!”
Jiang Rong: “Th-there are people!”
Yao Shule: “Don’t pretend I don’t know—his car’s windows are blocked tight. No one can see what you’re doing inside.”
Jiang Rong: “I-I’ll try my best.”
When He Siming looked over, Jiang Rong had just put his phone away. Whatever he’d seen made him flush red, with a hint of guilt. He Siming’s heart sank—was someone else besides him making Jiang Rong shy now?
Who was it?
A spark of anger slowly ignited in He Siming’s heart, and his tone grew noticeably cooler when he spoke.
“Have you picked something?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Rong grabbed a few bags of potato chips Yao Shule usually liked and headed to the counter.
There was really no excuse left to linger at the gas station.
On the rest of the drive, Jiang Rong couldn’t find another reason to get out of the car. Luckily, Yao Shule’s suggestion could still be used.
He Siming found a parking lot and parked the car.
Jiang Rong looked around—quite a few people were out enjoying spring, including parents with kids.
He really couldn’t bring himself to make those blush-inducing requests to He Siming in front of so many people. He was just too thin-skinned.
Seeing that Jiang Rong hadn’t even unbuckled his seatbelt and looked conflicted and confused, He Siming asked, “Not getting out?” He saw Jiang Rong hesitate, “What’s wrong? Is there something you want to say?”
Was he finally going to confess about that darn group chat?
Jiang Rong saw Yao Shule’s messages popping up crazily on his phone.
Yao Shule: “Rong! You have to stall—longer is better. Wait for my signal!”
Yao Shule: “Rongrong! You have to stall—longer is better. Wait for my signal!”
Yao Shule: “Rongrong! You have to stall—longer is better. Wait for my signal!”
Jiang Rong decided to go all in and said through clenched teeth, “He Siming, my pheromones seem a bit low.”
He Siming hadn’t expected that to be the reason for his long silence. Still, he knew how shy and easily embarrassed Jiang Rong was.
They’d topped up just two days ago, but whenever Jiang Rong’s pheromones were low he’d look uncomfortable—and He Siming didn’t dare ignore that.
“Got it.” He Siming smiled and asked, “Not afraid of there being a lot of people today?”
Jiang Rong’s face immediately flushed peach-pink. He Siming had parked next to a peach tree, and the blooming blossoms outside the window complemented him perfectly, adding boundless beauty to the scene.
“I don’t want to feel uncomfortable while we’re out.” Jiang Rong tried hard to hide his guilt. He was already unbearably embarrassed at the thought of daytime intimacy, so He Siming didn’t notice anything amiss.
He Siming raised the partition behind the seats. “Go to the back seat. I’ll tell them we’ll be late.”
Spring clothes were thin, and Jiang Rong wasn’t wearing a sweater underneath—just very soft fabric. With pregnancy hormones rising, he wore slightly tighter underwear to conceal the gentle swell of his chest.
At home, Jiang Rong usually changed out of his underwear right away; He Siming rarely saw it. Today, though, it was all on display.
He Siming leaned the seat back and asked softly, “Cold?”
Jiang Rong shook his head. “No.”
Knowing where Jiang Rong was sensitive and how to quickly help him replenish pheromones, He Siming said, “I don’t think an hour will be enough for us.”
Jiang Rong clutched his shoulder. “I-it’s enough.”
He Siming braced himself on the seat, carefully avoiding Jiang Rong’s belly, and kissed him lightly. “Then maybe we should just go home?” Seeing how shy he’d gotten.
Jiang Rong looked reluctant to give up the outing. “W-we still need to go out… we already agreed. We can’t back out.”
He Siming chuckled softly. “But the car might shake.”
Jiang Rong could only temporarily abandon his heavy sense of shame and stammer, “A-anyway, no one knows me…”
He Siming had no choice. “Then we’ll try to be gentle.”
Under He Siming’s direct gaze, Jiang Rong’s pheromones surfaced of their own accord. He wrapped his arms around He Siming’s neck.
“Don’t look at me like that.” It was a little too… suggestive.
“Baby, you’re seducing me. What kind of look do you expect?”
He Siming lowered his head and bit his lip, leaving him no chance to speak—except for the sounds he made later.
Honestly, all Jiang Rong needed was to cast him a shy glance—it was enough to stir the heart.
Under wave after wave of stimulation, Jiang Rong could only whimper softly.
If only his roommates were a bit more reliable, he wouldn’t have had to sacrifice his looks to buy time.
He didn’t know how long it passed before Jiang Rong gradually forgot his original purpose and, under He Siming’s guidance, entered a mysterious new world.
After a long while, Jiang Rong returned from that other world. Desire still clouded his eyes, his body limp and weak. It took him a good while before he managed to climb off He Siming.
He Siming lazily watched Jiang Rong tidy himself, obediently putting on each piece of clothing. No matter how he dressed, he couldn’t hide the allure left behind by indulgence.
“Put your clothes on already.” Seeing He Siming still sitting there, faint red marks on his chest and his shirt wrinkled from being grabbed, Jiang Rong recalled what he’d done in the heat of the moment and flushed again.
He Siming didn’t mind the creases—proof of his hard work.
Seeing Jiang Rong’s red face, he said, “Alright, I’ll get dressed.”
How could someone be this pure, when they’d done this so many times?
While He Siming was dressing, Jiang Rong checked the messages—one from their five-person group, one from the four-person group.
Five-person group:
Ding Yan: “He Siming, are you here yet? We’re all here.”
Four-person group:
Yao Shule: “We’re done setting up. You can come over now!”
Ding Yan: “Why no response?”
Li Yizhou: “Did they detour somewhere else?”
Yao Shule: “Probably not. Let’s wait a bit. [blush][blush][blush]”
Actually-blushing Jiang Rong: “We’re on our way.”
The tent had been ready for fifteen minutes.
Ding Yan, with slightly less patience: “Why aren’t they here yet?”
Li Yizhou: “What’s the rush? Didn’t we ask Jiang Rong to stall He Siming? Maybe they went a bit far. Check if there’s anything else not set up.”
Yao Shule grumbled inwardly: Sigh, these two idiots.
Finally, they saw He Siming reply in the main group, and Jiang Rong reply in the small group.
Ding Yan got excited: “Hurry, hurry! Get ready!”
Li Yizhou and Yao Shule also took their positions.
Jiang Rong obediently followed behind He Siming. Right now he was like a ripe, tempting peach. Afraid he’d bump into something and get hurt, He Siming only let him carry a small backpack—he held all the heavy stuff himself.
Following their directions, the two found the pitched tent.
From far away, Jiang Rong saw a pink pig floating above the tent—extremely eye-catching.
There wasn’t just one helium balloon—there were frogs, pink piglets, rabbits, little yellow ducks…
It looked like a children’s amusement park!
Just as they got close, three people jumped out of the tent.
Pop!
Pop!
Ding Yan and Li Yizhou burst out and sprayed He Siming with confetti cannons!
Ding Yan: “Surprise! Old He! Happy birthday!”
Li Yizhou: “Happy birthday, God He!”
Yao Shule stood behind them holding the cake: “Surprised? Didn’t see it coming? Happy birthday, God He!”
“…”
A look of surprise finally appeared on He Siming’s usually cool face. He turned to look at Jiang Rong.
Also covered in confetti, Jiang Rong smiled at him. “Happy birthday.”
Everything clicked instantly for He Siming—Jiang Rong’s strange behavior today suddenly made sense. For the first time, he laughed out loud in front of everyone.
He’d never expected Jiang Rong to work together with them to plan a birthday surprise for him.
“Thank you, everyone. Must’ve been hard keeping this from me.”
Yao Shule: “We were fine. Rongrong had it the hardest—he had to communicate with me behind your back. He even said you were about to suspect him of cheating.”
Ding Yan burst out laughing: “You make them sound like a married couple! Old He, how is it—surprised?”
Li Yizhou laughed along. “You know, they really do look like one.”
Yao Shule was speechless again. Two idiots.
Looking at the tent that looked like it’d been lifted straight from a children’s park, He Siming quickly regained his composure.
He asked Jiang Rong, “That sneaky little group chat behind my back—you guys made it?”
Jiang Rong nodded. “Yeah. How did you know?”
He Siming: “Saw it by accident.”
The group was created by Ding Yan. He’d organized birthday parties for friends before and had experience.
It was his idea for everyone to change their group nicknames, so even if He Siming saw messages on Jiang Rong’s phone, he wouldn’t know who he was chatting with.
No one had objected at the time.
Different names, same avatars—what kind of brains were those?
But the details didn’t matter anymore. After all the twists and turns, the birthday surprise still had some shape to it, even if it differed greatly from their original plan.
Ding Yan: “Come on, Old He! Blow out the candles!”
Jiang Rong nudged him. “Going to blow them out?”
He Siming: “Alright. You’ll blow them out with me.”
Ding Yan: “Sure, we’ll all do it together!”
Holding the cake, Yao Shule said to Ding Yan, “…You don’t need to join this part.”
He Siming didn’t resist much—he did whatever they said, not wanting to waste everyone’s effort.
Before blowing out the candles, Jiang Rong said, “Wait—make a wish first.”
Before today, He Siming had never thought he’d make a wish in front of others. But today, he was willing.
“Okay.”
Seeing how cooperative He Siming was, even Ding Yan noticed he was unusually easygoing today. Looks like their birthday surprise really moved Old He!
After making his wish, He Siming blew out the candles together with Jiang Rong.
Ding Yan asked, “Old He, what did you wish for? You took so long!”
He Siming said, “I wished for my wife to kiss me.”
Jiang Rong hesitated a little. “That… really was your wish?”
He Siming said to him, “Yes. So, wife, give me a kiss.”
Jiang Rong glanced at everyone. The warmth from before hadn’t faded, and now it surged back up again.
W-why couldn’t he wish for something else?
Ding Yan was still asking, “Wife? Who—Yao Shule, your rumored boyfriend? Ha—”
Suddenly, his laughter cut off.
Jiang Rong lifted his head and quickly kissed He Siming on the lips.
Kissing He Siming in public had already used up a lifetime’s worth of Jiang Rong’s courage!
Ding Yan: “……”
Li Yizhou: “……”
He Siming held Jiang Rong’s hand and said to them, “My wife—Jiang Rong. Don’t get it wrong.”
