TSBDRA 46: Happy Birthday

…

Ever since Yan Yao mentioned Yan Yushan’s birthday, Xu Xishuang had been racking his brain over what kind of gift would be appropriate.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that, with Yan Yushan’s background, there wasn’t really anything he lacked. On his birthday, he would surely be receiving plenty of gifts and he might not even personally open them all.

Before Xu Xishuang could come up with a good idea, he was suddenly added to a WeChat group called [Birthday Surprise].

He stared at the group name for a moment, then opened the member list and saw that the group owner was none other than Cheng Tianwen.

Yan Yushan was filming up front while the camera was temporarily handed over to the assistant director. Cheng Tianwen sent a message to the group: “Is everyone here?”

Xu Xishuang glanced at the few voice messages Cheng Tianwen had sent and quickly chose to convert them to text.

Cheng Tianwen: “You all probably know who this group is for, right?”

Cheng Tianwen: “Xiao Yan’s directorial debut film Bitter Summer is about to premiere, and his birthday is just around the corner. Double the joy—so we’re planning a surprise party. Nobody breathes a word of this to him!”

The others replied in a scattered chorus: “Got it.”

Cheng Tianwen was clearly pumped: “Alright, we’ll shoot as normal tomorrow. Xiao Yan already told me not to delay the schedule for his birthday, so we’ll pretend like it’s just another day, wrap up early, and surprise him.”

Cheng Tianwen: “Props team, get the handheld confetti ready. PR team, the video I asked you to edit—it’s ready, right? Everyone else knows their tasks, yeah?”

Everyone responded “Roger.” Xu Xishuang was about to do the same when Cheng Tianwen called him out directly.

Cheng Tianwen: “Xiao Xu, I’m giving you the hardest mission.”

Xu Xishuang’s eyelid twitched—a bad feeling incoming. Before he could decline, Cheng Tianwen sent two more voice messages back-to-back, as if he were reading from a script at double speed.

Cheng Tianwen: “Xiao Xu, when we wrap, find an excuse to lead Yan Yushan to the Special Operations Bureau set. Make sure to get him to the second-floor meeting room. Right before opening the door, blindfold him and don’t let him see the setup too early.”

Cheng Tianwen: “Once the cake is out, you’ll put the birthday hat on him.”

After reading, Xu Xishuang decided the task wasn’t too hard and is still within his comfort zone. He didn’t want to spoil the fun, so he replied: “Got it.”

Yan Yao: “(screaming chicken emoji)”

[Yan Yao retracted a message]

Yan Yao: “Oops, slipped. Haha.”

Xu Xishuang: …

That night, back at the hotel, Xu Xishuang learned that Xiao Wang had been put in charge of the cake. When Xiao Wang wasn’t looking, Xu Xishuang sneakily dipped a finger in the cream and popped it into his mouth, eyes narrowing in bliss.

But he didn’t dare eat too much—worried the nausea might give away the cake-making secret to Yan Yushan. Before Xiao Wang could notice, he slipped back into his room.

After showering, Xu Xishuang applied his stretch mark oil, lay down on the bed, and messaged Yan Yushan, waiting for his bedtime story.

After finishing his chat with the baby in Xu Xishuang’s belly, Yan Yushan casually asked the half-asleep Xu Xishuang, “Did you feel like something was off with the crew today?”

Xu Xishuang instantly sobered. He tugged up the blanket and replied, “…No? What do you mean?”

Yan Yushan had initially wanted to ask if someone had figured out their relationship. Not wanting to worry him, he paused, then said, “Nothing. I’m probably overthinking.”

After the story, Xu Xishuang was already asleep. Yan Yushan gently closed the door and went back to his own room.

At midnight, his phone rang. Frowning, he picked up, sounding annoyed. “What?”

Yan Jingmo’s voice came through the line, “Wow, so much for that ‘new personality’ of yours. You still have a nasty temper. I’m calling right at midnight to wish you a happy birthday, and you’re annoyed?”

Yan Yushan shifted positions and replied in a calmer tone, “I have filming tomorrow. Anyone would be a little annoyed getting woken up at this hour.”

Yan Jingmo chuckled, “Alright, happy birthday. Mom and Dad are still pissed, so I’m saying it for them. So—did you catch the person yet?”

“Not yet,” Yan Yushan sighed. “Still chasing.”

Yan Jingmo sounded a bit surprised. “That precious, huh? Or is it that they’re not interested in you at all? Otherwise, why’s your progress so slow?”

Yan Yushan sat up and answered Yan Jingmo’s question, “Yeah, he’s precious. I’m not sure if he has feelings for me, so I want to take it slow.”

Yan Jingmo replied, “Alright then, as long as you know what you’re doing. Go get some sleep.”

After hanging up, Yan Yushan was no longer sleepy. He rubbed his temples, glanced at WeChat, and saw he had over ninety-nine unread messages. A lot of people had timed their birthday wishes right at midnight. He replied with a thank you to the ones he was close with, and completely ignored the ones from people he barely knew or who were trying to cozy up to him.

Then he opened his chat with Xu Xishuang. Even though he knew Xu Xishuang was asleep, a small part of him still secretly hoped for a birthday message.

He waited, but no new messages came. Eventually, he closed his phone, lay back on the bed, and shut his eyes.

The next morning, arriving on set, Yan Yushan felt that weird sense from yesterday grow even stronger. He noticed how people kept avoiding his gaze and he was starting to suspect something, but he couldn’t be sure.

Filming went smoothly, and they wrapped early. He and Xu Xishuang shared a van back to the hotel. But the moment he was waiting for never came.

He chuckled to himself, thinking maybe he had overthought it. Not everyone knew it was his birthday. Why would the crew go to such lengths to celebrate for him?

Back in his room, he had just taken off his shirt to shower when there was a knock at the door. He froze, then slipped his shirt back on and walked over. “Who is it?”

Outside, Xu Xishuang nervously clenched his fist. “It’s me.”

Yan Yushan was momentarily stunned—Xu Xishuang rarely came to him unprompted. He immediately opened the door. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to talk to you about something,” Xu Xishuang avoided his gaze, worried he would be found out. “Can we go somewhere else to talk?”

If it had been anyone else, Yan Yushan would have suspected a setup, like someone trying to lure him out so paparazzi could catch a misleading photo. But this was Xu Xishuang. Without hesitation, he grabbed his phone and keys, closed the door, and followed him.

At first, Yan Yushan thought “go out” meant the hallway or the hotel’s front entrance but he hadn’t expected Xu Xishuang to lead him so far.

Just as he was about to ask where they were going, Xu Xishuang’s voice came from beside him. “Close your eyes.”

Yan Yushan instinctively obeyed.

Then he felt a slightly cool hand cover his eyes, carrying the faint scent of the lemon-scented body wash Xu Xishuang used.

He slowed his breathing and didn’t open his eyes. He then felt Xu Xishuang’s other hand wrap around his wrist.

“I’ll lead you,” Xu Xishuang said softly. “Don’t open your eyes.”

He hadn’t expected Yan Yushan to follow him out so willingly—not even giving him a chance to use the excuse he’d prepared. And now, he was quietly walking with his eyes covered, completely trusting him.

Faced with that kind of unconditional trust, Xu Xishuang felt even more guilty. He led him slowly to the Special Operations Bureau set, took the elevator to the second-floor conference room, and stopped outside the door.

Normally, with Yan Yushan’s sharp sense of direction and memory, he would’ve figured out where he was. But now, all his focus was on his eyes and wrist—on Xu Xishuang’s touch—and he didn’t notice anything else.

He couldn’t help wondering what Xu Xishuang was going to say to him. Every possibility made his heart beat faster.

When they finally stopped walking, Yan Yushan could tell they’d arrived. Xu Xishuang removed his hand from his eyes, and Yan Yushan eagerly opened them, meeting Xu Xishuang’s gaze.

In the dim light, his eyes seemed to glow—like shattered ice melting into warm spring water. Yan Yushan was completely captivated. He took a step closer, as if pulled in.

Xu Xishuang didn’t move. He looked into Yan Yushan’s eyes and suddenly smiled. The coldness vanished, replaced by gentle warmth. “Happy birthday.”

Yan Yushan froze.

Before he could react, Xu Xishuang turned quickly and pushed open the door in front of them.

As the door swung open, everyone inside erupted in cheers, “Happy birthday!!”

Handheld confetti burst into the air. Streamers and paper petals rained down, covering Yan Yushan and Xu Xishuang beside him too. With petals in their hair, standing side by side, they looked just like a couple being teased on their wedding day.

Yan Yao immediately clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle a scream but the hand holding her phone was rock steady, capturing this moment for the ages. As a CP fan, she was living her dream.

Director Cheng Tianwen stood at the door, laughing as he looked at Yan Yushan’s stunned expression. “Xiao Yan, are you happy?”

Yan Yushan paused for two seconds. “…I’m happy. Thank you, everyone.”

Only Yan Yushan knew that if Xu Xishuang hadn’t pushed that door open just now, if the people inside hadn’t shouted “happy birthday,” he definitely would have kissed him.

With a smile like that, how could he possibly hold back?

Xu Xishuang walked into the room and picked up a birthday hat from the cart Xiao Wang had pushed in with the cake. The hat was comically childish—pale yellow with a little red pom-pom on top—completely mismatched with Yan Yushan’s usual vibe.

Xu Xishuang hesitated, unsure how to convince him to wear it. But Yan Yushan had already walked over and casually took the hat from his hands, putting it on himself.

Everyone whooped and cheered, urging him to cut the cake.

Even with the ridiculous hat, Yan Yushan’s dominant aura didn’t waver one bit. He sliced the cake gracefully. The rest of the crew just watched each other and none of them dared to smash cake in his face. In the end, they all just ate quietly.

Xu Xishuang got a slice too. When their eyes met, Yan Yushan silently reminded him not to eat too much. Xu Xishuang gave a tiny nod and went back to his seat.

Once everyone was seated, the PR team turned off the lights and played a video on the projector.

It was a compilation of all the roles Yan Yushan had played since his debut—so many that it could rival those of veteran film emperors. Every scene was impeccable, and each character distinct. Xu Xishuang rested his chin on his hand as he watched, eyes quietly glowing.

He was so focused that he didn’t notice Yan Yushan, just a few seats away, turned his head slightly to silently watch his face.

When the video ended, thunderous applause broke out.

Since no one dared smear him with cake, they poured their energy into drinking. They were determined to get the birthday boy tipsy.

Three rounds in, nearly everyone was drunk—except Xu Xishuang, who couldn’t drink for health reasons. Yan Yushan, who had been pressured into the most shots, looked outwardly fine. But anyone with experience could tell that his eyes were off. He was absolutely drunk.

Because they had shooting the next day, Cheng Tianwen didn’t let things go too far. He waved and dismissed everyone.

He hiccuped. “Xiao Xu, mind helping Xiao Yan back to his room?”

“Sure,” Xu Xishuang nodded.

After drinking, Yan Yushan was even more silent than usual—his face blank, not saying a single word. Xu Xishuang reached out to lift his arm, trying to get him to lean on his shoulder.

At first, he didn’t move.

Then he slowly turned his head and looked at Xu Xishuang’s close-up face—almost as if trying to confirm something. His expression softened, and he stood up, letting Xu Xishuang guide him by the wrist. His steps were so steady that you would never guess he was drunk.

Xu Xishuang quietly let out a breath of relief. Thank god he wasn’t a messy drunk because otherwise, he really wouldn’t know how to get him back.

They were just about to reach the hotel when the man behind him suddenly spoke, “Gift.”

Xu Xishuang paused mid-step and turned back. “What?”

“My birthday gift,” Yan Yushan looked down at him. “Aren’t you giving me one?”