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Yu Zhaohan returned to the kitchen and saw his mother covering her lips and smiling at Shi Du. He was familiar with this expression of his mother’s; she would always smile like that when she was amused.
Yu Zhaohan called out, “Mom.” Mother Yu picked up the remaining plates and said, “Let’s go out. Don’t keep your teammates waiting for too long.”
After his mother left, Yu Zhaohan asked Shi Du, “What did my mom say to you?”
Shi Du remained silent for a moment and asked back, “How do I look now? Am I handsome or stupid?”
Yu Zhaohan was taken aback by the question.
Of course, his little brother was handsome, no matter how you looked at him. But when he put it that way, it seemed a bit silly.
Yu Zhaohan said hesitantly, “You’re handsome, stupid handsome.”
Shi Du raised his head and pressed his forehead, wearing an expression of suffocation as if he had made himself foolish: “
Am I stupid?”
“No,” Yu Zhaohan comforted him, “You are very smart.”
Shi Du: “
”
After finishing the supper, they reached the clichĂ© birthday cake scene. After the birthday cake was delivered to the base, it had been stored in the refrigerator and was only taken out now. Cheese eagerly opened it, but as soon as he saw the appearance of the cake, his expression changed, and he quickly closed the box, glaring at Old Tan and asking, “Are you seriously ill?”
Yu Zhaohan asked: “What?”
Cheese hesitated and stammered, “Ca-Captain, please don’t be angry. Old Tan might actually be sick.”
Yu Zhaohan: “Open it.”
Reluctant to face what was about to happen, Cheese closed his eyes and reluctantly opened the box.
It was a small green dinosaur with a white belly and “Shine” written on it in chocolate sauce. The little dinosaur was sitting with its tail in its arms and a pointed birthday hat on its head.
Yu Zhaohan’s eyes widened slightly, and his ears couldn’t help but twitch. Everyone else instinctively turned their gaze to Old Tan with a look that said, “You’re so brave.”
“It wasn’t me!” Old Tan swore, raising his hand and proclaiming his innocence. “I didn’t order this cake—it must have been switched by someone!”
Shi Du rubbed his chin, trying to figure it out: “How strange, who could it be?”
Who else could it be? It’s you, naughty little brother.
After Yu Zhaohan became the team captain, he celebrated his birthdays at R.H, and Old Tan was in charge of ordering the cakes. The cake from the previous year was a sniper rifle, and the cake from the year before was a World Cup gold medal. He also enjoyed it and ate it happily. But he couldn’t bring himself to eat this little dinosaur.
Mother Yu smiled and said, “No matter who did it, this cake is adorable, and it must taste delicious.”
“Don’t move!” Lu Youshan said in surprise, “What if it’s poisoned! I know, I know, it must be the doing of Chongqing Eau. They are afraid that they won’t be able to beat us in the next game, so they have to make the first move!”
Shi Du coolly responded, “You’re the one who’s poisonous.”
“The cake isn’t poisoned,” Jiang Di said, “It was Timeless who put it in.”
The group was once again taken aback, and their eyes focused on Shi Du. Shi Du raised his eyebrows and said, “How do you know?”
Jiang Di: “I saw it with my own eyes.”
Shi Du had no choice but to admit, “How can you see everything? Are you the base’s surveillance camera?”
Yu Zhaohan felt that Jiang Di might be, otherwise, how would Xiao Jiang see him every time he and Shi Du did something.
Jiang Di refused to admit it: “No, it’s just a coincidence.”
“Well, I did it.” Shi Du shrugged, “I just wanted to surprise the captain.”
Cheese whispered, “Are you sure you weren’t frightened?”
“Would something like this scare me?” Yu Zhaohan said, “It’s all cake, what difference does it make? Let’s just go ahead and eat it.”
Qi Xian placed the “20” candles on the dinosaur’s head. “Captain, make a wish.”
“What a waste of time,” Yu Zhaohan made a wish in his heart to win the championship with everyone, “Let’s just eat it.”
The little dinosaur was tragically dismembered. Cheese handed the tail portion to Yu Zhaohan and said, “Captain, have a piece of cake too. I know you don’t like sweet things, but it’s a birthday cake, the birthday boy shouldn’t miss out.”
Yu Zhaohan reluctantly took the dinosaur’s tail and said, “Fine.”
Shi Du handed the belly portion of the cake to Mother Yu and said, “Auntie.”
Mother Yu spoke softly, “Thank you for helping to prepare the birthday cake for Zhaohan.”
Shi Du smiled humbly and politely, “You’re welcome, Auntie.”
Taking advantage of other people’s attention on the cake, Mother Yu lowered her voice: “In the future at the base, please take good care of him and make his role as captain a little easier.”
Shi Du looked at Yu Zhaohan, who was eating the cake elegantly, and the corner of his mouth curled up: “Yes, don’t worry, auntie.”
Old Tan gave him a bottle of men’s perfume, Cheese’s gift was the latest model of a graphics card, and Qi Xian gave him a wallet—high-end gifts all around. Even Shi Du’s gift was no exception—Shi Du gave him a wristwatch.
Yu Zhaohan also gave Shi Du a watch for his eighteenth birthday, which was a smartwatch. And what Shi Du gave him was a traditional watch, with a pure black strap, a platinum dial, and diamonds inlaid inside.
Yu Zhaohan didn’t understand these things very well and thought it was just an expensive item. But Mother Yu said: “This won’t do, Shi Du, it’s too precious.”
“It’s okay, Auntie.” Shi Du said, “I have enough money.”
“Ah? Where did you get the money?” Cheese interrupted, Didn’t you fail to gather enough money for the full down payment on a house?
Shi Du maintained a smile and silently thought that killing someone was a crime.
Qi Xian changed the subject, “How about some alcohol? Tomorrow is a day off.”
The club had a rule that professional players couldn’t drink during competitions, except on special occasions like holidays and birthdays. Yu Zhaohan planned to send his mother home later, so he said, “I won’t drink, you guys can.”
Shi Du glanced at Mother Yu and said, “I don’t drink either, I’m not interested in alcohol.”
“Huh? But didn’t you have a lot of fun drinking on your birthday?” Cheese thought he was humorous, “You dyed your hair when you were drunk the last time!”
Shi Du couldn’t bear it any longer and politely restrained himself, saying, “This teammate, please shut up, thank you.”
“Then let’s not drink at all. Alcohol isn’t a good thing anyway.” Lu Youshan raised his cola and said, “Come on, let’s all have one last drink, and then I’ll tell you about the new tactic that just came to me. Happy birthday, Shine! R.H is awesome!”
The boys didn’t really want to pay attention to the coach, but they all raised their glasses together and said, “Happy birthday, Shine! R.H is awesome!”
After such a fuss, it was already very late, so Yu Zhaohan drove Mother Yu home. Mother Yu reminded him to find a chance to return Shi Du’s gift, but he was reluctant.
Yu Zhaohan said, “I’ll just give him a gift of similar value on his next birthday. It’s not like I can’t afford it.” Their little boss was so generous that he would earn hundreds of thousands of yuan from winning a regular season match. He had money.
His mother asked, “But you probably don’t like this kind of watch, right?”
Yu Zhaohan pondered for a long time and confirmed his thoughts before saying, “If it were from someone else, I wouldn’t like it. But since it’s from him, I like it.”
His mother was somewhat surprised but didn’t oppose further: “Then baby, you decide.”
Yu Zhaohan sent his mother home, and then took a taxi back to the base by himself. The others were having a good time: Qi Xian, Old Tan and Jiang Di were playing cards, Lu Youshan was thinking about new tactics, Cheese and Shi Du were playing a battle game with a controller, and Yu Zhaohan happened to see Cheese being tortured and killed by Shi Du when he passed by scene.
Taking advantage of this rare moment of relaxation, Yu Zhaohan didn’t bother them and went back to his room first, taking a towel and a rubber duck to take a bath.
After finishing the shower, Yu Zhaohan saw that Shi Du had sent him a WeChat message.
[Timeless: I’ll come up to see you later. Leave the door open for me, Yuyu]
Yu Zhaohan didn’t know how long “later” meant, so he lay on the bed, playing with his phone while waiting for Shi Du. He was almost falling asleep when he finally heard the sound of the doorknob turning.
Yu Zhaohan yawned expressionlessly and said, “Why did you take so long?
“I came here after killing Cheese eighteen times.” Shi Du sat down beside his bed, “Are you going to sleep?”
“Not yet.” Yu Zhaohan sat up, covered himself with the blanket, and tried to dispel his drowsiness. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“Look, Yuyu,” Shi Du held up his phone to show him, “I just found a street stall that’s open until 5 a.m. I want to go and have their dry pot spare ribs. Can you drive me there?”
Yu Zhaohan was taken aback and couldn’t believe it. “You haven’t stopped eating all night, and now you’re hungry again?”
Shi Du calmly replied, “I’m not hungry. I just have cravings.”
“I advise you to think twice, you have the curse of being photographed by fans when you go out.”
Shi Du insisted on going against the odds: “I don’t believe I can still be photographed at this hour.”
Yu Zhaohan slid into the covers. “But I’m a bit tired. Can’t you go by yourself in a taxi? I’ll give you money.”
Unexpectedly, Shi Du persisted. “It’s very close, just a ten-minute drive. Can you hold on for a bit?”
Yu Zhaohan looked at him and asked, “Shi Du, are you being so nice to me just to have a free driver?”
Shi Du just smiled. “Yeah, you just figured it out?”
Before Yu Zhaohan could determine whether his younger brother was joking or if he should feel sad, Shi Du snatched the blanket away. Shi Du took out a set of clothes from the wardrobe and asked, “Will you dress yourself, or should I help you? Hurry up and choose.”
Reluctantly, Yu Zhaohan extended his arms. “I choose you to help me.”
Shi Du smiled and said, “Good choice.”
Shi Du put the hoodie on Yu Zhaohan. The collar of the hoodie was a bit tight, causing Yu Zhaohan’s head to get stuck for a moment. He mumbled, “You’re so domineering that even if you help me get dressed, I won’t thank you.”
“Yeah, no need to thank me.”
Yu Zhaohan went downstairs with Shi Du with a little resentment. Shi Du was ashamed to say that he was a fan of him, how could any fan use their idol as a driver, but Shi Du’s fans might treat him that way.
However, when he opened the garage door, all the lingering resentment dissipated instantly.
Beside his ugly SUV was a small, exquisite light blue car with a rounded and lively design. The headlights at the front were even rounder than Cheese’s face.
This is literally every girl’s dream car.
Yu Zhaohan was in a daze when he heard Shi Du’s voice behind him: “Do you like driving a small car?”
Yu Zhaohan realized: “Is this also a birthday present?”
“What do you think?”
Yu Zhaohan shook his head: “No, I can’t accept two birthday presents from you.”
Shi Du tapped him lightly on the head: “What are you thinking, this is the car I bought for myself.”
“But you don’t have a driver’s license yet.”
“Before I get my driver’s license, you can drive my car and take me around to play.” Shi Du took the keys to the SUV from Yu Zhaohan’s hand and placed the keys to the small car in his hand. “After I get my driver’s license, we can take turns driving.”
Yu Zhaohan looked down at Shi Du’s long legs and asked, “But can you fit in this car with your legs?”
“That’s not your concern.” Shi Du opened the driver’s door. “Want to try it out?”
Yu Zhaohan quickly got in. Even though a 1.8-meter tall guy driving this small car wouldn’t be cramped, it certainly wouldn’t be spacious either. But he was tired of the spacious SUV and loved this cozy little space.
Yu Zhaohan patted the passenger seat. “Shi Du, come up. I’ll take you out for a ride.”
“But you said you were tired earlier.”
“I’m not tired anymore.” Yu Zhaohan eagerly started the car. “Come on.”
Shi Du chuckled and tilted his head, getting into the passenger seat. “Where do you want to go for a ride?”
Yu Zhaohan felt the steering wheel in his hands and said, “I turned twenty today, and you’ve already passed eighteen. We can go together to a place that only matures adults would go to—somewhere you probably haven’t been.”
Shi Du was taken aback. “You don’t mean
”
Yu Zhaohan activated the car’s built-in voice navigation. The navigation had a lively and youthful voice. “Good evening, master. Where would you like to go?”
Yu Zhaohan said, “Hello, please take us to the nearest internet cafe.”
The voice replied, “The nearest internet cafe is a twenty-minute drive from the starting point. Are you ready to depart, master~”
Shi Du said, “
Just ignore her.”