Chapter 16: Happy Birthday

“Birthday?”

Su Yu felt the word was so unfamiliar—unfamiliar to the point that she couldn’t immediately process what was happening.

She just felt a heavy stone weighing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

The world seemed to stop breathing for an instant.

The girl’s cherry lips opened and closed, but from start to finish, no sound came out.

The flickering candlelight danced, reflecting in her dark eyes like clear pool water mirroring a crescent moon—deep and bright.

She had lost track of how long it had been since she last heard the words “Happy Birthday,” let alone remembered when her last birthday was…

For a city ghost like her, loneliness was the thing that accompanied her the longest.

Being remembered seemed like a luxury.

She had never thought about it, never even hoped for it—that someone might care about her existence.

Perhaps for her, this was just the situation she was supposed to get used to.

It had always been this way…

But now, she felt something inside her beginning to loosen.

She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, only that she felt more and more unfamiliar with herself.

Honestly, she kind of wanted to cry…

“Su Yu?”

Lin Mo’s heart began to waver.

His usually calm, deadpan face started to ripple with unease.

‘Why does she look like she’s about to cry…? Did I do something wrong? This isn’t how it was supposed to go…’

His brain started spinning at full speed.

He remembered days ago, when he was racking his brain over how to improve their relationship and gain Su Yu’s trust so he could proceed with his experiment.

But he was no psychology expert.

His knowledge of human nature was limited to some unorthodox methods.

This was quite a challenge for him, so he decided to seek advice elsewhere.

His efforts paid off.

After some searching, he spent a good sum to find an online “Psychology Master” named Langli Xiaobailong and consulted him.

All he could recall was what the master said:

“How to gain a girl’s trust, especially one you’ve had a rift with? You’ve come to the right person.”

“Listen, this kind of girl needs love and understanding the most. As long as you’re patient, don’t rush, slowly build affection, and give her the warmth she’s lacking, she’ll naturally let down her guard. Then you can achieve your goal and do whatever you want. Hehehe…”

Although Lin Mo didn’t understand why the master spoke so weirdly, he thought it made some sense.

After careful analysis, he formulated a series of plans to build trust.

Forget the past grudges, help her grow and gain confidence, give her daily care—everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Until today, the most critical step: he planned to follow the online expert’s instructions and launch a birthday surprise.

According to the master, no girl could resist such a surprise, so he obediently did it.

If successful, they would have established a deep friendship, and he would no longer have to worry about his most precious sample being tricked away.

Everything went smoothly earlier, but the most critical step… hit a snag.

The girl didn’t show the expected surprise and laughter.

Instead, she was filled with barely concealed disappointment and depression, even on the verge of tears.

Lin Mo couldn’t figure out which part of the plan went wrong or what he did incorrectly.

He just kept replaying the possibilities in his mind.

‘She couldn’t be crying out of emotion… It’s just a cake, not something valuable.’

‘That shouldn’t be. Unlikely…’

‘How could anyone cry over a piece of cake?… It doesn’t make sense no matter how I think about it.’

But he couldn’t figure out anything else in such a short time.

The immediate priority was to stabilize her emotions.

He had no time to dig deeper, so he had to grit his teeth and speak up:

“If you don’t like the cake design, I can change it right now. After all, it’s your birthday… a special occasion, shouldn’t be taken lightly…”

Su Yu then realized she had lost her composure.

She snapped back to her senses, forced an apologetic smile, and quickly waved her hand:

“No, no, no. I really like your cake. It’s not that… I just… I just haven’t experienced this in so long, I didn’t know how to react.”

She forcefully suppressed her emotions, forced a smile, and scratched her head in a cute, naive manner, as if she hadn’t taken any of it to heart.

“After all, I’m not that young anymore… Things like this, even if I don’t have them, it’s… you know… Thank you for spending the money, boss.”

Her mind was a mess.

She rambled on for a while without even knowing what she was saying.

“Anyway! I’m really grateful! You’re the best boss I’ve ever met!”

The girl raised her voice and bowed to him, as if she had exhausted all her strength and courage.

But no matter what, she couldn’t deny that she was genuinely happy inside.

She just didn’t want to admit it.

“Glad you like it.”

Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief, knowing his goal had been achieved.

Although the process was a bit complicated, the result was good after all.

“Since that’s the case, make a wish. I remember that’s part of the birthday routine.”

Su Yu’s face turned red, and she immediately tried to decline:

“Better not. It feels a bit embarrassing.”

“Won’t you regret it if you don’t make a wish?”

Lin Mo didn’t understand her thoughts, but he felt this step was necessary.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t know what Su Yu liked or wanted.

Expanding his personal data was still necessary.

“Regret what…?”

Su Yu blurted out instinctively, but quickly realized she had misspoken and changed her tune:

“I mean, it’s too childish. And besides, how could it actually come true?”

“Just give it a try. Everyone should have some dreams.”

Lin Mo didn’t give up.

He was determined to learn about her preferences, so he continued:

“What if it does come true?”

Su Yu had nothing left to say.

Although she didn’t believe in it at all, she gave in to Lin Mo’s insistence.

She tentatively closed her eyes, mimicking what she remembered from somewhere.

“Hmm… I don’t really have any special wish.”

In the darkness, she thought.

‘Things are already good enough. If possible, let me forget all the unpleasantness from the past.’

The girl made her wish.

This time, she didn’t think it was childish.

Maybe Lin Mo was right.

Even adults need a little bit of childlike innocence to feel alive again…

“I’m done wishing… Should we cut the cake?”

Su Yu looked eagerly at Lin Mo, who was lounging on the sofa across from her.

Her eyes held gratitude, but more than that, hunger.

She had been busy all day and hadn’t had time for dinner.

If she didn’t get that cake into her mouth soon, she might get low blood sugar.

But Lin Mo, under the girl’s intense gaze, was confused.

Did she just speak? He hadn’t heard a thing.

“You already made your wish?”

“Mm-hmm? Why?”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Su Yu’s expression turned strange.

She looked at him as if he were clueless.

“Isn’t that kind of thing always done silently? If you say it out loud, it won’t come true.”

Lin Mo’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Is that so?”

To be honest, he had never celebrated a birthday.

Not once since childhood.

So he really didn’t know the ropes.

“Yeah…”

Su Yu sensed something off.

Her gaze turned scrutinizing.

After a moment’s hesitation, she cautiously asked:

“Boss, have you never celebrated your birthday before?”

She felt that Lin Mo was even more clueless about this than she was.

“I don’t waste time celebrating myself. That would slow down my research. After all, such things are insignificant compared to my pursuit of science.”

Lin Mo said his true thoughts openly, without any pretense.

But to others, it might sound grand and lofty.

“You’re wise, boss…”

Su Yu’s mouth twitched, but she still returned a polite smile.

“Can we cut the cake now?”

“Of course. Need help?”

Lin Mo made to stand up.

“No need, boss. I can do it myself!”

Su Yu stopped him.

With a swift cut, she divided the cake into eight equal pieces.

She picked up a fork, took a bite of cream, and a wave of happiness filled her mind.

“Delicious…”

“By the way, boss, how did you know it was my birthday today…?”

Honestly, Su Yu herself wasn’t even sure of her own birthday.

“I have my sources.”

Lin Mo also ate a piece, his expression calm—clearly not enjoying it as much as Su Yu.

“Alright…”

Seeing that he didn’t want to say more, Su Yu felt a little disappointed but didn’t press further.

At that moment, Lin Mo set down his cake and suddenly called her name.

“Su Yu.”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t call me boss anymore.”

“Ah? Are you going to fire me?”

Su Yu was taken aback.

She quickly swallowed the cream cake in her mouth, but unfortunately choked.

“Cough, cough, cough…”

“Take it slow…”

Lin Mo helplessly rubbed his forehead, silently thinking to himself that everything he had done was meaningful.

With a personality like hers, if he didn’t build a good relationship with her, someone could easily coax her away.

By then, it would be too late for regrets.

“That’s not what I meant.”

He tried to soften his tone:

“I mean, don’t address me as boss anymore. I don’t like that title. Just call me by my name.”

“After all, we’ve known each other for so long now. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Su Yu’s heart trembled.

Her worries vanished without a trace.

Her eyes curved into crescents, and a bright smile spread across her face.

“Then I’ll gladly obey. The great scientist Lin Mo.”