137: Birthday

Over the next few days, Jiang Ye was completely idle.

He slept in until he woke naturally, then played games, exercised, flipped through study materials, and went to the gym every other day. His life became incredibly regular.

To give himself something to do, he deliberately told Ye Cheng his new address and door lock password, hinting that if she ever got tired from studying and wanted to relax, she could come over anytime to enjoy the "autopilot" service. He even thumped his chest, promising he would "sleep like a log, not waking even for thunder" and would absolutely not interfere with the driver's operation.

Unfortunately, Student Ye Cheng was busy dealing with final exams, burning the midnight oil to avoid failing. She sternly rejected the offer, claiming she had no plans to "drive" in the short term and told him to just focus on being the "parking lot security guard."

As for his assets, there wasn't much change.

His WeChat balance remained stable at 360,000 yuan, and the system tasks seemed to have entered a dormant period. The ["Ex's" Shadow Purifier] task made no progress, and Zhang Wenhai hadn't appeared since their chance encounter at the gym last time.

However, Jiang Ye was quite content. As long as he ate well, drank well, had fun, didn't lack money, and had Girls to look at, this little life was already comfortable enough.

On the other hand, Su Ning had not been having an easy time these past few days.

Her "Brother Ye" had replied to a few WeChat messages, but his attitude remained lukewarm, as if he had reverted to the initial "aloof big brother" mode. This left Su Ning feeling anxious, so she had to find various ways to make her presence felt offline.

Every time she went to the gym, she carefully coordinated her workout outfits—pink, light blue, taro purple... whatever made her look youthful.

She also performed her exercises more earnestly, striving to showcase her positive, energetic side and trying to reawaken Brother Ye's fond memories of her as a "good Girl"... Time flew by, and soon it was December 31st, the last day of the year.

In the evening, Jiang Ye and Su Ning, having just finished a gym class, stood at the entrance of MixC City, waiting for Lin Wanxing to finish work so they could all go home together.

The cold wind was biting. Su Ning rubbed her hands together, glanced stealthily at Jiang Ye, who was looking down at his phone beside her, and moved a bit closer:

"Hey? Can I discuss something with you?"

"Hmm?"

"How about we always come to work out at this time from now on? Like, at 3:30 in the afternoon?"

Jiang Ye glanced at her: "Why? You're just a free-rider, and now you're picky about the time?"

Su Ning giggled, a reason ready on her lips: "Oh, come on, look, we all live in the same residential area. Wouldn't it be boring to go back alone after working out? Like today, waiting for Sister Wanxing to finish work, isn't it much nicer for us to go home together, all lively and cheerful?"

This was half true, half false.

Wanting to spend more time with Jiang Ye and nurture their relationship was true.

Her streaming shift was from 9 AM to 3 PM, so coming straight to the gym afterward was convenient, which was also true.

As for waiting for Lin Wanxing... After the first three classes, Su Ning had indeed thought about creating "alone time" with Jiang Ye. But this big brother would disappear the moment he turned around each time. She couldn't very well force him to wait for her, so she had to settle for the next best thing, downgrading "alone time" to a "group of three."

But it was still acceptable.

Since they were all going back together anyway, coming together in the afternoon... wasn't too much to ask, right?

The walk from the residential area to the gym was equally precious alone time!

Jiang Ye looked at her and shrugged indifferently: "I don't care. Any time is fine."

As they spoke, Lin Wanxing walked out from the employee entrance carrying a backpack and waved to them: "I'm ready, let's go!"

The three met up and started walking toward the Gemdale Peak residential area.

They hadn't gone far when a cheerful "Happy Birthday to You~" ringtone suddenly rang out.

Lin Wanxing and Jiang Ye both instinctively looked toward the source of the sound—Su Ning.

Su Ning coughed, her face showing a hint of "Oops! You caught me" embarrassment. She quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered:

"Mhm, okay, sis, I know. Thanks, sis~"

Then she hung up quickly.

Under their gazes, Su Ning smiled "apologetically," as if she had just remembered:

"Well... that's right. It's my birthday today."

Jiang Ye: "..."

Oh right, he remembered now.

This Girl had mentioned it once before in the chat room, saying her birthday was on December 31st. At the time, Sweet Girl had teased her about celebrating her birthday every month.

But the problem was... who asked?

And that "Happy Birthday" ringtone was way too deliberate, wasn't it?

"Little Su, it's your birthday?"

Lin Wanxing tilted her head in surprise: "When we rented the apartment, I saw your ID card. Your birthday is in June, isn't it?"

Jiang Ye snorted inwardly. Sure enough, not a single word of truth came out of this woman's mouth.

Caught red-handed, Su Ning's expression didn't change at all. She just sighed softly, a trace of melancholy and helplessness appearing on her face:

"Sister Wanxing, that's the registered date... I was the third child in my family. Back then, my family was poor and couldn't afford the fine, so they kept me a secret and didn't register my household registration. It wasn't until I was almost six months old, when the village head found out, that they had no choice but to register me retroactively. My birthday was just set as the registration date..."

Jiang Ye: "..."

Incredible! Absolutely freaking incredible!

The story she spun was rich in detail and full of emotion. If he didn't know her inside and out, he might have actually believed her nonsense.

Beside him, Lin Wanxing looked at Su Ning's "saddened" expression and couldn't help but soften a little.

No wonder Little Su had seemed so preoccupied and down these past few days. It seemed there really were some past events she didn't want to bring up.

"So that's how it is... Why didn't you say so earlier? Come on, let's go buy a cake now. We'll go home and properly celebrate your birthday!"

Su Ning hastily waved her hands, her expression growing even more "resolute": "No, no, Sister Wanxing, really, no need to trouble yourself! I'm used to spending it alone. It's fine..."

"What do you mean no need?"

Lin Wanxing insisted: "Every Girl's birthday is worth commemorating properly. Today, we must..."

"Sister Wanxing, really, no need to buy one!"

Before she could finish, Su Ning grabbed her arm and interrupted: "I... I already ordered one. It's scheduled for delivery at 6:30!"

"...Huh?"

Lin Wanxing's surge of enthusiasm was instantly blocked. Her emotions didn't switch gears in time: "You... you ordered one already?"

"Mhm, mhm, it's all ordered!"

Su Ning nodded vigorously, then looked at Jiang Ye with eager eyes:

"Hey, Sister Wanxing and I don't have many friends around here. If you're free tonight, why not come over and have some cake with us? It's more fun with more people!"

Jiang Ye looked at her expectant little eyes, then glanced at Lin Wanxing's suddenly complicated expression beside him. He grinned:

"Sure, why not? I'm free anyway. I'll join the fun and soak up some of the birthday Girl's good fortune."

Lin Wanxing opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but the words died on her lips.

Her roommate was having a birthday and inviting a mutual friend over to celebrate at home. Emotionally and logically, she didn't seem to have any grounds to object.

Ugh... No wonder Little Su was so diligent last night, dragging out the mop and rags to thoroughly clean the living room, kitchen, and even the bathroom. She thought it was just year-end cleaning... Turns out, this was what she was planning all along!