After midnight

For several days in a row, Su Ziling hurried out after dinner. An Yan knew what he was doing, so he never asked Su Ziling. It was just a birthday, but Su Ziling seemed to have put a lot of effort into it.

An Yan turned the pages of the book with his fingertips. He mostly spent his time alone during the day. He stared at the pages and couldn't understand why Su Ziling was so bothered, but perhaps he didn't know either. Although he was absent-minded at the moment, his eyes inevitably showed a smile, although it was only for a brief moment.

An Yan closed the book and the days passed by in a flash.

On the morning of the 21st, An Yan got up early as usual to prepare breakfast for them. He cooked the porridge in an orderly manner, and then broke and cleaned the lettuce he bought yesterday. He planned to simply stir-fry some vegetables and boil two eggs. But today was destined to be an unusual day. He heard a bang on the stairs, and then Xiao Su rushed into the kitchen shouting Happy Birthday.

Xiao Su hugged him and put her head on his waist. He hugged her back and said thank you with a smile.

Su Ziling followed almost immediately, without washing his face or changing out of his pajamas. He said happy birthday to An Yan awkwardly and ran away immediately without waiting for An Yan's reply.

"What tricks are you playing?" An Yan asked while pinching Xiao Su's face.

"Yesterday, Ling and I made a bet about who would be the first to say happy birthday to you, and it turned out to be me. I won!"

"Okay, go upstairs and clean up. Come down for dinner later." An Yan patted Xiao Su's head.

"Yeah." Xiao Su skipped away.

After Xiao Su left, An Yan turned on the gas and lit the fire. He poured a little oil, put in some garlic, and then put all the lettuce into the pot. The oil sizzled, and a hot day began.

"Ahem." After finishing his meal, Su Ziling coughed a few times in a pretentious manner. When An Yan looked at him, he took out an invitation from behind and motioned for An Yan to take it.

An Yan took it, but before he opened it, Su Ziling said, "Dear Mr. An Yan, please go to the Black and White Bar at 7 o'clock tonight. Please remember to go alone."

"Alone?" An Yan was quite surprised.

"Yes, Dad, Ling and I will go there early. So please be there on time at seven o'clock."

"Okay, I understand." An Yan cooperated and wanted to open the invitation.

"Well." Su Ziling quickly stopped him. "Let's look at the invitation after we leave."

Is there anything special about this invitation? An Yan stared at the red cover and put it down obediently. He picked up the bowl and walked to the kitchen. When An Yan came out of the kitchen three minutes later, the two had disappeared. He took the eye-catching red cover and opened it lightly.

The invitation was written in black pen: Dear Anyan, happy 18th birthday!

Then below this line of words, there are two different names signed - Su Ziling and An Xiaosu.

This is not an invitation. How can you write a greeting card when you are so old? An Yan took the invitation with a signature that was obviously different from the original and took it upstairs.

An Yan returned to the room and opened the wardrobe placed in the corner. The two rows of wardrobes were divided into two halves. The inner side of the left wardrobe had a row of lattice grids. On the top of the lattice grids was a cashmere coat and a blue-gray scarf. The scarf was obviously hand-knitted, and they were neatly placed there, quietly occupying a corner.

The scarf was a birthday gift from Lin Nuan last year. As if knowing that he was afraid of the cold, Lin Xuanfeng also gave him something warm, which was the coat covered by the scarf. However, this coat was red, and An Yan had never worn it. If his senior brother knew that he disliked the bright color of the coat, he would definitely scold him.

An Yan lowered his head and was lost in thought for a while, then placed the greeting card on top of the scarf. He closed the closet and went downstairs.

At six o'clock in the evening, An Yan set out alone. After a peaceful day, he didn't know why his heart was beating wildly. An Yan looked at the neon lights on the street and walked into Xishui International. As he expected, the door of the "Black and White" bar was closed. An Yan stared blankly. He couldn't guess what was going on inside, just a wall away.

It was seven o'clock, and An Yan reached out and pushed the door open and went in.

Colorful fireworks fell from the sky, and cheers rushed to the front. An Yan's eyes swept across familiar faces one after another, but he didn't completely identify who those people were until he walked in from the door. Yin, Wuying, Su Ziling, Xu Xing, Bai Ming, Lu Li and Lin Nuan... He recalled the people who just stood together, and then he saw the whole picture of this bar.

All the tables and chairs in the bar were removed, leaving only a few in the middle of the venue to form a dining table. On the long dining table, the hot pot was bubbling and steaming, surrounded by various dishes. An Yan didn't know what dishes were there. At this time, An Yan couldn't notice them no matter how careful he was. He raised his head and looked at the back wall.

A stage was specially built in front of the back wall, and a microphone was placed on the stage decorated with balloons and ribbons. The red microphone was particularly conspicuous against the dark background, just like the clothes he wore today, the cashmere coat that Lin Xuanfeng gave him last year.

"Dad, you look so good today." Xiao Su broke out from the crowd and said in amazement.

"Happy birthday, Brother An Yan!" He and Ajiu ran over and called him. An Yan smiled at them in response.

"An Yan, I think we should eat first." Yin said.

"Okay, let's sit down and eat." So everyone gathered around and sat down.

The best seat facing the stage was naturally reserved for the birthday boy, and the others took their seats one by one. An Xiaosu and Su Ziling took the seats to An Yan's right, while Yin and He took the seats to his left. Ajiu sat next to He, and Lin Nuan happened to be opposite Wu Ying. Xu Xing and Bai Ming consciously sat at the back, and of course Xiao Wu was also there.

"I'm sorry, Ye and the others can't come because of something else. On their behalf, I wish you a happy 18th birthday!" Yin was very happy.

"Thank you. No need to say sorry. Thank them for me too."

"Why are you so polite suddenly? Serve the food quickly." Su Ziling said.

The mutton and beef were put into the pot first. After a while, the pot surface was calm and then began to boil. When the meat was cooked, An Yan reached out and took a piece to taste it first. The meat was rich and fragrant.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" Su Ziling asked.

"Delicious." An Yan nodded.

The birthday boy had already picked up his chopsticks, so the others were not polite at all. In a few seconds, the meat came out of the pot and fell into their mouths. After the first bite of meat, no one cared about what to put in or what to eat. It all became instinct. The long dining table suddenly became lively.

“Wuying, where did you buy your lipstick? Can you take me around tomorrow?” Lin Nuan said.

"Of course, I remember that mall is very close to here."

"Ajiu, I heard you live in the dormitory now. Is it fun?"

"is acceptable."

"Then I'll go play games with you?"

"When?"

"I want to go too." Xiao Su interrupted.

"Then tell me when you have a day off and I'll go." After answering Ajiu's words, He said to Xiao Su, "I can take you, but you are not allowed to make trouble."

"Huh, I'm really good at playing games."

"When did you become good at playing games?" An Yan suddenly asked.

Xiao Su quickly shut up when she heard this. She pouted and glanced at Su Ziling silently. Su Ziling opened his eyes wide and quickly proved his innocence to An Yan. He and Ajiu didn't care about this. When they saw Xiao Su being humiliated, they laughed happily.

"An Yan, here." Xu Xing walked over and handed him a can of beer, and then distributed the rest to other people.

"Thank you."

"Happy birthday." Xu Xing said and walked back to his seat.

When the beer was distributed and everyone had a can, Yin said, "I suggest that everyone take one, and you know what to say."

"I know!" After the response sounded one after another, the ring pull sound also fell one by one. Everyone seemed to be particularly interested tonight. Perhaps, they also wanted to take advantage of An Yan's birthday to take a breath.

An Yan had no choice but to pull the ring.

Three kids held up orange juice, and everyone else stood up holding up beer. An Yan also stood up.

"Happy 18th birthday to An Yan!"

With a bang, the beer cans collided and made a cheer.

So many friends didn't talk about anything and put everything aside to celebrate his birthday. It would be a lie for An Yan to say that he was not happy. But he remained calm after the cheers died down, said thank you stiffly, and sat down. He took a sip of beer, letting the cool and astringent taste spread in his mouth. He drank beer, and when the steaming hot pot hit him, he told himself that this was not for a better feeling, but for sobriety.

An Yan lowered his head, looked at the small opening made by the pull ring, and took another sip.

This noisy meal slowly came to an end at 8:30. An Yan finished his last sip of beer and wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue. He looked at the lazy people who were still sitting in their seats and felt that tonight would not end so easily. He waited for a while and saw Wu Si walk to the bar and bring out something with both hands.

Oh, time to eat cake.

The cake's packaging had been removed, and Wu Si walked over carefully holding it.

Before Wu Si came to An Yan's eyes, everyone had already stood up. They were waiting to celebrate An Yan's birthday again, which was an indispensable part of the birthday celebration.

An Yan also stood up, his gaze glued to the cake like everyone else's.

Wu Si came up to him, and An Yan saw clearly what was on the cake - there was nothing on it, only a thick layer of white cream. A strange thought flashed through his mind, but then, unexpectedly, the whole birthday cake fell on An Yan's head.

An Yan blinked quietly, then burst into laughter amid the laughter.

The laughter was loud and unbridled.