Transform into a magical girl after getting off work-Chapter 572 - 133 Happy Birthday
Lin Xiaolu's second video call came in shortly after Lin Yun sat down.
At this hour, the bar wasn't exactly empty. While the environment couldn't be called overly noisy, it was far from quiet. However, Lin Yun didn't have much choice now. He had to put on his headphones and tap the answer button on the screen.
——"Ah, connected… Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?"
As soon as the call was connected, the phone screen displayed a hand blocking half the camera. Lin Xiaolu's voice immediately followed: "Why didn't you pick up earlier?"
"Lulu?"
Lin Yun didn't respond to the question right away. Instead, he feigned surprise, as if caught off guard by the call, and asked with a tone of mock surprise, "Is that you?"
"It's me, it's me."
Lin Xiaolu didn't suspect anything. In her mind, her surprise plan was flawless, and her dad should have no clue what was coming next. "So, why didn't you pick up my call earlier?"
That was what bothered her the most.
"Sorry, Lulu, it was a bit noisy here. I didn't hear it earlier."
Lin Yun kept a straight face as he made up an excuse: "I had put my phone aside and didn't notice the screen."
"Eh… It's this late—where are you right now?"
Lin Xiaolu became aware of the faintly noisy background chatter: "Still working overtime? Out socializing with someone?"
"At a bar."
Lin Yun didn't hide this fact, as he knew it couldn't be concealed. Better to act open about it so it wouldn't seem suspicious: "Originally, I was here with a colleague to discuss something, but he had to step out for a bit. He said he'd return later."
"A bar? A colleague?"
Lin Xiaolu grew immediately alert: "It's not Hong Siyu, is it? Did she ask you out on Valentine's Day?"
"No, it's another colleague."
Lin Yun hesitated briefly: "And it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day. We're just here to talk about work."
"Not her? Then who? A man or a woman?" Lin Xiaolu pursued the question.
"…Of course, it's a man." Lin Yun replied helplessly.
"Really a man?"
Lin Xiaolu was a bit skeptical, but soon she came up with her own explanation: "Oh, I bet your colleague is helping you celebrate your birthday."
"Celebrate my birthday? Hmm… you could say that, sort of."
Lin Yun thought it best to go along with Lin Xiaolu at this point, so he continued spinning an aimless story: "It's more like they casually mentioned it while drinking. It's not an official celebration."
"Hmph, I see."
Lin Xiaolu nodded: "Now, can you guess why I'm calling you?"
"Why?" Lin Yun kept playing dumb: "I remember you texted me earlier about sending chocolates. Are you showing me the results now?"
"It's not that. It's definitely something related to you!" Lin Xiaolu corrected him.
"Then what could it be? Did you run into Fangting City's Magical Girl, your ex, over there?" Lin Yun teased, letting his imagination run wild.
"How could that be? Why would your mind even go there? I told you—it's something to do with you. I called *you*!" Lin Xiaolu grew a little flustered.
"Hmm? Oh."
Seeing that the timing was right, Lin Yun feigned a sudden realization: "Don't tell me—it's because today's my birthday?"
"Bingo!"
Lin Xiaolu's tone suddenly lifted in excitement: "Now look, see what I've prepared for you!"
Lin Yun followed her cue and looked at his phone screen, but all he could see was a hand still blocking the camera. In fact, it was covering even more of the screen than when the call first connected.
Even though he already knew it must be a cake on the other side, there was no way he could "see" it through the screen magically. So, he answered truthfully: "I can't see it."
"What do you mean you can't see it? I've already turned on the camera!" Lin Xiaolu sounded confused and began inspecting her phone.
[Your hand, it's your hand covering it.] Xia Liang's voice came from somewhere nearby.
"Huh? Oh! So that's why!"
Lin Xiaolu hurriedly removed her hand from the camera and re-aimed it at the counter beside her. "Now it should be fine. Take a look!"
Just as she said, the screen now displayed a cake.
It looked no different from the version Lin Yun had seen at the Colorful Cloud Wetland earlier. However, at that time, the cake hadn't yet undergone its final decorative touches. What he saw on the screen now was a completed masterpiece.
Its pristine white cream surface was sprinkled with delicate flower petals in an array of colors. Thin chocolate squares adorned the sides of the cake, blending seamlessly with the intricately drawn patterns around it. At the top of the cake were numeral-shaped candles arranged as "37."
As the number suggested, this marked Lin Yun's 37th year in this world.
"The three of us made this together. What do you think? Does it look nice?"
On the other end of the call, Lin Xiaolu's excitement was palpable as she continued her explanation: "Making this took way more effort than the chocolates. It was really, really hard."
"Mhm, it's wonderful. It looks amazing."
Even though the "surprise" had been spoiled in advance, seeing the birthday cake his daughter made with her own hands still filled Lin Yun's heart with joy. He stared at the screen in his hand, momentarily lost in the emotion.
This felt entirely different from the chocolates he'd received as Emerald Sparrow. The cake was, in the truest sense, a gift from Lin Xiaolu to him as her father. If the chocolates and crown had stirred feelings of guilt, nostalgia, and gratitude, then the cake brought him pure warmth and contentment.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
