Chapter 326 Husband, Happy Birthday

Song Ni had been preoccupied with planning Tan Zheng's birthday for the past two days, and she hadn't slept well at night. Mostly, she had something on her mind, and it was her first time planning a birthday for Tan Zheng, so she felt there might be oversights. She suddenly remembered she hadn't made a list of some drinks yet. Tan Zheng had always wanted to try the cocktails she made, but she only made them according to her mood. If she felt inspired, she'd think about it. In fact, Tan Zheng had only had her drinks a few times. Song Ni felt ashamed, acknowledging that in the small matters of life, Tan Zheng had always been more considerate of her feelings. Song Ni wrote diligently, not even noticing when Tan Zheng followed her. The man, fearing he might startle Song Ni with a sudden noise, remained silent. It wasn't until Song Ni put down her pen, ready to return to her room, that Tan Zheng first returned to the room to wait. So, when Song Ni returned, she saw the man, who was supposed to be sleeping, already sitting on the bed waiting for her. For a moment, she felt guilty, fearing Tan Zheng might have found out something. Tan Zheng had initially thought Song Ni was busy with competition matters, but he knew Song Ni too well. Even with the slightest slip-up, he sensed something was amiss. "Tell me, what are you doing up in the middle of the night?" Song Ni disliked lying and spoke vaguely. "I just suddenly remembered something." This only made Tan Zheng more certain that Song Ni was hiding something from him again. She used to say whatever was on her mind. Song Ni got into bed and naturally wrapped her arms around Tan Zheng's waist, burying her head in his chest. "Why are you awake?" "If you're awake, then I'm awake." Before he was with Song Ni, Tan Zheng's sleep was very light. After being with Song Ni, he could sleep deeply, but as soon as Song Ni woke up, his body seemed to sense it and wake with her. Song Ni didn't dare say more, knowing how intelligent Tan Zheng was. Alas, she was really afraid to pull off surprises by hiding things anymore. She had been afraid to hide it from Tan Zheng when she learned to ride a motorcycle, and now she was hiding his birthday preparations. She was truly getting exhausted. Tan Zheng tightened his arms around her. "Since you finally have time off, just rest well. You've lost weight during this period." Song Ni replied. After the Duke learned of Tan Zheng's birthday, he sent gifts for a full week, all sorts of them, almost filling a small room. It was also clear that the Duke was deliberately trying to make his presence known; otherwise, why would he send something every day? Song Ni pondered for a while, and when the Duke's butler delivered something for the last time, she handed him an invitation. On Tan Zheng's birthday, Song Ni woke up very early. Tan Zheng, with his eyes closed, circled her waist, preventing her from leaving. "What are you getting up so early for?" Song Ni didn't break free. Instead, she leaned down and kissed the top of Tan Zheng's eyes, saying very seriously, "Happy birthday, husband." Tan Zheng's eyes snapped open instantly, his dark pupils locking onto Song Ni. Song Ni usually just called him by his name, and he didn't mind, finding the tone of her voice when she called his name lively and her slight capriciousness somewhat addictive. So, it didn't matter that they didn't have any pet names. They had been married for more than half a year, and Song Ni had called him "husband" so rarely that Tan Zheng almost couldn't remember what it felt like to hear that address. Hearing it now, he could clearly feel his heart pounding fiercely beneath his left chest, especially with Song Ni's eyes full of love. Tan Zheng swallowed and then kissed Song Ni's chin. "Thank you, wife." Song Ni smiled gently, like a virtuous and demure wife. She lowered her head and rested her forehead against Tan Zheng's. "You lie down for a bit longer. Come down when I call you, okay?" Seeing her mysterious demeanor, Tan Zheng had some inkling of what was going on. He propped his head up with his hand and gestured. Song Ni leaned in and kissed him again, then went downstairs. She intended to make Tan Zheng some birthday noodles first. Sheng Jiang and Huan Yuan were also up early. They had already called Song Ni to report the progress of the preparations. This birthday party required coordination among several parties. Song Ni glanced at the stairwell before starting to brief Sheng Jiang. Their idea was quite interesting: they had adopted a method similar to a series of challenges, setting up a game for Tan Zheng, with Song Ni at the end. Ah, they probably thought that offering Song Ni as a prize would be more tempting. And those mini-games would pay tribute to every competition Tan Zheng had participated in. It sounded a bit sentimental, but sentiment was the easiest way to ignite passion. Of course, these were just the beginnings. As the protagonist, Tan Zheng would naturally not be made to work hard. The specifics would be a collaboration between the club members and GN. They planned to demonstrate a recently developed but not yet released project to Tan Zheng first. Song Ni only took a general look; the specific implementation was handled by An. Compared to last time, when she made fish soup, she was now looking at delicious-looking eggs. Having failed last time, Song Ni was very aware of her limited culinary skills. After a call with Tan Zheng's mother, she asked someone to buy a special pan for frying eggs, one shaped like hearts. Song Ni was smarter this time. After making the noodles, she tasted them herself first. Once she felt they were decent, she called Tan Zheng down. Tan Zheng's eyes paused when he saw the bowl of noodles. The noodles looked very similar to what he ate as a child. He knew without a doubt how much effort Song Ni had put into making this bowl of noodles. Tan Zheng then remembered what Song Ni had said earlier. He seemed to have more things planned for later. So, the past two nights Song Ni had been busy not with her own affairs, but with preparing for his birthday. Seeing that Tan Zheng didn't speak, Song Ni felt a little uncertain. "Don't you like noodles? But it's your birthday today, so you should eat noodles." When had Song Ni ever been so nervous? Tan Zheng reached out and touched her face. "I like them." Then he sat down at the table. Song Ni handed him the chopsticks and added a reminder, "Remember not to bite them off." This was exactly what his mother said. Tan Zheng picked up his chopsticks and casually scooped some up. It was still a bit different. Song Ni had also put a sausage in the noodles, a flavored one. Fearing that her cooking might not suit Tan Zheng's taste, she thought that eating it with the sausage wouldn't be too bad. Under Song Ni's expectant gaze, Tan Zheng finally took his first bite. Upon tasting it, the man raised his eyebrows. He was somewhat surprised. Although the taste wasn't top-notch, it was quite good for breakfast. Seeing him pause, Song Ni became nervous. "You have to eat it even if it's not good, and don't bite it off!"