"Happy Birthday!"
As the cheers rang out, Ye Jie was stunned to his spot.
The garden before him was illuminated with lanterns and twinkling fairy lights along with a whole range of flower decorations.
And the faces before Ye Jie were all well too familiar. There weren't just He Jian's family. All of Xu Mey's best friends were there along with a few other guests. Someone had also invited Ye Jun to the birthday party and he somehow managed to bring Jun Li Na out of her cocoon with himself.
Nobody was surprised to see Azalea with Ye Jie, instead, all of them were happily gazing at them. As if they had exxpected to see Azalea already.
"What's going on here?" Ye Jie managed to voice out his question.
"Isn't it obvious?" Xu Mey smirked beside Ye Jie.
"Huh? This was my surprise… How did it turn all around?" Azalea whined darting her eyes between Xu Mey and He Jian. She clearly wanted to surprise her parents with her presence and her brother with the party arrangements.
Xu Mey tousled Azalea's hair saying, "Zelie, did you really expect my Jian-Ge to hide all of this from me?"
Azalea scrunched up her face and looked accusingly at He Jian, "Ge, how could you? And you even already told everyone that I'll be here?"
"Wasn't he supposed to?" Azalea turned towards the voice of her mother who was glaring at her furiously.
"Hi, mom!" Azalea smiled sheepishly.
"Hi? You! You mischievous little monkey! You spoiled brat! You rotten egg! How dare you?" He Susu burst up as she came closer to Azalea with a raised hand intending to hit her only daughter.
Azalea was expecting this from her mother. So, she ran behind her dad. Zhu Chen was quietly looking at the perfect harmonious scene before him with a smile. When Azalea came behind him, he immediately hugged her and hid her from the wrath of his own wife. "Su, let's calm down! She's still young. And we're gathered here for another reason."
At this reminder, He Susu turned back to Ye Jie and smiled brightly saying, "I never thought your birthday would be on the same day as my son. But since I don't have my son with me, " her voice choked up a bit but she still added, "I'd love to celebrate your birthday like I would have done for my own son."
Ye Jie was overwhelmed when she pulled him in for a warm hug with her petite body. He didn't know whether he was supposed to be happy or sad? This was such an unexpected surprise for him.
"Thank you, everyone!" Ye Jie could only say those words in gratitude but he knew that those words were not enough. They could never possibly be enough since this was the birthday party he never even dreamed of in his life.
He was always away from home on his birthday and that's why his only perfect memory of a birthday existed with Ru.
On his every birthday since the time he had known her, she had always been the one to find him on his birthday. The thing that made him feel worse was that he didn't even know about her birthday since she didn't know about it herself. She was only told the year, the exact date was completely unknown to her.
He had told her that they should just choose any day and celebrate it as her birthday but she refused, saying, 'First, there is nothing to celebrate about my birth. Second, I'll celebrate the birthday when I'll discover the reason of my existence.'
Everyone came up to offer their blessings to him but Ye Jie was distracted. He turned to look at Xu Mey smiling right beside him and he couldn't help but smile in return. He mouthed a simple, "Thank you, baby!"
She grinned broadly and brightly as she mouthed back, "Anything for my Ah-Jie."
Earlier when He Jian texted her to inform about Azalea's plan, she was on her way to Ye Jie's office. She didn't mind the whole surprise and decided to call Ye Jun so that Jun Li Na could get a glimpse of a healthy atmosphere between her best friends and their families.
Also, she thought this was a good way to create a bonding between Ye Jie and his biological parents. That way he might break free from doubts in his mind and come clean before them.
"I think the most excited one for this party is Uncle Chen," Wu Wang came around Xu Mey as he said in a loud voice.
"Tell me about it," Li Qiao's mother started. "This stupid Chen didn't even tell me about coming back to China but today, he called me suddenly. Can you guess for what?" Everyone gazed at her curiously as she elbowed Zhu Chen in his guts saying, "To cook longevity noodles." Everyone stared at Zhu Chen with their mouth agape and he simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Xiao Man," Zhu Chen called Li Qiao's mother, "We have known each other for decades. And noodles are the very least thing you can do for me. And besides, in my defense, you're the only person who makes the best longevity noodles which is bizarre knowing how much you hate cooking." Everyone burst out laughing at his defense making the atmosphere lively.
"Humph! I even baked a beautiful and delicious cake. Don't try to insult me," Li Qiao's mother, Li Man warned him with an icy glare making Zhu Chen chuckle.
"Well, it's official. Our parents are more childish than us." Li Qiao said standing beside Xu Mey as they all were gazing at the middle-aged people gathered around Ye Jie making him laugh with their own stories and kept watch while he had to eat the unbroken longevity noodle's bowl in one continuous strand.
"Tell me about it," He Jian added with a shake of his head.
"I'm glad, my mom is out of town. Otherwise, I can't even imagine the way this party would have turned into," Wu Wang shuddered at the thought. There was mostly nothing wrong with his mother. For Xu Mey, she was one the most loving person in the world but the problem lied in her childlike mind. Wu Wang's mother had an obsession with kids and since her own grew up, she turned herself into one.
"And I wish my mom was alive to be here," they heard Lin Shen's sigh and turned their heads at the same time to look at his expressionless face.
Noticing their gazes, Lin Shen shifted a bit saying, "I wasn't trying to spoil the mood. I just couldn't help missing her." He spoke righteously and none of them could blame him. Lin Shen lost his mother when he was 10 and he always missed her at such joyous occasions.
"Shen-Shen, I'm right here for you," Sun Ju came around Lin Shen's side and gave him a side hug.
"I know, Ju-Ju," he replied smiling at her.
"Then you should also know that your mother is still with you. Right here," Sun Jun tapped on his heart making him smile widely.
"I think it's time to move," Xu Mey was the first one to suggest and everyone else nodded agreeing with her. They turned and left the clingy couple behind.