"...I think leafy greens are like you, I could eat them for a lifetime..." Song Mingqian said awkwardly.
"Pah! Who cares!" Ping Qiong rolled her eyes, finished the last bite of the fruit platter, and then started eating Red Braised Pork.
Xia Yuanfang watched them eating so heartily, and smiled.
She said gently and gracefully: "Thank you all for taking care of Chujian. She is young and doesn't understand things, and she is not a Gene Evolver. I know, without your care, she wouldn't have survived these three years."
Xia Chujian nodded repeatedly: "Auntie is right! In the beginning, I really wasn't that great! Thanks to Ye Dui, Fu Ye, Cai Jie, and Song Mingqian for saving me time and again! - Great kindness needs no thanks, come, I'll toast you a glass!"
Xia Chujian took the opportunity to pour herself a glass of red wine, raised it, and wanted to try it once.
Xia Yuanfang gently but firmly took the wine glass from her hand, and said with a smile: "You are not old enough to drink yet. - Come, on behalf of our Chujian, I'll toast you all!"
The four teammates stood up, raised their glasses together, and drank with Xia Yuanfang.
After finishing a glass of red wine, Li Fu said with a smile: "Little Chujian was actually very powerful from the beginning, she is just being modest! Too modest!"
This was in response to Xia Chujian's boastful statement that "In the beginning, I really wasn't that great."
The others chuckled.
Xia Chujian pretended not to hear, and said with a smile: "Keeping a low profile, keeping a low profile, I am indeed considered powerful among ordinary people. But I can't compare with Gene Evolvers..."
At this point, Song Mingqian said regretfully again: "Seriously, it would be great if Chujian's genes could evolve..."
But he only mentioned it briefly.
Saying too much would be like stabbing someone in the heart with a knife.
Suddenly, Ping Qiong exclaimed: "Today is Chujian's birthday, right?!"
"Oh, happy birthday, Chujian!"
"Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday!"
The four teammates raised their red wine glasses to her together.
Xia Chujian blinked, and then she realized that the teammates were actually finding an excuse to celebrate her birthday!
No wonder they all brought such valuable gifts! And her cheap boss, Su Buyan, sent so much money, probably because of her birthday too, right?
Since her aunt got sick, no one has celebrated her birthday anymore...
Of course, she had always kept it a secret from her teammates, not telling them how old she was.
It wasn't until this year that they knew her real age.
Xia Yuanfang was also a little surprised, and said with a smile: "You are so thoughtful, I guess you came here suddenly because of this. Come, I made a birthday cake, let's all eat it together."
With that, Xia Yuanfang went to the kitchen and brought out the birthday cake she had secretly baked.
The birthday cake was placed in a very delicate black porcelain high-footed plate, covered with a very deep cylindrical lid.
When the lid was lifted, everyone present widened their eyes and almost stopped breathing.
Was that a birthday cake? No, it was a magnificent landscape painting!
The base of the entire cake was a snow-covered mountain range.
Brilliant Other Shore Flowers bloomed on the mountain, and colorful alien beasts ran and flew in the clouds.
The river meandered down the outer layer of the cake, like a dragon winding around it.
"It's so beautiful! This kind of cake is unheard of! Unseen!"
"I want to take a picture and post it on the Star Network!" Song Mingqian immediately showed off his Quantum Optical Brain.
Xia Yuanfang gently but firmly stopped him: "No need, this is specially prepared for Chujian, I don't want others to learn it."
Since Xia Yuanfang said so, Song Mingqian didn't take any pictures.
He shook his head regretfully and said, "Such a beautiful work of art, not even a trace can be left... What a waste of God's gifts... What a waste of God's gifts..."
Xia Yuanfang handed a knife to Xia Chujian: "Come, cut it open and share it with everyone."
Xia Chujian felt incredibly proud, striving to maintain an air of nonchalant ease, yet unable to conceal the hint of pride and satisfaction.
She took the cake knife, and with a swift motion, divided the magnificent, almost mythical birthday cake into six equal portions, placing them on matching black porcelain plates.
Ping Qiong couldn't wait any longer. Among the six plates of cake, she immediately spotted the one with a red bird, saying, "Is this red bird made of Rosy Dawn Fruit? I love it the most!"
Xia Yuanfang nodded, "Indeed, it is Rosy Dawn Fruit."
Xia Chujian gave that plate of cake to Ping Qiong.
Ye Shijie, Song Mingqian, and Li Fu didn't need her assistance; they each took a plate and began to savor it.
Turning around, only two plates remained on the table, one for Xia Chujian and one for Xia Yuanfang.
Xia Yuanfang pushed the cake with the complete Other Shore Flower pattern towards Xia Chujian, saying gently, "This piece is especially for you."
Because that piece had the Other Shore Flower on it, the teammates were all tactful and didn't want that plate.
Xia Chujian smiled as she took it, dug in with her spoon, and ate all the Other Shore Flower in one bite.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she made a satisfied "mmm" sound.
"Aunt, this Other Shore Flower is still made with Red Glutinous Rice, right? It's so delicious! I never get tired of eating it!"
Xia Yuanfang smiled, "That was the last of the Red Glutinous Rice at home. There won't be any more if you want to eat it in the future."
"...No more? Red Glutinous Rice is indeed rare. I haven't seen it sold in supermarkets." Song Mingqian muttered to himself, chewing slowly and carefully, wanting the delicious flavor to linger in his mouth a little longer.
Xia Chujian thought to herself, she hadn't seen Red Glutinous Rice in the Star Network Supermarket either, but as long as she could remember, her aunt would make delicious food for her with Red Glutinous Rice every birthday.
She didn't know where she got it from.
Moreover, the texture of this Red Glutinous Rice could only be described as melting in your mouth, with a slight sweetness. Eating it made every part of her body feel incredibly comfortable.
That warmth and softness from her throat down was intoxicating with just one bite, truly like wine.
Xia Chujian had never drunk alcohol, but she felt that the best wine was no more than the taste of Red Glutinous Rice.
After finishing a plate of cake, she "passed out" on the dining table.
Looking at Xia Chujian, who was breathing softly and had already fallen asleep, Xia Yuanfang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, saying, "Don't mind her, everyone. Our Chujian has a Sugar Rush."
"Sugar Rush?"
"Yes, she can't eat too many sweets. If she eats a little too much, she'll get a 'Sugar Rush'." Xia Yuanfang said, trying to help Xia Chujian up.
However, Xia Chujian was 1.75 meters tall, and not the kind of sickly beauty who was so thin that she could be blown away by the wind. Xia Yuanfang had just recovered from a serious illness, and couldn't lift her up at once.
Ping Qiong quickly lent a hand.
She was much stronger than Xia Yuanfang, and directly carried Xia Chujian in her arms like a princess, taking her to her bedroom.
Ping Qiong had seen Xia Chujian's new bedroom in the three-dimensional holographic video call.
She knew her way around and put Xia Chujian on the bed.
Xia Yuanfang followed her in and helped her cover her with a blanket.
Then the two tiptoed out and gently closed the door.
After going out, Xia Yuanfang saw that they liked the things she made so much, so she made two more home-style snacks.
One was fried fritters, and the other was Three Delicacies Bean Curd.
These two things directly made the team members eat heartily, eating until they had to pack some to take away before stopping.
By the time they left, it was almost four in the afternoon.
The sky outside was completely dark.
The four of them came out of the building where Xia Chujian's home was located and walked onto the narrow path that could only accommodate one person.
Although the external environment here was indeed very poor, the situation inside the building was not bad.
Li Fu said with emotion, "Little Chujian finally has a decent home."
They had never been inside the storage room on the first floor where she used to live, but they had seen it outside many times.
Ye Shijie also said, "I didn't expect Chujian's aunt to be so... dignified."
He was similar to the colleagues her father had when she was little, even more scholarly than those university professors who were learned and rich in knowledge.
Her eyes seemed to contain infinite wisdom, but she was not arrogant because of it.
Even her father's former superior, the famous scholar of the entire empire, could not compare to this.
Song Mingqian smiled, "Although little Chujian is a 학사, I think with her aunt's guidance, little Chujian will definitely get into university."
If Ping Qiong had heard Song Mingqian say this before meeting Xia Yuanfang, she would have scoffed and retorted sarcastically.
But now, she just nodded silently and said faintly, "...If I had such an aunt, I could also get into university."
"It doesn't matter. I won't dislike you for not getting into university." Song Mingqian said with a grin, ruffling her hair.
"Get lost! Don't mess up the hairstyle I just did today!" Ping Qiong glared at him and hurriedly tidied her hair with her hands.
The four of them walked out of the residential area and looked back at the backward and old neighborhood again.
Ye Shijie said, "...Have you guys ever seen little Chujian get a sugar rush?"
"No, this is the first time I've heard of it."
"Me too, she actually had a sugar rush for several hours."
After they left, Xia Yuanfang returned to Xia Chujian's bedroom and checked on her condition.
Xia Chujian was sleeping soundly, with even beads of sweat on her forehead.
It wasn't hot in the room, but she had kicked off the blanket.
Xia Yuanfang silently covered her with the blanket.
In the darkness, she said softly, "...Yes, the Red Glutinous Rice is finally all gone..."
...
In the East District of Mulan City, on the top floor of a skyscraper built with the latest building materials, in a very spacious duplex villa-style high-end decorated apartment.
Zong Ruoan was wearing a set of slim-fitting formal pants, a casual white shirt, and a herringbone vest, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside the window was a bitterly cold winter night, also a dazzling world.
Zong Ruoan's eyes were not on the neon lights flashing on those tall buildings, but on a low-rise residential area.
There were also lights there, but not as bright and dazzling as the lights in the East District.
Zong Ruoan hesitated for a whole day, and finally, as today was about to pass, sent a message to Xia Chujian.
[Zong Ruoan]: Xia Chujian, happy birthday! Congratulations on becoming an adult!
Then he transferred 88,888 Beichen Coins to her as a birthday gift.
And added: This is your coffee principal and tea money from the past and present.
...
At the same moment, in a mansion in the core area of Da Fu Prefecture, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from Mulan City, a group of people dressed in luxury and covered in jewelry were excitedly gathered together.
"Will a Blessing Master from the Alliance of the Spirits of Light really come?"
"Of course, it's true! I heard these two Blessing Masters are particularly effective. My relatives in Beichen Imperial Star once told me that even in the Imperial City over there, it's difficult to invite them for blessings!"
The speaker was very proud.
"I heard that the Alliance of the Spirits of Light, this charitable organization, is very difficult to join. It not only requires a certain net worth but also a certain social status!"
"And even if you join, most are ordinary members. Only by accumulating certain merits can you be promoted to a Pathfinder."
"You have to make great contributions to be promoted to a Blessing Master!"
"Actually, above the Blessing Master, there is also a Guardian..."
"Guardians are truly rare, no one has ever seen one."
"You can't say that. The Fan Family once saw one, and even invited him to perform a Mahākāla Rite. Since then, the Fan Family, which always lost money in business, has never lost money again..."
"Yes, yes! I've also heard of it! The older generation of the Fan Family almost lost all their family property in business. They were truly destroying every industry they touched, a veritable industry jinx!"
"But since the Fan Family Head invited a Guardian from the Alliance of the Spirits of Light to perform a Mahākāla Rite for the newly built commercial building, the Fan Family has become a Midas touch in the business world! Fan's Clothing started from that time and became popular throughout Guiyuan Star!"
"Now it's more than just popular in Guiyuan Star, I heard it has even entered the Cangge Star market..."
"Cangge Star?! Isn't that where Quan's Mining is located?!—Has the Fan Family also gotten involved with Quan's?!"
The speaker couldn't hide the extreme envy and a hint of jealousy in their tone.
Although the mansion's hall was large, it was packed with people.
Although everyone was speaking in hushed tones, there were simply too many people, so a constant buzzing filled the air.
Fan Chengcai, dressed in a crisp white uniform-style outfit, stood with his elder brother, Fan Chengqi, on the second-floor circular corridor, holding a glass of red wine. He looked at the bustling crowd in the hall below, a hint of madness well-hidden beneath his reserved expression.
"Brother, we just received news that our villa in Mulan City was raided by the Special Security Bureau," Fan Chengcai said softly, a trace of unease and fear on his face.
Fan Chengqi snorted softly, his smile slightly twisted. "I knew it already."
"Just pretend you didn't. Besides, so what if it was raided? Who's afraid? It's just a villa, nothing important there."
"You wait, after the New Year, I'll make the Special Security Bureau spit out everything they swallowed!"
Fan Chengqi didn't take the Special Security Bureau's actions to heart at all.
Fan Chengcai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his elder brother wasn't taking it seriously.
He then asked, "Brother, did you invite a few Blessing Masters from the Alliance of the Spirits of Light today?"
A devout smile appeared on Fan Chengqi's face. "We're in luck, we managed to invite two this time. It's said that the blessings will arrive earlier this year, not waiting until the New Year. They'll descend after December 24th. Let's go invite the Blessing Masters now, to receive the blessings."
Second update at 1 p.m.
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