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Birthdays were always a quiet affair in Cloud Recess, birthdays in Lanling were so over the top it was to the point of being annoying. That’s why Jin Ling chose to have his birthday at Lotus Pier that year. Not only would it force his uncle to relax for a day but it would let his friends be themselves without holding back. It also meant he could toss whoever annoyed him into the water if they annoyed him too much without getting into too much trouble.
He had not counted on the several fierce corpse long Conga line a drunk Wei Wuxian had called up, nor on having to keep Ouyang Zizhen away from the water when he’d had a little too much to drink. Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi had vanished off to bed at their normal nine o’clock bedtime so Jin Ling hadn’t even been able to turn to them for help!
In short Jin Ling was tired. Why were birthdays such a big deal anyway? He skimmed the pebble he had been holding over the surface of the water, then watched as it sank. The ripples from the pebble on the water distorting the reflection of the early morning sky. He sighed and flopped backward onto the dock.
“What’s bugging you?” Lan Sizhui’s voice came from his left, making Jin Ling jerk upright.
“Just wondering why birthdays are such a mission. I mean why do we celebrate them when nothing actually changes. So we’re another day older? So what! Everyday we live to see means we’re another day older yet we don’t celebrate those.” Jin Ling grumbled even as he let himself relax back onto the dock again.
“I guess it’s more for our friends than for ourselves.” Sizhui mused as he sat down next to his friend. “While living each day is an achievement, a birthday celebration is our friends' way of saying they are happy we are in their lives. Sure we might get on their nerves or fight with them occasionally but we don’t often let them know we truly appreciate them.”
Jin Ling side-eyed Sizhui for a moment then a smile slowly made its way across his face. “That makes far too much sense for this time of day.”
Sizhui laughed before nodding. “You’re the one who was all mopey so you can hardly blame me for that! Now, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”
“Sleep. I think I earned it after dealing with all the drunk idiots last night!”
“True, true.”
Despite this, neither boy made a move to get up from where they were, feet dangling in the soothing water, a peaceful air surrounding them. They knew they would have to help those who’d had a little too much fun the night before when they headed to the dining hall and neither of them was in any rush to ease their friends' pain. It was Jin Ling’s birthday after all, why should they?