Zhan Bei Jue turned to look at Jiang Nan Fang, who was shaking with laughter.
He turned again to look at Zhou Jin Bei behind him, who had a proud look on her face.
"As expected, only sister-in-law has a way. Surprised, aren't you? Isn't it fun?"
After all this, the two of them were deliberately acting to tease him.
Zhan Bei Jue gritted his teeth in anger, having worried about him the whole way.
He reached out and grabbed Jiang Nan Fang, clamping down on her neck.
"You're getting naughtier, you dare to play tricks on me now?"
Jiang Nan Fang's neck was too slender, he wished one of his hands could encircle it.
Let alone two, his grip was so fake it couldn't be more so.
Jiang Nan Fang tiptoed, looking at him coquettishly.
"We haven't gathered in so long, and you wouldn't cooperate when I wanted to take this opportunity to get together. What else could I do? You really wouldn't dare to choke me to death, would you?"
Of course, he wouldn't dare.
Zhan Bei Jue lowered his head and touched her lips, saying softly,
"I have my own plans. I haven't seen you for days, and I wanted to have a private night with you tonight."
He thought his voice was quiet enough that no one else would know.
However, Lu Ming Zhe clearly guessed everything from his lip movements.
"Alright, you two have your private time every day. Aren't you tired of it even at your age?"
"Consider today a day off for you. You get the benefit and still complain."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Among this group, only Shen Min Er was inexperienced and had never dated a boyfriend.
When everyone laughed, she followed suit.
Zhan Bei Jue saw that she was in good spirits lately and heard from Jiang Nan Fang that she had completely cut ties with Ke Teng.
In great spirits, he raised his eyebrows and teased Min Er.
"What are you smiling at? They're laughing, and you're laughing too. You're a young lady, shouldn't you be shy?"
Min Er didn't understand at first, but now she suddenly got it.
His words made her blush.
Jiang Nan Fang hit him.
"Are you even human? If she knew how to be shy, would you still be alive if you kept your distance from her in Switzerland?"
"She's here to help you celebrate your birthday with good intentions, what attitude is this? Go apologize to her."
Actually, Zhan Bei Jue had always felt quite guilty towards Min Er.
After all, he had received many favors from her back then.
And after returning, he had been so evasive towards her.
No matter how generously he compensated her materially, he still felt a sense of debt psychologically.
Since Jiang Nan Fang had said so and given him plenty of face, he walked over and opened his arms to Min Er.
"You don't hold a grudge against me, do you?"
Min Er hugged him gently.
"How could I? It's good like this now."
Since everyone had arrived happily, it was time to be seated.
Everyone inserted candles and asked Zhan Bei Jue to make a wish.
Zhan Bei Jue scoffed.
"I stopped playing such childish games thirty years ago. Whoever wants to make a wish can, I'll give the opportunity to them."
"You're not going to make a wish, are you sure?"
"It's not a genie in a bottle, what's there to be unsure about?"
"Alright then. If you don't, then I will."
Lu Qing Xu stood up.
He pulled out the candles, picked up the plastic knife, and made a move to cut the cake.
As soon as the knife touched the cream, he twisted his wrist and smeared the cream onto Zhan Bei Jue's face.
"You came all this way, and you think you can leave clean? Impossible!"
Following his shout, the private room instantly descended into chaos.
Everyone acted like kindergarten children, randomly reaching for the cake and smearing it on each other's faces.
In just a few minutes, the cake was a mess of crumbs, and everyone was a painted clown.
When there was no more cake to play with, everyone quieted down, looking at each other. They looked like ghosts and couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Jiang Nan Fang's nose had a dot of white smeared on it by someone, there were finger smudges on her chin, and her hair was also covered in cream.
She looked quite cute.
Zhan Bei Jue, who hadn't seen her for days, missed her dearly and couldn't resist wanting to bite her.
Lu Ming Zhe saw through his thoughts completely.
"Go on, kiss her. She's your legal wife, what are you afraid of? Pretend we're all blind, kiss her freely."
Since you all don't consider yourselves outsiders, then I won't be polite.
Zhan Bei Jue cupped Jiang Nan Fang's face and immediately lowered his head.
The room erupted in cheers.
Zhou Jin Bei sat in her seat, not taking photos of them, but of their body language.
Click, click, click, she took a few shots.
Then, while everyone was laughing uncontrollably, she took a group photo.
Knowing that Jiang Nan Fang and her husband didn't like to show off their affection on social media, she posted one for them as a memento.
After all, she hadn't taken their faces clearly.
A few minutes after the WeChat Moments post went out, Chen Jiao Jiao spotted Lu Ming Zhe in the crowd.
Looking closer, well, they were all people she knew.
Seeing their cream-covered clothes, she guessed someone was having a birthday.
It was too inconsiderate, no one even called her!
She sent a WeChat message to Zhou Jin Bei, asking where she was and whose birthday it was.
Zhou Jin Bei quickly apologized.
"I was so focused on cooperating with sister-in-law to coax my brother over, I was too busy and accidentally forgot about you."
"The food hasn't even been served yet, hurry up and come."
She sent her the address.
The dishes were arranged in advance. The private room was cleaned up, and everything was brought in at once.
Everyone started toasting.
When Chen Jiao Jiao arrived, people had already had several drinks.
Zhou Jin Bei, excited like a fool, rushed up to hug her and introduce everyone present by name.
Then, she arranged for her to sit next to Lu Ming Zhe.
"Lu太太 is here, everyone, make way, please invite Lu太太 to be seated."
"Lu太太, please come this way."
Everyone knew Zhou Jin Bei's temper, she was a party animal, especially after a few drinks.
They all wore amused expressions, no one bothered to argue with her.
Besides, Chen Jiao Jiao was indeed married to Lu Ming Zhe, so calling her Lu太太 was appropriate.
Unexpectedly, Lu Ming Zhe was the first one to be displeased when he heard her repeatedly calling her Lu太太.
"That's enough, you talk too much. I know you have a mouth, and I know you're not mute. Hurry up and go back."
Chen Jiao Jiao sat down beside him and realized he wasn't welcoming her.
She felt a little unhappy.
"What's wrong, Mr. Lu? You're not happy to see me?"
Lu Ming Zhe glanced at her sideways. "Am I?"
"Don't you know it yourself?"
"Then what? When I saw you arrive, should I have enthusiastically greeted you, taken your hand, and helped you to your seat? And then invited you to have a few drinks?"
"It's not impossible."
Chen Jiao Jiao suddenly became affectionate.
"We've been married for so long, and we've never had a drink together. Let alone clinking glasses. You should drink with me today."
Indeed, their marriage was hasty, and nothing was done. Moreover, they rarely appeared together after marriage, so no one had the chance to tease them.
Since Chen Jiao Jiao herself had brought it up today, Lu Qing Xu and Zhou Jin Bei quickly egged them on.
"Alright, alright, come, I'll pour you a drink. Let's have one, let's have one."
Chen Jiao Jiao felt that her rest of her life would be like this.
In terms of looks, family background, character, and tolerance towards her, she probably wouldn't find anyone better than Lu Ming Zhe.
Moreover, with her father's major incident now, she needed to find a shoulder to lean on.