Chapter 1631: Birthday Cake

As the first ray of morning sunlight spilled into Jinghong Tower, Kong Baosheng, lying on his sickbed, let out a soft groan.

Feeling pain somewhere on his body, his facial features twisted somewhat. He braced his hands against the bed surface and, after struggling for a long time, barely managed to sit up... He picked up the water glass by the bedside and drank a few mouthfuls, finally feeling some relief.

Usually, the critically ill Kong Baosheng wouldn't get up this early, but today was an exception.

Besides the fact that the pain had come earlier than usual, today was a very special day for Kong Baosheng... He didn't lie in bed for long, but after feeling he had recovered a bit of strength, he stood up shakily and felt his way toward the door, supporting himself against the wall.

At this time, voices could already be heard faintly outside the door. As Kong Baosheng opened the door, the conversation outside ceased abruptly.

Chen Ling and Li Qingshan looked over at the same time. On the table behind them, a huge double-layered cake was sitting quietly, and an alluring fragrance wafted through the entire front hall...

Kong Baosheng, who had been hungry for many days, couldn't help but swallow his saliva upon smelling the fragrance.

"...Sir?"

"Baosheng, why are you up so early today?" Chen Ling asked with some surprise.

"Because..." Kong Baosheng swallowed his saliva again, then smiled embarrassedly. "Because I'm hungry."

Chen Ling and Li Qingshan looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.

"Sit down, Baosheng." Li Qingshan stepped forward to support him, walking slowly toward the table. "Brother Chen prepared a very, very big cake for you. When I came back just now, I was startled myself..."

"Is it big? How big?"

"As big as the whole table, and it has two layers."

Kong Baosheng sat at the table, his mouth wide open in shock, seemingly unable to imagine what such a big cake would look like.

"Since you're hungry, let's start early." Chen Ling produced a few candles from nowhere and inserted them into the cake. "After you blow out the candles and make a wish, you can start eating."

Li Qingshan also got busy, digging a knife and a few plates out of the kitchen and placing them by the table, then lighting a match to ignite all the candles on the surface of the cake.

At this moment, Kong Baosheng appeared somewhat constrained and nervous.

This wasn't his first birthday; his grandmother had celebrated them for him in previous years. Although he couldn't eat such a big cake, it was still very happy... However, this was his first time celebrating a birthday with the two sirs, and also his first time celebrating a birthday in the early morning.

Logically speaking, the candle-blowing part usually happens at night, but the current situation was quite special...

For him, the earlier, the better.

"The candles are right in front of you." Chen Ling guided him to find the location of the candles. "Make a wish first, in your heart, don't say it out loud, and then blow them out in one breath."

"...Okay!!"

Kong Baosheng immediately pressed his palms together and silently made a wish in his heart.

"Brother Chen, where on earth did you get such a big cake?" Li Qingshan asked Chen Ling in a low voice.

"Two friends who are very good at growing flowers." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "They used some methods to extract cream from different varieties of flowers, and then found a way to bring in some materials from elsewhere, making it fresh overnight... However, this should be the only one they can make."

"I see... No wonder it's so fragrant. Even in the Red Dust Realm, I've never seen a cake this fragrant."

Li Qingshan couldn't help but swallow his saliva, very curious about the taste of the cake.

At the same time, Kong Baosheng had already finished making his wish in his heart and blew out the candles in front of him with force... As wisps of blue smoke rose in the theater, a brilliant smile appeared on his pale little face.

"Sir, I'm done."

"Hmm, sit down, I'll cut the cake for you."

Chen Ling cut a large piece directly from the top layer of the cake and handed it to Kong Baosheng. The latter couldn't hold back anymore, fumbled to pick it up, and stuffed a large mouthful into his mouth.

Then, he froze in place.

"How is it?" Chen Ling asked.

"...It's too delicious." Kong Baosheng seemed to still be savoring the sweetness of that mouthful. "I've never eaten such a delicious cake..."

At this time, Li Qingshan also cut himself a piece, and after taking a bite, he nodded repeatedly.

"It really is delicious. If this craft were used to open a shop anywhere, it would probably be a hit throughout the realm."

Chen Ling also tried a piece. The rich floral fragrance and the sweetness that melted in the mouth truly made his eyes light up... In terms of deliciousness, this thing was second only to charcoal-grilled centipede among all the food Chen Ling had ever eaten.

Kong Baosheng had stopped talking, burying his head and frantically stuffing the cake into his mouth, with pure white cream smeared on half his face, looking very comical.

"Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you." Chen Ling couldn't help but say.

Since he got sick, this was the first time Chen Ling had seen Kong Baosheng have such an appetite. Li Qingshan, who usually didn't eat much in the way of sweets, also ate several pieces of cake today and still had an expression of wanting more.

I don't know if it was Chen Ling's illusion, but it seemed that while they were eating this cake, some faint sounds of swallowing saliva could always be heard from the empty wall beside them...

After an unknown amount of time, Kong Baosheng rubbed his belly and put down his plate, speaking with a cream-covered face embarrassedly:

"Sir... thank you for the cake, I'm full."

Chen Ling looked at the cake, of which only a small piece had been eaten, his gaze somewhat complex.

Although Kong Baosheng had eaten much more today than on usual days, it actually only added up to half a normal person's meal... He was too sick, and had gone too long without eating normal food.

"There's still so much cake left, what should we do?" Li Qingshan looked at the cake, of which less than one-twentieth had been eaten, feeling somewhat pained. "Can it be kept for a few days?"

"This thing is made from extracted flower cream; it can't be kept for very long, at most one day."

The 9-generation couple had specifically instructed Chen Ling about this when they came. Half a day had already passed since they finished making it, and the cake would probably be completely inedible in another half day.

"That's too wasteful." Li Qingshan sighed.

"Sir, can we share the rest of the cake with others?" Kong Baosheng asked. "We can't finish it anyway... it's a pity to waste it. And cake, isn't it meant to be eaten together by everyone?"

Hearing this question, Chen Ling's brows furrowed slightly, as if he were pondering something...

But in the end, he nodded:

"Okay..."

"Then let's distribute it to the guests who come to the theater to watch the play in a while."

"Watch a play?" Kong Baosheng was still somewhat bewildered. "Watch what play?"

Li Qingshan smiled without a word. Chen Ling patted Kong Baosheng on the shoulder, looked toward the entrance of the theater, and slowly spat out three words:

"《Watching the Spring Terrace》."