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It will be Jin gongzi's birthday soon! Of course, no one mentioned that it would also be Jin er-gongzi’s birthday, but Jin Guangyao didn't pay it much mind. He was used to being ignored.
Still, it hurt to be planning a birthday party for his brother who shared a birthday with him, knowing he wouldn't be included. Weren't things supposed to be different once his father accepted him?
Jin Guangyao brushed those thoughts aside to focus on the menu he was supposed to be planning. Of course they needed all the party essentials, and Zixuan's favorite foods, and of course -
He hesitated for a moment. He considered egg tarts an important part of any birthday celebration, but would others feel the same? It's not like they were a special treat to aristocrats, what if they were too plain? Well, if they were too plain, you could always dress them up with fancy burnt sugar designs on top. He added egg tarts to the list. It was his birthday too, wasn't it? His desires should at least be reflected in some minor way.
With the rough draft of the menu finished and awaiting approval, he turned to the logistics of the decorations. How many flowers would they need?
***
Finally, the big day had arrived.
The servants were discreetly running around preparing food and getting ready for the guests, who would come later in the day.
A twenty first birthday wasn't usually worthy of such a grand event, but Jin Guangyao had suggested that they invite the sect leaders and heirs to make up for not being able to celebrate Zixuan's coming of age with them, as well as a reason to invite the Jiang family without looking like they were pushing too hard to court Jiang Yanli.
Really, Jin Guangyao didn't care about all of that. He just thought it would be the most effective way to convince his parents to invite Er-ge and a-Sang over for his birthday.
But the guests would come later. For now, it was time for the festivities with just the family. His family.
His relatives weren't the most polite, but having nobles even be willing to talk to him was still an exciting new experience, so he was quite satisfied when he made his way to his table for lunch. That is, until his stepmother spotted him.
"What are you doing here?" Jin furen snapped.
"Aren't we supposed to be celebrating with the family?" Before the words were all the way out of Jin Guangyao's mouth, he regretted them. How could he presume to act like a true member of the family?
Anger flashed in Jin furen's eyes, and Jin Guangyao barely had time to brace himself before she slapped his cheek.
"Get out." She turned away from him and returned to her husband's side.
His face still stinging and his moment of happiness over, Jin Guangyao excused himself through a servant's exit to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
As he left the grounds of Koi tower, he wondered when he should return. He was usually expected to help with guests, especially the ones who tended to make trouble, but when Jin furen told him to get out, he never dared to return before nightfall.
"Well," he said to himself, "if furen wants me out of her son's birthday party, I'll stay out of it." See if she wanted to try breaking up a fight between Wei Wuxian and Zixun. Or better yet, her precious birthday boy. Jin Guangyao would make the best of his own birthday in Lanling city.
First things first, he was hungry. The first food stall he came across was selling stinky tofu, which he gladly bought a serving of. As he bit into the tangy, savory tofu with its spicy sauce, he fondly remembered the time he convinced Er-ge to try it, with many reassurances that it didn't taste nearly as strong as it smelled. Er-ge was surprised by how much he liked it, but still refused to eat it again.
Er-ge… they were supposed to meet today, but Er-ge would be at Zixuan's birthday party, while Jin Guangyao wandered the streets of Lanling try to have a happy and safe birthday.
He mentally shook himself. He had spent every birthday of his life so far without Lan Xichen, he could handle one more. And even without a friend by his side, he could still have his best birthday yet knowing that he could go home to… well, not a "stable" situation exactly, and not quite "safe," but it was the safest he'd ever been, and he could visit with friends the next day. Not to mention, he could wander the most affluent parts of the city and buy himself a nice gift.
He reminisced about past birthdays while he browsed the wares of various artisans, trying to decide what to buy himself. From days out in town with his mother, to days alone with nothing but an egg tart to commemorate them, to days spent torturing his own allies, barely remembering their personal significance at all.
The sun was setting by the time he decided to buy a ceramic lamp shaped like a swan, and he was getting hungry again. It was time to make his way to a busier, working part of the city to find dinner.
He was walking between two steamed bun stalls to determine which one had better options, when a tall figure in white robes caught his eye. Surely it wasn't…
"A-Yao!"
It was! Jin Guangyao ran as fast as he could towards him.
"Er-ge! What are you doing out here? Aren't you supposed to be at my brother's party?"
"That party has gone on long enough that I believe it wasn't rude of me to take my leave," Lan Xichen said. "Dinner was finished, many toasts had been made, and besides, Wangji was getting tired."
"If you've already had dinner, then I don't suppose you want to eat with me?" He had wished they could at least eat dinner together…
"Well," Xichen's eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief, "I did have a rather light meal. What would a-Yao like to eat?"
Happiness swelled in Jin Guangyao's chest as he pulled his Er-ge over to one of the steamed bun stalls he was checking, the one with better meatless options.
"I'll pay," Xichen said once they had both chosen their buns.
"Oh, er-ge, there's no need for that, I'll pay."
"I wouldn't want to make you pay for dinner on your own birthday."
"You know it's my pleasure, and besides, I have more money than I know what to do with these days."
"What if we each paid for each other's food?" The mischievous sparkle was back in Xichen's eyes.
"That sounds fair." Jin Guangyao laughed and gave the stall owner enough money to pay for Xichen's bun.
Of course, a single steamed bun wasn't nearly enough for dinner, so, in between examining the goods that other sellers were hawking, and buying each other a few trinkets, they stopped at various other food stalls whenever they got a bit hungry. Dumplings, crepes, scallion pancakes, skewers… Jin Guangyao smiled as they passed by the particularly pungent stall he had visited earlier.
"What do you think about getting some stinky tofu?"
"Ah… no thank you."
Jin Guangyao laughed and led Xichen towards a stand selling candied hawthorn, a childhood favorite of his.
They were both already satisfied, but all the same, a sweet scent stopped Jin Guangyao in the middle of examining a particularly pretty, if cheap, charm.
"Er-ge," he said, "how would you feel about one more stop for food?"
"I'd be happy with it if it makes you happy," Xichen replied without any hesitation. "Would you like to find somewhere to rest while we eat?"
"Oh, I know somewhere nice nearby."
Once they had bought each other their favorite charms, Jin Guangyao followed the scent to an egg tart stall. And once they had bought as many egg tarts as they desired, Jin Guangyao led Xichen to a quiet plaza, a small pond in the middle, and lanterns hanging from the poles overhead.
They sat down by the pond to eat their egg tarts. Nostalgia flooded Jin Guangyao's mind as he bit into the sweet, rich filling and flaky pastry. It was like everything he missed about the past with none of the pain. Just laughing with his mother as she called him her prince, and he replied that she must then be the queen…
"My mother used to buy me egg tarts on my birthday," he said. "So, even when… I was alone, I would set aside some money to keep up the tradition, and do a little something nice for myself. It's only been in the past few years that I couldn't do it…" Neither of them much liked talking about why that was, so he left off there.
"My uncle always buys me a new pen." Xichen laughed softly. "He's not very confident in his own gift giving skills, but he knows I write a lot, and love interesting pens, so he decided on a safe gift."
"Does he also have a default gift for Hanguang-jun?"
"Also new pens." Xichen laughed louder this time. "But he's not as adventurous with Wangji's as mine. It's so hard to find gifts for someone who doesn't seem to want anything, so uncle settles for buying Wangji something he knows he'll use."
"That's true." Jin Guangyao laughed. "I have yet to find a gift that Da-ge actually appreciates."
They continued to talk as they ate their egg tarts. Once they were finished eating and had cleaned their hands, Xichen pulled a flat, wrapped package out of his sleeve.
"Speaking of gifts." He passed the package to Jin Guangyao. "Happy birthday, a-Yao."
Jin Guangyao untied the wrapping to reveal a painting in Xichen's distinctive style. With its depth and fine details, it immersed you in its scene, but the subject was unlike any of his other paintings.
It was of a city scene, clearly Yunping, with the Yunmeng style architecture and brightly colored bolts of cloth in the background, but not just anywhere in Yunping.
"This is…"
"Where we first met." Xichen smiled. "Do you like it?"
"Like it?" Jin Guangyao laughed, half disbelieving. He took Xichen's hands and looked deep into his eyes. "Thank you, Er-ge." There was nothing but sincerity in his voice.
"It's my pleasure. I was truly lucky to meet someone like a-Yao."
It was getting late. Xichen would want to go to bed soon, and Jin Guangyao would have to go home, probably clean up some messes, face his family, and deal with the consequences of being absent from such a big gathering, even though he'd been kicked out. But for once, he could relax telling himself that that would all be in the future. For now, he was happy. Having the best birthday - no, the best day of his life.