The 99th Divorce

The voice was crisp and mesmerizing. It sounded as if it came from a faraway, ethereal source, passing through the galaxies and penetrating her soul. Yu Lili’s heart was touched.

Ou Ming had changed into a burgundy suit. His hands carefully held a huge cake as he came closer. On the cake was an arrangement of lit candles–exactly 25 of them.

Two beautiful cartoon characters were drawn on the edge of the cake. However, the lines were wiggly and uneven. It took a lot of effort to make out that it was a boy and a girl.

“Wow!” Li Jianyue stood up and looked over. Her big round eyes remained fixated on the cake as she exclaimed, “Is it Auntie Lili’s birthday today?”

The sweet and saccharine sound of the little girl’s voice broke the romantic silence that was in the air.

Ou Ming’s lips lifted in a smile as he walked over. He stopped in front of Yu Lili and said, “I’m now returning you the birthday celebration that I owed you this year. Happy Birthday.”

Yu Lili felt her eyes ache all of a sudden as tears welled up in them.

Shen Zhilie and Ye Qianqian had held her birthday celebration for her this year. Ou Ming hadn’t taken part in it.

Yu Lili had never expected him to keep it in mind or to actually pick such a time when so many people were around to celebrate it for her. Was he doing this to return her dignity?

“Where were you the whole afternoon?” Yu Lili looked at him and admonished. She looked down at the cake and giggled. “It’s so ugly!”

When Ou Ming saw her reaction, his brows knitted together in a frown as he asked, “Is it really ugly? It doesn’t look that bad to me. As for the taste… Hmm… It should be passable.”

The cake was big, and the cartoon that was drawn on it was even bigger. Looking from the front of the cartoon, on the left on the male and the right of the female was written the names “Ou Ming” and “Yu Lili.”

“Pfft! Where does your confidence come from?” Yu Lili replied. “Not only is it ugly, it clearly has your name written all over it!”

“How did you know I made it?” Ou Ming asked.

“It’s written all over your face! Anyone can tell!” Luo Zhan interrupted. Everyone around them burst out in laughter.

“This is a make-up birthday celebration. Do you like it?” Ou Ming placed the cake on the table and whispered, “Uncle Wen had me bring a birthday present for you too.”

“Uncle Wen?” Yu Lili was surprised.

“Yes. He’s currently in France for an art exhibition,” Ou Ming said. “But, he specially instructed me to give it to you.”

Yu Lili nodded her head when she heard that. She didn’t expect Ou Ming to take a little box out of his pocket in reply. She was surprised when she saw the box and asked, “Is this it?”

She had initially thought that Uncle Wen’s present would be an oil painting or a canvas of watercolor. She hadn’t expected a small box.

Ou Ming opened the box. Inside it was a miniature art album. The album was only as big as the palm of his hand, but it was very thick.

Yu Lili took it and flipped a couple of pages. It was an album of colored paintings. As she turned the pages, there wasn’t much difference in the consecutive paintings.

She understood immediately. She rolled the album up and flipped the pages swiftly. The picture changed quickly, much like an animation. It was a bird holding a twig in its beak.

Without finishing it, she pressed it back into Ou Ming’s hand and said, “I’ll look at it at home.”

“Lili, Happy Birthday!” Su Qianci was the first to speak. “Dasu, bring me the present I prepared for Auntie Lili.”

“OK!” Li Jianyue climbed off her chair and dashed to the couch at the side.

It was only then that Yu Lili understood. “What? All of you knew about it beforehand?”