Card Room

Extra Seven – Birthday

Xiao Lou hadn’t specifically asked about Yu Hanjiang’s birthday before. After the two people lived together, Xiao Lou once helped Yu Hanjiang wash his clothes and took out a wallet from Yu Hanjiang’s coat pocket. He happened to see the ID card. Xiao Lou immediately noted down the date of birth on the ID card: October 25th, a Scorpio.

Yu Hanjiang’s personality was quite in line with the characteristics of a Scorpio man. He was cold and proud with keen insight and calm judgment. He was wary and vigilant toward the outside world. In addition, a Scorpio’s possessiveness ranked first among the 12 star signs. This had been verified every night since they started living together…

Yu Hanjiang didn’t force Xiao Lou to do intimate things but he had to hold Xiao Lou to sleep every night.

It had been more than a month and Xiao Lou knew that Yu Hanjiang had actually been enduring very hard. Xiao Lou himself was a bit distracted and had some shameful dreams at night. Both of them were energetic young men who had been chatting for so long under the same quilt. Now Old Gui’s condition had gradually improved and the worry in their heart finally fell.

Xiao Lou thought, ‘Should we go further?’

Two adults couldn’t always hold hands and chat purely, right?

Did he want to take advantage of Group Leader Yu’s birthday to have an in-depth exchange?

Xiao Lou thought of the ambiguous moments in his dreams and couldn’t help blushing. However, both of them were physically and mentally normal and they really liked each other. It was human nature to want further contact.

Yu Hanjiang was worried about Xiao Lou’s willingness to accept it and he always respected Xiao Lou. Every day, he ‘politely’ hugged Xiao Lou to sleep and only kissed him. In fact, Xiao Lou really wanted to try going further but he was too embarrassed to say it.

Yu Hanjiang’s birthday was a good opportunity to quickly warm up the situation. Coincidentally, Yu Hanjiang’s birthday fell on a weekend. They would have the day off as usual unless there were special cases.

Xiao Lou decided to give Yu Hanjiang a surprise.

What type of gift would Group Leader Yu like? Xiao Lou wasn’t sure and he was too embarrassed to ask Lu Jiuchuan. Xiao Lou thought about it before deciding to buy a high quality cashmere scarf for Group Leader Yu. It was autumn and it would gradually get colder. The police officers had to wear plain clothes when going out to handle cases in the winter. At that time, Yu Hanjiang could use the scarf that Xiao Lou gave him.

Xiao Lou chose a dark gray solid colored scarf that was least likely to go wrong. It could also be matched with all of Yu Hanjiang’s clothes.

On October 25th, Yu Hanjiang got up early in the morning. Xiao Lou didn’t tell him happy birthday because he wanted to surprise Yu Hanjiang at night. The surprising thing was that Yu Hanjiang suddenly wanted to go out. “I have something to do and will be back at 6 o’clock in the evening. Can you eat at home alone for lunch?”

The two of them were already together and they should leave some private space for the other person. Xiao Lou didn’t ask what Yu Hanjiang was doing and simply nodded. “It doesn’t matter. You go if you are busy.”

Yu Hanjiang leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Let’s have dinner when I come back.”

Group Leader Yu left and it was convenient for Xiao Lou to prepare a meal. He went to the nearby supermarket to buy a lot of vegetables and meat. He was just passing by the daily necessities when he saw the well-packaged candles. Xiao Lou was moved and bought two candles in preparation to make a candlelight dinner at night.

Would Group Leader Yu feel it was too cringe-worthy? Still, life should sometimes have a sense of ritual or it would be too boring.

Xiao Lou returned home and started the preparations. He washed and cut the ingredients and officially started cooking at 4 o’clock. His cooking skills weren’t bad and he could make several home-cooked dishes. Today was Yu Hanjiang’s birthday so Xiao Lou cooked a few of Yu Hanjiang’s favorite dishes, including steamed fish, winter melon and pork ribs soup, cola chicken wings, etc… it was a full table.

The birthday cake was also ordered in advance and it was delivered on time at 5 o’clock. Xiao Lou set the cake aside and sat next to it to wait for Yu Hanjiang to come home.

Yu Hanjiang said he would be back at 6 o’clock. Sure enough, there was the beep of the door opening at exactly 6 o’clock.

This man had a strong sense of time and never arrived one minute late.

Xiao Lou stood up and walked over to Yu Hanjiang with the cake and a smile. “Hanjiang, happy birthday.”

Yu Hanjiang, “……”

The lights in the house weren’t turned on and the candles shining on the birthday cake sprinkled soft light onto Xiao Lou’s smiling face. The entire house was warmed by Xiao Lou’s smile. At this moment, Yu Hanjiang’s heart seemed to be hit by something and emotions flooded like a tide. Yu Hanjiang’s Adam’s apple moved up and down and he didn’t know what to say.

It turned out that Xiao Lou knew that today was his birthday.

Since the age of 18, Yu Hanjiang rarely celebrated his birthday. He became a policeman and spent most of his birthdays outside on cases. At most, his teammates who knew about it would say happy birthday. He didn’t have any time to celebrate.

Now his beloved was at home and made so many careful preparations for his birthday…

Yu Hanjiang saw Xiao Lou holding the delicate cake with both hands and suddenly felt that this was the happiest day he had in many years.

Xiao Lou’s ears turned red as he saw Yu Hanjiang looking at him without speaking. “I wanted to surprise you so I bought a cake and made some food…”

Before Xiao Lou could finish speaking, Yu Hanjiang took the cake with one hand and brought Xiao Lou into his arms with the other hand.

The tight embrace expressed his excitement.

The candles on the cake flickered and Xiao Lou gently pushed him. “Go to the dining room.”

Yu Hanjiang let out a low ‘um’ and led Xiao Lou to the dining room table. Then he was somewhat surprised as he saw the candles and food on the table. “You prepared… a candlelight dinner?”

Xiao Lou’s face was a bit hot. “Cough, don’t you like it?”

Yu Hanjiang’s lips gently curved up in a smile. “You prepared it. Of course, I like it.”

Xiao Lou sat down across from him. “Make a wish first before blowing out the candles.”

Yu Hanjiang made a wish according to Xiao Lou’s instructions. He closed his eyes and said reverently in his heart, ‘My greatest wish in this life is to be with Xiao Lou and grow old together.’

After making a wish, Yu Hanjiang blew out the candles in one go.

Xiao Lou moved the candles to the side and handed the knife to Yu Hanjiang to cut the cake. “Hanjiang, happy birthday.”

Yu Hanjiang took the plastic knife and cut the delicate small cake into two parts. He kept one for himself and handed one to Xiao Lou, softly telling Xiao Lou, “Thank you. You went to a lot of trouble today.”

“I am your boyfriend. It is right to prepare these things.” Speaking of this, Xiao Lou got up again and brought over the wrapped gift. “This is your birthday gift. Open it to see if you like it.”

“There is a gift as well?” Yu Hanjiang hadn’t received any birthday gifts for 10 years. He looked at the beautifully packaged box and opened the ribbon in a complicated mood. Instead was a gray scarf that felt good to the touch. The texture of the cashmere was particularly warm.

Yu Hanjiang touched the soft scarf and his heart also warmed up. He gently held Xiao Lou’s hand and stared into his eyes. “Xiao Lou, I like it very much.”

Did he like the gifts or Xiao Lou? This pun made Xiao Lou’s cheeks hot and he hurriedly changed the subject. “Are you hungry? Eat first.”

The dinner table was full of Yu Hanjiang’s favorite dishes. Xiao Lou’s cooking skills had grown recently.

Yu Hanjiang ate the food and couldn’t help thinking that he must’ve saved a galaxy in his previous life to meet such a good lover as Xiao Lou.

At home, Xiao Lou was a gentle and considerate boyfriend who took the initiative to take care of Yu Hanjiang’s life. Since living with Xiao Lou, Yu Hanjiang’s shirts had always been ironed neatly and his home kept clean. At work, Xiao Lou had clear thinking, rigorous logic and strong professional ability. He could provide great help to Yu Hanjiang.

Perhaps it was because he was looking with the eyes of a lover but the more he looked at Xiao Lou, the more he liked Xiao Lou. The more he looked, the more he felt that he had picked up the only treasure in the world.

Xiao Lou quickly realized that Yu Hanjiang was always looking at him. Group Leader Yu’s eyes were particularly deep and being gently watched by these eyes made Xiao Lou’s heartbeat accelerate.

The candlelight in the dining room was too soft and the light of the candles was projected in a circle around it, making this corner of the dining room extraordinarily warm. The two of them looked at each other and felt more hazy than usual. They ate the cream cake on the cake and their heart was also sweet. It was the taste of first love.

30 minutes later, the meal finished. The dishes on the table were cold and the rest were put into boxes by Xiao Lou and placed in the refrigerator. He planned to warm it up again tomorrow to eat.

At 8 o’clock, the Card Secret Room WeChat group.

Lu Jiuchuan was the first to send a red envelope:@Yu Hanjiang, happy birthday. You are 28 today!”

The others immediately followed suit and sent red envelopes and blessings: Happy birthday to Group Leader Yu!

Yu Hanjiang replied: Thank you. I won’t be polite and will accept all the red envelopes.

Xiao Lou also followed the trend and sent a blessing.

Their teammates didn’t know that the two of them were living together and Xiao Lou couldn’t be too obvious.

As a result, Xiao Lou had just finished sending the red envelope when he received a WeChat transfer message: Yu Hanjiang has transferred 2,200 yuan to you.

The 11 people in the group, including Xiao Lou, had sent him red envelopes worth 2,200 yuan. Now all of it was transferred to Xiao Lou. Xiao Lou turned his head doubtfully. “Why did you send it to me?”

Yu Hanjiang softly replied, “Haven’t you always managed the accounts in the family?”

These words reminded Xiao Lou of the Card World. When he first teamed up with Yu Hanjiang, Yu Hanjiang handed him all the gold coins and asked him to help manage the accounts.

Xiao Lou couldn’t help smiling. “It seems I am going to be your housekeeper for the rest of your life.”

Yu Hanjiang stared back at Xiao Lou and asked in a low voice, “Are you willing to be with me for the rest of your life?”

Xiao Lou was taken aback. Before he could speak, he saw Yu Hanjiang suddenly going down on one knee in front of him. Like a magic trick, he took out a delicate jewelry box and opened it in front of Xiao Lou.

The man looked at Xiao Lou tenderly and said in a low voice, “In fact, I went out today to get this custom made ring. Xiao Lou, I want to formally propose to you on my birthday.”

Xiao Lou, “……”

He didn’t expect that he had been planning to give Yu Hanjiang a birthday surprise but in the end, it was Yu Hanjiang who prepared a big surprise for him.

A proposal? Was Group Leader Yu really ready to marry him?

Xiao Lou saw the simple and elegant diamond ring in the jewelry box and his heart trembled while his nose became sore. “Why did you… suddenly think of proposing…”

Yu Hanjiang stared into Xiao Lou’s eyes and seriously told him, “It suddenly occurred to me that October 25th is the day I came into this world and it symbolizes life for me. You are as important to me as life. SO I had long planned to propose to you on my birthday.”

He gently held Xiao Lou’s hand. “Would you like to grow up with me?”

Xiao Lou’s eyes were hot and he nodded seriously.

What was there not to like? They had experienced life and death together. Xiao Lou secretly loved Yu Hanjiang a long time ago. If he really wanted to marry someone and stay with them until he was old then Yu Hanjiang was the only candidate in his heart.

Yu Hanjiang saw Xiao Lou nod and his hands trembled with excitement. He carefully put the ring on Xiao Lou’s ring finger and he also wore a matching ring.

Then he suddenly picked up Xiao Lou from the sofa and walked toward the bedroom.

Xiao Lou was carried to the bed like this and his cheeks turned red. “You… you are…”

Yu Hanjiang bluntly told him, “Since the candles are ready and you have promised to marry me, it is better that we use the bridal candles tonight.”

Xiao Lou, “……”

These candles weren’t the candles of the bridal chamber but the candles of a candlelight dinner!

However, Xiao Lou didn’t object when he saw the calm desire in Yu Hanjiang’s eyes. Originally, he also wanted to go further with Yu Hanjiang tonight but he was too embarrassed to open his mouth. Now Yu Hanjiang had taken the initiative and XIao Lou would naturally take advantage of the situation.

At the moment of being overwhelmed, Xiao Lou blushed and said, “I have no experience. I’ve been waiting…”

Yu Hanjiang gently kissed his lips. “Rest assured and just leave it to me.”

The moment when the kiss fell, Xiao Lou heard the man gently whisper in his ear, “Xiao Lou, you are the best gift from heaven.”

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