Chapter 328: Happy Birthday

To be honest, the gift-opening part was quite joyful—even after receiving two sets of "Gaokao Sprint" materials, Little Red Riding Hood still felt quite happy.

Then, the barbecue grill was set up, the court musicians summoned by the King began playing new tunes, and Rapunzel, taking advantage of everyone's distraction, launched a few fireworks into the sky early on; the atmosphere at the scene instantly became lively.

The children ran and shouted around the bonfire; Irene even split into two bodies to join the fun, deliberately provoking a group of little rascals, so within a short while, the traditional event of being chased by the kids as if she were a doll began again.

The Mermaid was urged by everyone to sing a song, so she stood before the large bonfire and sang an unknown choral piece—accompanied by a full symphony orchestra, a choir of at least two hundred people, and ending with applause and cheers from at least five thousand people; Yu Sheng, who lacked any artistic bacteria, didn't understand a thing, but he indeed felt his heart surge with excitement.

Engineer Sun sent two crates of beer.

A large group of "Fairy Tale" members instantly surged over to join the fun, but Yu Sheng blocked them in front of the beer, with the wolf summoned by Little Red Riding Hood beside him; the King squatted proudly on top of the beer crates, waving his paws at a group of half-grown children: "All of you who aren't of age, get to the side! The juice at the big table is for you!"

Yu Sheng turned his head to look at Little Red Riding Hood: "Congratulations on coming of age—just this once, only this one drink before high school graduation."

Little Red Riding Hood's face was illuminated by the red glow of the fire not far away, her eyes sparkling; when looking at the beer, she showed an expression of expectation mixed with some hesitation: "... This isn't healthy, is it?"

"Now you're suddenly into health preservation!" Rapunzel walked over holding a skewer of mutton, "When you felt you wouldn't live past eighteen, you didn't have this attitude."

Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth but hadn't spoken yet; beside her, Yu Sheng had already slapped down a strand of golden hair slowly sneaking up the table leg, and casually pulled two cans of beer out of Rapunzel's hair: "Don't try to fish in troubled waters—you're only sixteen this year!"

"Ah—my lord, how can you be so bad!" Rapunzel complained exaggeratedly on purpose and left with a grudge.

Hu Li curiously leaned over, took a can of beer from the table, opened it, licked it with her tongue, and suddenly her eyes lit up: "Benefactor! This taste is very interesting!"

Yu Sheng didn't know what "interesting" tasted like; anyway, the nine-tailed fox seemed quite satisfied with the stuff.

"Then alright," Little Red Riding Hood finally relaxed; she licked her lips, casually picked up a can of beer and opened it, but after just trying a sip, she almost spat it out: "It tastes bad!"

"Oh, the first time is like that," the King's cat face actually showed the expression of an experienced cat; while speaking to Little Red Riding Hood, he raised his paw and summoned a servant: "Drink it a couple more times and you'll find this stuff has some charm."

Before the cat finished speaking, the dazed servant opened a can of beer for him and poured it into a bowl on the table; the King nodded in satisfaction and leaned his head over.

Yu Sheng was shocked watching this scene: "Cats can drink this!?"

"Cats can't even talk!" The King lifted his head, looked at Yu Sheng as if he were an idiot, "If you've become a spirit, what can't you do? Does that mean your fox can't eat chocolate?"

Yu Sheng looked at the nine-tailed fox who was holding a beer can and eating roasted meat while drinking, opened a can himself, and casually remarked: "She indeed can't eat chocolate; it gives her a stomachache. I also find that quite magical."

Little Red Riding Hood looked at Yu Sheng, then at Hu Li; after hesitating for a moment, she tasted the wine again, still feeling it tasted bad.

But she was very happy.

She had rarely been this happy in the past ten-plus years.

The sky was illuminated by fireworks; in the sudden burst of light, there was also the shadow of a flying object.

Yu Sheng looked up and saw a lavishly decorated pumpkin carriage flying over the square; Rapunzel was hanging herself under the carriage with her hair, holding a huge firework fountain in each hand and sweeping it around; the firelight illuminated the surroundings, and the girl laughed carefree amidst the fireworks.

She seemed to be the happiest one there tonight besides Little Red Riding Hood.

The bonfire burned brighter and brighter; the King sent people to add firewood to the fire pile twice more.

The pre-prepared meat was finished roasting; the children started holding skewers to roast marshmallows, vegetables, and slices of bread at the grill.

Bai Xue somehow got a pile of sweet potatoes and secretly buried them in the hot ashes beside the large bonfire, but Hu Li discovered them not long after they were buried; the latter gnawed on three right there on the spot, and was only caught when preparing to gnaw on the fourth, so she guiltily buried the sweet potatoes back.

After that, the King got drunk; it was the first time Yu Sheng had seen the cat drunk—he walked with a swagger that recognized no kinship to the large bonfire, somehow got a megaphone, and turned it on, startling everyone at the scene: "Next, I'll simply meow a few words..."

But right after meowing the first sentence, he vomited all over the ground and was carried away by servants who rushed over urgently.

A normal cat probably wouldn't act like this when drunk.

Yu Sheng held half a can of beer, a smile on his face, sitting contentedly in a corner of the square.

Another figure was with him.

Luna stood quietly beside Yu Sheng; the distant firelight reflected on her shining shell, as if coated with a layer of leaping phantoms; she neither spoke nor moved, standing in place like a sculpture without temperature or life; from a distance, she even looked a bit... eerie.

But Yu Sheng could vaguely sense her mood.

"Won't you go over?" Yu Sheng suddenly said, "They are very welcoming to new friends."

Luna hesitated and slowly gave her response: "I, speak slowly. Children, no patience."

"Actually, you don't need to worry about that; these children are more inclusive than you imagine," Yu Sheng smiled, but quickly waved his hand, "But it doesn't matter; if you don't want to go, don't go. Integrating into the environment is a gradual process; staying here with me for a while now is also quite good."

Luna nodded lightly and continued to gaze at that bonfire.

No one knew what she was thinking.

After a while, she suddenly broke the silence: "Do you, like fire?"

"Fire?" Yu Sheng felt somewhat puzzled; due to the obvious difficulties in verbal communication, he sometimes couldn't fully understand the thoughts of the artificial Saintess beside him, but he still thought seriously and then gave his response: "Then I think I quite like it—warmth, light; people need these two things, especially in the darkness; the firelight can always make people feel secure."

Luna slowly lowered her head.

Whether it was an illusion or not, in that instant, Yu Sheng suddenly felt that the iron puppet before him emanated a certain... sanctity.

Of course, her "nun" posture was inherently imbued with sanctity, but that was merely the careful design of the Hermitage—perfect appearance, elegant posture, all symbols of the "Path of Revered Holiness"; yet what Yu Sheng felt now was something completely different.

He heard the iron puppet speak, still difficult and slow, with a low, muffled tremor in her voice—

"Then, I will guard the fire for you."

The firelight of the distant bonfire reflected on her "shell," as if real and illusory flames were leaping upon her body, vague and hazy.

"Uh," Yu Sheng scratched his head; although he didn't quite understand Luna's meaning, he still nodded in a muddled way, "Then... that's good."

Luna smiled—her lips were not that cold, hard steel smile, but a curve carrying vitality.

Yu Sheng stared blankly at the other's face, momentarily unsure if he had drunk too much.

"Luna, can your face change expressions?"

"I, don't know."

Yu Sheng blinked; that faint smile had faded, seeming to be just an illusion.

The gathering by the bonfire continued—only the noise of the little rascals squealing gradually ceased.

The smallest group of children were mostly sleepy around ten o'clock and were sent to sleep by their parents; the square gradually was left only with older children and adults.

Rapunzel had finished her stockpile of fireworks; unsatisfied, she tried to coax Dorothy into lending her anti-aircraft cannon, but was firmly refused; later she tried to coax Matchstick, but was dragged away by others as soon as she opened her mouth; the Mermaid sat by the bonfire humming an unknown little tune, the lyrics she composed herself; only when getting close could one hear clearly that she was singing "Just sitting here on the high fire pile, in a while I'll become dried fish"; Cinderella discovered her pumpkin carriage had been blackened by Rapunzel's fireworks and was now feeling dejected.

And Little Red Riding Hood, who had been constantly saying the wine tasted bad, finally got drunk in the end—the result was that the sound of wolf howls echoed across the square.

Hearing the sound, Yu Sheng looked up and saw Little Red Riding Hood and Hu Li squatting side by side on the table; the former stretched her neck, shouting at the top of her lungs to the sky: "Awooo—"

Then, every time she "Awooo"-ed, Hu Li would also shout, making a much higher-pitched "Awo—" sound.

Occasionally, the two of them would even let out a couple of "woofs," leaving a pack of shadow wolves squatting by the table utterly bewildered.

Everyone around stared in shock. The Dragon Slayer rubbed his eyes hard: "This is the first time I've seen Sister Red Riding Hood like this... If she wakes up, will she silence us?"

"Stop overthinking all this nonsense," Long Fa said while pulling out her phone to record and take photos. "This scene is rare."

No sooner had she spoken than Little Red Riding Hood on the table suddenly stood up. After startling everyone around her (especially Long Fa who was recording video), she simply pointed a finger at Hu Li, still squatting, with great momentum: "We have a fate; let's form a duo!"

Hu Li happily wagged his tail: "Great, great."

"Then from now on, we are fox-and-dog friends..."

As the words fell, the girl in red clothes collapsed straight down, emitting a steady snore on the table.

When Yu Sheng walked over, he saw exactly this scene—he tried to stop it but couldn't, managing only to record a fifteen-second video.

The surroundings gradually quieted down.

After a while, Yu Sheng heard someone whispering: "What time is it?"

Long Fa muttered: "Didn't you bring your phone? Check it yourself."

Yu Sheng also instinctively glanced at the time on his phone.

"It's past twelve, just past," Bai Xue whispered softly.

Someone leaned close to the table and said quietly: "Congratulations, Sister Red Riding Hood." "Happy birthday, sister." "You've become a boring adult~"

Little Red Riding Hood suddenly sat straight up from the table again, eyes closed, with great momentum—

"I'm going to get a driver's license!!"

So everyone laughed.

"Happy birthday, Wang Jiajia."

Yu Sheng said quietly to the girl in red clothes who had already fallen asleep.

(End of this chapter)