CHAPTER 285: HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Adrian did not move from where he stood.

And for a moment, Ella did not budge from her spot as well. For some reason, she felt an unwavering sense of guilt.

Ji Yan bowed to Adrian and left the scene with urgent footsteps.

Ella lifted her head slightly, stealing a peek at Adrian.

The day she went to meet Violet and Violet brought up the topic of university convocation, Ella suddenly remembered something.

In her previous life, she had sneaked into Adrian’s study countless times and once she had chanced upon a document where she had seen Adrian’s birth date. August 19.

Seconds turned into minutes yet the beach sunk into an uncomfortable silence.

Even the pleasant notes of piano and flutes had stopped.

Adrian did not say a word for a long time.

And eventually, Ella could no longer stand still. Gulping softly, she looked up at the man, "Today is your birthday. I wanted to do something special for you but I didn’t realize..."

Adrian didn’t celebrate his birthday? Of course, he didn’t... Or else, how could there not be a single birthday celebration for him throughout these years!

But Ella was so eager to plan something for him that she chose to overlook all these details.

Ella bit her bottom lips as she lowered her head, "Baby, I am sorry. If you want me to take these down then..."

Before Ella could finish, she was swept into a strong embrace.

Adrian held her firmly, leaving no space between them.

And Ella could feel everything, the iciness in his touch, his wildly racing heart and the way he held her like he was afraid of something.

"You were... not ignoring me?" He whispered, his voice filled with hesitation and doubt.

When she heard that, Ella instinctively tried to break the hug. But Adrian held her even tighter, pulling her into his arms till their figures overlapped into one from a distance.

"At first, I was..." Ella paused, looking for the right word but sensing his urgency, she continued, "I was mad. You disappeared and came back abruptly without an explanation. But I never intended to ignore you."

When things came down to it, Ella knew that the difference between Adrian and her was too huge.

If he planned a surprise for her, then she would not know about it till the last moment.

But when it was her turn, she doubted that her secret would stay under wraps for even half an hour.

So, to play it safe, she decided to play along their initial ’cold war’ and avoid him for a while.

Suddenly, Adrian released her.

Before Ella could utter a word, the man held her by her shoulders and twirled her around, scanning her from head to toe.

"Are you hurt?" He cupped her face, holding his breath.

Ella paused and then slowly shook her head, "I only acted a bit weird so you can naturally come looking for me, to see the surprise..." Ella trailed off.

Looking at his disheveled state, she realized that his visit to this place barely seemed to have occurred ’naturally’.

"I... I even left a note in my room before I left. You didn’t get it?" Ella added meekly.

Adrian looked at her, a blend of anger, helplessness and gratefulness rushed inside him. For a moment, he stood still, looking at the girl in front of him.

Ella squirmed, "Baby, did I cause you trouble?"

Adrian pulled her into his arms again, letting out a soft sigh, "You are my best gift, Elle, regardless of what occasion it is."

She just needed to be there and his world would light up on its own. Didn’t she know that?

Ella’s heart skipped a few beats when his words registered in her mind.

She tried to calm her heart yet for some reason, the organ seemed to be ready to pop out of its cage.

Was she touched? Ella was sure she wasn’t.

Shy? No, he wasn’t even flirting!

Then, why did she suddenly find it so difficult to calm herself? He just uttered a few words and now, she had gone blank.

’Ella, when you love someone, you don’t even realize it until you are too deep into it,’ Mo Jun’s words crashed into Ella’s mind like a vice.

And she abruptly pushed Adrian away.

Adrian took a small step back, his eyes narrowing.

Ella coughed, "Baby, come with me..." She took his hand and stepped towards the round table.

However, Ella paused mid-step, her eyes scanning the place in darkness. In the distance, she seemed to have seen numerous movements.

"What happened?"

Ella let her gaze roam around once again before she shook her head, "Maybe I was seeing things."

As she dragged Adrian, she did not notice the man’s hand moving behind his back, in a smooth gesture.

Hidden behind a palm tree at a little distance, Ji Yan pulled out his phone, "You all are dismissed. Remember you were never here tonight."

Rows of black cars disappeared from the dark streets mysteriously.

After a series of phone calls, Ji Yan pressed the phone to his chest. At last, all the elite teams were halted.

He stole another look at Ella and his Second Master and his expressions turned a little weird.

At this moment, his phone buzzed. Startled, Ji Yan answered the call, "Yes, third young master... No, no, the Second Master hasn’t given the flowers yet..."

"Why?... Um, Miss Yu has planned a birthday surprise for him..." Ji Yan’s face turned even weirder the next moment, "Miss Yu’s dead body? No... No, you don’t need to collect it."

"_"

"No, Third Young Master, Miss Yu has not been dumped yet. The Second Master doesn’t seem to have any issues with the birthday plans..."

...

On the other side, Ella held Adrian’s hand firmly and led him to the round table.

In the center of the table, a small, clumsily decorated, chocolate cake sat there, glowing softly under the warm lights, its candles flickering.

Suddenly, Adrian’s footsteps halted.

Ella stopped in her tracks, suddenly remembering what Ji Yan said earlier. He’s not going to cut it, is he?

A hint of disappointment crept in her but she did not let it show when she spoke, "If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Earlier, I didn’t even know why you never celebrated your birthday or I wouldn’t have..."

Adrian’s eyes darkened, and for a moment, Ella couldn’t think what he was going to say.

Then, a single, low murmur escaped him, "My brother... died on this day."

His brother?

With Adrian’s title as the ’Second Master’, Ella knew that there must be his elder brother in the picture.

But it wasn’t until their stay together in Westra City did she hear the mention of Adrian’s elder brother.

And now, this was the second time she heard about that man, in the most unexpected way.

Adrian’s brother passed away on his birthday... No wonder... No wonder he never celebrated his birthday, no wonder nobody ever mentioned the day...

His words sank into her like a cold gust. After a long time, Ella opened her mouth, "To me, it was simply your birthday, a day I wanted to make the most special for you. I didn’t know... or I would have never..."

Her voice trailed off when Adrian stepped forward and picked the knife.

Ella blinked, stunned. He cut the cake naturally and in the next moment, he held a slice of cake near her mouth.

Ella took a small bite. She then reached out to feed him the cake too, only to pause midway, "I forgot you don’t like sweet...’’

His words had yet to finish when he bent down and ate the cake from her hand, "I like everything you make..."

As he spoke, he licked the cream off her fingers before straightening up.

"You could tell I made it? Must be my bad attempt..."

Adrian chuckled softly, a teasing glint in his eyes.

Ella pouted.

Suddenly, a warm hand fell upon her head, long fingers gently stroking her hair.

Ella grabbed Adrian’s palm, "Happy birthday," she whispered, cheeks warm, "I am glad you are here today... With me."

Adrian froze for a split-second. And then, without hesitation, he brushed his lips against her temple.

Ella’s heart fluttered, that weird feeling from before dominated her once again.

In no time cake was taken away, and dinner was served.

And the music that had paused for some time, started playing again.

When the soft notes of piano and flute drifted through the air, Ella’s eyes sparkled as she peeked up at him.