Song Tan's Notes

A dreamy and elegant blue rose adorns the cake, which is as white as a snow-capped mountain. Even when cut into triangular pieces, it remains exceptionally beautiful.

The cake wasn't very big, and Song Tan quickly distributed it to everyone before placing another cream rose in front of herself without hesitation.

Yang Zhengxin and the other two naturally felt that this was only natural.

However, before eating the cake, they had a carefully prepared gift to give!

The main problem is that if we don't send them soon, Brother Lu Chuan might not be able to take care of them later.

They turned around, and the three of them together pulled out a large, A16-sized picture book from behind them:

"Brother Lu Chuan, this is a gift we prepared for you together!"

A catalog?

Lu Chuan opened the sketchbook and saw on the first page a strange-looking beast simply drawn in watercolor. The technique wasn't particularly good, but the monster's image was depicted with exceptional detail.

Because the colors used are exceptionally fresh, it doesn't appear ferocious at all; instead, it has a touch of dreaminess and holiness.

"This is……"

He glanced at the three of them, then turned to the next page.

The next page contains a scanned image.

The landscape features mountains and rivers, with a giant python coiled overhead, its jaws wide open in a menacing manner. In the upper left corner, a firebird reveals half of its form.

Then comes the third one.

The third one is drawn with oil pastels. The strokes are simple yet spirited. The color transitions are not very natural, but the color divisions are exceptionally clear, and the strokes have their own unique spirit.

Upon touching it, I realized that it had been sprayed with a barrier liquid, as the ink on the paper wasn't sticking everywhere.

Lu Chuan didn't look down any further; he was simply overjoyed: "Did the three of you draw this?"

“Yes.” Qiao Qiao became happy: “The first one was drawn by me, the second one was drawn by Yang Zhengxin on a tablet, and the third one was drawn by Chen Chi.”

"Brother Lu Chuan, do you like it?"

Chen Chi blushed with embarrassment: "This oil pastel was a gift from Brother Lu Chuan last time. I've only been learning to use it for a short time..."

Moreover, unlike Qiaoqiao who initially had Teacher Tang to teach him, he learned entirely from online beginner tutorials for children.

As for Yang Zhengxin, he said casually, "My mom used to want to discover my talents, so she had me learn all kinds of art. I'm not very good at painting, but I have a foundation of two or three years... I drew it using Procreate on my tablet."

As for the content of the painting...

He looked down at the paintings: "We each drew nine, all based on your latest serialized novel, Brother Lu Chuan..."

Lu Chuan is already a top author on a top website, and his new book has its own graphic designers and top-notch illustrators to create artwork.

However, the current word count is low, only three to five hundred thousand words, so there aren't many pictures in the comments section, which is why they came up with this idea.

Qiaoqiao also explained, "We originally wanted to buy a computer together—"

The monitor, the main unit, and the keyboard.

Not to mention the varying prices of these items, even the cheapest keyboard would require Chen Chi to spend a considerable amount of money to match the computer they were buying.

That won't do; Chen Chi needs the money to support himself.

So Yang Zhengxin changed his mind. Every day after Chen Chi got off work, the three of them would draw together for two or three hours, and finally managed to come up with these pictures.

To say it's particularly beautiful would be an understatement.

However, it presents every scene and every fantastic creature described by Lu Chuan in great detail.

Lu Chuan was already very happy.

“I really like them. When I get home, I’ll scan them all into digital format and include them in the book.”

Now, Yang Zhengxin was a little embarrassed: "Hey, what we drew..." It was really too embarrassing to show it off.

But Lu Chuan felt that although their writing style was simple, their color scheme, inspiration, and presentation of the text descriptions in his book were all exceptionally precise and inspired.

At first glance, the details seem unremarkable, but the overall impression is surprisingly refreshing.

He really likes it.

For three playful and mischievous children, the effort they put into patiently drawing nine pictures for each of them is indescribable.

He carefully put the picture book away, deciding to look at it more closely after finishing the cake.

But to everyone's surprise, Yang Zhengxin had already picked up the cake plate: "Alright, the gift has been given out. Brother Lu Chuan, enjoy it yourself. We're all very tired today, so we need to go back and rest."

After saying that, Chen Chi and Qiao Qiao quickly followed behind with the cake plates. In just a moment, the door clicked shut.

Lu Chuan was truly at a loss for words, both laughing and crying.

Although he also enjoys time alone with his partner, it's not to the point of racing against time like this.

But Song Tan was already looking at him expectantly: "Try the cake."

Lu Chuan felt extremely happy.

In this tranquil and peaceful room, in this space where the two of them are alone, before them are the sincere gifts presented by their three children, and in their hands is the fruit of the food that Tan Tan has carefully cultivated.

Now, having such a trusting and loving girlfriend by his side is a completely different feeling from the birthday parties he had with his friends before.

When he was young, due to the need to make a living, he, like Song Tan, didn't have much of a concept of birthdays.

Later, as living conditions improved, his thinking became more mature, and he found it difficult to break free from the urge to call on friends and get together to enjoy the festivities.

Then came Qin Yun, such a good friend. But they both had girlfriends, so they would bring their partners to their birthday parties. The partners were very good at organizing and very enthusiastic, and they all offered their sincere hearts.

But he...

He felt happy, joyful, and grateful...

But I didn't have this peaceful and happy feeling.

The subtle scent of roses lingers around you, making you feel even more tipsy and intoxicated.

Given Tan Tan's personality, it's already quite remarkable that she kept the gift hidden until now.

Without further delay, under the expectant gaze of the other person, he gently pressed down a piece of snow-white, soft cake with his fork—

It was indeed smooth and silky, melting in your mouth.

This made him exclaim without hesitation, "It's delicious!"

He just wondered if there were any special tips or techniques he could learn when he got back, so he could make one for Tan Tan on her birthday.

However, he could never achieve the level of skill in cake decorating that makes it indistinguishable from the real thing.

Song Tan also smiled.

She watched as Lu Chuan ate the small piece of cake around the edges, but refused to touch the blue rose in the center, and found it somewhat amusing.

But I'm even more looking forward to when he finds out the truth—

"what?"

Lu Chuan's fork had already touched the blue rose.

"how……"

The moment the fork touched the rose, the sensation made him pause. He then watched in surprise as the rose petal trembled precariously, narrowly avoiding rolling off the plate.

"How can it be true?" (End of Chapter)