Chapter 3524

Ye Chen and Xiao Churan arrived in Yanjing and checked into a hotel near the National Stadium.

Because the concert was about to start, the hotel was fully booked, and the two waited nearly half an hour to check in.

After checking in, with nothing to do, Xiao Churan suggested they go downtown Yanjing to stroll around; as someone who studied art and design, she greatly liked the Sihe Academy courtyards within the Second Ring Road and wanted to walk around them with Ye Chen.

Ye Chen readily agreed, never expecting that Xiao Churan only wanted to walk around the places where he had lived as a child.

The two wandered through the hutongs inside the Second Ring Road; Xiao Churan took many photos and posed for many pictures with Ye Chen, appearing in exceptionally good spirits.

When they arrived at Houhai, although there was still ice on the water, the areas near the shore had begun to thaw. Xiao Churan felt a bit regretful and sighed: "I've always wanted to try the traditional northern ice sleds, but never had the chance. Ye Chen, have you tried them?"

Ye Chen shook his head: "I haven't either, but if you want to try, we can come earlier next year instead of waiting until spring."

He dared not say he had tried it, after all, the life story he told others was that he had been fatherless and motherless from childhood, wandering outside, and only then entered the Jin Ling Fuli Academy.

How could an orphan from Jin Ling have ever played on northern ice sleds?

After all, with Jin Ling's damp and cold winter weather, even a dog would struggle to stand on thin ice, let alone a person; children raised in Jin Ling would never have the childhood memories of northern kids.

Xiao Churan felt a little disappointed but quickly recovered, asking Ye Chen: "Tomorrow is your birthday—would you like to find a nice restaurant for lunch?"

"No need," Ye Chen said with a smile: "I'm not used to celebrating birthdays at restaurants."

Xiao Churan said: "But we should still celebrate your birthday."

Ye Chen suggested: "How about we buy a cake and have it delivered to the hotel? After the concert tonight, we can eat it in the hotel room."

Xiao Churan thought for a moment, then nodded: "That works—I've already ordered the cake in advance from a famous Yanjing bakery. I'll bring it back to the hotel tomorrow to celebrate with you!"

Ye Chen laughed: "Okay, thank you, my wife."

……

After returning to the hotel, the two washed up and lay in bed. Xiao Churan waited for midnight to arrive so she could personally wish Ye Chen a happy birthday, while Ye Chen lay in bed with his thoughts racing.

In his ear, Gu Qiuyi's words kept echoing unexpectedly: "Unless you give me a son!"

He began to worry, fearing that after the concert, Gu Qiuyi would continue to pester him endlessly about this issue.

Because once the concert ended, she would completely retire from the entertainment industry, at which point she would no longer participate in any performances, record any songs, accept any commercial collaborations, and formally return to an ordinary life.

At that time, nothing could interfere with her life; if she again brought up wanting to have a child out of wedlock, how would he have to deflect it?

As he was sighing, the clock struck midnight.

Xiao Churan leaned over, gently resting her head on his shoulder, and said: "Husband, happy birthday!"

Ye Chen smiled faintly, reached out to gently embrace her, and softly said: "Thank you, my wife."

Xiao Churan still wanted to speak, but Ye Chen's phone began buzzing incessantly.

Dozens of WeChat messages came flooding in at once.

Gu Qiuyi, Caicaizi, Qin Aoxue, Wang Dongxue, Song Wanting, Su Ruoli, Su Zhiyu, Li Xiaofen, He Zhiquiu, Helena, and many other women sent him birthday wishes, even Tawana timed her message to arrive exactly on the dot.

Besides them, the four-hundred-year-old Lin Waner also sent Ye Chen a message wishing him a happy birthday.

Others such as Master Hong Wu, Chen Zekai, Wan Pojun, and the He family also sent their blessings in succession.

Even more interestingly, Steve Rothschild sent Ye Chen a long string of birthday greetings.

The nonstop WeChat messages made Ye Chen feel embarrassed; he dared not reply in front of Xiao Churan, so he could only put his phone down.

Xiao Churan asked him: "Husband, why aren't you replying to the messages?"

Ye Chen said with a laugh: "Oh, they're just all from clients sending birthday wishes—I don't need to reply to each one individually; I'll just post a moment later and write a couple of thank-you lines."

Xiao Churan smiled faintly without exposing him, then asked: "You're twenty-nine now—do you have any wishes?"

"A wish?" Ye Chen thought for a moment, then smiled: "I never thought about it before, but upon reflection, I actually have quite a few."

Xiao Churan said: "You can start thinking—come up with the one you most want to fulfill, and make the wish when we blow out the candles tonight; birthday wishes are easily granted."

"Alright," Ye Chen said, smiling and nodding.

……

After resting one night, time quickly arrived at February 2nd.

This morning in Yanjing, outside was a vast expanse of misty fog, visibility very low. Ye Chen looked down from the hotel window at the National Stadium; the originally clear and visible entire field had now become a hazy blur.

Not long after, snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and phone notifications kept coming nonstop—several news and weather apps continuously reminded that Yanjing was experiencing a sudden heavy snowfall, with the possibility of turning into a blizzard.

Logically, temperatures should rise after the first month of the lunar year, and the Gregorian calendar had already entered March, so Yanjing's chance of snowfall should already be very low—but unexpectedly, a sudden heavy snowfall arrived, turning the entire city into a world of silver-white.

Seeing the snow falling all over the sky, Xiao Churan's mood improved considerably; she sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, focusing intently on watching the snow fall.

However, the people rushing on the streets for the morning rush hour were not in such good spirits—various vehicles on the road were jammed into a porridge-like mess, people holding umbrellas struggled forward in the snow, and from time to time, someone or a bicycle would slip and fall on the road.

Snow fell heavily and continuously until evening.

By the time Ye Chen and Xiao Churan began queuing at the stadium to check tickets and enter, the heavy snow had just barely stopped.

The heavy snow had already brought the city's transportation to the brink of paralysis, but it could not stop these fans' enthusiasm—tens of thousands streamed in continuously, causing the venue's temperature to rise noticeably.

This time, Ye Chen and Xiao Churan had front-row inner-field tickets, also the hardest-to-get section in every concert; here, they could see the stars on stage up close, with the experience maximized.

However, Xiao Churan could not feel happy at this moment; she kept staring at the time on her phone—the concert was scheduled to start promptly at 7:30 p. m., and there were still twenty minutes left, but she also knew that tomorrow morning at 7:00 a. m., she would need to cooperate with Tang Sihai to let Ye Chen accidentally see the news he wanted him to see, according to his plan. After seeing that news, Ye Chen would immediately set off for Australia, meaning their time together was now only twelve hours left.

At this moment, she felt as if she were reading the days pass by second by second.

Thinking of only twelve hours left, and then seeing Ye Chen beside her, Xiao Churan's emotions became somewhat uncontrolled, and tears again unconsciously slid down her cheeks.

Seeing her tears, Ye Chen asked her with concern: "Wife, you……why are you crying again?"

These past few days, Xiao Churan's emotions had been unstable; Ye Chen had originally sensed something was off, but was too dull to guess the cause.

But at this moment, seeing Xiao Churan silently shedding tears, his heart suddenly ached, as if he had guessed something.

Seeing Ye Chen's concerned and tense gaze, Xiao Churan's inner pain and sense of injustice were instantly amplified by this concern—she nearly couldn't control herself from wanting to throw herself into Ye Chen's arms and cry loudly. Holding it in like this, she feared she would break down.

But unexpectedly, at this very moment, a girl beside them suddenly burst into loud sobs.

Her boyfriend quickly pulled her into his arms, anxiously asking: "Honey, what's wrong?"

The girl choked out: "I……I just thought this is Sister Qiuyi's final concert, and I……I feel so heartbroken! I can't imagine her having to retire from the entertainment industry at such a young age……"

As she spoke, the girl lost emotional control and burst into tears, unable to stop crying.

Ye Chen then realized that the girl crying beside him was not just her and Xiao Churan alone; many girls were like Xiao Churan, each staring at the empty stage and silently shedding tears.

Ye Chen naturally assumed that Xiao Churan's tears were because Gu Qiuyi was withdrawing from the entertainment industry.

So he embraced Xiao Churan in his arms and comforted her: "Wife, don't be sad. Even if Miss Gu withdraws from the music scene, her musical works can still be listened to online anytime, and many concert live videos can be found on the internet. Moreover, following the pattern of those Hong Kong and Taiwan singers, she might make a comeback someday."

Xiao Churan listened, stunned, let out a bitter laugh, and reason gradually gained the upper hand; she also suppressed that impulse in her heart...