On How Many Birthdays One Can Celebrate in a Single Day

Pei Ningxue cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, with Chen Zhi helping out beside her.

Neither of them said anything sentimental anymore. They just quietly wiped the countertops clean, washed the dishes, and put the flour away in the cabinet.

1:17 AM.

Pei Ningxue came out of the bathroom, her hair still half-wet. She was wearing one of Chen Zhi's white T-shirts, the hem barely covering the top of her thighs.

She climbed into bed and lay down with her back to Chen Zhi.

"Don't touch me tonight."

"Why?"

"I'm tired." Pei Ningxue pulled the blanket up a bit. "I've been kneading dough for four days. My arms are so sore I can't even lift them."

Chen Zhi pressed up against her from behind, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Then how about I massage them for you?"

"Get lost."

Chen Zhi tactfully withdrew his hand and lay obediently beside her.

About ten seconds later, Pei Ningxue rolled over and buried her face in his chest.

"Massage them."

Her voice was muffled.

Holding back a smile, Chen Zhi gently massaged her arms and shoulders. Pei Ningxue's breathing soon became long and even.

She had fallen asleep.

Chen Zhi, however, wasn't sleepy at all.

With one arm around Pei Ningxue, he used his other hand to pull out his phone from under the pillow, turning the screen brightness to the lowest setting.

1:42 AM.

Things with Pei Ningxue were settled. The noodles were eaten, the gift was received, and the confession was made. He had safely passed this hurdle.

But the problem was—

There were two other people waiting to celebrate his birthday today.

On Pei Ningxue's end, there would probably be more plans when they woke up in the morning.

Conservatively estimating, he would have to keep her company until 9 AM.

Li Zhiyi was at Renmin University, less than a half-hour drive from Wanliu Academy. The problem was how to slip away right under Pei Ningxue's nose.

What about Lin Wanwan? She said yesterday that she was recording a variety show in Hangzhou, but given how love-struck she was, she would definitely pull something today.

He quietly sent a WeChat message to Su Man.

[Sister Man, what is Wanwan's schedule for today?]

It was almost 2 AM. He thought no one would reply, but Su Man replied instantly.

[What, did you find your conscience?]

[I'm just asking.]

[She has no schedules for the whole day today. I canceled them for her. As for why I canceled them, figure it out yourself.]

Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat.

Canceled her schedules for the whole day?

Didn't that mean—

The phone vibrated again. Su Man added another message.

[Lin Wanwan lands at Capital Airport at 3 PM today.]

He was doomed.

Lin Wanwan was arriving in Beijing at 3 PM.

The biggest problem wasn't time.

It was the excuse.

He had to come up with three perfect excuses to explain why he needed to leave halfway through his own birthday.

Chen Zhi stared at the ceiling, thinking for a solid twenty minutes.

Then he opened Dai Damai's chat window.

[Boss? Why aren't you asleep yet?]

[I need your help with something.]

[Tell me.]

Chen Zhi typed out a long paragraph.

The gist was: Tomorrow morning at 9:30, give me a call and say that a critical bug has occurred and I must be there in person to handle it. Your tone needs to be tense and realistic.

Dai Damai was silent for a moment.

[Boss, Moss doesn't have bugs anymore.]

[I know it's impossible. I'm telling you to act it out.]

[...Are you sneaking off to see another girlfriend again?]

Chen Zhi didn't answer that question.

[Bonus doubled.]

[I'd go through fire and water for you, Boss.]

The first excuse was sorted.

Next was the excuse to get away from Li Zhiyi in the afternoon.

Chen Zhi thought for a moment and sent a message to Guo Yang.

[Yangzi, tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM, give me a call and say the advisor is looking for me for an urgent matter.]

Guo Yang replied five minutes later.

[You're not sleeping in the middle of the night just to ask me to be your shill?]

[I'll buy you breakfast for a month.]

[What time was I supposed to call again?]

Done.

Chen Zhi shoved the phone back under the pillow and let out a long breath.

In his arms, Pei Ningxue stirred, groggily rubbing against his chin.

"Were you playing on your phone?"

"No." Chen Zhi quickly hid his hand under the blanket.

"Liar." Pei Ningxue's voice was slurred. "I felt the light."

"You were dreaming."

"Chen Zhi."

"Hmm?"

"You are not allowed to go anywhere tomorrow."

Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat.

"You heard?"

"What?"

"Nothing." Chen Zhi relaxed. "Whatever you say goes. I'm not going anywhere."

Pei Ningxue hummed, changed positions, and went back to sleeping peacefully.

Chen Zhi lay in the dark, eyes wide open.

Not going anywhere?

Impossible, President Pei.

Your boyfriend is going to complete an unprecedented extreme challenge in human history today: seamlessly transitioning between birthday celebrations with three different girlfriends.

The difficulty of this was roughly equivalent to having Doubao take the college entrance exam and get into a Project 985 university.

The difference was, Doubao could actually do it.

He wasn't so sure.

At 7:15 AM, Chen Zhi was woken up by a wafting aroma.

He opened his eyes. Half the bed was empty; Pei Ningxue was already gone.

The smell of toasted bread and fried eggs drifted from the direction of the living room, mixed with the aroma of coffee.

Chen Zhi put on his slippers and walked out.

On the coffee table in the living room sat a two-tiered cream cake with a single candle in the center, and a bouquet of fresh flowers beside it.

Pei Ningxue stood by the dining table, wearing a new apron, off-white and spotless.

On the table was breakfast for two: French toast, bacon and eggs, a small bowl of fruit salad, and two cups of pour-over coffee.

"Come over when you're done washing up," Pei Ningxue said without looking up from plating the food.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Chen Zhi came out and sat down. Pei Ningxue brought the cake in front of him and took out a lighter to light the candle.

"Make a wish."

"Wish for what?"

"Aren't you usually a smooth talker? Why ask me?"

Chen Zhi smiled and closed his eyes.

Three seconds later, he opened them and blew it out in one breath.

"What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell you. It won't come true if I say it."

Pei Ningxue cut a piece of cake and handed it to him, then cut a small piece for herself. The two of them ate breakfast quietly.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, shining on the side of Pei Ningxue's face.

She wasn't wearing makeup today. Bare-faced, with a strand of hair tucked behind her ear, she was focused on cutting her toast.

She looked beautiful.

Chen Zhi looked down and took a bite of the cake. It was matcha flavored.

"How did you know I like matcha?"

"I didn't." Pei Ningxue picked up a piece of fruit with her fork. "I just picked it at random."

"Then you have pretty good luck."

"My luck has always been good."

After breakfast, Pei Ningxue put the dishes into the dishwasher and went to sit on the sofa.

"You're the birthday boy today. Is there anything you want to do?"

Chen Zhi rapidly calculated the time in his head.

It was now 8:03.

Dai Damai's call was at 9:30.

There was nearly an hour and a half left.

"Watch a movie for a bit?"

Pei Ningxue nodded, picked up the remote, and turned on the projector.

The two of them leaned back on the sofa. Chen Zhi had one arm around her, while his other hand restlessly felt the phone in his pocket.

Halfway through the movie, Chen Zhi couldn't focus on it at all anymore. His mind was entirely occupied with rehearsing the expression and tone he should use to act when he received the call later.

Right up until 9:30.

The phone didn't ring.

Chen Zhi frowned slightly.

9:31.

Still didn't ring.

9:32.

Dai Damai, what the hell are you doing?!

At 9:35, the phone finally vibrated.

But it wasn't a call.

It was a WeChat message.

Dai Damai: [Boss, I am so sorry, I was in the bathroom just now and forgot. Is it too late to call?]

Chen Zhi was furious.

He rapidly replied with a single word.

[Hurry!!!!]

Three seconds later, his phone rang.

"Hello?" Chen Zhi answered the call, casually putting it on speaker as his expression switched into serious mode.

"Mr. Chen! Bad news!" Dai Damai's voice came through the speaker. The guy even threw in some heavy panting to build up a tense atmosphere—quite professional of him. "Moss's autonomous driving model encountered a critical anomaly during the stress test! The reaction time threshold fluctuation exceeded the limit by—"

"By how much?" Chen Zhi frowned cooperatively.

"Ten percent! According to the technical white paper standards we previously submitted to NIO, this fluctuation rate has already breached the safety redundancy! A few of our engineers have been looking at it for ages but can't find the cause. Could you come over and take a look?"

Not bad.

Chen Zhi gave Dai Damai's acting skills an eighty out of a hundred. The twenty-point deduction was because the guy was five minutes late.

"I'll be right there." Chen Zhi hung up the phone and turned to look at Pei Ningxue.

Pei Ningxue was hugging a throw pillow, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"Something came up at the company." Chen Zhi stood up, his tone apologetic. "There's a bug with the autonomous driving system that Dai Damai can't handle. I have to go over there."

Pei Ningxue didn't say a word.

She stared at Chen Zhi for three seconds.

"Go ahead." She turned back to continue watching her movie.

Chen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and walked briskly toward the walk-in closet.

"Chen Zhi."

Pei Ningxue's voice came from behind him.

Chen Zhi's hand paused on the wardrobe handle.

"Today is your birthday."

"I know."

"If you stay at the company for more than two hours, don't even think about getting into this bed tonight."

"Understood!" Chen Zhi quickly changed his clothes, planted a kiss on Pei Ningxue's forehead, and rushed out the door.

The moment he stepped out of the gates of Wanliu House, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Li Zhiyi.

[Zhiyi, are you free today? I want to see you.]

The reply came much faster than he had anticipated.

[I am free. What time do you want to meet?]

Just as Chen Zhi was about to type, his phone buzzed again.

It was Lin Wanwan.

[Hubby!!! Happy Birthday!!!! I have a huge, huge, huge surprise for you today!! Can you wait for me at the airport at 3 PM?!!!]

This was followed by seventeen exclamation marks and a whole row of kissing emojis.

Chen Zhi typed in both chat windows simultaneously with both hands.

To Li Zhiyi: [10:30 AM, see you at the East Gate of Renmin University.]

To Lin Wanwan: [Okay wifey! I'll pick you up at 3 PM!]

After sending these two messages, he stood by the side of the road, watching the flow of traffic coming and going.

The next twelve hours would be the most thrilling and dangerous twelve hours of his two lifetimes combined.

There was absolutely no room for error.