Chapter Seventeen: Birthday

Jinghui Hotel is located in the Yangjing Scenic Area, adjacent to the National Forest Park. With its beautiful scenery and elegant environment, the site was once home to the French Embassy.

Li Sheng, wearing a temporary staff badge from Meeseeks Company around his neck, gently placed the final chair onto the lawn. He wiped away beads of sweat—mostly imaginary—from his forehead and walked over to a stone bench in the corner of the garden, sitting down next to Cui Yi.

Cui Yi was actually only a few years older than Li Sheng, but having been forced to drop out of high school due to his parents' divorce, he had spent years struggling in the real world. His eyes held a weariness that did not belong to someone his age.

"The flowers were air-freighted from the Netherlands, Germany, Colombia, and Yunnan. The tableware is identical to that used by the Belgian royal family," Cui Yi said, looking at the birthday banquet setup already taking shape. He sighed, "To prevent any mishaps, they specifically ordered five of the four-tier cakes, transported from the other side of the city in three cold-chain trucks..."

Several MS employees, equipped with vernier calipers, were meticulously measuring the distance between every plate, piece of cutlery, vase, and wine glass on the pristine white tablecloths, allowing for no margin of error.

Meanwhile, a photography team—hired at great expense, known for filming viral music videos for famous pop stars—was in the corner, calibrating their equipment for the recording.

"It must be incredibly expensive to host this whole banquet," Li Sheng remarked with a click of his tongue. "A million or so?"

"A million? That’s just the cost of the equipment," Cui Yi curled his lip. "Then there’s the venue rental, staff salaries, the band’s fees, the photography crew’s pay, and several celebrity singers coming to perform later."

Li Sheng glanced at the golden letters—【Qiu Yourong】【Seventeen】—nestled among the blue and white balloons, and smacked his lips. "They really don't mind spending money."

"That’s the way the wealthy think," Cui Yi shook his head. "To them, whether it’s worth the price doesn't matter; what matters is the memory of a lifetime. Youth only happens once. If spending a bit of money can buy a precious memory, then why not?"

"…It’s about time. Start laying out the red carpet. Lighting crew, get ready and dial in the levels. Also, confirm with the hotel again that the surrounding grass has been sprayed with snake repellent; I don’t want to see any guests frightened by snakes or insects."

As she spoke, a sharp, efficient woman with short hair walked into the garden. She held several mobile phones in her hands, a string of walkie-talkies clipped to her waist, followed by two assistants.

Seeing her approach, Cui Yi quickly stopped goofing off and hurried over to the balloon decorations, pretending to be busy, while whispering an introduction to Li Sheng.

The woman was Tan Liu, Cui Yi’s superior. She spoke eight languages, possessed exceptional talent, and rarely made mistakes in the projects she managed.

"Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?" Tan Liu picked up a phone to speak in French. Upon hearing what was said on the other end, her expression shifted abruptly. She hung up immediately and ordered all staff present to remove the bottles of Châteldon mineral water from the tables.

"What happened?" Li Sheng asked out of curiosity, joining in the scramble.

"No idea. Let me check the company group chat." Cui Yi pulled out his phone, scanned it, and slapped his forehead. "Damn, news just broke from France that high-end mineral water brands like Nestlé, Vittel, and Contrex have been falsifying their processes, using water from sources with contamination risks and treating it with tap water disinfection."

"Uh… is that all?" Li Sheng couldn't quite grasp why they were making such a fuss.

"The entire birthday banquet is being recorded on camera. Imagine if the client watches the footage years or decades later and sees they were drinking fake tap water at their party—wouldn't that be incredibly off-putting?" Cui Yi curled his lip. "Our company, MS, prides itself on fulfilling our mission and striving for perfection. No mistake can be forgiven, and no flaw can be overlooked. I think you should understand that, Li Sheng—after all, when you used to collect money to do people's homework, you earned enough for a smartphone in a single summer."

"Ha, ha, ha." Hearing his "glorious history" brought up, Li Sheng chuckled awkwardly and brushed off the topic.

Boom.

A dull rumble of thunder suddenly rolled across the sky. Seconds later, a torrential downpour descended upon the world.

The pure white tablecloths were thoroughly soaked, and the jade-like porcelain plates clattered under the onslaught of the rain. The flowers, just arranged, were blown into disarray by the gale, petals scattering everywhere.

"What?!"

Tan Liu, her hair drenched, looked up at the darkened sky, gritting her teeth in fury and stamping her foot. She had confirmed with her contacts at the Meteorological Bureau twice that it wouldn't rain today, yet a downpour had arrived, ruining all their plans. It was enough to make anyone lose their mind.

She took a deep breath to compose herself, picked up her walkie-talkie, and said calmly, "Prepare to move everything indoors! The banquet will be held on the second floor. Camera crew, confirm the status of your equip—"

Before she could finish the word, she heard a chorus of gasps from those around her.

Tan Liu instinctively turned to look. The heavy wooden archway behind her, decorated with flowers, was slowly tilting due to the strong winds and the weight of the rain, falling directly toward her.

If she were hit, broken bones would be the least of her worries.

In the next second, a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her away with force.

Bang!

The wooden archway crashed heavily onto the grass, leaving a deep dent in the ground, the attached flowers scattering everywhere.

"Are you alright?"

A shaken Tan Liu looked at Li Sheng, who was still holding her wrist and asking after her. It took her a moment to react, find her footing, and offer a word of thanks before she resumed directing the staff to move the items.

The sudden incident left Cui Yi a bit bewildered. He whispered, "Li Sheng, your reaction time is incredible."

"It's alright, mostly because I was the closest," Li Sheng scratched his head. His first instinct had been to push the archway away, but he realized that might expose his strength, so he opted to pull her to safety instead.

The minor interruption didn't affect the relocation work. Li Sheng followed Cui Yi, helping to move various items to the second floor of the hotel.

***

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you~"

"Our little Princess Yourong is seventeen now~"

On the second floor of the hotel, there was laughter and the clinking of glasses.

Li Sheng, who had changed into dry clothes, his hair still slightly damp, sat downstairs chatting intermittently with Cui Yi.

"…So, the client is your classmate?"

"Just from the same school and grade, not the same class. We aren't close," Li Sheng said casually. He had crossed paths with Qiu Yourong a few times that evening, and she, currently riding the high of her birthday, along with the other "popular figures" from school, hadn't recognized him at all.

Beep, beep.

His phone rang—it was a call from Han Letian.

"Hey, Brother Sheng," Han Letian’s voice was muffled and sounded exceptionally embarrassed. "I might not be able to make it to your birthday tonight. I got too obsessed with that horror game lately and didn't rest well, so I caught a fever this afternoon. I'm at the hospital now, and my mom won't let me out…"

"Fine, whatever." Li Sheng’s eyes twitched; he was long accustomed to the absurd antics of his best friend.

"I’m so sorry. I’ll definitely treat you to a meal next time—two meals, even—and I’ll give you that 30TB hard drive I’ve been hoarding all these years."

"Get lost."

Li Sheng rolled his eyes and hung up, meeting Cui Yi’s complex gaze. "…Li Sheng, is it your birthday today?"

"I suppose so."

Li Sheng smiled indifferently. The so-called birthday was one assigned to him by his aunt and uncle; the actual date of his birth was likely known only to his deceased father.

Cui Yi fell silent for a moment before saying quietly, "…Sorry, I didn't know."

The music and laughter from upstairs pierced through the floor, echoing in the opulent hall.

Looking around, roses and decorative balloons were visible everywhere. The air was filled with the fragrance of youth.

Others spent their seventeenth birthday in a luxurious hotel, with their parents throwing away millions just to leave behind a precious memory.

Li Sheng’s seventeenth birthday was spent in a hotel uniform soaked by the rain, his palms still bearing the marks of rose thorns from when he had helped tie the floral arrangements.

"This world, it's just..."

Cui Yi pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, but as he was about to light one, he stiffened—MS Company strictly forbade employees from smoking during work hours to ensure guests never smelled smoke on them.

"It's fine," Li Sheng waved his hand, saying softly, "How does that saying go? The fundamental logic of how society operates."

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of high heels descended from upstairs. Tan Liu approached and handed an envelope to Li Sheng.

"This is?"

"You aren't a formal employee of our company, are you?" Tan Liu glanced at Cui Yi nearby and continued, "The daily wage for temporary staff is eighteen hundred. There is also a sum of money I added personally as a token of gratitude inside the envelope."

"Uh, thank you." Li Sheng took the envelope, estimating the size and weight of the bills inside.

Tan Liu nodded. "Also, here is my business card. If you ever want to apply for a job at Meeseeks, you can call me in advance."

Li Sheng accepted the metal business card, which felt high-quality to the touch. Beside him, Cui Yi’s eyes went wide.

MS Company had only entered the country in the last two years. As the regional manager for the city, Tan Liu was the superior of the superior of the superior of Cui Yi. If she hadn't known Qiu Yourong's parents, she wouldn't have personally overseen this banquet.

Cui Yi had spent countless sleepless nights, read countless books, and passed rounds of written tests and interviews to get this job.

And Li Sheng was getting a pass just like that?