"Munni, congratulations on the upcoming opening of your restaurant."
It wasn’t until Xu Yisen’s smiling voice reached Qin Muni’s ears again that she snapped out of her daze.
She nervously bit her lips and softly said, "Thank you."
"Blow out the candles now."
Only then did Qin Muni lower her gaze to the cake in his hands. On it stood a fondant figure modeled after her image, with "Congrats!" written beside it...
Before blowing out the candles, she couldn’t help but complain, "This fondant figure is just too ugly."
As soon as she finished her sentence, she gently blew, extinguishing the only light in the room.
The room fell into darkness again, but within a second, the lights came back on, restoring brightness inside.
Liang Jiuchen and Liang Ziyuan stood not far behind Xu Yisen, one holding a gift box, the other holding a bottle of champagne.
"Sis, we must celebrate properly before the opening, this way the business will be prosperous."
"I’ll take your blessing."
"Tonight, we’re not leaving sober." He pointed to the side of the dining table, which was set with red wine, champagne, XO, vodka, and whiskey.
This setup seemed to imply that unless Qin Muni got drunk, he wouldn’t rest easy tonight.
"You think I can’t handle it?" Qin Muni teased, raising her chin at him in a challenging manner.
The four of them sat down at the dining table, where ten dishes and one soup were laid out, all favorites of Qin Muni.
"Sis, Yisen prepared all of these. As for the ugly cake you just mocked, my brother made that."
As soon as the words were out, Liang Ziyuan unceremoniously shot a glance at Liang Jiuchen.
To celebrate the upcoming opening of Qin Muni’s restaurant, the trio had seriously prepared a surprise party for her. Every dish on the table was personally prepared by Xu Yisen, and even Liang Ziyuan, who hadn’t cooked in a long time, made an exception to bake her a cake.
The trio’s heartfelt effort truly moved Qin Muni. She smiled and said, "It’s so sweet that it’s somewhat unsettling."
This time, it was Liang Ziyuan who replied, "Keep it up. We’re really happy for you."
The Liang brothers had known Qin Muni for over a decade. They had thought that after her father’s passing and her divorce from Xu Yisen, she would fall into despair.
Unexpectedly, she proved to be resilient and strong beyond their expectations. They were genuinely proud of her.
"Come on, let’s toast."
The four glasses clinked lightly in the air, producing a crisp sound.
"Hahaha, I remember the day of my high school graduation. Sister Muni, afraid I’d be nervous, snuck a small bottle of whiskey backstage to find me, insisting I take a few sips for courage."
Recalling Liang Jiuchen’s graduation, when the family went backstage to congratulate him, yet he seemed spaced out, Liang Ziyuan chuckled, "My parents were puzzled about Jiuchen’s state, only to later find out he secretly told me you made him drink."
Liang Jiuchen’s words made Qin Muni recall how she indeed cornered him that day, making him drink for courage.
"I drank half a small bottle of whiskey backstage during my high school graduation before stepping on stage to receive my diploma. It wasn’t because I was afraid you’d embarrassingly mess up in front of the audience that I took this drastic measure."
Xu Yisen cast a slightly disdainful glance at Qin Muni, "You have the nerve to say that, when you bolted to the restroom to vomit right after receiving the diploma, even before the principal finished his speech."
Back then, as the principal was concluding his speech, Xu Yisen went backstage, wanting to congratulate Qin Muni immediately, only to see her dashing out from among the crowd of graduates, covering her mouth.
Thankfully, she was standing at the back of the stage, shielded by the students in front, so her stealthy escape went unnoticed.