Pleasing the Small Landlord

The insects that had vanished from the city now seemed to heed the call of a king, gathering here to offer him their grandest audience.

"Wow..."

Countless gorgeous words flashed through Xie Yuling's mind, but ultimately, the only thing that slipped from her lips was this simplest and most sincere syllable.

She felt as if her breath had stopped, terrified that a single exhale would blow away this surreal dream.

Just as she was completely immersed in this sea of fluorescence, a gentle singing voice sounded by her ear.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

Xie Yuling snapped back to reality and looked at Lin Mo beside her.

At some point, an exquisite cake had appeared in his hands, with a single candle planted firmly on top.

Lin Mo leisurely raised his hand again. With a soft "poof," a small cluster of orange-red flame sprang up from the tip of his index finger.

Lighting the candle, Lin Mo gestured toward the cake with his chin.

"Make a wish, birthday girl."

The moment she saw the cake, Xie Yuling's eyes lit up completely. All her previous nervousness and anxiety were washed away by the immense surprise.

"Where did you buy this cake?!"

"What do you mean 'buy'?" Lin Mo said, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I made it this morning."

"You... you made it?!" Xie Yuling's mouth formed an "O" shape.

"What? Isn't this the kind of thing you just learn by looking at it once?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of unconcealable pride.

Looking at his smug expression acting like it was so simple, Xie Yuling couldn't help but burst into laughter.

All her shock and feeling of being moved ultimately transformed into the softest warm current at the bottom of her heart.

She gazed at the candlelight flickering in the night breeze and said softly.

"Thank you, Lin Mo. This is the best birthday present I've ever received."

"Save the thanks and make a wish first! The candle is about to burn out."

The flickering candlelight reflected off Xie Yuling's tranquil profile. She pressed her palms together, her long eyelashes casting small shadows under her eyelids, her expression unusually devout.

After making her wish, she opened her eyes, which seemed to hold scattered starlight. With a gentle breath, she blew out the small flame.

The last wisp of blue smoke dissipated into the darkness.

Out of habit, Lin Mo asked, "What did you wish for?"

Xie Yuling's lips curled up. She turned her head, her eyes looking exceptionally bright in the dim light.

"I'm not telling you. If I say it out loud, it won't come true."

"What if I can help you make it come true?"

Hearing this, Xie Yuling couldn't hold back anymore and let out a laugh, her crisp laughter echoing across the quiet mountain.

"Then I'll tell you whenever I need your help."

She blinked with a hint of slyness. "Now, I want to eat cake."

"Alright, you're the birthday girl, you eat first."

Lin Mo brought his index and middle fingers together and gently swiped at the air.

A shiny silver fruit knife appeared out of thin air, its handle pointing directly at Xie Yuling.

"Here, birthday girl, cut the cake."

Xie Yuling stared blankly. She carefully took the knife, still marveling, "This is too amazing! You conjured those roasted chicken wings like this before too. I want to learn. Is this like the spatial rings in novels?"

"Read fewer cultivation novels. My technique is called Summoning and Dismissing," Lin Mo corrected her.

"Alright, alright, Summoning and Dismissing." Xie Yuling mimicked his gesture, but nothing happened, so she resentfully picked up the knife.

She cut the largest piece, and a paper plate and fork appeared perfectly beneath her hand, catching it steadily.

Xie Yuling scooped a large bite into her mouth. The sweet aroma of the cream instantly exploded on her taste buds, and she narrowed her eyes in bliss.

The next second, her eyes darted around. She scraped off a bit of cream that had gotten on the tip of her nose and lightning-fast smeared it onto Lin Mo's face.

"For you." She smiled like a cat that had caught the canary.

Lin Mo touched the cold, slippery cream on his face, not angry at all, just slowly saying, "If you keep being naughty, your birthday present for this year is gone."

"Hmm?"

Xie Yuling paused her movements and widened her eyes. "There's cake to eat AND a present to receive?! How can there be such a good thing in the world?"

Her pleasantly surprised expression made Lin Mo chuckle.

"Hold out your hand."

Xie Yuling didn't understand, but obediently extended her fair palm.

Lin Mo fished a jade pendant out of his pocket. It was cold to the touch and carved with a lifelike swimming fish. Without leaving any room for argument, he pressed the jade pendant into Xie Yuling's palm.

A scorching warm current suddenly rushed up from her palm, like a weak electric shock, instantly spreading through all her limbs and bones.

Xie Yuling let out a yelp, feeling as if the hard object in her hand had melted and disappeared.

When she pulled her hand back, a very faint mark was branded in the center of her palm.

She hurriedly pulled her hand back and opened it to look. In the exact center of her palm, there was now a pale silver mark of a single-fish jade pendant. The mark seemed alive, faintly swirling beneath her skin before fading away, leaving only an extremely shallow trace.

"This is an ultra-long standby protective talisman. It will keep you safe from external harm."

Lin Mo explained calmly, "I was worried you might take it off while showering and lose it, so I just imprinted it onto your body. Solves the problem once and for all."

Xie Yuling stared blankly at her palm. She could feel a faint, barely-there connection established between herself and that mark.

After a long time, she finally raised her head and curled her lip, though her voice was much softer than before.

"Why are you being so good to me?"

"To suck up to my little landlady, of course!"

Lin Mo leaned against the girl's shoulder and said lazily, "What if one day the little landlady is in a bad mood and kicks me out? Wouldn't I have to sleep on the streets?"

"Hmph! I will throw you out!"

The girl spoke harsh words, but her body suddenly lunged forward, diving right into Lin Mo's embrace.

She buried her head in the crook of Lin Mo's neck and didn't speak.

Lin Mo gently patted the girl's back.

She buried her face in his shoulder, hugging him tightly without saying a word.

Lin Mo let out a muffled grunt from her impact, then smiled helplessly, gently patting her slightly trembling back.

After a good while, a muffled voice came from his arms.

"You know my birthday, so you... also know Meow Meow's birthday, right?"

"Yeah."

That single syllable made the girl's body instantly stiffen.

She raised her head, her eyes slightly red. The next second, she raised her fist and lightly thumped him on the chest.

"When you're like this, how am I ever supposed to get mad at you in the future?"

"If you need to be mad, you should still be mad."

Lin Mo explained with deadpan seriousness, "If you don't vent your anger, it's easy to get thyroid nodules."

"You!"

The girl laughed out of sheer frustration and gave him another hard thump.

"I can see it now. All of Fang Jun's annoying habits must have been learned from you!"

"So now you're learning from Cai Junhuang and trying to elbow me hard, is that it?"

"This is called thumping you! Thumping your chest with my little fists!"

Saying so, Xie Yuling gave him two more symbolic thumps, but the force behind them grew lighter and lighter.