Am I better or is your ex-girlfriend

Chunbao happily pecked Shen Nian on the cheek, then counted on her fingers, "After my birthday, we're going traveling... Do you think I should buy one of those small blackboards for teaching to keep at home? It would be more convenient for streaming. I heard there are also electronic whiteboards for computers, do you know how to use them?"

"I don't know how either."

"How come you don't know how to do anything?"

"Come on, I've only had a computer for a little while, okay? I don't know much more than you do."

"Alright..."

Xia Yanchun talked a bit more with Shen Nian about the trip, and when it was time to eat, she bounded downstairs, practically sparkling.

After cuddling with Chunbao for just a short while, he was already carrying her scent.

Birthdays...

Chunbao's birthday was only a couple of days away, and he still hadn't figured out what to get her. Maybe he should just find some time to go into the city and buy a ten-thousand-yuan necklace or ring to make do.

Picking out gifts was the most troublesome thing ever.

Shen Nian thought about it carefully. The last time he formally celebrated Xia Yanchun's birthday with her, he seemed to have just stuffed a greeting card into her hands.

Back then, they were mortal enemies. Now, things were different; they were both mortal enemies and passionate lovers.

A greeting card definitely wouldn't cut it. He had to upgrade her birthday gift.

Birthday card mega-evolution!

—The gold-and-silver-inlaid Birthday Card Pro Max Edition!

Considering that their upcoming travel itinerary included mountain climbing, Shen Nian also picked out a pair of outdoor hiking shoes.

If she didn't wear proper outdoor sports shoes, her feet would suffer terribly while climbing. He couldn't let his Chunbao ruin her size thirty-six feet.

These things weren't cheap either. The pair Shen Nian picked cost twelve hundred yuan, which was more expensive than three pairs of his own shoes combined.

He bought them right then and there. The estimated delivery date was exactly on Xia Yanchun's birthday.

Chunbao would definitely be moved to tears. If she didn't cry, he'd reward her with two punches.

...

The next day.

For Xia Yanchun's birthday, a cake was definitely a must. Right at noon, Xia Yanchun dragged Shen Nian to the cake shop in town to order her birthday cake for tomorrow, specially instructing the baker to wait until tomorrow to make it.

Town prices were no longer what they used to be a few years ago. The prices of many things had caught up with those in the city, especially at this cake shop, which held a monopoly in the whole town. The quality might not be better than in the city, but the prices definitely weren't any lower.

"There are six of us. Isn't eating such a huge two-tier cake a bit extravagant?"

Shen Nian waited for her to finish talking to the boss before leaning in to complain.

"If we can't finish it, we can put it in the fridge and eat it tomorrow."

"Fair enough."

"Let's buy some drinks on the way, so we won't have to come out tomorrow."

"Let's go."

With the cake ordered and two large bottles of drinks bought, it seemed like there was nothing left to prepare. Only then did Xia Yanchun let Shen Nian drive them home.

Xia Yanchun's birthdays were never that formal. Eating some cake, making a wish, and chatting together with everyone was enough.

In the blink of an eye, she was already turning nineteen.

Xia Yanchun sighed emotionally in her heart and leaned back against Shen Nian.

"Have you figured out what gift you're getting me?"

"I've figured it out, Chunbao. A greeting card inlaid with gold and silver. It's so beautiful you'll die."

"Damn, if you buy that kind of useless stuff, I'm seriously going to give you the silent treatment."

"Do you want a necklace? Your bro is rich."

"What would I want that for? I don't even wear them."

"Good lord, you don't want this and you don't want that. How am I supposed to half-ass this then?"

"You don't even have the heart to half-ass it anymore? It seems our relationship has reached its end. Come on, let me ask you: am I better, or is your ex-girlfriend better?"

"?" Shen Nian laughed out of sheer exasperation. "Are you really starting to compete with my right hand now?"

"You pervert! Answer my question: am I better, or is your ex-girlfriend better?" Xia Yanchun didn't look like she was acting.

"You're better, you're better."

"How dare you, Shen Nian! You're treating me like a stranger and starting to say hello!"

"???"

Isn't this bastard insidious?

Too strong and too insidious. How is anyone supposed to play against this? I might as well just declare you the winner.

Her internet combo moves would scare the nation's boys unconscious.

Shen Nian died a peaceful death. When it came to having eight hundred hidden motives, it seemed his mortal enemy still had the upper hand.

Xia Yanchun hummed triumphantly, taking the opportunity to pinch and pull his ears. She bullied him for quite a while, only reluctantly stopping when they reached the front door.

That was the good thing about the town: the roads were wide, straight, and had few cars, so she could secretly bully Shen Nian in the car.

Xia Yanchun stepped out of the car on her tiptoes, putting her hands behind her back and speaking softly:

"I'm a very gentle person. If you don't know what to get me, just calling me 'big sister' a couple of times will do."

"Where exactly is the gentle part, I ask?"

"Am I not gentle when you aren't asking for a beating?"

"Right, right, right. Chunbao is endlessly gentle."

"I always am." Xia Yanchun's eyes curved into a smile. She ran over to help push the door open so Shen Nian could drive the car inside, before going to open her own door.

This would definitely kill Shen Nian with gentleness.

Xia Yanchun giggled.

As for the gift, she didn't really know what she wanted either. If there was a specific item she wanted, she definitely would have told Shen Nian directly.

Even if the thing she wanted was a bit expensive, she would still say it straight out. They had been mortal enemies for eighteen years; would she really be afraid of Shen Nian thinking she was materialistic?

...However, Xia Yanchun was certain that if she did tell Shen Nian what she wanted, he would definitely call her a materialistic woman and take the opportunity to ruthlessly belittle her.

She knew Shen Nian best.

There wasn't much to do in the afternoon. Just as Xia Yanchun was thinking of starting a livestream for fun, she realized that Shen Nian had already beaten her to it.

She glanced at Shen Nian's stream; this time, he actually had thirty thousand viewers.

After the initial traffic surge faded, not only did the number of people in Shen Nian's stream not continue to drop, but sometimes there would even be a small increase.

With the ability to rake in several thousand yuan a day, who wouldn't be envious?

So, Xia Yanchun started her stream too.

As soon as she went live, several hundred people slipped over from Shen Nian's stream. Five minutes in, her concurrent viewers broke into the four digits. Ten minutes in, the number reached two thousand, and for the next half hour, it hovered right around two thousand viewers.

She was still far behind Shen Nian, but Xia Yanchun was super satisfied.

After three hours of streaming, Xia Yanchun fiercely earned twelve hundred yuan, and she felt like she was floating on air.

After a whole day of having nothing to do, Xia Yanchun's birthday arrived.

At ten in the morning, Xia Yanchun's phone buzzed.

Shen Nian, who was holding Chunbao as she hadn't yet woken from her dreams, quietly reached out to grab her phone, skillfully unlocked it, and replied to a message for her.

The message was from the cake shop owner, whose WeChat they had added when ordering the cake. The message meant that the cake was ready and asked Xia Yanchun to come pick it up. Shen Nian replied with an "OK" gesture.

It seemed he had no choice but to get up.

Shen Nian buried his face in Xia Yanchun's neck, lingering for a moment on her docile softness, before quietly getting up to brush his teeth, wash his face, and bring the cake back for her.

It was a large two-tier cake, the kind with big chunks of chocolate and mango. It looked quite gorgeous, having cost over a hundred and eighty yuan.

Skillfully climbing from his own house into Xia Yanchun's room, Shen Nian ignored the newly awakened Xia Yanchun and stuffed the cake into the refrigerator on the second floor of her house.

By the time he went back upstairs, Xia Yanchun was already brushing her teeth.

"I picked up the cake for you."

Xia Yanchun nodded gently, her small hand grabbing the comb and handing it over to Shen Nian.

"You..."

Shen Nian took it and stood behind her. Like a professional hairstylist, he gathered a section of her hair and combed it all the way down.

He had played with her hair plenty of times before, but he didn't really know how to comb it properly, so he could only clumsily brush it straight.

Sometimes the comb would catch on a tangle, and he worried he might hurt her. But every time he leaned over to check her expression, Xia Yanchun would just shake her head, signaling him to keep going.

Her hair wasn't very long, so it didn't take much time before Shen Nian had it combed perfectly straight.

"Could it be that I really am the Empowerment Bro?" Shen Nian said with a completely serious face. He circled Xia Yanchun to inspect his handiwork, growing more satisfied by the second.

"You took that long and you still have the nerve to call yourself Empowerment Bro?"

Xia Yanchun had already washed her face and been waiting for him. Now that her hair was combed, she finally raised her hands to tie it up, forming a bouncy, soft little ponytail on the back of her head that acted as the ultimate Shen Nian trap.

"Wow, it's the classic look." Shen Nian leaned in close, nuzzling his nose against her little ponytail.

"Ah, stop messing with me."

"How cruel. I just fetched your cake and combed your hair, and this is how you treat me?"

"It tickles..."