Chapter 024: Happy Birthday

After confirming that everything was correct, Ke Mingye let out a soft sigh of relief and opened the communication list on the bus. He was still inputting his thoughts to type and clicked to send in the discussion group.

[Failed Man: How much longer until you all arrive?]

[Fan Quan: Didn't we say 5:30? It's only four now.]

[Unclear Dream: We can get there early.]

[Good Ju Zipi: I'm already on my way, waiting for you guys here.]

Ke Mingye thought that the Deception Puppet's maximum duration was 3 hours; he had summoned the puppet exactly at 4 p.m., so it would disappear at 7 p.m.

If he had to wait until 5:30 to meet the other local players, he needed to resolve things within an hour and a half to slip away from them in advance.

So the sooner he met up with them, the better, otherwise, if he was chatting with them and the puppet suddenly exploded or disappeared, the consequences would be self-evident.

Boarding the bus in front of the school, the journey from Huanjing Third High School to Old Jingmai District took merely 5 minutes; he was already nearing his stop.

While using WeChat to pre-select a cake with the owner of a cake shop in the district, Ke Mingye typed and asked in the communication panel.

[Failed Man: Open the mall, on the Skill exclusive page you can choose two skills to obtain for free, have you chosen?]

[Fan Quan: I have.]

[Good Ju Zipi: I refreshed two C-grade skills and took them both.]

[Unclear Dream: Then you're quite lucky, the ten skills I refreshed on that page only had one C-grade, the rest were all E and D-grade.]

[Fan Quan: Normal, the refresh rate for B-grade skills is only 2%. As players level up in the future, the refresh probability for high-level skills will become higher.]

Originally, Ke Mingye had been wondering whether the first refresh of the Skill exclusive page was guaranteed to produce a B-grade Skill; he appeared lucky but maybe everyone was the same.

Now it seemed he truly did just get lucky: he encountered a B-grade skill with a 2% refresh probability and got it for free through his starting permissions; if he were trying to refresh such a high-level skill at any other time, he wouldn't be able to purchase it due to a lack of Mall Coins and could only watch helplessly.

"It's rare to have such luck; I hope things continue to go smoothly..."

Thinking this, Ke Mingye's gaze moved to the window outside, high-rise residential buildings captured in his pupils, fleeting; pedestrians rode by on electric bikes, getting stopped by traffic police for not wearing helmets.

Looking at the silhouettes of people hanging laundry on their rooftops, Ke Mingye couldn't help wondering whether Ke Xiaomo was currently trailing him or perhaps really staying in the bathroom at home playing on his phone. Or could it be that Ke Xiaomo was actually hiding on the bus, and he just hadn't noticed?

No matter what, he couldn't confirm and had to proceed with the most conservative approach, ensuring precision at every step.

Ke Mingye placed his hand on his phone but then set it down again. Soon enough, the 'huffing and puffing' sound of the bus's exhaust reached his ears, and the bus stopped at a station in the Old Jingmai District.

There were quite a few passengers getting off the bus at the same district, and he followed the stream of people off the bus.

Meanwhile, at a billiards club in Old Jingmai District.

In an empty rooftop area, Ke Xiaomo's figure emerged from the shadows. Looking down, under the dusky twilight, Ke Mingye left the crowd and turned into a lane, walking slowly forward.

Ke Xiaomo slowly moved across the rooftops of several high-rise buildings, keeping his eyes locked on Ke Mingye's movements, never letting him escape his sight for even a moment.

Soon, Ke Mingye walked into Old Jingmai Street No. 3 and entered a cake shop with a sign that read "Sam Bakery." He walked directly to the counter, took out his phone, and said something to the shop owner. The owner glanced at him, then brought out a large package from the back kitchen and handed it to him.

"A cake shop?"

Hiding behind a large standee, Ke Xiaomo cautiously peeked out his head, stealthily observing Ke Mingye inside the shop.

Ke Mingye, having taken the package from the owner, exited the shop with it in hand. While playing with his phone, he strolled towards home, looking every bit like a delivery boy.

Ke Xiaomo followed Ke Mingye in silence until he saw him enter the duplex apartment building and get on the elevator. Only then did he stop walking.

He watched the elevator doors close and ascend slowly before stepping out from behind a large billboard and turning into the deserted alley behind him.

"After school, Mingye only went to that cake shop before heading home," he thought. "He didn't meet with anyone. If there's an issue, it should be connected to that cake shop. It seems the owner knows him; I wonder what they talked about. Mingye had a box in his hand when he returned; I don't know what was in it, but I'll check it out later."

With these thoughts, Ke Xiaomo looked around the alley to make sure no one was watching, then slowly disappeared into the shadows at his feet.

When he opened his eyes again, he was seated on the toilet in his home bathroom. The sound of the doorbell echoed from outside the bathroom, Ke Xiaomo listened to Bai Zini's pitter-patter footsteps rushing to open the door, knew that Mingye had returned, so he pressed the toilet flush lever. Amidst the noisy flushing, he turned on the faucet, washed his hands, and only then approached the bathroom door.

His hand on the doorknob, he slowly turned it and pushed the door open.

At that moment, a sudden "snap" sound startled him.

Ke Xiaomo had already noticed someone outside and knew it must be his sisters' doing, so he pretended to be surprised and extended his hand to protect his head.

When he looked up, the lights inside the room were off, and in the dim corridor, colorful confetti fluttered down from the sky, landing on his hair and face.

Ke Xiaomo paused slightly, then slowly lowered his hands from his forehead. He touched the paper confetti dangling on his face and looked bewilderedly at the three people standing in front of the bathroom.

Bai Zini stood there with a mischievous smile, holding a paper popper the size of a horn in her hands;

Bai Ziling stood beside her expressionless, arms stretching out a banner that read "Happy Birthday 'Ke Xiaomo'";

Ke Mingye stood between his two sisters, hands cradling a cream cake lit with several candles. The candlelight reflected his awkward expression, as if he was somewhat reluctant.

Surrounded by scattered confetti on the floor, the three of them spoke almost simultaneously.

"Happy birthday, second brother!" Bai Zini said.

"Happy birthday, I want a red envelope," Bai Ziling said.

"Happy birthday, another year older for you," Ke Mingye said.

Ke Xiaomo stood at the bathroom door for a long while, then slowly extended his large arms to hug his two sisters and brother, bringing their heads close together.

"Thank you... I am touched."

He said softly, his gaze meeting Ke Mingye's in the middle.