◎ “My back has always been perfectly fine — you know that.” ◎

Lu Rangchen’s birthday: September 23rd.

As it happened, it fell on the exact same day as Zhao Qijia and Gaoge’s wedding.

Yunque remembered the very first time she had learned his birthday. It was Xu Linda who had come rushing over, bursting with excitement — she must have pried the information out of Deng Zhe. The girl had said with great interest, “Did you know? Lu Rangchen is actually a Libra, and his birthday is the very first day of Libra!”

At the time, Yunque was still in the phase of concealing her true feelings.

Even though her heart had instantly quickened at those words, she had only set down her ballpoint pen, stopped working on her problems, and tilted her head up to look at Xu Linda with a carefully feigned air of indifference.

Watching Xu Linda’s youthful, bright-eyed face, Yunque pressed her lips together and asked lightly, “So what about the first day of Libra?”

“What’s the sign that comes right before Libra?”

Yunque blinked, uncomprehending, and shook her head. She didn’t know.

Xu Linda was speechless for a moment, then said, “The sign right before Libra is Virgo.”

“……”

Yunque wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about astrology.

But just hearing the name of that sign, she couldn’t help feeling it was a somewhat poor fit for Lu Rangchen.

To say nothing of Virgo’s supposed personality traits.

Xu Linda gave Yunque’s shoulder a solemn pat and said, “Thank goodness he’s a Libra. If he were even one day earlier, those girls would have an even harder time getting close to him!”

Yunque felt oddly flustered at that, her conscience suddenly pricking her.

That evening, after returning home, she finally worked up the courage to search Baidu and Weibo for “guides” on Libra and Virgo.

And she discovered that Xu Linda really wasn’t wrong.

If Lu Rangchen were a Virgo, he would surely be an even more extreme perfectionist. She had heard that if someone used his fountain pen without permission, he wouldn’t want to touch it again.

But thankfully.

He was a Libra.

As she’d said — Yunque didn’t understand astrology. Yet somehow the phrase “Libra” felt beautiful to her ears, lovelier than any other sign.

Even the traits seemed to fit Lu Rangchen.

He truly had an extraordinary way with the opposite sex — so much so that almost no girl around him could remain indifferent or fail to notice him.

Only — Libra and Capricorn didn’t seem particularly compatible, or so it was said.

Perhaps a secret love always breeds little “habits” one can’t quite control. Starting from that time, Yunque quietly began following all sorts of astrology accounts, with a particular focus on Libra.

Though astrology, more often than not, is something people follow just for fun.

It was only after she truly came to know Lu Rangchen that she realized he was nothing like the picture those astrology bloggers painted.

Truly loving someone means yielding, being accepting, and cherishing. That has nothing to do with star signs or personality types.

And as things stood now, what weighed on Yunque’s mind was something rather simple: from the past to the present, she had never had the chance to properly celebrate a birthday with Lu Rangchen.

So this time, she was determined to make her wish come true, no matter what.

In order to surprise him, she had even chosen the restaurant herself — yet who could have anticipated that this man wouldn’t even take it seriously?

He appeared to have completely forgotten.

Sensing the girl’s quietly speechless gaze falling on him, Lu Rangchen subtly composed his expression, put on an air of deliberate nonchalance, raised an eyebrow, and smiled. “Right, a birthday is pretty important.”

Yunque: “……”

She didn’t even know what to say to him.

It was Zhao Qijia who suddenly understood and said, “Ah, so today is your birthday! What terrible timing — I really can’t keep you two then.”

Yunque said it was fine.

They exchanged a few more brief pleasantries, and then she and Lu Rangchen returned to the car.

Now it was just the two of them inside.

Time for a proper reckoning.

Even when Lu Rangchen ingratiatingly took the initiative to reach for Yunque’s hand and interlock their fingers, Yunque still looked at him without the slightest warmth and said, “A grown man who can’t even remember his own birthday — really?”

He had known she’d say exactly that.

Lu Rangchen’s lips curved slightly, and he said in a breezy, unbothered tone, “No, I just didn’t think of it for a moment.”

“……”

Yunque found his tone insufferable.

The words that came out of her mouth were unusually blunt. She said, “So it’s not that you forgot — it’s that you didn’t want to celebrate with me, is that it?”

She was genuinely unhappy now.

Yunque dropped those words and looked away from him, refusing to meet his eyes, instead staring out at the lively, glittering street scene through the car window with an expression devoid of warmth.

It was the first time Lu Rangchen had ever seen her like this.

Stubborn and cold — anyone could see she would be difficult to coax. No wonder Deng Jiao had once said that Yunque had been very serious and reserved back in school.

His lips curved unconsciously. He leaned over, cupped her chin to turn her face toward him, and looked straight at her, his voice low and gentle. “Can we be a little reasonable here? Who told you I didn’t want to celebrate my birthday with you?”

Yunque’s lashes trembled lightly as she looked at Lu Rangchen.

She realized the two of them were so close that it seemed as though he could kiss her the moment he leaned in just a little more.

As it turned out, Lu Rangchen was not one to let such a perfect opportunity pass.

In the instant before she could react, he tilted his head with a roguish smile and pressed a light kiss to her lips.

Yunque’s heartbeat instantly became restless.

She pressed her lips together and tried to push him away, but Lu Rangchen simply caught her hand and pressed it over his heart, raising an eyebrow and looking at her sideways. “At the very least, I’m today’s birthday person — can’t you give the birthday boy a little face?”

“……”

One had to admit — he knew exactly how to handle Yunque.

He also knew she had no real desire to let this day, this evening, go to waste.

So he coaxed and “morally pressured” at the same time.

The stern look on Yunque’s face finally softened a little — though she was still far from cheerful. She said, “The noodles and egg I cooked for you this morning — did you eat them?”

She didn’t know why.

But Lu Rangchen felt a deep warmth looking at her. He smiled and said, “I ate them. They were pretty good, actually.”

Yunque said, “Then didn’t you see the note I left on the table?”

“What note?”

Lu Rangchen furrowed his brow. “I really didn’t notice one.”

“……”

Yunque looked both irritated and exasperated. “But I clearly left it right next to your cup.”

By this point, Lu Rangchen had finally grasped just how frustrated this girl had been all day long. She’d started thinking about how to celebrate his birthday from that very morning, yet by evening he still had no idea — he’d only been thinking about attending someone else’s wedding. What a disaster.

He was genuinely afraid of making her angry.

Lu Rangchen softly raised his brows, exhaled, and said with a hint of guilt, “Should I drive back now to find it?”

He meant that sincerely.

But Yunque wasn’t about to actually make him drive all the way back for the sake of a note. So the moment the words left his mouth, she turned to him with a completely expressionless face and delivered a cold, withering look.

That look made Lu Rangchen suppress a burst of laughter.

In his mind: forget the note.

The important thing right now was keeping his wife happy.

Yielding with a lazy, self-deprecating tug of his lip, he said with rare straightforwardness, “Alright, forget the note. Let’s go celebrate my birthday.”

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone with his other hand and began searching for a restaurant.

Yunque watched him for a few seconds, and ultimately couldn’t hold back — she mentioned the name of a restaurant.

It was the finest Western restaurant in Nancheng, not cheap, and reservations were required. Lu Rangchen had tried to take Yunque there several times before and never managed to get a booking — there was no way he didn’t know about it.

Lu Rangchen’s hand paused. He looked up at her with visible surprise, and with that somewhat insufferable curl of his mouth said, “So thoughtful — you even made a reservation for me?”

Yunque: “……”

Even though she found his expression of taking advantage while pretending to be humble thoroughly irritating, she was still completely disarmed by that face of his.

Again and again.

A helpless, uncontrollable flutter.

Yunque gave the corner of her mouth a little twitch, withdrew her hand from his palm, and stared straight ahead with as much composure as she could manage, muttering, “If you’re going, then go quickly. What are you waiting for?”

Her tone was prickly and proud — yet it carried an unmistakable trace of bashful shyness, like a young girl’s.

Lu Rangchen’s dark eyes fixed on her, and all at once the corner of his mouth curved into a slow, spreading smile — like someone savoring a mouthful of good honey.

He started the engine, and at the same time, shamelessly reached his hand back over, his long, deep-set eyes angled toward her with a coaxing, almost pleading look. “Then hold my hand.”

Yunque: “……”

This man was truly going to be the death of her.

In keeping with the principle that the birthday person reigns supreme.

That day, Yunque didn’t hold a grudge against him in the end. She sat in the car like a good sport and held his hand for a while, and just like that — in the most childishly simple way — they made up completely.

By the time they arrived at the restaurant, the hour was already late.

Fortunately, Yunque had already selected the menu well in advance, so the two of them were able to enjoy the meal not long after being seated.

All the dishes were ones Lu Rangchen was particularly fond of.

Yunque even shared some red wine with him.

During the evening, Yunque had also requested a piano piece for Lu Rangchen — it was played for him by a very lovely young foreign woman.

When the piece ended, a waiter brought out a birthday cake.

A very simple design, not large — perfectly sized for two people — which Yunque had reserved well in advance and had the restaurant keep for her.

Honestly speaking, she didn’t think the birthday dinner she had arranged for Lu Rangchen was all that surprising or special. And yet she couldn’t deny that she had, that night, truly moved him.

He seemed genuinely not to have expected it.

Lu Rangchen gazed at the cake in front of him with its lit candle, his expression thick with emotion. For several long seconds, his eyes shimmered with a faint, soft gleam.

His eyes were already beautiful by nature.

In the warm, tender candlelight, they appeared even deeper and more soulful.

It was impossible to tell which of them was drowning in the other’s gaze.

Lu Rangchen stared at the cake, momentarily lost. Then he lifted his eyes and, out of habit, looked at Yunque across from him — and in the instant their gazes met, he suddenly smiled.

He smiled.

Yunque’s lips curved too, and she said, “What are you smiling at?”

Lu Rangchen’s throat moved subtly, the arc of his smile deepening. He looked at her with singular focus and said, “I’m smiling because I can’t believe how lucky I am to have married such a wonderful wife.”

Sweet words of love were nothing new to her ears.

But as long as they came from him, Yunque never tired of hearing them.

The corners of her mouth curved without her even noticing, into a gentle, sweet smile. She picked up the lighter beside her and lit the single candle on the cake.

With a soft click of flame, she looked at Lu Rangchen and said in a barely audible voice, “Make a wish.”

“Alright.”

Lu Rangchen didn’t clasp his hands together. He simply sat there quietly, composing himself, and closed his eyes.

His lashes were just as long as always — the kind of effect girls could never quite achieve with mascara. The shadow they cast gave his handsome brows and features a texture like cold moonlight and clear frost.

In that moment, Yunque found herself thinking: if they ever had a child, and the child looked like him — what a wonderful thing that would be.

Of course, the thought was far too embarrassing to ever say aloud. She knew perfectly well that Lu Rangchen would take it and run with it shamelessly.

And as it turned out, even without that particular “ammunition,” Lu Rangchen still couldn’t restrain himself that night.

After dinner, Yunque had been about to call a designated driver to take them home — but Lu Rangchen simply went to the hotel on the upper floors of the same restaurant, acquired a gold membership card, and just like that, hand in hand, led her grandly upstairs.

Yunque had no idea what that gold card cost. But it certainly wasn’t cheap.

She’d wanted to say something about his extravagance, but before the words could leave her mouth, Lu Rangchen had pressed her against the elevator wall and was kissing her with barely restrained impatience.

It was in that very instant.

In that breathless, heart-pounding, wildly beating instant.

Yunque suddenly understood that having money was truly, genuinely, a wonderful thing — because when two people had endured a long stretch of restraint and desperately wanted to pick up where they’d left off, a gleaming, opulent elevator like this one could give them exactly what they needed.

No one else here. Only the two of them.

Even the walk to the suite.

Lu Rangchen’s palms were burning hot, and she too seemed to be ignited by the alcohol, burning until she released herself completely.

It went on for a very long time — so long that Yunque had nearly lost all her strength. Lu Rangchen then carried her to the bathroom, settling her in his lap as they soaked beneath layers and layers of white bubbles.

Both of their phones had been ringing outside the whole time.

Neither of them paid the slightest attention.

Lu Rangchen simply held her from behind, his hand clasping her chin, kissing her without restraint — as though he wanted to become one with her entirely.

Afterward — long afterward — he said many tender things.

Every single word was enough to make Yunque’s heart tremble and give herself over to him completely.

She still remembered that the moonlight that night was almost oppressively thick and rich.

By the time she finally surfaced from that drowning, it was three o’clock in the morning.

Lu Rangchen had his arms around her, holding her tightly. She lay curled in the solid warmth of his embrace and slept a little — then woke again.

It seemed as though her movement had roused him. In the pitch-dark bedroom, Lu Rangchen also slowly opened his eyes and laughed softly for no apparent reason.

Yunque turned and embraced him face to face.

She heard him murmur low beside her ear. He said, “Are you uncomfortable? Did the pain wake you?”

He knew how out of control he had been tonight, how excessive. Yet even so, Yunque had indulged him.

Silently reproaching himself.

Lu Rangchen reached up and tucked her loose strands of hair behind her ear, and in the thin, cool light of the moon he studied her carefully.

That beautiful, delicate face — he’d looked at it countless times already, and still he never grew tired of it.

This, perhaps, was what it felt like to deeply love someone.

Almost on instinct, Lu Rangchen gently pressed his lips to hers — and then he heard Yunque’s voice, soft as cotton candy, as she said, “It’s a little… but I’m alright.”

Her voice carried a faint, shy warmth. Then she added, “But what about you — how is your back holding up?”

That genuinely made Lu Rangchen laugh.

He let out a muffled burst of laughter, pressed his forehead to hers, and said, “My back has always been perfectly fine — you know that.”

“……Even the finest things can wear out eventually.”

Lu Rangchen clicked his tongue. “Say another word like that and see what happens.”

Yunque couldn’t hold it in — she burst out laughing.

Lu Rangchen took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her slender waist, curling his long fingers playfully through her hair. His voice was low and resonant as he said, “You know, Yunque — I’m so happy tonight. Because of you.”

Yunque looked up at him, those bright, clear eyes of hers seeming to see right through him. She said, “So all those other birthdays you’ve had before — none of them made you this happy. Is that right?”

His throat moved.

He shifted slightly and drew her into his arms.

The tip of Yunque’s nose ended up resting right at his throat, where it met that quiet, sensuous hollow. She could hear his strong, steady heartbeat — a sound that belonged only to her.

It seemed like he held that thought for a long time.

Then Lu Rangchen finally spoke, slowly. “I stopped celebrating birthdays when I was thirteen. This is the first time in all these years.”

Even though she had already braced herself inwardly for something difficult.

Yunque hadn’t imagined the reality was quite like this.

Her lashes trembled with quiet disbelief. She asked, “Why? Did they not celebrate it for you?”

Lu Rangchen shook his head with a soft laugh and said, “Yes and no.”

He said, “At first they didn’t really want to celebrate it for me. After that, I was the one who didn’t want it anymore.”

Later, as he grew older, he simply became accustomed to not having birthdays — never even thinking about it.

Yunque gently pressed her lips together and suddenly understood why he had forgotten something as significant as his own birthday. Her heart ached — ached for the Lu Rangchen of years past.

She said, “Was it because of your older sister?”

At those words, Lu Rangchen went silent for a moment, then let out an admiring laugh. “Zhu Yunque — were you smarter than other people even as a child?”

“……”

Yunque said, “I suppose so. Just average.”

He was genuinely amused by her. He laughed to himself for a moment, then said, “Average? I don’t think there’s anyone smarter than you.”

This was the first time Lu Rangchen had ever called her smart.

Not beautiful, not adorable, not well-figured, not captivating, not intoxicating or irresistible.

Yunque felt a genuine flush of shyness for one brief second, and quickly pulled the conversation back to what mattered. She asked, “So what exactly happened? Was it because your birthday and your sister’s…”

The sentence wasn’t finished.

Lu Rangchen picked it up for her. “Yes. She passed away the day before my birthday.”

Before the age of thirteen, Lu Rangchen’s birthday celebrations could only be described as lavish — even the Cheng family patriarch, all the way from the capital, would come to mark the occasion.

But after Lu Zhitao’s passing, he never celebrated again.

The whole family was submerged in grief and pain, and his birthday became something not worth mentioning.

Even when Cheng Liru still bought him the cake and toys he loved, he felt nothing.

At thirteen, young Lu Rangchen would think: why? Why was it that his sister had left in such agony, yet here he was, still allowed to enjoy a peaceful, comfortable birthday?

He even thought — if only he could have shown her a little more love. Even just a little more.

But there was no chance left.

Perhaps it was guilt that gnawed at him all along.

For the years that followed, Lu Rangchen treated his birthday with complete indifference.

And then, eventually, he simply stopped celebrating altogether.

Until this time. This was the first time since he was thirteen — the first time he’d truly, freely, and wholeheartedly celebrated his birthday.

He didn’t need to think about anything. He only needed to enjoy the present, enjoy the time spent with her.

Yet Yunque could not know any of what was in his heart.

The more she heard, the more her throat tightened and ached. She held Lu Rangchen close, feeling the strength in his muscles, the solidity of his bones, and drew a soft breath. “Are you truly alright? Did tonight’s arrangements place any burden on you?”

He had known she would overthink it.

Lu Rangchen laughed quietly. “What burden could there be?”

With that roguish, careless hand of his, he rested it against the flat of her abdomen. “Worried you’ll be giving me a little one next year?”

That made Yunque momentarily startled.

Even the tips of her ears grew warm without her noticing.

She instinctively started to say something, but Lu Rangchen cut her off, speaking with that lazy, devil-may-care tone of his — yet somehow in earnest beneath it. “Though speaking of which — look at this waist of yours. So slender, so delicate.”

He kneaded her soft, fine waist, eyeing it with playful skepticism. “Could it really carry my child someday?”

Author’s note: She will!!! Ten of them!!! Until you’re utterly exhausted!!!