591. Cake
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Lin Nan didn’t really care much about birthdays. Compared to those kids who were distressed when their parents forgot their special day, she considered herself quite reasonable.
So, she wasn’t fussed about the scale of this year’s celebration. But when she entered the kitchen again, she was stunned to find a dozen bowls filled with ingredients on the countertop.
“What’s this?” Lin Nan asked hesitantly.
“I heard it’s your first birthday celebration, so let’s make it a bit grander,” Auntie beamed as she handed Lin Nan a bowl of longevity noodles. “Ta-da! Longevity noodles, your breakfast for today!”
The noodles looked so plain, they were missing even the hint of green veggies.
Fortunately, a fried egg sat right on top, adding a little richness.
After getting used to the greasy, salty cafeteria food and takeout, Lin Nan found it hard to swallow this bowl of water-thin noodles. Still, she took the bowl gratefully, smiling, “Thank you, Auntie.”
“Just fill your belly! Lunch is going to be magnificent!”
Holding the bowl carefully, Lin Nan teased Auntie, “With all this food, anyone would think we were celebrating the New Year!”
The cheeky remark made Auntie particularly happy; she nodded vigorously, “Your birthday is even more important than the New Year!”
Is there even such a saying?
Lin Nan couldn’t help but smile as she carried the longevity noodles to the dining room.
This breakfast was a bit bland, but what can you do? It’s a local birthday tradition.
Even if she hadn’t asked, Auntie wouldn’t serve such a bland meal unless it was traditional.
Fortunately, Auntie’s seasoning was spot-on; even though it looked like little oil was used, the taste was good, and after finishing the noodles, Lin Nan felt warm and cozy inside.
“By the way, it’s my birthday today. You didn’t invite anyone, did you?” Lin Nan suddenly remembered after she felt satisfied.
The last thing she wanted was a bunch of strangers or distant relatives crashing her birthday.
“Invite anyone? No, just me, Chen Yao, and you, the birthday star,” Auntie explained. “Your uncle has to stay at the shop, and your mom is too busy to come. Do you still want to invite someone?”
Just the three of us? It might be a bit quiet, but that’s okay.
Lin Nan grumbled internally, willingly placing her bowl and chopsticks in the kitchen sink, only to suddenly remember her homeroom teacher.
Actually, it wouldn’t be too bad to invite the homeroom teacher to the birthday party, but unfortunately, her mother wasn’t coming. If the two of them hit it off, it would be just fantastic!
“I’d like to invite my high school homeroom teacher, if he’s free…”
“Your high school teacher? The one who’s a bit chubby and slightly bald?” Auntie recognized Lin Nan’s teacher.
Mainly because during high school, Chen Yao was notorious for his “mischief,” so Auntie knew all too well how many times he had to deal with her teacher for parent meetings and roll calls. To put it simply, Auntie didn’t have the best impression of him.
Even if calling parents showed a strong sense of responsibility, it’s awkward to have seen the same person over ten times—meeting again would be too cringy!
After pondering for a moment, Auntie nodded, “Sure, Chen Yao caused him a lot of trouble back in high school, so it wouldn’t hurt to thank him now.”
“Okay, I’ll call him later!” Lin Nan said, eagerly reaching for a bundle of water spinach. “I’ll help you prepare the veggies!”
Auntie rolled her eyes in exasperation, “Go to the shop and get your birthday cake! Who helps cook on their own birthday?”
As she spoke, she pulled a receipt from her pocket and handed it to Lin Nan. “It’s from the cake shop across the street.”
“Got it.”
With something to do now, Lin Nan didn’t dwell on helping out; she took the receipt and dashed off to change her clothes.
Since she was at Chen Yao’s house, she was used to wearing her light pajamas, and she didn’t even avoid waking him up as she quickly changed into a light outfit and left.
Her white pencil pants paired with a light short-sleeve shirt and topped off with a white baseball cap looked quite nice to Lin Nan.
Although the pants did hug her figure just a tad too much, which didn’t suit Lin Nan’s low-key style… It made her a bit self-conscious with passerby eyes lingering on her legs and rear, even though she was kinda used to it.
As she walked out of the community, Lin Nan dialed her homeroom teacher’s number.
Unfortunately, it went to voicemail.
It was only 9 AM, after all—her teacher had to stay up late working a night market selling clothes, so sleeping in was perfectly reasonable.
So, she shot off a text and tucked her phone in her pants, preparing to continue walking when her phone vibrated.
She quickly checked and saw it was a call from an unknown number.
Wait, is her homeroom teacher dual SIM?
With some hesitation, she picked up the call and immediately heard a strange male voice on the other end.
“Hello? Lin Nan?”
Sounds like someone who knows her.
Lin Nan swallowed hard to clear her throat and lowered her voice. “Who is this?”
“It’s Ma Lang. Don’t remember me?”
“Oh~ it’s you! What’s up?” Lin Nan feigned surprise.
Hmm, a high school classmate, but didn’t get into college—rumor has it he went straight to work.
She quickly recalled his face from high school but had no pleasant memories related to him.
We weren’t really friends back then, right?
“I’m getting married next month. Are you coming or not?”
Upon hearing that, Lin Nan instantly rejected, “I’m stuck working out of town for my summer job—can’t make it!”
“What a pity.”
What a pity, my foot!
Back in high school, we weren’t close, and now you’re getting married, and you want a slice of my cake?
Next time when I marry Chen Yao, I’ll give you a ring, and we’ll see if you come! And how much gift money you’d bring!
By local customs, when attending a wedding, a family usually contributes around three to five hundred in money—some rich folks don’t care about the cash and even hand out red envelopes, but Ma Lang surely wasn’t one of those wealthy types.
Lin Nan had always loved milking weddings for pocket money back in the day; after all, her parents footed the bill for the gift money, while she kept the red envelopes for herself.
After this little detour, she finally arrived at the cake shop, pushing the door open and handing over the receipt to the staff. She soon got her birthday cake.
Since it was just three people, Auntie ordered a modest ten-inch cake—enough for four or five people, more or less.
But it was an ice cream cake, which costs double the usual cake.
Thank goodness it wasn’t her time of the month; otherwise, she wouldn’t even be able to enjoy such a good cake!
Lin Nan happily left the shop with her cake, hurrying back to her community, worried that the ice cream would melt if she stayed out too long.
At the same time, she checked her phone for a response from her homeroom teacher’s earlier text.
To her delight, her teacher confirmed he’d come by before noon for the birthday celebration.
She should’ve also invited her grandparents and cousins, but Auntie must have already notified them. Since they weren’t coming, they probably had their own reasons or thought a younger family member’s birthday wasn’t worth attending.
It’s a shame her mom couldn’t make it; otherwise, she could’ve met the homeroom teacher and checked what they thought about each other!
