Chapter 180: Celebrating a Birthday

At the Capital Airport, Luo Quan, Gao Liang, and Wen Xia stood quietly in the lobby, wearing sunglasses as they waited.

To prevent Seifert from acting inappropriately again, Gao Liang had arranged for him to stay home.

This is the troublesome part about being a celebrity, especially a famous one; you have to wear sunglasses or a mask whenever you go out, or you'll immediately be surrounded by a crowd the moment you're recognized.

And this was only because Wen Xia's address hadn't been exposed yet. If the paparazzi ever found out, they would be followed the moment they stepped outside.

If you run into paparazzi with a shred of conscience, they'll just secretly follow you and snap a few photos. But if you run into those who only care about money, they'll sell your whereabouts directly to those obsessive fans—that's when it gets truly troublesome.

Fortunately, come September, Wen Xia and Luo Quan will be entering the Academy of Arts. The impact might be much smaller then, as paparazzi can't get into the school, and they aren't the only celebrities on campus.

"They're here," Gao Liang said, looking at the electronic screen overhead.

About fifteen minutes later, the two siblings spotted their father and mother in the crowded throng.

The two looked as if they had just returned from Italy, the land of luxury goods, decked out in Versace, Prada, and Armani.

"Dad, Aunt Luo Ni." Gao Liang walked up and, being very sensible, helped Luo Ni take the suitcase. The suitcase was very heavy; he guessed it was packed with quite a few souvenirs.

"Hello, Uncle and Aunt!" Wen Xia also went up to greet them.

"And you are?" Luo Ni looked at Wen Xia, who was wearing sunglasses, with a puzzled expression, failing to recognize her.

Wen Xia tilted her head and smiled, "It's me, Wen Xia."

Luo Ni realized with a laugh, "Oh, it's you! You've grown so much in the blink of an eye."

She then turned to introduce her to Eric, "This is Wen Xia. Her mother and we were neighbors; we lived together for nearly ten years!"

Eric nodded at Wen Xia, "I've heard Luo Quan mention you before. She said you are her best friend."

The group chatted and laughed as they got into the car and returned to Wen Xia's residence.

"You're finally back! You have no idea how terrifying it is to be all alone in such a big house." As soon as the door opened, they heard Seifert's voice, full of resentment.

"Oh, you must be Luo Quan's mother. Truly, only a lady as beautiful and moving as you could give birth to such a pretty daughter as Luo Quan." Seifert didn't try to give Luo Ni a hug this time; he still knew his limits.

No woman dislikes compliments about her appearance. Although Seifert sounded a bit oily, these flowery words were undoubtedly very pleasing to Luo Ni.

"You are too kind, thank you so much." Luo Ni smiled happily. Although she had heard such things more than once while traveling with Eric, she never grew tired of hearing them, no matter how many times.

Luo Quan, on the other hand, was a bit tired of it. When she was in Japan, she heard people praising her beauty three times every two days, and they never repeated the same lines. If she compiled them, she might be able to write a modern version of the "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River"!

After putting down their luggage, the group changed their shoes and walked into the house.

"I must say, Wen Xia, is this a house you bought? The interior design is excellent." After entering, Luo Ni looked up at the furnishings and various hollowed-out reliefs in the living room.

Wen Xia smiled, "How could I afford a house here? I'm renting it. But once I make big money in the future, I might consider buying it."

Luo Ni sighed, "You young people are truly amazing. To be able to live in such a big house in the capital at such a young age."

Eric put his arm around Luo Ni's shoulders and said softly, "Do you want to buy a house like this too? The company seems to have a real estate project in the capital. It would be much cheaper if we bought one."

Wen Xia was stunned. Was Luo Quan's dad really that insanely rich? Talking about buying a house just like that!

Luo Ni was caught between laughter and tears, "I was just mentioning it. You only need three feet of space to sleep; why buy so many houses? By the way, Luo Quan, did you buy a birthday cake?"

"Wen Xia helped me order one; it should arrive in the afternoon." Counting the days, Luo Quan was now nineteen, but she would only officially be nineteen after eating the cake in the evening. After all, everything requires a sense of ritual.

Having lived for so many years, this was actually the first time Luo Quan was officially celebrating her birthday. Back at the orphanage, there was no such thing as a birthday; the day the orphanage was founded was their birthday. Every year on that day, all the orphans would get an extra egg with dinner.

Later, as they grew up and conditions improved slightly, it became two eggs. She really hadn't eaten much cake.

So, Luo Quan was quite looking forward to the birthday banquet in the evening. Although she had watched many related videos and felt it was nothing special—just lighting candles, singing the birthday song, making a wish, and blowing out the candles—it was definitely different when she was the protagonist.

"By the way, Mom and Dad, there's something I haven't had a chance to tell you yet." Sitting on the sofa, Luo Quan said to Luo Ni and Eric, "I've applied to be an exchange student and will be studying in China next semester."

Luo Ni was a bit surprised, "You're doing so well at the University of Tokyo; why be an exchange student? Are your grades not good?"

Eric also expressed great concern, "If the University of Tokyo is too hard, you can transfer to the United States. We can pull some strings to get you into schools like Stanford or MIT."

Luo Quan broke into a sweat, "Uh... my grades are very good, and I don't need to pursue further studies in the United States."

Luo Ni was puzzled, "Then why be an exchange student for no reason?"

Seeing Luo Quan's hesitant expression, Wen Xia couldn't help but laugh, "Let me tell them."

Wen Xia then described how popular Luo Quan was in Japan, to the point where the entire nation was trying to set her up with the Imperial Grandson, Kamigaya Lingyin, with the momentum that they wouldn't give up until they had pursued her successfully.

After listening, Seifert sighed, "That's crazy. It reminds me of those American female fans who claimed they wanted to marry Gao Liang. For a while, they would block the company entrance every day just to catch a glimpse of him."

Luo Quan looked helpless, "The key is that this was a nationwide behavior. The outcry across the entire internet was extremely high at the time. I had no choice; before these people could take action, I quickly submitted my exchange student application and returned home."

"Then which university are you exchanging to?"

"Shanghai Academy of Arts, Vocal Music Department."

Luo Ni wanted to say something but stopped, eventually remaining silent.

Given the status of the University of Tokyo in Asia, exchanging to a top school like Qingbei was a very likely possibility. To end up choosing an arts university was something she, as a mother, found hard to accept.

Eric supported the somewhat dejected Luo Ni and comforted her, "Actually, how high a university degree is doesn't matter. Luo Quan's current achievements have already far exceeded those of her peers, and her future is limitless. How many students graduating from Qingbei can compare to our daughter?"

Luo Ni complained, "That may be true, but that is the best university in China."

Eric continued, "To take a step back, Luo Quan is only going as an exchange student. Once the time is up, she will return to the University of Tokyo to continue her studies. Three years later, her degree will still be from the University of Tokyo. That's not any worse than Qingbei, is it?"

Hearing this, Luo Ni finally found some comfort.

This matter couldn't be blamed on Luo Quan; if anyone was to be blamed, it was that she was too popular, to the point where the entire internet was meddling in her marriage.

However, now that her daughter was grown, Luo Ni didn't want to interfere too much. She just hoped Luo Quan could grow up happily. As for degrees, while higher is better, there was no need to force it under the current circumstances.

The matter was settled, and the six of them quickly got busy preparing for the birthday banquet in the evening.

The ingredients had already been bought—chicken, duck, fish, and meat, everything. Luo Quan had basically tidied everything up herself. Although Wen Xia wanted to help, Luo Quan politely asked her to leave the kitchen after seeing her flustered state.

"An idol should have the demeanor of an idol. Let me handle this kind of manual labor."

Heaven knows how much Wen Xia blushed when she heard Luo Quan say this. Previously, when her mother told her that girls should learn to do some housework, she had been dismissive. Now she realized how important this traditional skill was.

Now that Luo Ni had arrived, Luo Quan was relieved. She left the cooking to her mother and started a livestream while holding her phone.

"Finally, you're back online! I've waited until the flowers withered."

"This is Wen Xia's house, right? Luo Quan, why not go out and book a restaurant for your birthday?"

"Can a restaurant be as spacious as this living room?"

Bilibili netizens quickly gathered, and the popularity of Luo Quan's livestream room immediately soared.

"Did Luo Quan's mom and dad come?"

"They must be here; maybe they're sitting right next to Luo Quan."

"I want to see Gao Liang~~"

Seeing the barrage of comments wanting to see Luo Quan's family, Luo Quan turned to Gao Liang and asked, "Gao Liang, do you want to come and say hello to the Bilibili netizens?"

"Bilibili? What is Bilibili?" Gao Liang, who was studying what Weibo was, heard a new term and looked very curious.

"You can think of it as China's YouTube. It's currently the largest ACG website in China, but the content is very diverse. Its daily active users are also among the top for video websites in China."

"Sounds quite impressive. You could go and get familiar with the audience," Seifert chimed in from the side.

Gao Liang glanced at him, "It's just saying hello; no need to be so utilitarian, right?"

Saying this, he shifted his seat and sat down next to Luo Quan.

"Hello, friends on Bilibili!" Gao Liang said in broken Chinese, waving his hand. This was one of the few Chinese phrases he had mastered.

He had studied Chinese for a while before, but just as he started, he was blocked by the flat and retroflex sibilants. He couldn't distinguish between the two no matter what, and the radicals were simply a killer of brain cells. After studying for a while, he put it aside for the time being.

However, for the most common daily phrases, Gao Liang had picked out a few of the simplest ones to memorize, and the sentence he just said was one of them.

"My brother-in-law is so handsome!"

"Is the person above dreaming and hasn't woken up yet?"

"Is 'brother-in-law' something you can just call him? Call him 'big brother-in-law'!"

"Oh, my God, listen to this Chinese full of exotic flavor."

"I swear, this accent is as rustic as the little boy next door at Uncle John's house."

"Actually, you can speak English. I can still understand that sentence in English."

"What are they saying?" Gao Liang looked at the barrage of comments, looking curiously at Luo Quan.

Luo Quan said with a straight face, "They are expressing their warm welcome to you and praising your Chinese for being very good."

Wen Xia, who was watching the livestream on her phone, broke her composure and laughed out loud.

Gao Liang shook his head, "I don't think it's like what you said. At the very least, they definitely wouldn't praise my Chinese."

Luo Quan waved her hand, "That's not the point. The point is they like you very much."

"Alright, then I'll do a detailed self-introduction." Gao Liang said, looking at the camera, and said in English, "Hello everyone, I am Gao Liang, a rap singer. I came to China this time partly to celebrate my sister Luo Quan's birthday, and partly because I want to promote my new album 'Young' here in China. This album will be available on Penguin Music very soon. I hope fans who like it can support the original version. Thank you. Also, I have prepared a surprise for everyone this time, but this surprise won't be revealed until a few days later."

It was a very commercial self-introduction. Like Luo Quan, Gao Liang always seemed a bit wooden when facing the camera, not knowing what to say to stir up the atmosphere.

But Gao Liang couldn't do it; the Bilibili netizens were masters of this, able to make people burst into laughter with just a few words.

"Do you need me to translate for everyone?" Luo Quan asked, seeing the barrage of comments go quiet.

Barrage:

"???"

"I listened carefully, and I only understood 'Gao Liang'..."

"Who are you looking down on? I have an English Level 8 certificate!"

"You have Level 8 English? I'm a simultaneous interpreter!"

"I say I'm proficient in eight languages and speak English as fluently as my mother tongue. You don't believe me? You don't? Then why don't you translate it!"

Seeing the group of silly netizens showing off their skills in the barrage, Luo Quan couldn't help but laugh, "Can you all be a bit more serious?"

After laughing, Luo Quan still translated Gao Liang's words.

"So Gao Liang is really coming to China to develop his career?"

"That works! Siblings united, over two hundred pounds—uh, no, their strength can cut through metal!"

"Translate for me, what is a 'surprise'!"

"A surprise is that in three days, I'll bring out one hundred... sorry, wrong place."

The barrage continued to be funny, and Gao Liang, with Luo Quan's help, had friendly interactions with these netizens.

Most of the people in the livestream room who were interested in her were Luo Quan's female fans. As soon as they opened their mouths, they were asking about Gao Liang's height and weight, acting like obsessed fans, even more frantic than the male fans were when Luo Quan first started livestreaming.

After chatting for a while, Eric, who came out of the kitchen, saw the siblings laughing and talking to the phone and curiously leaned over, asking, "What are you two doing?"

Who knew that as soon as Eric appeared on camera, the barrage in the livestream room would immediately explode. ===== CHAPTER 181 =====

The fans in the livestream who were most interested in her were actually Luo Quan's female fans; the moment they opened their mouths, they were asking about Gao Liang's height and weight, acting like total fangirls—it was even more unhinged than how the male fans behaved when Luo Quan first started streaming.

After chatting here for a while, Eric, who had just come out of the kitchen, saw the siblings laughing and talking in front of the phone. He curiously leaned over and asked, "What are you two doing?"

Who would have thought that the moment Eric appeared on camera, the livestream's chat would immediately explode.