83 - Birthday Dinner

Translated by rabbitrisu

Another Su family gathering was arranged on Thursday night.

Not Saturday, not Sunday, but some odd Thursday.

It was Su Gan, the eldest of the four Su family brothers and Su Zimo’s father who had arranged the time. Su Gan was inexplicably excited while he was preparing the banquet. Every time he saw someone he smiled, even when facing his second and third brothers. He was excited about the family reunion after a long absence.

It made Su Duan and Su Kun uncomfortable, so they avoided Su Gan wherever they went.

Once Su Zimo appeared at the dining table with a small packaged box, Su Gan’s emotions especially soared high, as he stood there staring at Su Zimo excitedly.

Su Zimo, who had been stared at, was a little helpless. Although he and Su Gan weren’t close, he still wouldn’t forget that it was his father’s birthday that day.

Su Gan seemed a little embarrassed to remind others of the matter, so he secretly set the date of the party for his birthday and hoped that more people would remember it was his birthday.

Su Zimo sighed internally. Having a child-like father was really a headache.

“Recently, many people have given me gifts.” As soon as they sat down, Su Gan smiled and shared with everyone. “Especially my few caring little daughters, who one by one sent me gifts from other cities. Like Xiao Yiyi, who is in Jiangdu with her mother, specially sent her own flower tea that she prepares daily. The packaging and small cards everyday are so cute.”

“First brother, is it really okay to mention your illegitimate daughters in front of your son?” Su Kun still looked gloomy, and the very unstable ‘Poor Li Gui Ring 003’ was still being worn on his hand.

“Illegitimate daughters?” Su Gan shook his head strangely. “Don’t slander me in front of my Momo. They’re just my daughters, not my illegitimate daughters.”

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“Aren’t they the children born to you and outside women!” Su Duan, who had always been impatient, had a headache as Su Gan went around in circles, so he yelled it directly.

“They’re nominally my daughters! Didn’t I explain it many times?!” Su Gan and Su Duan stared at each other. “I’ve said it many times. I just think the little girls are cute, so I treat them as daughters.”

“You said it, but with your personality, who would believe it…” Su Kun was holding his chin in contempt with his ringed hand. “Who doesn’t know that when our Su family’s eldest brother shows mercy ¹ , it’s also expected to leave behind a few daughters.”

Su Zimo was a little surprised when he heard it. Maybe it was because he wasn’t close with Su Gan since he was young and then finally grew up and suffered a misfortune, but he had never heard Su Gan say that his daughters weren’t related by blood.

“This Su Gan’s flesh and blood is only Momo.” Su Gan’s expression was suddenly serious. Even his usually frivolous mustache seemed to gain a serious aura. “That is what I promised my child’s mother, and it is also the commitment I made to myself.”

“It’s a joy to find a confidante, but I also have a bottom line.” Su Gan coughed lightly. “At least after meeting my child’s mother, I have a bottom line.”

“Mr. Gan has done very well in recent years.” Su Hewen was brought by Su Gan for dinner today. He didn’t originally want to participate in the Su family dinner, but he knew that today was his adoptive father’s birthday, so he hesitated and stayed.

“Call me dad.” Su Gan looked helplessly at Su Hewen.

“It’s easy to be misunderstood when doing things.” Su Hewen ignored Su Gan’s demands, but looked at Su Zimo and explained.

When talking about the Su family’s eldest brother, most people paused in their movements. Although some of the people here didn’t like Su Hewen, that also had to admit that Su Hewen has never lied, and that they could often learn something new based on what he says.

“Ge, what’s going on?” When Su Zimo noticed Su Hewen’s gaze, he knew that he was speaking to him.

Could it be that the daughters and casual women they had been speaking about had nothing to do with the Su family?

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“Mr. Gan likes to make friends with people, but because of various reasons, the people who take the initiative to associate with Mr. Gan are women with special purposes. They try all kinds of ways to deepen their relationship with him, but for some reason… Even if he is really drunk or dazed, he cannot be coerced, and naturally he does not leave any illegitimate children.” Su Hewen explained, but did not detail what the ‘special purposes’ were.

“It’s not the ghost of my child’s mother.” Su Gan whispered, somewhat aggrieved. “It’s not that I can’t control myself.”

“After all, they were impossible to guard against.” No matter what Su Zimo’s mother did to Su Gan, Su Hewen seemed to agree with him. “But even if they knew that they wouldn’t succeed, those women still appeared in endless streams around Su manor with all sorts of media, claiming that they had spent a night with Mr. Gan and that they were pregnant with the blood of the Su family.”

“That era was really exciting.” Su Duan showed a lively expression just thinking about it.

“Most of the women who came to the door claimed they were carrying the young master of the Su family, but based on later investigations and evidence, they either applied for in-vitro fertilization through secret channels to ensure it was a son, or carried irrelevant bloodlines that came from who-knows-where. ² After hearing that we wanted to verify, they wanted to hurriedly give up the money and leave.”

“But there were a few women who had ladylike eyebrows that explicitly stated they were carrying daughters, hoping to get help from Mr. Gan. Mr. Gan helped settle those orphans and widows, and claims to be the nominal fathers of those girls.” Su Hewen explained the entire situation clearly.

But when the topic changed, Su Hewen frowned again and said, “But it’s not easy to find the women who came to your door. Mr. Gan considers himself the nominal father of the girls, but those newspapers and media don’t think so. Even… Even in the eyes of the several adult daughters, Mr. Gan is probably a relative they can’t recognize.”

“No. Every time I see them, they call me Gan-die ³ . They know it very well.” Su Gan shook his head. “Their mothers and I are also friends; all of them are knowledgeable and sensible.”

“As for the newspapers and media, they’re not important. Either way, this Su Gan’s reputation has never been good.” Su Gan spoke, then sighed again. “They’re also helpless and very pitiful. If being misunderstood by the outside world can make their lives easier, my reputation is already bad and it won’t affect much anyway.”

“Since you haven’t explained clearly, some misunderstandings are getting worse and worse, and may even be warped in the end.” Su Hewen also silently began to eat.

“So… those women really have nothing to do with you? Those daughters aren’t yours?” The fourth brother Su Ni showed a very surprised expression as he arrived. “You never told me.”

“……” Su Gan was speechless for a while, feeling that he seemed taken for granted. “Anyway, except for the mother of my child, I can’t be intimate with others. Apart from Momo, it’s impossible for me to have other bloodlines. That’s certain, ah!”

“Unbelievable.” ⁴ Rachel, Su Zimo’s fourth aunt who rarely attended the family dinners, also looked surprised.

“It’s really unbelievable.” Se Duan also sighed after a while. “You’ve been secretly given a dark hand so many times, but you really haven’t been able to caught by them once? What’s your secret? Could you teach it for your little brother’s sake?”

“Fuck you. Little brothers shouldn’t forget what day it is.”

“Housekeeper Mu, I’m in trouble.” Su Zimo called out to Mu Feng, who was waiting, and it didn’t take long for Mu Feng and Ye Ning to push a double-layered cake to the table.

The cake wasn’t that big, but the portion was enough for the family to enjoy, and it was the chef of Qin Yange who had made the cake for the first time. After listening to Su Zimo talking about his father’s birthday, Grandpa Fang, who didn’t recognize his treasured sword, had to retreat and study to make the best cake. Although he gave up the idea after Su Zimo’s persuasion, he still gave the task to his favorite student.

The style was similar to a western-style cake on the outside, but the inner sections were replaced with various Chinese pastries. They were cut into a variety of patterns, so it could be considered a combination of Chinese and western styles.

But even if the cake was delicious, only Su Zimo’s family and Su Ni’s family could enjoy the atmosphere of the birthday dinner. Su Mianmian from Fourth Uncle’s family stuffed herself with cream frosting, then smiled and threw herself into Su Gan’s arms until she was picked up by Fourth Uncle again.

Second Uncle and Third Uncle’s households still only had the two of them to attend the dinner. They sat face to face on the edge of the dining table and watched the eldest’s and youngest’s families celebrate the birthday enthusiastically. The two of them had crossed their arms and looked bored, or perhaps were sulking and thinking about who-knows-what.

“Hehe.” Su Kun sneered inexplicably.

Su Zimo’s feelings about Su Gan were still complicated. Although the absolutely believed what Su Hewen said, those words also brought up many things in Su Zimo’s mind, blurring his impressions of Su Gan and even his deceased mother.

It’s like someone who was originally familiar suddenly began to become a stranger.

“Happy birthday.” Even so, Su Zimo delivered the prepared gift to Su Gan.

It was an ordinary black gift box with a royal blue ribbon on the outside. Su Gan took Su Zimo’s gift with some excitement, then found that the weight was very light, as if there was nothing in it.

Su Gan didn’t like to celebrate birthdays at home. He felt that birthday dinners were something old men and children enjoyed, so he had never accepted Su Zimo’s birthday gifts in person. He was sent some money by Master Su every time, then found a card drawn by Xiao Su Zimo for him in the corner.

But since Su Zimo ‘came back,’ Su Gan suddenly felt that he had become an old man who enjoyed birthday dinners. He also cherished the present that Su Zimo gave him face to face. Even if it was really just an empty box, Su Gan would treat it like a treasure along with the cards his son had sent since childhood.

“Wait to return to your room tonight…”

Before Su Zimo’s words were finished, Su Gan opened the box at a speed that couldn’t be stopped.

Inside the box was a plucked flower with double layers of white petals, which were particularly conspicuous in the white box. The large blossom had a short stem that didn’t look like it could be inserted into a vase.

It was the first Shouhua in full bloom at An Yu Yi Yu!

It could increase the life span of people unaffiliated with the store by one year.

“Hahahaha, it’s really a very unique gift. As expected from Master Su’s heart. What is it? A lily? Hahahaha.” After seeing the flower in the box, Su Duan beside him couldn’t stop laughing.

Su Kun also sneered, then concealed the corners of his mouth by drinking tea.

“The gift my son gave my is my favorite. Have anything to say?” Su Gan scolded in return with wide eyes.

But at that moment, the wine glass originally held in Su Hewen’s hand unexpectedly dropped to the table with a bang. The glass wasn’t broken, but the wine was completely spilled.

When the maid next to him came to clean up, Su Hewen still had an indescribable expression. It was a look of shock that had never before appeared on Su Hewen’s face.

“Why do you have such a flower?” Su Hewen looked incredulously at Su Zimo. “That’s… that’s…”

“Ge, what’s the matter?” Su Zimo was also slightly strange.

“Nevermind. It’s nothing.” Su Hewen covered his eyes and calmed down after a while. “I just think it looks pretty. Mr. Gan must keep it well.”

Su Gan didn’t feel much at first, but after Su Hewen’s performance, the Shouhua in the box seemed strange. He even wanted to reach out and touch it.

“Wait to return to your room before taking it out.” Su Zimo immediately stopped him this time, lest the Shouhua disappear in front of everyone.

“Oh. Oh, oh.” Because Su Hewen stood up to stop him, Su Gan quickly shut the box and set it aside.

“So mysterious.” Su Kun seemed unable to understand the harmonious scene.

Fourth Uncle Su Ni’s family also prepared precious gifts, but Su Gan may have been affected by Su Hewen’s blunders just now, and kept returning his eyes to the somewhat mysterious black box from time to time.

“It’s great to have such a caring son who can still be the head of the house.”

Halfway through the dinner, Third Uncle Su Kun put his hands on the table, with one hand rubbing the ‘Poor Li Gui Ring 003’ on the other as his eyes gradually darkened.

Most of the people present were used to Su Kun’s yin-yang strangeness, but only Su Zimo had discovered something wrong.

As Su Kun kept spinning the ring back and forth, a faint black mist emerged from the ring, and then on his shoulder appeared a whole black body of a… baby?!”

The baby squatted on Su Kun’s shoulders, sucking the black mist from the ring for a while, then slowly crawled off of his shoulders and crawled along the edge of the long dining table toward where Su Zimo was sitting!

During the entire process, Su Kun didn’t even squint, as if he didn’t see the dark baby!

Su Zimo’s various tools weren’t on hand. The black umbrella and cell phone were on the coffee table in the neighboring lounge, but after feeling that the baby’s goal was him, Su Zimo had no time to conceal anything, so he shouted —

“Ghost Umbrella!”

In other words, since the other party had already done it so openly, Su Zimo naturally didn’t have to be sneaky.

Footnotes

<ol>Showing mercy here is a euphemism for engaging in a sexual relationship. IVF can apparently allow the prospective parents to choose the sex of their child, if anyone else was confused about this. I’m shook. Diē is one way to refer to your dad, it’s informal. Unbelievable was in english in the raws.</ol>