After a few minutes, Lin Xian came over with a bowl of noodles. "Ye Zi, happy birthday. Eating this bowl of longevity noodles will bring you smooth sailing and peace."
Ye Erlan looked at the bowl of noodles and felt an inexplicable urge to cry. In his memory, his mother would always prepare a bowl of longevity noodles for him on his birthday. But since that year, he had never had it again. Later, when he was abroad, he gradually got used to the local food culture and rarely ate noodles.
To be honest, this bowl of noodles didn't look very good. It was even over - cooked, without eggs or vegetables. It was just simple noodles with some chili oil floating on top. But the simplest things were the most precious.
He took the bowl and ate it in big mouthfuls. He almost choked and soon finished the whole bowl. Lin Xian was overjoyed. He knew his noodles must be good. Although this guy didn't say anything, judging from his eating speed, it was an affirmation of his cooking.
Many years later, when Lin Xian asked about that bowl of noodles again, Ye Erlan told him that the noodles were really not very delicious. They were over - cooked, with too much soy sauce and salt. But fortunately, the sincere care behind it was as precious as fine wine.
"Delicious, right? I knew my noodles would suit your taste."
Ye Erlan didn't say a word. He gulped down several mouthfuls of water. Lin Xian thought this guy was quite particular. There was red wine here, but he had to go and pour plain water. It was like pairing a different drink with each dish.
"Eat quickly. After that, go back early. You must be tired today."
They didn't say much after that. Most of the time, it was Lin Xian talking and Ye Erlan listening. The meal ended quickly, especially since neither of them ate much.
After the meal, Ye Erlan thought about whether to invite Lin Xian to stay and eat the cake. But then he remembered that this guy was a big star and had to manage his figure strictly, so he decided not to mention it.
"You should go back and rest early. Just leave the things here. I'll clean up later."
"Okay. You should also rest early. Don't stay up late at night. Contact me if you need anything."
When Lin Xian reached the door, he suddenly remembered something. He turned back and walked to Ye Erlan. "How about we add each other on WeChat? So we can send each other the photos taken today."
Only then did Ye Erlan realize that they hadn't even added each other on WeChat. Since he returned to China, although they had had all sorts of connections, to be honest, they hadn't met many times. Each meeting ended in a hurry. Today was a rare happy day.
"Don't you have my phone number? My WeChat ID is the same as my phone number."
Only then did Lin Xian leave with peace of mind. As soon as Ye Erlan finished cleaning up the plates, he heard a knock on the door. He thought maybe Lin Xian had left something in his house.
When he opened the door, he didn't see anyone, but there was a cake and a box of rose cakes on the ground.
The rose cakes looked familiar. Could it be that Lin Xian was the one the old man mentioned, the one who bought rose cakes for his lover?
This... It inexplicably made him feel a bit hot. Lin Xian, Lin Xian. Who would have thought that after all these years, he would still fall for you.
"Thank you for accompanying me to have a wonderful birthday today."
He took the things into the house. Then he faced a new problem. Xiao Mubai had also bought him a cake, and now Lin Xian had bought one too. Although he wasn't an entertainer who needed to strictly maintain his figure, he couldn't eat both cakes.
Eating one was a birthday ritual, but eating two would mean an invitation from the treadmill.
He placed the two cakes in front of him and looked at them for a while. One was a black forest mousse from his favorite cake shop in recent years, and the other was a rose mille - feuille of an unknown brand.
Finally, he chose the one full of the scent of flowers.
*
After Lin Xian got home, he quickly sent a friend request to Ye Erlan and then went to take a shower. When he came out of the shower, Ye Erlan had already accepted his request and sent the photos one by one.
"Sure enough, my Ye Zi has great photography skills. A random shot looks so high - end."
If someone else were there, they would definitely want to complain about him. Was he really praising Ye Erlan? It seemed more like he was boasting about his own photogenic and high - end appearance. He really deserved to be the most pretentious male star of the day.
After he sent Ye Erlan's photos back, he selected a nice photo of himself, quickly opened Weibo, and started editing a post.
"I really like the moment when you come towards me with the scent of flowers."
As the top - tier star, he was really amazing. Just one minute after the post was sent, the comments below exploded.
Xiaolinzi's Candy: "Ahhhhhhhh, hubby posted on Weibo. So handsome, so handsome."
Is it Abiu: "Is this perspective taken by He Yan again? Ahhhhh, it feels so much like a girlfriend's perspective. I'm so jealous."
Still in Love: "The one above, this wasn't taken by Sister He Yan. Although it looks similar, it's not her style. But I can't believe big brother would go on a carousel. He's so cute."
Bird Returning to the Forest: "Ahhhhhhh, I'm about to cry. Why do I feel like this is a secret confession? What 'I really like', what 'scent of flowers', what 'girlfriend's perspective'."
...
There was no doubt that Lin Xian's Weibo post was for Ye Erlan to see and also for everyone to see. Because he was in love, he wanted to tell the whole world about his feelings. Since homosexuality might not be widely accepted yet, and both he and Ye Erlan were public figures, he could only do it secretly like this.
But he wanted to tell everyone that the young man with the scent of flowers was the one he loved.
Looking at the fans' replies, he thought that there were still some smart ones who had noticed something. Just as he was about to reply, he saw a big fan reply below, "Isn't big brother's daily routine just talking nonsense and turning into a non - mainstream emotional anchor at night? Just get used to it. There's no such thing as a sweetheart. He can't even find a screen CP. Being a bachelor for so long is really a bummer."
The point was that it wasn't just one person. A group of big fans were mocking him below. The guy who he had initially thought was smart had actually defected and joined them.
This wasn't some non - mainstream nonsense at night. It was clearly a sincere confession.
No, no. He had to post another Weibo. Otherwise, what if Ye Erlan saw it and thought he was being non - mainstream at night? Then all his efforts would be in vain.
Thinking about it, he took another photo of Ye Erlan, a photo where his face couldn't be seen. "This looks a bit like a couple's photo. Perfect."
He immediately posted something new on Weibo. "Happy birthday [cake][cake][cake]."
The comments below exploded again. Although Lin Xian usually posted on Weibo, he didn't post very often. Posting two in one day was really rare. And with the frontal photo, it made the fans feel so sweet. But the person in the second photo should be his friend. He hadn't heard of any star in the circle having a birthday recently. Could it be an ordinary friend?
Although his face couldn't be seen, it was obvious that this friend was really good - looking. Even from just a very sideways profile, one could tell that he had a unique charm and good taste in clothes. Well, a handsome guy's friend was probably also handsome.
Mumu for the Forest: "Happy birthday!!!"
Missing Summer: "Why do I always feel like this photo is related to the previous Weibo post, that mysterious person with the scent of flowers."
Still Admiring: "Nonsense, nonsense. I think it's just that his friend had a birthday today, and he drank too much at the dinner. So in the previous post, he started his daily non - mainstream show. Could the person with the scent of flowers that big brother mentioned be a guy?"
Silent: "The one above, I suspect you've got the truth."
Say it: "Get out, you fake fan!!! What are you insinuating?"
...
Lin Xian got a bit annoyed as he read the comments. Forget it. He'd just leave it. Anyway, he had posted what he wanted to. He hadn't felt it before, but now sitting on the bed, he felt more and more sleepy.
Thinking that he had to get back to the filming set early tomorrow, he felt even sleepier. After lying in bed for a few minutes, he sleepily picked up his phone and sent Ye Erlan a good - night message.
Ye Erlan saw the message later. After eating some cake, he received several international calls from his old friends abroad. They all knew somehow and called to wish him a happy birthday one by one.
It was only until the last call that Ye Erlan suddenly asked how they got his phone number. They said it was Xiao Mubai who told them. They even blamed him for not telling them himself after knowing each other for so long. They thought he might have been secretly having fun alone when he was abroad.
Actually, it wasn't like that. When he was abroad, although Xiao Mubai would celebrate his birthday with him, most of the time, he just regarded that day as a day when Xiao Mubai came to play with him. It was ordinary, and they didn't deliberately celebrate it as a birthday. Xiao Mubai knew his thoughts, so they usually just had a meal together, and that was it.
After hanging up the phone, he saw Lin Xian's good - night message. He smiled and subconsciously replied with a good - night message.
If he knew what Lin Xian had done on Weibo, he wouldn't even say good - night. If he didn't delete Lin Xian's WeChat, it would already be giving him face. It was just such a flashy and irresponsible act. If it were exposed, it would surely cause a big stir.
Fortunately, Ye Erlan didn't check Weibo. Instead, he was completely immersed in thinking about today's events.
When he was a child, his birthday meant the whole family getting together. They would buy new clothes and shoes. Later, when the family's situation declined, they saved on new clothes. But that bowl of longevity noodles always accompanied him.
So Lin Xian's appearance today really filled the emptiness of so many years. They had fun and played together. The tenderness shown when Lin Xian helped him blow his hair in the morning, and that wonton shop. He had really put a lot of thought into it.
Especially the rose cakes. Ye Erlan always remembered what the old man said. It turned out that Lin Xian had really done so much for him. It might really be a pure and clean kind of love.