Zhu Yufeng Side Story • Birthday

"Lilith, where exactly are you taking me?"

Led by the hand by the girl walking ahead of him, Zhu Yufeng walked down a corridor and asked in confusion.

A strip of cloth covered his eyes, leaving the surroundings pitch-black to him. He could only let Lilith lead him along, lest he accidentally walk into a wall.

"Ah, don't be so impatient~" Lilith's voice came from ahead. "We'll be there soon. This is a surprise I prepared just for you!"

A surprise? As long as it wasn't a scare.

After walking a little farther, faint light seeped through the blindfold and reached his eyes. That told him they had probably arrived.

"All right, we're here. Now I'm going to take off your blindfold."

Pop!

Zhu Yufeng instinctively tensed. With his eyes covered, he couldn't see what had happened in front of him, nor did he know what Lilith was up to.

Though Lilith had assured him that she was no longer interested in killing him, and he was not so easily killed now that he was a Fusion Warrior, still...

He still couldn't completely trust Lilith. They were only partners.

Hm? Something seemed to have drifted onto his face... This feeling...

Then the cloth tied over his eyes loosened, and the world abruptly brightened.

"Happy birthday, Feng! (Boss!)"

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw Kevin and Elysia standing on either side, dressed in formal wear and holding simple party poppers. Besides them were Eden, Xila, Rovoc, Esmodius, Abaddon, and Nahamah.

Between them sat an exquisite cake.

Zhu Yufeng froze, then looked at the confetti scattered all over the floor. So that was what had drifted onto his face just now?

"Happy... birthday?" Zhu Yufeng repeated instinctively, then turned to Lilith behind him. "Lilith, what exactly is this...?"

"It's a birthday party specially prepared for you~" Lilith smiled mischievously. "Consider it repayment for taking care of me while I was unconscious~"

A birthday party prepared for him...

"Lilith planned this birthday party all by herself. Honestly, I was surprised when I came to help set everything up. I never thought Lilith could be so capable~" Elysia said with a smile. "Feng, you'd better accept a girl's feelings properly~"

Zhu Yufeng gave Elysia an odd look. For a moment, he had no idea what to say. Did Elysia think Lilith had some kind of feelings for him?

It would already be best if Lilith stopped thinking about killing him.

Or was Elysia actually telling him to look ahead and not hang himself from one tree?

Was that it...

Zhu Yufeng smiled at everyone. "Thank you, all of you. And of course, special thanks to the organizer of this party, the great Miss Lilith."

"Hey, why does your tone get so weird whenever you talk to me?" Lilith said unhappily. "What do you mean, 'the great Miss Lilith'? Can't you just speak normally?"

"Wasn't I speaking normally?" Zhu Yufeng teased. "I used an honorific for you and added a positive modifier before your name."

Lilith: "..."

Why was he spouting such obvious nonsense, yet she had no way to refute him?!

"All right, enough joking." Zhu Yufeng looked around at the decorations and smiled faintly. "Thank you for holding this birthday party for me, Lilith."

"I'll barely count that as passing." Lilith put her hands on her hips.

Kevin lowered the party popper in his hand. Watching Zhu Yufeng and Lilith interact, he wore a thoughtful expression before saying to Zhu Yufeng, "Lilith made this cake herself too."

"You can make cakes?" Zhu Yufeng looked at Lilith in surprise. He knew she could cook, but he had never dared eat anything Lilith made before.

Lilith narrowed her eyes at Zhu Yufeng. "What made you think I couldn't make a cake?"

"Then I should apologize. Sorry, Lilith. I was shallow-minded." Zhu Yufeng smiled and looked at the cake Lilith had made. He had to admit, it was quite exquisite.

"Originally, I wanted to pay someone to custom-make a cake, but Lilith firmly opposed it. It wasn't until I saw the finished product that I realized her skills were no worse than those of a first-rate pastry chef," Nahamah said. "Though I still think your birthday cake should be made by the best chef in the world, Boss."

"I've told you, I'm younger than you. Stop calling me Boss all the time, Nahamah," Zhu Yufeng said helplessly. "And besides, there's really no need for something like that."

"You saved my life. How could anything be unnecessary?" Nahamah shrugged. "I don't have much of anything, except money... Though I'm not as rich as Miss Eden. Besides, you're my benefactor and my captain. What's wrong with calling you Boss?"

No, had he forgotten that he was also a young nobleman?

"That's right, we haven't even brought out our gifts yet!" Elysia said as she pulled out a carefully wrapped pink gift box. "Ta-da! This is a gift I spent several days specially preparing for you~ How is it? Isn't the wrapping cute? Don't you want to open it right now?"

"Mm, it really is wrapped in your usual adorable style." Zhu Yufeng accepted the gift box from Elysia. "Though I do want to open it now, I'd like to wait until I get back to keep the surprise intact. Is that okay?"

Please forgive him, but he did not want anyone else seeing the gift Elysia had given him. This was the last little bit of possessiveness he had toward Elysia.

"Of course that's fine~ It's a gift for you, after all~" Elysia said with a smile. "And it really isn't suitable to open it right now either~"

"This is a gift from Mei and me. Mei still has an experiment today and couldn't make it. Sorry," Kevin said apologetically as he handed over his gift.

"It's fine. I understand. This is... a sapphire pendant? It looks pretty nice. Thank you, both of you," Zhu Yufeng said as he looked at Kevin's pendant.

"Because where we're from, September's birthstone is sapphire," Kevin said. "If you like it, then that's the best outcome."

"Next is me!" Nahamah directly placed a crown on Zhu Yufeng's head. "I had this crown specially made. You can think of it as a birthday hat too. It might be a little heavy since it's pure gold, but for a Fusion Warrior, that's nothing."

"Nahamah, you know Feng doesn't like such gaudy things." Abaddon spoke with a headache, then stepped in front of Zhu Yufeng. "This is my gift. Like Kevin's, it's a medal made using your birthstone."

"You call me gaudy, but you still used gemstones as decoration," Nahamah shot back.

"At least I didn't embed a pile of gemstones into a pure gold crown," Abaddon retorted. "You used to be a young nobleman from Australia, didn't you? Can't you show a little taste when giving gifts?"

"Huh? You said it yourself, that was in the past. Feng is the Boss I sincerely acknowledge. How could I give him fake things like I did before? Besides, this was made by a world-class master craftsman, and you're saying I have no taste?"

"Who gives someone a crown as a birthday gift?"

"Am I not someone?"

Ignoring their usual bickering, Xila stepped forward and said bluntly, "I don't know what a gift is, nor do I know what would make you happy. So tell me what you want, and I'll go get it right now."

"Uh... You don't need to go to so much trouble. I accept the thought, thank you, Xila." Zhu Yufeng patted Xila's head.

"Next is me. I also brought Dr. Mobius's gift with me when I came," Rovoc said, taking out both his own gift and Mobius's. "This watch was modified by Vill-V and me. It's fully equipped and will be very convenient in daily life."

"My gift should already be outside your dorm room by now." Eden smiled. "It's a little too large, so it wouldn't be very suitable to give it to you here."

If you can't find the book by searching its title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

"That certainly makes me curious," Zhu Yufeng said with a smile.

"This is my gift. It's a bone carving, so be careful with it," Esmodius said with a smile as she placed her gift on a nearby table.

Zhu Yufeng glanced at it, then looked at Esmodius. "The raw material is...?"

Don't tell me it's made of human bones!

"Just some animal bones, don't worry." Esmodius smiled. "Abaddon watched me make it. He can vouch for me."

Zhu Yufeng looked at Abaddon, who nodded.

That was good...

"All right, now that the gifts have been given, it's time to make a wish~" Lilith switched off the lights. "Make a wish, Feng. Remember, you have to blow them all out in one breath! Otherwise, your wish won't come true."

"Why are you acting just like Elysia?" Zhu Yufeng said speechlessly. "How could something like this possibly..."

"How would you know if you don't try?" Lilith said with a smile. "You can tell us your wish too. We can all think of a way to make it come true."

"I approve~" Elysia raised her hand with a beaming smile.

"If it's your wish..." Xila raised her hand like Elysia had. "No matter what it is, I'll definitely help make it come true!"

"I think we should respect Feng's wishes," Abaddon said, trying to smooth things over. "Whether someone wants to voice a wish is up to the person, isn't it?"

"Go ahead and say it. As long as it's something money can solve, leave it to me. I'll definitely handle it!" Nahamah said, thumping his chest.

Rovoc remained as rational as ever. "By universal rational standards, making birthday wishes is inherently illusory and lacks any theoretical basis. If you say it aloud, the possibility of it coming true will be greater."

Looking around at everyone, Zhu Yufeng smiled. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you all. I think I'd rather fulfill my wish myself." Then he lowered his head to look at the cake Lilith had made, the smile at the corner of his lips gradually fading.

A wish...

What wish could he possibly have?

Should he wish for Elysia to like him? Or wish that he could return to his own world?

Neither meant anything. To some extent, he had already achieved the former, though not in the way he wanted. As for the latter... he saw no hope in it.

A wish only had meaning when it was realistic.

There was only one thing he could strive toward now, one thing for which he had a direction. That was...

I hope I can reverse the fate of the Thirteen Heroes of Fire Moth and change that regrettable ending. Their destinies should not sink together with this era... Especially Elysia. She should see the next era and personally witness the flower of humanity bloom from the seeds she sowed.

Having made the wish he had held since before crossing over, Zhu Yufeng blew out the candles.

Lilith turned on the lights, while Elysia had already picked up the long serrated cake knife. "Feng, you're the star of this party. Will you cut the cake yourself, or should I do it? I'm getting a little impatient to taste the cake made by the lovely Miss Lilith~"

"Since Lilith made it, I should do it." Zhu Yufeng stepped forward and took the long serrated knife from Elysia. He had no other thoughts. Since Lilith was willing to organize this party for him, she was at least sending him a signal that their relationship could go a step further.

No longer a cooperative relationship built on mutual exploitation, but the first step toward becoming "friends."

Then he needed to respond to Lilith properly too.

After the party ended, Lilith took the initiative to help Zhu Yufeng carry the gifts back to his dorm. Abaddon had already been drunk under the table by Nahamah, so Nahamah had no choice but to carry him back. Kevin still needed to bring cake to Mei, and seeing that Lilith would help Zhu Yufeng carry some gifts, he said nothing before taking his leave. Rovoc left midway because he still had experiments to do. Xila and Elysia had originally planned to help carry some things too, but Zhu Yufeng said he and Lilith were enough, so they did not insist.

On the way back to the dorm.

"I thought you would agree to let Elysia come," Lilith said as she held the gifts.

"Give me a break. I'm not ready for her to see my dorm yet," Zhu Yufeng said with a bitter smile. "I don't want her to suspect that I have mental problems."

"Why not just tell her? After all, all the damage in your dorm was caused when you couldn't endure the side effects anymore."

"No... I... don't want her looking at me like that... Those concerned eyes, they really..."

"Heh... Do whatever you want."

"By the way, thank you so much for today's party."

"Didn't you already thank me?"

"I feel like I should say it again. After all, this counts as progress in our relationship, doesn't it?"

"...Yeah. Say, hasn't Elysia ever held a birthday party for you before?"

"How could she have? Elysia and I... aren't at that stage in our relationship yet... Besides, even with Kevin, it was only because he was depressed. I don't want Elysia to see me as some mentally ill patient who needs looking after."

"...What a good opportunity."

"I don't need that kind of opportunity."

When they arrived at his dorm room, Zhu Yufeng finally learned that Eden's gift was a harp. But he knew nothing at all about music.

"It's for display. It generally isn't used for playing," Lilith said, rolling her eyes and mocking his ignorance.

After putting away the gifts, Lilith suddenly took out another exquisitely wrapped gift box. "Here. This is for you."

"I thought your gift was the cake..." Zhu Yufeng said in surprise.

"What? I never said that was the gift I was giving you." Lilith turned and left. "When it's my birthday, remember to give me something in return."

Zhu Yufeng looked down at Lilith's gift. After thinking for a moment, he opened it together with Elysia's gift.

"Crystal Flower Seeds? And an instruction manual?" Zhu Yufeng opened the handwritten instructions from Elysia. "Plant them, then wait a few days for them to sprout and bloom... Wait, weren't these Crystal Flower Seeds made by Elysia herself using Honkai Energy? Honkai Energy can be used like this?"

Lilith's gift was a ring. It looked quite exquisite, though he had no idea what it was meant to signify...

Setting down the ring, Zhu Yufeng looked at the clock on the wall and muttered, "My birthday..."

The young man looked at the familiar wrapping style before him. Who had left it outside his door was obvious without saying.

"Elysia..." The young man picked up the gift box and muttered to himself, "Right. Today... is my birthday."

He walked into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror: silver hair, silver eyes, cold, gloomy...

He placed his fingers at the corners of his mouth, trying to force a smile, but the moment he removed them, his expression returned to normal.

He sighed, took the gift box, and left his dorm room. Finding Kevin, he said, "Kevin, help me return this to Elysia."