Beep-beep—Beep-beep—

Fang Lian, who was engrossed in writing his plan, flew into a rage.

…Can’t you send all the messages at once?!
Do you have to send them haltingly, one sentence at a time?!
Do you need to take a deep breath even when typing?

Fang Lian was extremely annoyed. He stopped his planning, picked up his phone, and looked.

Liu Fang: [Friendly reminder: Given that Xiao Ji cannot be in multiple places at once, to avoid everyone in the group spending too much time on uselessly fighting for Xiao Ji’s schedule, for such special date activities, it is recommended that the family members in the group form their own action groups and arrange the activities together as a team.]

Liu Fang: [When calculating the final score for cooperative situations, each family member’s performance will be scored based on their contribution to the overall goal and the effectiveness of their actions. If the final effectiveness of the team’s overall goal is above 80 points, the upper limit of each family member’s activity score will be increased by 3 points, meaning the final score obtainable will be 2~13 points.]

The pen in Fang Lian’s hand slammed onto the table with a ‘smack’.

He looked expressionlessly at the half-page he had just written.

Unfortunately, he had really started writing from “How to secure Xiao Ji’s morning schedule on 8.21.”

Fang Lian stood up expressionlessly and took the page to the shredder on the side. With his other hand holding his phone, he began to type a message into the group: Then we…

Fang Mom: [Then let’s think about how to celebrate Xiao Ji’s birthday together.]

Liu Fang: [@Fang Mom, Speed Score +1 ^^]

Fang Lian: !!!

There’s actually a speed score?

Damn it, falling behind at the start.
This won’t do!

Fang Lian immediately grabbed his phone with both hands, pressed the voice message button, and quickly stated his ideas using voice notes.

One step ahead means staying ahead.
Perhaps one of his ideas would be used, and then the creativity and speed points would belong to him!

…

The grand project of cooperation was in full swing in the group chat.

This wasn’t the first time the four of them had collaborated.
But to be cooperating while secretly competing, this was indeed a first.
This always made certain people, preoccupied with rankings and scores, restless day and night.

Whenever they could snatch a moment, even for a bathroom break, they couldn’t help but get distracted thinking about Xiao Ji’s birthday celebration.

Fortunately, their preparation time was not long. Soon, Xiao Ji’s birthday was just around the corner.

August 20th.

It was already the end of the summer vacation. Fang Ji seized this last bit of holiday time to study jewelry music with great effort.

Although he had little interest in the jewelry company, feeling sleepy just thinking about it, in the field of jewelry music that he was genuinely interested in, his energy and brainpower were more than sufficient.

His brother would often accompany him in his research during his free time.

Fang Ji also needed his brother. For example, sometimes he would encounter many gemstones with similar sounds, all of which were viable options, and his indecisiveness would flare up. At times like these, going to his brother would solve the problem very quickly and perfectly.

His brother had no indecisiveness at all. With just one look and one listen to different gemstones, he could directly give his preferred answer.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Hearing the knock on the door, Fang Ji looked up happily. “Brother, please come in!”

The door opened, and it was indeed Fang Chengyu.

Fang Ji stopped what he was doing and happily gestured to the seat beside him for his brother. “Sit, brother. Is your work done so early today?”

Fang Chengyu smiled and leaned against the doorframe. “No. I just saw on a Green Letter official account that there’s a very good concert in the Imperial Capital tonight. A friend happens to have two tickets. Is Xiao Ji interested in going with me?”

Fang Ji blinked, immediately put down the gemstones in his hand, and returned them to their box.

He said, “If brother wants to go, then I must accompany him. Brother, wait for me to change my clothes. Can I wear jewelry today?”

Fang Chengyu said gently, “You can, but remember to take it off before entering the concert hall.”

Fang Ji changed his clothes joyfully and happily went out with Fang Chengyu.

Most of the time, it was Fang Ji who took his brother out to have fun.
This time, it was a rare occasion that his brother had a place he wanted to go, so Fang Ji was naturally happy to accompany him.

However, Fang Ji did not expect that this outing would last the entire day. After the concert, his brother took him to an art exhibition, then to a hot spring, and then for a cruise…

By the time Fang Ji realized it, it was already 11 PM.

They were finally in the car on their way home.

Fang Ji’s mood had been lifted by the full day of fun and didn’t subside even after getting in the car. He chattered away to his brother about his plans for tomorrow.

Tomorrow was his birthday.

In his plan, he was going to spend a completely private daytime with his brother—just like today.

In the evening, he would go to the Xiyalama Hotel for a birthday dinner with his friends, and of course, he would bring his brother along.

This would be the first time his brother appeared at his birthday dinner, and Fang Ji was very much looking forward to it.

He asked his brother with immense anticipation, “Brother, brother! Can you wear a lot of jewelry tomorrow night?”

“Xiao Ji will prepare it for you and help you put it on. At the dinner, they’ll know you’re my brother with just one look!”

Fang Chengyu seemed a little troubled. “Do I have to wear it?”

Fang Ji looked at his brother with sparkling eyes.

Fang Chengyu surrendered, gentle and doting. “Alright, alright. Who can say no when it’s Xiao Ji’s birthday tomorrow?”

Fang Ji cheered, “Brother is the best!”

He excitedly opened his phone’s photo album, flipped to his jewelry collection photos, and prepared to style his brother.

But just then, Fang Ji suddenly looked out the car window.

He frowned and asked with confusion, “Huh, brother, don’t you think this scenery looks a bit unfamiliar… Is this the way home?”

Fang Ji focused his gaze and realized they were getting closer and closer to A Mountain in the distance. But the Fang family residence was not in that direction, meaning the car was heading in the opposite direction from their home.

Fang Ji instantly gripped his brother’s wrist, his alert and shocked gaze snapping towards the family driver.

Could it be…!

The driver coughed dryly. “Little young master…”

Fang Chengyu smiled gently. He placed his palm over the back of Fang Ji’s hand.

Fang Chengyu: “Don’t worry, it’s a surprise. Does Xiao Ji remember that our family has a palace on A Mountain?”

…Oh, so it was his brother’s arrangement. Then it’s fine.

Fang Ji relaxed in an instant, then felt bewildered. It took him a while to remember. “Oh, that place. Dad took me there when I was a child. I found it too quiet, so I never went back after I grew up.”

He asked excitedly, “Why did you suddenly mention this, brother? Did you prepare a birthday gift for me at the palace?”

Fang Chengyu’s eyes curved. “Xiao Ji will know when we get there.”

The journey up the mountain was a bit long, so Fang Chengyu told Fang Ji to close his eyes and take a nap first.

By the time the car stopped, it was already past midnight.

Fang Chengyu gently shook Fang Ji awake.

Fang Ji woke up from his sleep in a daze. After realizing why he was being woken up, he sat up straight with excitement.

Fang Ji: “We’re here!”

He looked out the car window with anticipation.

But he saw that it was silent and pitch black outside the window.

The car’s headlights were turned off, and the moon in the sky seemed to be completely obscured by thick clouds. Looking out the window, Fang Ji thought for a moment that he had been brought to some desolate place in the wilderness to be buried.

Fang Ji’s mind cleared instantly.

His scalp tingled, and his voice stuttered, “Bro-brother, are… are we sure we’re in the right place?”

Fang Chengyu took Fang Ji’s hand and led him out of the car. “Come with me.”

Trusting his brother, Fang Ji braced himself and stepped out of the car.

The moment Fang Ji’s feet touched the ground, lights flashed from all directions, and Fang Ji was so dazzled that he closed his eyes.

“Thud, thud!”

The sound of footsteps from all around was perfectly synchronized, a wave of sound rolling towards the person in the center.

Fang Ji’s fingers curled into Fang Chengyu’s sleeve. He squinted against the light, managing to open a slit, and his expression suddenly froze.

Fang Ji murmured, “This is…”

Bright lights illuminated the entire field of vision. A huge Western-style palace stood not far in front of them, revealing its true face.

Rows upon rows of bodyguards in black suits stood in front of the palace, on their left and right sides, their backs straight, their eyes bright and full of spirit.

At the moment the lights blazed, the bodyguards’ synchronized shout shattered the sky: “Welcome, young masters, to the palace. Happy birthday, little young master!”

Before Fang Ji could even react to the shout, the sky suddenly lit up.

He looked up in a daze, only to see hundreds of drones simultaneously light up the night sky, forming a silhouette of a family of six.

The human-shaped outlines, sketched by points of light, remained fixed in the air for about ten seconds. Then, five of the figures suddenly dispersed, and the smallest figure in the center began to slowly “expand” and grow larger—before abruptly “exploding”!

The colorful stars scattered across the sky regrouped into a line of dazzling text:
[Mom, Dad, Brothers, and Sister wish Xiao Ji a happy 20th birthday and a life of eternal happiness and no worries!]

…Dad, Mom, Brother, Brother, Sister?

Fang Ji looked in disbelief towards the direction where the footsteps had come from.

He saw that the security guards there parted like the sea, automatically moving to both sides.

Four familiar yet, at this moment, very unfamiliar figures strode towards him.

Fang Ji’s feet felt as if they were nailed to the spot.

He could only watch blankly as his parents, brothers, and sister approached him, walked towards him, and then…

His mother suddenly rushed forward, her arms open, and hugged him tightly with a smile.

She said gently, “Happy birthday, Xiao Ji.”

Fang Ji did not see the contorted faces of the three people behind his mother.

This scene was only witnessed by Fang Chengyu.

Fang Ji felt his nose tingle, and moisture welled up in his eyes at some point.

Fang Ji asked in a hoarse voice, “Mom, why… why are you, Dad, and my siblings all back today?”

Mom Fang said softly, “Xiao Ji’s 20th birthday is a very important milestone in life.”

Before Fang Ji could react, Mom Fang had already let him go, revealing his dad, older brother, and older sister behind her.

Mom Fang patted Fang Ji on the back and said with a smile, “Go on, Xiao Ji. Everyone wants to give you a good hug.”

Fang Ji went forward in a daze.

After receiving hugs and blessings from each of them, he was surrounded by his parents and siblings and led towards the palace.

Fang Ji didn’t care at all how luxurious the palace was.

The moment he entered the palace, his attention was captured by the numerous gifts piled up on both sides of the path.

These gifts were very clearly divided into four “piles,” each “pile” occupying an empty space of thirty to fifty square meters.

However, the reason for this large footprint was that in each “pile” of gifts, there was always at least one item of enormous size, such as the new red car in the top right “pile” of gifts, or the large meteorite specimen in the bottom left “pile”…

As for the quantity, it was not that exaggerated.

Not too many, not too few. The number of gifts in each “pile” was exactly 20.

Fang Ji: “…!!”

“Xiao Ji, look.”

Mom Fang naturally pulled Fang Ji over, bringing him to her area of gifts. Her voice was soft. “These are the 20 years’ worth of birthday gifts that Mom personally picked for Xiao Ji.”

“Mom missed too many of Xiao Ji’s birthdays in the past. It was Mom’s fault. So today, Mom is going to make up for all the missed blessings for Xiao Ji, okay?”

“Look, this red diamond was Mom’s favorite diamond from the year you were born. I’m giving it to Xiao Ji today as his 1st birthday gift.”

“This piece… is for Xiao Ji’s 2nd birthday gift.”

“This one… this one… this car…”

At the entrance of the palace.

Behind the heartwarming mother-son scene, one father, one daughter, and one son stood with expressionless faces, the atmosphere heavy and tense.

Only then did Fang Lian clearly see the strength that had allowed his mother to dominate the top of the leaderboard for two consecutive months.

He listened to the words his mother said, then thought about the words he had prepared. For a moment, he just wanted to tear up his speech and immediately go back to rewrite and rememorize it!

…Was there no hope for first place this month again?

Fang Lian clenched his fists tightly, extremely unwilling. He had worked hard to get full marks on all the daily Ji points since the first week of this month!

He was disappointed, he was unwilling. He subconsciously looked at his fifteen-million-yuan teacher.

Fang Chengyu felt his gaze, turned his head, and looked back at him with a peaceful and serene gaze, a smile in his eyes.

That gaze seemed to be comforting, seemed to be encouraging, seemed to be telling him: Don’t give up. You can do better than her.