When I was a teenager, I always felt like I was living like a year in the face of boring books, looking forward to the end of school after dusk, and looking forward to every weekend and holiday.

It wasn't until I grew up and entered the workplace that I experienced the busyness and pressure of work, and I felt that every day of my life seemed to be between opening and closing my eyes.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed after the Lantern Festival, and time quietly came to the beginning of March.

After Zhou Mingrui moved, he also lived in his new home for nearly two weeks, and gradually got used to the cohabitation life of becoming roommates with Su Mo.

Su Mo is a very good roommate, especially after the torture of the last strange roommate, which makes him reasonable and understanding.

For example, after Zhou Mingrui euphemistically expressed that he couldn't accept wolfberry water, he remembered that Su Mo was stunned for a moment, and after coming back to his senses, he explained that he was used to drinking it before, but he subconsciously ignored it, and then apologized happily, and took Zhou Mingrui to the small supermarket downstairs to buy a new kettle.

But the run-in between the two was not completely smooth sailing.

For example, after placing an order on Taobao and waiting for the new textbook "The Night Land" to be shipped and shipped, Su Mo would regularly review Russian every two days.

One time, Zhou Mingrui watched curiously, and asked him how much he had learned now......

…… After that, Zhou Mingrui regretted thinking more than once that if he could go back to the past, he probably couldn't hold back the urge to kill that cheap self.

Because his understanding roommate met his request, in order to show the results of his self-taught Russian, he was pulled to sing the song "Katyusha......

That night, Zhou Mingrui had nightmares all night, in which the mental attack from Su Mo was played on a loop.

Afterwards, Zhou Mingrui also went to listen to the original version of "Katyusha", compared it with the magic sound of that day, and then was horrified to find that Su Mo seemed to, maybe, should ...... No off-tune.

This is not right, he is even more desperate, since Su Mo is not out of tune in singing, how can he sing so badly???

If he chooses between listening to Su Mo singing every day and listening to the marketing account every day for brainwashing, Zhou Mingrui has no doubt that he will choose to go back and continue listening without hesitation: "Pay attention, this man's name is Xiaoshuai......"

Thankfully, Su Mo seemed to be only interested in his proposal that day, and he didn't have any interest in studying "spiritual magic" every day, and he was even more mysterious recently, and he didn't know what he was doing.

Another Friday.

Zhou Mingrui put down the tablet in his hand, raised his hand and stretched.

His gaze inadvertently swept across the opposite side, and the booth on the opposite side was empty.

"I'm only working five days a week, and this is the fifth day......

Zhou Mingrui muttered.

Su Mo has been on leave for five days in a row, although he has only asked for half a day each time, but such frequent leave still makes people secretly pinch a cold sweat for him.

"Forget it, don't worry about me, Brother Huo shouldn't mind, and Su Mo must have it in his heart." Zhou Mingrui smacked his lips, "I just don't know what he's doing mysteriously, and I blocked it back when I asked him a secret." ”

He glanced at the time displayed in the lower right of the computer, and couldn't help but cheer in his heart.

All right! It's almost time to get off work!

What should I eat tonight? He pondered.

At this time, the mobile phone that was charging on the table suddenly came with a notification reminder sound, Zhou Mingrui turned his head and looked at the current power displayed on the mobile phone screen, 78%, not much, but enough.

He unplugged the charger and charging cable, and after putting it away, he picked up his phone and clicked into the main interface.

The notice just now was a WeChat message from Peng Deng.

Penden: My girlfriend came to see me and stayed here for me this weekend.

Zhou Mingrui: So you're not available tonight?

Penden: What do you think?

Zhou Mingrui: Damn, I forgot my friends.

Peng Deng posted a dog-headed emoji with a smiling face, and typed: In order to comfort someone's injured heart, just reluctantly send a red envelope.

"This guy is probably laughing at me for being a single dog......"

Zhou Mingrui grinded his teeth.

Exclusive Red Envelope: Happy Birthday and Get Rich Soon!

complained so much, but Zhou Mingrui's speed of snatching the red envelope in his hand was not slow at all.

Then he fell silent at the amount of red envelopes on the screen.

Hint: A red envelope totals 233.3 yuan, and it is snatched up in one second.

You grabbed 233.3 yuan.

Underneath is a small crown icon with the best luck.

Zhou Mingrui was "angry".

It's a mockery! Sure enough, it's a mockery!

He just quit work "angrily".

On the way back to the rental house, Zhou Mingrui received birthday wishes and red envelopes from his parents.

Birthday wishes are a video recorded by the two of them for him, Zhou Mingrui looked down at his phone as he walked, his eyes gradually softened, and the corners of his mouth raised an unrestrained smile.

It wasn't until he entered the elevator of the residential building that he put away his phone and suppressed the smile on the corner of his mouth, so that he didn't look so stupid.

When the elevator arrived at the floor, Zhou Mingrui stood at the door and entered the password, but as soon as he opened the door, he was stunned for a moment.

"Why is it so dark?"

The lights weren't turned on, and Su Mo hadn't come back yet? But it's not so dark if you don't turn on the lights......

"Qiang, Qiang!"

The sudden brightness made Zhou Mingrui squint subconsciously, and when his eyes adapted to the brightness of the environment, he looked at Su Mo who suddenly jumped out and turned on the light, his eyes full of hesitation and confusion.

"Why do you roll the newspaper into a cone?"

"Ah, this," Su Mo shook off the newspaper rolled into a cone, and said with a smile, "I originally wanted to buy that kind of hand-held small salute, or streamer spray or something, but considering that in this way, not only do you have to wash your hair, shower and clothes, but I also have to clean up afterwards after spending money, so I simply replaced it with this~ How about it, isn't it a surprise?" ”

There was no surprise, Zhou Mingrui complained silently, but there was a fright.

"Don't be stunned." On the other side, Su Mo urged, "Cooperate with me!" ”

Zhou Mingrui's face was black: "What...... Cooperate? ”

Su Mo followed the temptation:

The protagonist who accepted the celebration was surprised (scared) by a salute from a friend.

He stood still, his hair, shoulders, and clothes covered with colorful stripes and petals, and small sparkling sequins scattered among them, like stars in the night sky......

"He was greeted by the smiling face of his friend, and his heart was full of mixed feelings, and an indescribable wave of emotion welled up in his heart, which made him cry out uncontrollably-"

"Sumer!" Zhou Mingrui shouted loudly, "What are you doing, Su Mo!" ”

"The line is not right," Su Mo held up the newspaper and tapped lightly on his forehead, "do it again." ”

Zhou Mingrui obediently let out an "oh", and shouted again with deep affection: "Su Mo! Why are you-"

"It's to celebrate your birthday!"

Su Mo responded with the same enthusiasm, and then continued to describe:

"He was shocked!"

Zhou Mingrui cooperated in shock, but his expression always looked a little embarrassed.

Su Mo's voice was full of frustration and emotion:

"Ahh My friend! Why do you know my birthday is today?

His heart was churning like a tidal wave, and it was difficult to calm down for a long time.

"Look up! Look at your friend's sincere smiling face again!

"Another indescribable emotion welled up in his heart, and he couldn't help but burst into tears—"

Zhou Mingrui raised his head!

After a while, he said embarrassedly and aggrievedly, "I—I can't cry." ”

"Then laugh!" Su Mo laughed, "Xiao Zhou, happy birthday!" ”

A minute later.

Zhou Mingrui sat on the sofa and quietly looked at the strawberry cake on the coffee table.

Su Mo opened the curtains of the living room and sat down beside him.

Zhou Mingrui suddenly asked, "Su Mo, how do you know that my birthday is March 4th?" ”

"Don't forget, when you first joined the company, you were assigned to my guidance." Su Mo smiled lazily, "Your file is also handled by me. ”

When he first learned about Zhou Mingrui's birthday, he was also very surprised.

March 4th is also the birthday of Klein Moretti (original).

Coincidental?

Is there really a coincidence in the world of "Mystery"?

"Oh." Zhou Mingrui replied sullenly, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Actually, I haven't eaten a birthday cake for a long time. ”

When did it start?

When I was a child, when I had a birthday, what I looked forward to most was not a birthday gift, but a sweet birthday cake.

But as we get older, the cake sharing session is gradually replaced by a dinner party between friends, where everyone talks and laughs, makes wishes to the stars, and spends the birthday night together.

When he was in college, he occasionally had insomnia while lying in bed, and Zhou Mingrui would also imagine his future life.

Find a stable job, marry a loving wife, have a lovely child, travel with your family on holidays, go out with friends on weekends to have a barbecue, pack some to take home to your wife before leaving, and share a little bit with him/her if the child grows up, but not too spicy.

There are so many things to do in the future, birthday may gradually become a symbolic number, sometimes busy even forget about yourself, after seeing the birthday wishes of so-and-so software, I suddenly remembered that today is a birthday, and said happy birthday to myself and coped with it.

"Su Mo," Zhou Mingrui said solemnly, "thank you." ”

Without waiting for a response, he quickly asked as if in disguise, "Are you taking time off all these days just for this cake?" ”

Su Mo smiled and asked, "How did you guess?" ”

"Because this cake is a little small, it feels like it's only four inches." Zhou Mingrui stared at the single cake in front of him, "And as far as I know, most cake shops are not very happy to take orders for four-inch cakes. ”

"That's right, because a four-inch cake takes about the same amount of time as a six-inch cake, but the profit is half the same, and the smaller the size of the cake, the harder it is to deliver—" Su Mo nodded matter-of-factly, "So, this is my own cake."

Zhou Mingrui instinctively looked at the kitchen opposite.

"What do you think, the surprise that will be discovered, is it still called a surprise?" Su Mo shook his head and put on a "heartbroken" look, "Of course I did it in the cake shop outside!" ”

He proudly adds, "This is the first finished product that I have made after a week of practice, taught by the master by hand." ”

"Is that okay?" Zhou Mingrui blurted out.

"If it doesn't work," Su Mo's eyes were deep, "it can only mean that the money is less." ”

Zhou Mingrui twitched the corner of his mouth, this reason is very convincing.

But......

Zhou Mingrui's thinking diverged.

After these days of getting along, Su Mo's character model in his mind is constantly decomposing and reconstructing, slowly evolving into a more realistic image.

For example, Su Mo is actually not as calm and serious as he imagined, and from time to time he will put on a handful of skin like he entered the door today.

For example, Su Mo did not have the same lack of awareness of the value of money as he had previously thought.

A senior of the moonlight clan who has worked for three years but has no savings, this is an extreme;

A one-time overdraft of the salary for the next six months to improve oneself is also an extreme;

Although half of the monthly salary is used to pay for tuition in installments, the original income is still considerable, so no matter how much you don't manage it, it will not be reduced to the level of clear soup and noodles every day, which is another extreme.

It wasn't until he became a roommate that Zhou Mingrui found that his doubts had additional explanations.

Just like the clear soup noodles that he has always been obsessed with, Su Mo is enjoying it, looking like he likes it very much and can't get tired of eating it, no, it's not so much that he likes it, it's more like an attitude that he has long been used to.

There is also the original Russian book "How Steel is Made", which is not cheap at first glance, Zhou Mingrui also checked it on the Internet afterwards, and the version that Su Mo bought was published in 1958, and it is indeed not cheap now, one will cost one hundred and fifteen.

Even the latest order for "The Night Land", Su Mo did not take his advice on reading the e-book, but spent a hundred yuan to buy the physical book directly.

In some areas, Sumer seems to have a strange insistence...... On the one hand, he is very harsh on himself, and on the other hand, he is unusually generous to certain things.

For example, the birthday cake in front of his eyes......

A bony, slender, white hand reached out in front of him.

Zhou Mingrui turned his head to look, and the corners of Su Mo's mouth were smiling.

Is this to shake hands?

Zhou Mingrui didn't know why, but since Su Mo initiated the invitation, he was still slightly moved and held his hand very seriously.

Then he saw Su Mo blink, and said coldly: "What are you doing?" ”

“？” Zhou Mingrui was dazed, "Isn't it you going to shake hands?" ”

"What handshake?" Su Mo looked at him like a fool, holding his hand and raising it, "I'm asking for my birthday present!" ”

Zhou Mingrui: ??

"Wait, you wait first," Zhou Mingrui let go of his hand, and cos Da Duck hugged his head sluggishly, and once wondered if he had heard a mistake, "I'm thinking a little confused now, you let me tidy up ......"

"First of all," he looked up two minutes later and asked, "your birthday is also today?" ”

"Of course not!" Su Mo replied loudly.

"So," Zhou Mingrui curled his index finger and pointed to his face, "Today is indeed my birthday?" ”

Su Mo quickly nodded in affirmation: "That's right! ”

His overly unreasonable attitude directly made Zhou Mingrui stumped:

"So my birthday......

"Shouldn't you have given me a birthday present?

"Why did you ask me for a birthday present?"

"But it's a birthday gift," Su Mo stared at him with blazing eyes, "it was originally given by someone who should have celebrated his birthday!" ”

Zhou Mingrui: ???

He didn't want to complain about where this strange rule came from, he just felt that he was about to finish the question mark for the next year this day.

No, let's be conservative, just for a month, he has a hunch that Su Mo will definitely give him a few more flowers in the future......

"Su Mo," Zhou Mingrui said calmly, "Birthday gifts are generally made ......"

“…… A birthday person gives it to a friend! Su Mo looked at him stubbornly, "With us, that's it!" ”

Zhou Mingrui was silent.

His lips trembled twice, and his heart was full of mixed feelings, and finally turned into a weak and helpless sentence on his lips: "...... What gift do you want? ”

Su Mo's eyes bent, revealing a triumphant smile, and then diligently pushed Zhou Mingrui into the kitchen.

"I want to eat a dish." He pointed to the large bags on the counter and said, "The ingredients you need are already ready for you." ”

Zhou Mingrui stepped forward, and while untying the large bag containing the ingredients, he asked casually, "What kind of dish?" ”

He took out the ingredients from the bag one by one: lamb, baby peas, carrots, onions, potatoes......

It wasn't until he took out the last potato that Zhou Mingrui heard a quiet voice behind him:

"Lamb stewed with tender peas."

……

Something is wrong, there must be something wrong.

Zhou Mingrui put the cut lamb pieces into a stainless steel basin, first added a spoonful of salt, drizzled some dark soy sauce to color, and then added a lid of light soy sauce, then white pepper, oil, chicken essence, and a little high liquor......

The pickled seasoning was too well prepared, Zhou Mingrui complained silently, Su Mo must have been premeditated!

While mechanically grasping and mixing all the juices into the lamb, he looked back at Su Mo, who was sitting on the sofa with an English dictionary in his hand, reading his newly arrived physical novel "The Night Land" leisurely.

Zhou Mingrui retracted his gaze, looked down at the lamb in the basin again, and fell into a daze again.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Is today really my birthday?

Zhou Mingrui sighed, put the well-grasped lamb aside and waited for pickling, washed his hands and began to peel the tender peas, and after making a small bowl, he peeled and washed the carrots and potatoes and cut them into even small pieces, followed by spicy onions......

When all the ingredients are ready, he sets up the pan and saucepan, the saucepan boils with water, and the pan is preheated.

When the pan was hot, Zhou Mingrui added an appropriate amount of oil, and then directly poured the carrots and onion pieces into it and stir-fried for a while.

The aroma began to permeate, he put the fried carrots and onion pieces into the saucepan, added a little oil to the pan, and continued to pour the marinated lamb into the pot, and after carefully frying it for a while, he also got into the saucepan.

After simmering for about twenty minutes, Zhou Mingrui opened the lid, put in the tender peas and cut potatoes, and added some water and salt appropriately.

Closing the lid of the saucepan, he exhaled in satisfaction.

Succeed with flying colors! The next thing is to wait.

……

Something is wrong, there must be something wrong.

Zhou Mingrui stared blankly at the small bowl of tender pea stewed lamb in front of him.

It's a small bowl, about the same size as the one he peeled peas.

Su Mo sat beside him on a small bench and took a bite of the lamb.

Almost as described in the original book, the lamb is stewed to a soft and rotten taste, truly melts in the mouth, and the fragrant gravy bursts in the mouth, fully satisfying the preferences of meat lovers.

Feeling the resentful gaze from Zhou Mingrui, he used chopsticks to pick up a piece of flour and glutinous potatoes from the large enamel bowl in front of him that had contracted almost all the tender peas and lamb stewed mutton, and then said with a smile: "This can't blame me for unfair distribution, you still have a cake to solve." ”

Zhou Mingrui: ...... Oh.

He set his eyes on the birthday cake beside him, topped with three whole red strawberries, brightly dripping and lightly stacked on top of the framed cream flowers.

The cream is not the basic white, and the cream flower is not a common rose style, Zhou Mingrui carefully and effortlessly distinguished, it feels like a ...... Chrysanthemum? Golden chrysanthemums?

Alas, don't think about it so much, just eat the cake.

Zhou Mingrui picked up the spoon and dug into the cake.

In the mouth, it is dense and creamy, with a rich milky flavor, and the taste is not straightforwardly sweet, but mellow sweetness.

Well, it's delicious!

Tasting his favorite sweets, Zhou Mingrui squinted his eyes with satisfaction.

For the sake of the birthday cake you made, I'll forgive you a little, a little.

He sighed softly, a real smile appeared in his eyes, and he said to himself silently in his heart:

Happy birthday, Zhou Mingrui.