Chapter 1597: Picture Album

On the snow-white cake, which looked like a snow-capped mountain, sat a dreamy, elegant blue rose. Even when sliced into triangles, it remained exceptionally beautiful.

The cake wasn't large. Song Tan divided it among everyone in a few quick motions, then, without hesitation, placed the other cream rose in front of herself.

Yang Zhengxin and the other two naturally felt this was only right.

However, before eating the cake, they had a carefully prepared gift to present!

Mainly because if they didn't give it now, Lu Chuan might not have time for them later.

They turned around, and the three of them pulled a 16-mo large picture album from behind:

"Brother Lu Chuan, this is a gift we prepared for you together!"

A picture album?

Lu Chuan flipped it open. On the very first page was a watercolor sketch of a strange-looking beast. The technique wasn't particularly refined, but the monster's image was depicted with meticulous detail.

Because the colors used were exceptionally fresh, it didn't look ferocious at all; instead, it possessed a sense of dreaminess and sanctity.

"This is..."

He looked at the three of them, then flipped to the next page.

The next page was a scanned image.

It showed mountain scenery with a giant python circling in the sky, its ferocious maw wide open, and in the upper left corner, the partial silhouette of a firebird.

Then the third page.

The third page was drawn with oil pastels. The brushstrokes were simple but spirited. The color transitions weren't very natural, but the color zoning was exceptionally clear, and the strokes had a life of their own.

Reaching out to touch it, it seemed a fixative had been sprayed, so the pigment on the paper didn't smear everywhere.

Lu Chuan didn't look further down. He was very pleasantly surprised: "Did the three of you draw these?"

"Yeah." Qiao Qiao became joyful: "I drew the first one, Yang Zhengxin drew the second one on his tablet, and Chen Chi drew the third one."

"Brother Lu Chuan, do you like it?"

Chen Chi blushed with embarrassment: "Brother Lu Chuan gave me these oil pastels last time. I haven't been learning for long..."

Moreover, unlike Qiao Qiao, who had Teacher Tang teaching him from the start, he had learned entirely by following children's beginner tutorials online.

As for Yang Zhengxin, he said nonchalantly: "My mom used to want to discover my talents, so she made me learn all sorts of arts. I didn't learn painting well, but I have at least two or three years of foundation... I used Procreate on the tablet."

As for the content of the drawings...

He looked down at the album: "Each of us drew nine pages, all based on the latest novel Brother Lu Chuan is serializing..."

Lu Chuan was already a top-tier author on a top-tier website. His new book naturally had professional art designers and master illustrators to draw for it.

However, the word count was still low, only serialized to three or four hundred thousand words, so there weren't many fan illustrations in the comment section yet, which is why they had this idea.

Qiao Qiao also explained: "Originally, we wanted to buy a computer together—"

A monitor, a tower, and a keyboard.

Not to mention the varying prices of these things, even the relatively cheapest keyboard would require Chen Chi to spend quite a bit of money to match the computer they wanted to buy.

That wouldn't do; Chen Chi still needed his money to support himself.

So Yang Zhengxin changed his mind. Every day after Chen Chi got off work, the three of them would draw for two or three hours together, finally managing to conceive these scenes.

To say they were very beautiful would be an exaggeration.

But they presented every scene and every fantasy species Lu Chuan described with exceptional detail.

Lu Chuan was already very happy.

"I like it very much. When I get home, I'll scan them all into digital files and post them in the book."

At this, even Yang Zhengxin felt a bit embarrassed: "Hey, what we drew..."

It was really too embarrassing to show off.

But Lu Chuan felt that although their brushstrokes were simple, whether it was the color scheme, the inspiration, or the presentation of his written descriptions, everything seemed exceptionally precise and spirited.

At first glance, the details couldn't withstand scrutiny, but the overall feeling was eye-catching.

He really liked it.

For three children who loved to play and make trouble, the energy they put into patiently drawing these nine pictures each was impossible to describe in words.

He solemnly put the album away, deciding to look at it carefully after eating the cake.

But who knew Yang Zhengxin had already picked up his cake plate: "Alright, the gift has been given. Brother Lu Chuan, enjoy it slowly yourself. We're so tired today, we're going back to rest first."

After speaking, he slipped away, and Chen Chi and Qiao Qiao quickly followed with their cake plates. In an instant, the sound of the door locking with a 'click' could be heard.

Lu Chuan was truly torn between laughter and tears.

Although he also liked their time as a couple, it wasn't to the point of racing against the clock like this.

But Song Tan was already looking at him with full expectation: "Taste the cake."

Lu Chuan felt incredibly happy.

In such a quiet and peaceful room, in this space for just the two of them, in front of him were the sincere gifts from the three children, and in his hand was the result of ingredients carefully nurtured by Tan Tan.

And now, with a girlfriend who trusted and loved him so much by his side, this felt completely different from his birthday gatherings with friends in the past.

Due to his livelihood in his youth, he, like Song Tan, didn't have much of a concept of birthdays.

Later, his living conditions improved, but his thinking matured, and it became difficult to jump around calling friends to enjoy the bustle together.

Later, there was Qin Yun, and other good friends, but they all had girlfriends. When they brought their partners to birthdays, the others were very good at organizing and enthusiastic, also offering a sincere heart.

But he...

He felt happy, joyful, grateful...

But he didn't have this quiet and happy feeling he had now.

The scent of roses lingered faintly, making one feel even more intoxicated and dreamy.

Given Tan Tan's personality, hiding the gift until now was already truly remarkable.

He no longer delayed, and now, under the expectant gaze of the other party, he gently pressed his fork down into a piece of snow-white, soft cake—

It was indeed dense and silky, melting in his mouth.

This made him praise it without hesitation: "It's delicious."

He just wondered if there were any special tips or techniques; he could learn more when he went back, and make one for Tan Tan on her birthday.

It was just that he could never achieve the skill of piping flowers to look exactly like the real thing as she had.

Song Tan also broke into a smile.

She watched Lu Chuan eat the cake around the small piece, leaving only the blue rose in the center untouched, and felt a bit amused.

But she looked forward even more to when he would know the truth later—

"Huh?"

Lu Chuan's fork had already touched the blue rose.

"How..."

As soon as the fork touched it, the sensation made his hand pause. Then, he looked in surprise as the rose petals trembled and swayed, nearly rolling off the plate.

"How is it real?"

?? Yesterday, my parents came to make me a birthday feast, and I went to bed early in the evening.

? I didn't finish writing the extra update, I was too sleepy. Tomorrow. ===== CHAPTER 1598 =====