After the honeymoon trip, Shen Yuhan found that he knew very little about the festivals and anniversaries between modern couples, so he earnestly took notes and wrote down all the occasions he and his husband should celebrate, not only did he realize that he and his husband could celebrate many occasions, but according to online sources, their first meeting and first kiss could also be counted as part of their anniversaries.
In this way, everything he and his husband have together is the first time, no matter how good Shen Yuhan’s memory is, he can’t remember the month or day when some of their first times happened, it’s really difficult for him, an ancient person who has no concept of anniversaries.
He counted the days and found that it would be his and Shan Qihuan’s first wedding anniversary soon, and the day before the anniversary was Shan Qihuan’s birthday, Shen Yuhan wanted to surprise Shan Qihuan, but he was not good at doing this, so he asked his husband’s opinion, whether or not they celebrate his birthday, and should the family have a meal together, or should the two of them spend it alone?
Shan Qihuan didn’t remember his birthday in previous years, either someone suddenly mentioned his birthday, and he casually responded with a few sentences, or Shan Qixin forced himself to his house and insisted on buying him a cake, which was also considered a birthday celebration, when it comes to the number of real birthday celebrations, he could count the number of times with his fingers, and the few times he can count are not necessarily very beautiful.
The most memorable experience was when he was five years old, Shan Tianfeng had ordered a cake for him, but just as he was about to blow out the candles, it was smashed by Gu Biqing, who was suddenly furious, fortunately, Shan Qibing was at home at the time, and someone else bought him a small cake again, try every possible way to persuade1好說歹說 (hǎo shuō dǎi shuō): to try one’s very best to persuade sb (idiom); to reason with sb in every way possible; try every possible way to persuade; describe requesting or persuading with various reasons or methods. him to celebrate his fifth birthday.
After that, Shan Qihuan no longer liked celebrating his birthday, and as he grew older, he had even fewer expectations for birthdays.
Suddenly brought up the matter of whether or not they celebrate his birthday, Shan Qihuan originally wanted to say no need to Shen Yuhan, but considering that he was not alone now, he relented a bit, they decided not to hold a banquet, but just celebrate it casually at home.
Shen Yuhan guessed the reason why Shan Qihuan didn’t want to hold a birthday banquet, he didn’t insist on it, there are different ways to celebrate, whether with many people or just the two of them, he hopes to make his husband happy, instead of being troubled by the unpleasant experiences in the past, only better memories can defeat the bad memories.
Jiang City is a city with four distinct seasons, after the hot summer, the temperature began to drop in late September, Shen Yuhan didn’t pay attention and caught a cold, but his slight cough didn’t affect his decision to give Shan Qihuan a wonderful birthday.
Shen Yuhan has always been a man of action, and when he wants to do something, he does it.
Without Shan Qihuan’s knowledge, he contacted Gu Biqing, who was sent back to Yun Temple’s Pure Water Temple by Shan Qihuan.
When Gu Biqing left, only Shan Qibing and Shan Qiyuan came to see her, Shan Qixin stood by Shan Qihuan’s side and already regarded her as non-existent, the word ‘disappointment’ could no longer be used to describe her.
Shen Yuhan has already learned everything from Shan Qixin about Shan Qihuan’s dislike of celebrating birthdays, as the saying goes, untying the bell requires the person who fastened the bell2解鈴人還需系鈴人 (jiě líng rén hái xū xì líng rén): T/N: Most likely from the idiom 解鈴還須繫鈴人 (jiě líng hái xū xì líng rén), lit. Untying the bell (on the tiger’s neck) requires the person who fastened the bell; whoever hung the bell on the tiger’s neck must untie it (idiom); fig. whoever started the trouble should end it; the only one who can fix the problem is the one who created the problem; an idiom derived from a fable. Those who created the problem should be the ones to undo it, or more accurately, Let he who tied the bell on the tiger take it off. More information: Link 1, Link 2, Link 3. P.S. Some source describes this as idiom, while some other as proverb., Gu Biqing is indeed hateful, if it weren’t for the sake of his husband’s mental health, he would never communicate with Gu Biqing in his life.
However, Shen Yuhan did not seek out Gu Biqing to engage in the TV drama of a family reunion.
On this day, after Shan Qihuan went to work, Shen Yuhan called Gu Biqing’s mobile phone, he had already greeted the other side in advance.
Gu Biqing is currently practicing alone in the Pure Water Temple, without Shan Qihuan’s permission, she cannot return to Jiang City.
She was still a person who were full of secularism, so when Shen Yuhan approached her, she didn’t hesitate for long and agreed to talk to him.
She had had this temperament her whole life, and cannot change it.
“What are you looking for me for.” Gu Biqing puts on her monk’s clothes and sits in a pavilion, without her makeup, she looks like a real sixty-something-year-old woman.
The fact that she answered the phone shows that she still wants to go back to the Shan family, the unresolved grievances between her and Shan Tianfeng are still not over, even though their relationship has long been in name only3名存實亡 (míng cún shí wáng): the name remains, but the reality is gone (idiom); to remain existing in name but no longer in reality; now nominal; cease to exist except in name; exist in name only; means that it still exists in name only but has actually disappeared., but she still continues to hold onto that little bit of status, perhaps this would make her feel better, but who knew, Shen Yuhan was not interested in her affair with Shan Tianfeng.
“Ms.4女士 (nǚ shì): lady; Ms.; Miss; a female title used when you are unsure of the other person’s marital status. Gu.” Shen Yuhan was unwilling from the bottom of his heart to consider her as his mother-in-law, so he found an appropriate title, “Brother Qihuan’s birthday is in half a month, I hope you can transcribe a copy of the Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva5觀世音菩薩普門品 (Guān shì yīn Pú sà pǔ mén pǐn): T/N: Most likely Buddhist Sacred Texts, The Lotus Sutra’s Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. for him, and pray for his blessings.
“Are you ordering me to do something?” Gu Biqing frowned as if she was about to get angry, but seeing Shen Yuhan calmly making tea through the mobile phone screen, she suppressed her anger for the time being.
“Ms. Gu, it’s up to you whether you want to transcribe it or not, if you want to leave the Pure Water Temple, it’s just a matter of one sentence from me, and conversely, it’s also a matter of one sentence to let you take care of yourself in the Pure Water Temple, I’m just giving you a multiple-choice question.” Shen Yuhan smiled at her, he believed that no matter how foolish Gu Biqing might be, she would still weigh her options, whether she chose to continue to suffer and cultivate, or choosing to return to the city in the future, it all depended on her.
While Gu Biqing was thinking, Shen Yuhan put forward his own request: “I hope that the Buddhist scriptures you transcribe will be delivered to me before Brother Qihuan’s birthday.”
After Gu Biqing calmed down in the Pure Water Temple for several months, and based on the analysis given to her by Aunt Cheng, she knew Shen Yuhan’s position in Shan Qihuan’s heart, and knew that he was very capable, she was already shaken.
“Will your word stand?”
“I’ll honor the promise I made, however, you cannot return to Jiang City, you can go to any other city you want.”
Aunt Cheng’s evaluation of Shen Yuhan flashed through Gu Biqing’s mind, this Shen Yuhan may look young, but his mind is unfathomable6深不可測 (shēn bù kě cè): deep and unmeasurable (idiom); unfathomable depths; incomprehensible; impossible to understand; enigmatic and impossible to predict; enigmatic; too deep to be measured, a metaphor for the elusiveness of the situation of things., he is very difficult to deal with, even ten of her would not be a match for Shen Yuhan, she dared to be unscrupulous towards Shan Qihuan, because Shan Qihuan was her son, even though there was no love between mother and son, but there is an unbreakable blood relationship, she and Shen Yuhan have nothing to do with each other, and they are almost on opposite sides, Shen Yuhan was still inclined toward Shan Qihuan, and she had never had any motherly feelings toward Shan Qihuan, therefore, Shen Yuhan could naturally treat her without pretense.
After weighing the pros and cons7權衡利弊 (quán héng lì bì): to weigh the pros and cons (idiom); weigh the advantages and disadvantages; to compare which one is beneficial and which one is harmful., Gu Biqing said: “I will transcribe it.” She really didn’t want to stay in the Pure Water Temple any longer.
After settling the matter on Gu Biqing’s side, Shen Yuhan started to arrange other things, although it was only for two people, the blessing still could not be missing, Shen Yuhan hoped that his husband would always be happy.
The flavor of autumn is getting thicker and thicker, and it also welcomes Shan Qihuan’s birthday and their wedding anniversary.
He ate his meals one bite at a time and took care of one thing after another, the most important thing was to help his husband celebrate an unforgettable birthday.
On Shan Qihuan’s birthday, Shen Yuhan got up early in the morning, he had given the auntie the days off yesterday.
As early as half a month ago, he had arranged what he wanted to do today, although the process was tangled and difficult, he still completed it with his own efforts, he was now at least half a modern person.
Shan Qihuan has never celebrated a birthday seriously since he was a child, thinking about it makes him feel very sad, so he will be responsible for this year’s birthday so that his husband can feel that celebrating his birthday is also a happy and joyful thing.
He gently pushed open the window and followed Shan Qihuan’s usual practice of standing on the balcony and stretching after getting up, it was really comfortable.
The yard is full of his favorite flowers and greenery, not long ago, he built a small bird’s nest on a tea tree, and the morning before yesterday, he saw two small bird eggs on it.
The glass house is also full of flowers, and it feels like spring all year round.
The cushions he and his husband used when drinking tea were all sunken, and his collection of tea sets, both modern and ancient, was placed in the glass cabinet on the wall, which could be used as exhibits when taken out.
On both sides of the door, there are palace lanterns left over from the day they got married, which is also a special feature when lit up at night.
Before he knew it, he had lived here for a year, and there were traces of their life together everywhere.
Everything that had happened in the past year passed through his mind, and he turned his head to look at Shan Qihuan, who was sleeping with a quilt under his arm, he couldn’t help but laugh, his husband only revealed his most innocent side when he was asleep.
Time was a little tight this morning, Shen Yuhan went straight into the kitchen after washing up.
It was natural to eat longevity noodles8長壽面 (cháng shòu miàn): Longevity noodles. 
for his birthday, and he wanted to give this meaningful bowl of longevity noodles to his husband with his own hands.
So… I made a mistake, this chapter is the last chapter of the main text… I made a mistake because there’s no ‘extra’ in the title of the next two chapters *sweat* I’m sorry orz
Also, the next part will be up soon.
In China, the Han people follow the custom of eating longevity noodles on their birthdays. The tradition dates back to Emperor Wu (157 BC – 87 BC) of the Han Dynasty. In Chinese, the character “面” literally means noodle as well as face. Emperor Wu believed that people with long faces generally lived longer. Because noodles are long, they symbolize long life. The Chinese believe that if the birthday person eats noodles on this special day, that person will enjoy a long life ahead. This is why birthday noodles are often not cut. They are stretched from a single piece of dough into long strings of skinny noodles. When you eat the noodles, you should try not to cut them with your chopsticks either. Only when you can’t stuff any more noodles into your mouth, can you bite them off. More information: Link 1, Link 2.
