Chapter 916: Chapter 607: Art Exhibition [01] Boyfriend, Happy Birthday [13 Updates]_2

Thomas Langley turned around, snapped a photo of Nora Scott, and likewise invited, "Sister-in-law, come and join us."

Nora smiled, tilting her head slightly. The soft courtyard light fell on her face, blurring the contours, but her smile was gentle and radiant. She teased, "Why don’t you take my master with you?"

"Our master has lofty standards, he looks down on us," Thomas replied with a chuckle.

Nora extended her hand towards Pedro Langley, waving, "Master, throw me one."

This time, Master left his airs.

He walked to the boxes filled with fireworks, casually picked a few that were suitable, and asked, "Which one do you want?"

After a moment of hesitation, Nora pointed at the sparklers in the hands of Frank Ford and Butler Loxley, which were about to burn out, "Like the ones they have."

Thomas had bought several types of sparklers, long and short, all kinds. Pedro found a medium-sized one and tossed the whole box up.

Lately, he’d been practicing, his accuracy spot-on. When he tossed it, it flew straight into Nora’s palm as she opened her hand and easily caught it.

"Wow~" Frank exclaimed in admiration and waved at Nora, "Sister-in-law, do you need a lighter?"

Nora raised an eyebrow, "Give me one."

"Alright!"

Frank took out a lighter and threw it towards the window.

As it was tossed, the experienced Nora, Pedro, and Butler Loxley immediately realized it was off-target. It was heading straight for Nora’s head. However, this was no problem for Nora; she casually tilted her head to the side, raised her hand, and caught the lighter.

Thomas: "..."

Frank: "..."

No wonder she’s the master’s successor.

Amazing.

The lighter twirled twice in her hand, Nora picked out a sparkler, lit it, and suddenly sparks were bursting forth. The fiery light reflecting in her eyes, shimmering brightly, was stunningly beautiful.

...

After playing with a few sparklers, Nora hurried back into the house to continue making the birthday gift.

Before leaving, she told them to have fun and to take more photos of Pedro.

At the Langley Residence, there is little distinction between master and servant.

In addition, Jack Carter and Butler Loxley have worked for the Langleys for many years—especially Butler Loxley, who’s watched two generations of the Langleys grow up, and the family considers him like a grandfather. As for Jack Carter, he’s treated like an extra brother.

In activities like these, which become more fun the more people join, Jack Carter was also pulled in after grandpa Loxley.

An amazing three large boxes of fireworks were all used up.

Fortune smiled upon them, and it only began to drizzle with the autumn rain wrapped in wind and chill after Butler Loxley and Jack Carter had cleaned the courtyard trash, prompting them to hurriedly return indoors to seal out the night’s chill.

"Master Pedro, aren’t you resting yet?"

Jack Carter lived on the first floor and, after taking a shower, found Pedro Langley still in the living room working on his computer.

"Mm."

Pedro’s response to Jack Carter was delayed.

Jack Carter responded with an "oh," reminded Pedro of the time, and then returned to his room.

Thomas and Frank were tired from playing and went to rest one after another. In the cabin, one by one, the lights went out, leaving only two lit, one in the woodworking room upstairs, and one in the living room downstairs.

...

On the stove, chicken soup was stewing, its fragrance spreading with the steam, permeating the kitchen and living room, reaching all the way up to the second floor.

Once Nora completed her work, she couldn’t resist and quickly went downstairs, clutching her stomach.

"Loxley—"

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Nora called out, only for her sight to fall not upon the elder but Pedro Langley. She paused, "Not sleeping yet?"

"Waiting for you," Pedro paused his work and stood up, "The soup should be ready. I let Butler Loxley go ahead and rest."

"Mm."

Nora didn’t want to wait, so she followed Pedro into the kitchen.

He scooped a bowl of soup for her, seeing her eager manner made Pedro chuckle silently, reminding, "Don’t burn yourself."

"I won’t."

Nora took the bowl out of the kitchen, dismissing Pedro’s caution as unnecessary.

Pedro didn’t serve himself but poured the soup into bowls and carried it along with an empty bowl to the dining room.

At this moment, Nora didn’t care about her image at all, wrapped in a blanket, squatted on the dining chair, drinking the soup directly from the spoon. Except for her face, there wasn’t a trace of elegance about her.

As Pedro approached, Nora found the spoon inconvenient and simply picked up the bowl, finished it in one gulp.

Wildly carefree.

Pedro: "..."

Putting down the bowl, Nora lifted her head, "Master, I want some rice."

"Egg fried rice, how about that?"

"...Okay." Nora reluctantly nodded.

As always, Pedro’s culinary skills couldn’t be expected much from. Being able to make fried rice was already a miracle.

Putting down the soup, Pedro sighed, "Wait," and went to leave.

Nora reached out and grabbed him, casually said, "Have a bowl first, or it’ll get cold later."

Indeed, she wasn’t only thinking of herself.

She served two bowls of soup and had Pedro sit beside her.

"Your gift is ready, are you excited?" Task completed, Nora was in a good mood, her words and eyes bright with smiles.

"Mm." Pedro glanced at his watch, "Half an hour left."

To ensure the birthday gift remains a surprise, Nora tried to avoid letting Pedro see it while making it. If Pedro did see it, it was usually in its earliest form, impossible to discern anything.

Pedro could only guess.

However, as he knew Nora well, he could vaguely guess a little.

She intended to showcase her skills, not mechanical techniques, so she started with woodcarving. But her imagination was wild and unpredictable, and Pedro couldn’t be sure exactly how it would turn out.

"So late?"

Nora was somewhat surprised, pushing the freshly served soup towards Pedro, "Hurry up and drink, then go make fried rice afterward."

Pedro: "..."

Can’t your caring girlfriend halo last a bit longer?

*

Pedro’s fried rice encountered two mishaps, once by throwing the eggshell in the pan, and another by adding too much salt. After half an hour of fuss, he managed to make a decent enough plate of edible fried rice.

When he brought out the fried rice, Nora was nowhere in sight.

He paused.

Suddenly, the door opened, letting in the cold breeze bearing the fresh scent post-rain, damp yet clean.

"Master!"

In an instant, the courtyard lights lit up, and Nora stood at the door. Still wrapped in a blanket, her careless stance, her eyes gently curving, smiling warmly and lazily. Under the overhead light, she glowed softly like a saint.

She stepped aside, snapped her fingers.

Following her gesture, eyes unconsciously drawn. On the stone table in the courtyard, there was a sudden crackle, then it spread into a circle, and in the micro-light of fireworks, a miniature world was illuminated.

Pedro’s pupils contracted.

In the grand backdrop, there were three pairs of figurines.

The first pair was at a robot exhibition, the girl with bright eyes and a cheerful smile, a mask hanging by her ear; the young man stood before her, handsome, with a soft smile.

The second pair of young couples walked hand in hand, arms marked with deliberately done couple tattoos.

The third pair in twilight years, beyond their youthful prime, yet signs of shared harmony were evident.

The craftsmanship was extremely exquisite, obviously crafted with painstaking effort, not made in just a day or two.

—Nora must have prepared for a long time.

Seeing him dazed, Nora entered the door, beckoned him over, "How is it, high-grade enough?!"

Pedro put down the fried rice, walked over, chuckling, "Shouldn’t you ask whether I like it or not?"

Nora with confidence replied, "Something I made, how could you not like it?"

Spoiled by affection, nothing more.

It was freezing, Nora shivered and huddled into his arms, stretched her arms around him, lifted her head with a smile, "Happy birthday, boyfriend." 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Happy birthday, boyfriend.

We’re getting married.