Thirty-First Birthday

At the airport, Xiang Kun and his parents, who had initially thought only Xiang Kun would be there to pick them up, or at most Xia Xia, were surprised to see a dozen or so people standing next to Xiang Kun.

What's going on? It's like a tour group!

After Xiang Kun took the luggage bags from his parents, Xia Libing, who was following behind him, naturally greeted them, saying "Hello, Auntie" and "Hello, Uncle".

Then came the slightly nervous Little Chubby Girl, who looked up and enthusiastically greeted, "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma!"

Both Xiang's parents were taken aback, and the others who had come with Xiang Kun to pick them up also fell silent. Then, after a second or so, the Little Chubby Girl, realizing what had happened, quickly added, "Hello, Grandpa Xiang! Hello, Grandma Shen!"

Before coming to pick up Xiang Kun at the airport today, Shiling's Mother, knowing about this, specifically instructed her daughter that she absolutely must not call him "Bald Grandpa" or "Bald Grandma," but must call him "Grandpa Xiang" and "Grandma Shen"—Xiang 'Mom Xiang's surname is Shen.

So while waiting at the airport, the Little Chubby Girl kept muttering to herself, "Hello Grandpa and Grandma Shen, hello Grandpa and Grandma Shen."

But as soon as she saw her Mom Xiang Dad Xiang, she spoke quickly and it became "Hello, Grandpa and Grandma."

"Hey! Sweetie, you're Little Bell, right? Oh my, so cute!" After a brief burst of imagination, Mom Xiang quickly recognized the chubby little girl as the little girl Xiang Kun had video-called on New Year's Eve. At that time, Dad Xiang had been muttering, "Could she be the daughter Xiang Kun secretly had outside?" Then Mom Xiang subtly inquired with Xiang Kun to verify, and learned about Liu Shiling's identity.

However, this was the first time the Little Chubby Girl had met the two, so she quickly continued to introduce herself, "Hello Grandpa Xiang and Grandma Shen, my name is Liu Shiling, I am... I am..."

She originally wanted to say, "I'm Uncle Xiang's neighbor," but then she realized that her family had moved a long, long time ago and they weren't Uncle Baldy's neighbors anymore, so that wasn't the right thing to say. Besides, just "neighbor's child" sounded a bit lame.

But as she racked her brains, she couldn't think of a good definition. Saying he was the bald uncle's "magic apprentice" or "follower" did sound more impressive than "neighbor's kid," but that would give away the secret, so she couldn't say it.

After thinking for a while, Liu Shiling finally decided on the title for herself. "I am the parent of Egg Pie, Grandpa Xiang and Grandma Shen. Egg Pie is a very cute little kitten. I'll bring it to you to see later. It's very well-behaved."

Although she didn't know why the Little Chubby Girl was associating herself with a cat, Mom Xiang couldn't help but adore her adorable little expression and couldn't stop laughing, "Alright, alright, you can take Grandma to see the Egg Pie later, Grandma likes cats too."

Holding the Little Chubby Girl's hand, Mom Xiang greeted the others, and the first ones she saw were Chang Bin and Zi Cheng: "Hey! I recognize you, you are Xiang Kun's college classmates, and even the same dormitory. Your name is... your name is Chang Cheng! Your name is Liu Bin! Right?" When Xiang Kun was in college, he brought Chang Bin and Zi Cheng to Citong one summer vacation, so Mom Xiang Dad Xiang had met them before.

Xiang Kun, standing to the side, was both amused and exasperated. "Mom, you might as well just call them Changcheng and Wanli. This is Chang Bin, who used to work in Shenhai just like me. This is Liu Chuang, we all call him Zicheng. And that's his girlfriend... oh, now his fiancée? This is his fiancée, Chu Xiaoting, she's from Haixi."

Then Tang Baona and her sister came over to greet them, "Hello, Uncle and Auntie, I'm Tang Baoting, and this is my sister Tang Baona. We're friends with Xiang Kun, and now we're also business partners, running a company together."

Yang Zhen'er couldn't help but laugh from the side, "Nana, don't be nervous!"

"I'm not nervous at all," Tang Baona glared at her friend.

"Nana, what did you just say your name was?" Yang Zhen'er asked with a smile.

"My name is... uh, Uncle and Aunt, I'm sorry, I misspoke. My name is Tang Baona, and this is my older sister, Tang Baozhen... no, Tang Baoting. You can call me Nana..." Although Tang Baona's expression seemed calm, her words did sound quite nervous.

Tang Baoting also smiled and explained on behalf of her sister, "Nana gets nervous easily around elders; she's an honest child."

Dad Xiang's Mom Xiang naturally smiled and said it was nothing, but Xiang Kun looked at Tang Baona with a somewhat strange expression.

Then Yang Zhen'er volunteered to introduce Zhang Qian and Little Apple to Dad Xiang 'Mom Xiang: "Uncle and Aunt, my Yang Zhen'er, and I'm also a business partner of our Xiang Da... you know, Brother Xiang. This is President Zhang Qian, our major business partner, a wealthy heiress, a big capitalist. We, the smaller partners, all have to look up to her..."

"Yang the Third, you're making things up again! You're the big capitalist, your whole family are big capitalists!" Zhang Qian almost couldn't help but kick Yang the Third, then put on a smiling face and said to Dad Xiang's Mom Xiang, "Uncle and Aunt, don't listen to Zhen'er's nonsense. Our cooperation with Xiang Kun is very good and very successful. We are not only partners, but also good friends."

Yang Zhen'er then put her arm around Little Apple's shoulder and introduced her to Dad Xiang 'Mom Xiang: "This is Li Jun, we all call her Little Apple. Although she is blind, her hearing is super good. She walks and lives just like a normal person, she's very capable. Her father is a university professor and a good friend of Brother Xiang."

So, as Mom Xiang walked out of the airport, she held the Little Chubby Girl's hand with her right hand and Little Apple's hand with her left, while Dad Xiang listened to Zhang Qian and Yang Zhen'er introduce their company's products and current situation, and also praised Xiang Kun's "talent".

Tang Baona was a few steps behind, couldn't help but want to cover her face. Her older sister, Tang Baoting, smiled and comforted her, "It's okay, it's normal to be nervous when meeting your parents for the first time. I don't mind switching your names with yours. From now on, you can be called Tingting, and I'll be called Nana, haha."

Tang Baona pinched her sister, about to say something, when she noticed that Xiang Kun had also deliberately lagged behind a few steps, waiting for the two of them.

"Oh, isn't this Tingting's older sister, Nana? It's an honor to meet you here," Xiang Kun said to Tang Baoting with a forced smile.

Tang Baoting smiled and said, "Yes, I'm Nana. You must be Xiang Bin, Chang Kun's friend. Hello, hello."

Their interruption stopped Tang Baona from dwelling on her earlier embarrassment, and she joined in the laughter and banter with them.

This large group of people arrived in four cars, making a grand entrance, and headed directly to the manor-style restaurant that Zhang Qian had previously Xiang Kun and Tang Baona to eat at twice.

Since there were many of them that evening, Zhang Qian booked a small courtyard where only the group of them were present. Three large tables were set up in the main hall.

Yang Jie, Yang Zhuo, Xiao Min, Xia Tianhuo, and others who did not go with Xiang Kun to pick up his parents stayed here. So when Xiang Kun and his family arrived with their parents, Yang Zhen'er volunteered to introduce the other people to Dad Xiang Mom Xiang.

"This is my cousin, Xia Tianhuo' means 'adding oil and vinegar,' and 'huo' means 'burning one's bottom,'" Yang Zhen'er said, patting Xia Tianhuo on the shoulder.

Xia Tianhuo first politely greeted Xiang Kun's parents, then slapped Yang Zhen'er's hand away, saying with a wry smile, "Why do I feel like you're insulting me?"

Mom Xiang asked curiously, "This... Mr. Huo also has the surname Xia, and he's Zhen'er's cousin. I remember you're Xia's cousin, Zhen'er? So, what's going on between you two...?"

Xia Libing nodded. "Auntie guessed right, he is my cousin's cousin, and also my cousin."

Yang Zhen'er smiled and continued, "My dad and Lao Xia... and Xia's mom are siblings, and my mom and Big Guy's mom are sisters. In short, we're all family! Auntie, don't let Big Guy's big size fool you. He looks really fierce when he's not smiling, but he's actually quite adorable and a very honest kid."

"What do you mean by 'adorable and clueless'... Is that how you describe your cousin?" Xia Tianhuo was both amused and exasperated.

Yang Zhen'er then introduced Yang Jie, Yang Zhuo, and Xiao Min to Dad Xiang Mom Xiang. After the official release and huge success of the game "Voice Genesis," Yang Zhuo's admiration for Xiang Kun had increased several levels.

Upon meeting Xiang Kun's parents, Yang Zhuo could no longer suppress his "number one Xiang Kun fan" and "die-hard Xiang Kun supporter" spirit, and began to enthusiastically Xiang Kun's abilities.

Then, the conversation naturally turned to the Xiang Kun, Zhang Qian, and Tang Baona co-founded, as well as their recent blockbuster products. Strictly speaking, most of the people having dinner together today are partners and shareholders, regardless of the size of their shareholdings; they are all participants.

Although Dad Xiang's Mom Xiang usually only play small mobile games like Dou Dizhu and Mahjong, and don't have much exposure to new things or big-budget games, <Voice Genesis> is so popular that even if they haven't played it themselves, they've seen others play it, seen promotions on some platforms, and heard the name.

So when Xiang 'Mom Xiang found out that the famous and recently popular game was actually developed Dad Xiang their son's direction, they were quite surprised.

They genuinely wanted to celebrate Xiang Kun's birthday with him, so they suggested going to Shenhai. However, when Xiang Kun suddenly said that he was no longer working in Shenhai and had been in Peng City, the elderly couple's first reaction was that their son had lost his job and was embarrassed to tell them.

After hearing at the airport that Xiang Kun was starting a company with a partner, they felt that their son's new company might have an uncertain future, so they didn't dare tell them, for fear of worrying them.

But now, upon listening, it seems that Xiang Kun and his friends' company, and the products they make, despite being in a short period of time, are actually quite successful?

In other words, can the son be considered to have succeeded in his business, or taken a major step towards success?

Although as parents, Dad Xiang's Mom Xiang had a fairly detailed understanding of Xiang Kun's abilities and knew that he was a person who could calm down and work diligently, they still had an upper limit to their perception of their son's abilities.

Now, under the somewhat exaggerated descriptions of Yang Zhuo and Zhang Qian, the "Kun fans," they were momentarily stunned—had their son really become this amazing?

Originally, Tang Baona, Yang Zhen'er, Zhang Qian, and the others planned to throw a birthday party for Xiang Kun secretly, as a surprise for Xiang Kun.

But now that Dad Xiang and Mom Xiang are here, it's best not to go through all those fancy things. After everyone had a sumptuous meal together, they simply asked the restaurant staff to bring up the large cake they had ordered.

Then, naturally, Liu Shiling led the singing of Happy Birthday: "Black-skinned Persian, black...

Just like on Lao Xia's birthday, Yang the Third personally guided Little Chubby Girl Niu through the English lyrics of the "Happy Birthday" song, word by word.

As soon as the song ended, it drew a burst of laughter. Chang Bin, however, asked Zi Cheng next to him with a puzzled look, "What is Ang Kou Bo De?"

Zicheng, who had attended Lao Xia's birthday party, immediately understood and laughed with Chang Bin, "Uncle is the same as 'Shushu' (叔叔), and Bald is the same as 'Bald,' so it's bald uncle, haha, it must be Yang the Third's doing!"

"Uncle Bald? Hahahaha..." Chang Bin also realized what was happening and couldn't stop laughing. He then ran to find Yang Zhen'er, who had just recorded a video, and asked her to send it to him. He wanted to send the Little Chubby Girl's "Happy Birthday to Uncle Bald" song to his wife Wang Han.

Not only were the young people laughing uncontrollably, but Dad Xiang Mom Xiang joined in the laughter after Tang Baona explained the situation. Mom Xiang couldn't help but tease her son, saying, "I told him not to get such a big bald head! It's too obvious. He might not just become a bald uncle, but a bald brother, a bald old man, a bald grandpa, a bald uncle, or even a bald master! If any girls like him, their parents will probably worry that he was just released from prison or recently returned to secular life, and whether their children will also go bald in the future..."

After singing "Happy Birthday," Xiang Kun made a wish, then stood there motionless as everyone smeared cake cream all over his face and forehead.

At first, considering that Mom Xiang Dad Xiang there, everyone was a bit restrained and only smeared a finger's worth of cream on his cheeks and forehead.

But when Lao Xia slapped a large chunk of cream onto Xiang Kun's bald head, everyone couldn't help but follow suit. As a result, the cream on Xiang Kun's head was two or three centimeters thick, making it look like it had run out halfway through a hair wash.

After having fun, everyone gave Xiang Kun gifts and then took Xiang Mom Xiang Dad Xiang to their hotel to rest.

The Little Chubby Girl fell asleep on the sofa while eating her cake. Xiang Kun and Yang Zhen'er took Little Chubby Girl home to rest. Shiling's Mother had just gotten off work and gone home. Zhang Qian had originally given her a day off and wanted her to come over for dinner, but she declined because she was worried that her other colleagues were working overtime.

When leaving the restaurant, Zhang Qian took Xia Libing, Yang Jie, Xiao Min, and a few others with her.

She glanced at Xia Libing, who was sitting in the passenger seat with a backpack, and asked casually, "Lao Xia, don't you really like C brand bags?" In private now, she also calls him "Lao Xia" like Xiang Kun and Yang Zhen'er; calling him "Ms. Xia" in private does feel too formal.

She gave Xia Libing a luxury brand backpack as a birthday gift last time, but Xia Libing is still carrying that slightly old, large backpack.