"I want to throw a birthday party for Zhang Ning-jie. What do you think of my plan, Min-ge?"
"Luo ge can join us in singing the birthday song. The more people, the livelier—and most importantly, there'll be plenty of food."
"I'm planning a surprise birthday party for Zhang Ning-jie," Chu Zhi said.
Since it had to be kept secret from the person in question, Chu Zhi informed the other guests one by one. Min Jeongbae was immediately on board and even offered a suggestion—pretend there was a power outage to set the stage for the surprise.
Luo Jianhui wasn't big on parties, but the words "plenty of food" broke down his resistance. Maybe it was all the working out he'd done lately. Since joining the show, he'd been in a near-constant state of hunger.
Even Cai Jia, who normally didn't get along with Zhang Ning, didn't object to the plan. She did, however, raise a practical concern."The Party Scroll was leftover from the last mission. Of course you can use it however you want, but from a benefit-cost perspective, it's a bit wasteful."
To Cai Jia, the other team members—especially the guest stars—were basically NPCs, so she usually did a mental cost-benefit analysis before speaking. Her attitude toward Chu Zhi was slightly better than toward the others.
It didn't help that Luo Jianhui and Min Jeongbae always seemed to side with Zhang Ning. In Cai's mind, that whole 'senior artist' thing Zhang Ning kept up was pretentious. Love or hate, it extended to the people around her.
"I'd do this for any team member's birthday, if I had the means," Chu Zhi said. "Jiajia, you could have refused to join this show, and I could have too. But somehow, all five of us ended up here. I think that's something worth cherishing."
That same line, said by Luo Jianhui or Min Jeongbae, would've sounded like bootlicking nonsense. But coming from Chu Zhi—it landed differently.
Cai Jia remembered how Chu Zhi had taken night watch alone. She quietly promised herself not to pick a fight with that old hag tonight.
He also told the guest stars about the surprise. Chu Zhi liked being dramatic, sure, but he wasn't the type to step on others to elevate himself. No beef, no shade. His normal attacks already felt like full-power ultimates, no need for sneak ones.
So he let Min Jeongbae and Yang Xinbo know there'd be a cameraman following, while Luo Jianhui and Cai Jia were in the dark.
Because let's be real, playing the charming beast meant you had to cause car crashes just by smiling.
That night, the moon was faint behind a thick sky. The atmosphere wasn't exactly romantic.
In bed, tossing and turning, someone was clearly in a mood.
That someone was Zhang Ning. She came from a military compound family, so growing up, birthdays were always spent with her parents. After marriage, she'd celebrated with her husband. Very few exceptions.
Now her phone was confiscated, and she couldn't even borrow one. Zhang Ning genuinely felt she'd grown up—back in her younger days, she would've lost it by now.
She knew she could ask for her phone back after 9 PM. The production team wasn't that strict.
Suddenly—
"?" Zhang Ning frowned.
"The power's out," Cai Jia said. "I'll go check what's wrong."
With her old-school phone lighting the way, she left the bedroom and headed toward the living room.
At first, Zhang Ning wasn't fazed. But then came the wind, whistling through the unlatched windows, and the complete darkness. A few minutes passed, still no lights. The unease crept in.
"Xiao Chu?"
"Cai Jia?"
No response. Not even an echo. Zhang Ning pressed her button-light phone for a good while. Nothing."Did I forget to charge it?"
She got out of bed and slowly made her way through the darkness. It was the classic horror movie scenario—don't know what's ahead, but still walk toward it.
Sometimes fear makes people do things. Waiting in the dark feels worse than doing something, even if it's the wrong thing.
Just as the tension peaked, the living room lights burst on—
🎉 "Happy Birthday to you!"
"Zhang Ning-jie, happy birthday!"
"Whooooaaa!"
"Happy Hatch Day!" 🎉
A chaos of cheerful voices. Yang Xinbo even added some sound effects for atmosphere.
The dining table had been decked out with a glowing sign that read [happy.birthday], snacks galore, balloons tied to the chairs, and the wall opposite was covered in fresh flowers.
Chu Zhi and the others were holding scream chickens, party clappers, and a birthday cake.
The instrumental started up, and all five began to sing 🎵 "Happy Birthday to you…" 🎵
Caught off guard, Zhang Ning was stunned. She looked at the cake, then the people, unsure if she was dreaming.
She was genuinely touched. Tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly turned around to wipe them.
"Thank you," she said, voice trembling."Thank you, everyone."
"Time to blow out the candles, Zhang Ning-jie. Don't forget to make a wish!" Chu Zhi smiled.
Luo Jianhui held the cake with utmost care. It was a two-layer cake and surprisingly heavy.Good thing I do strength training every day, he thought, raising it an inch higher with pride.
Zhang Ning blew out the candles and closed her eyes to make a wish. Then she asked what she'd been wondering all along."How did you know it was my birthday today? I never mentioned it."
"That's all thanks to the team leader," Yang Xinbo said honestly. "He used the Party Scroll to set everything up, then told each of us. That's how we knew today was Teacher Zhang's birthday."
"I remember all the team members' birthdays. When you first joined, you mentioned that your family follows the lunar calendar for birthdays," Chu Zhi said. "I checked the calendar and figured it out."
That kind of attention to detail—it stunned her. Zhang Ning couldn't even remember saying that offhand, and here he was, holding onto it all this time.
Her impression of Chu Zhi had evolved. From a polite young artist, to a responsible leader, to a reliable friend, and now—she was becoming a full-on mom fan.
How could someone be this good? She gave him a heartfelt hug.
"Anyone who wants to mess with Chu Zhi will have to get through me first." Zhang Ning wanted to say it aloud, Big-Sis style, but held back so as not to kill the mood.
"Cake time!" Luo Jianhui reminded.
That's right. Time to cut the cake. The birthday girl took the knife.
The party vibe was fantastic. The celebration lasted well past midnight, until 12:30.
With that, the first leg of filming wrapped up. The members each had their own schedules and went their separate ways.
Chu Zhi returned from Hokkaido, took a short break, and jumped right back into the grind the next day.
Busy. Beyond busy.
Before dawn even touched the sky, he boarded a plane to Gulangyu for a Montblanc commercial. That's right—Chu Zhi had landed yet another luxury brand endorsement. This time, as the face of Montblanc's fountain pen line in the Asia-Pacific region.
Usually, Montblanc only signed celebrities for watches or fragrances. This was their first time pushing the pen line with a spokesperson.
Brother Fei had a theory."Montblanc saw Chu-ge's skyrocketing popularity. They wanted a slice of that fame, but all their major product slots were full, so they made room in the pen category just to sign him."
Sounded legit. Right now, Chu Zhi was the hottest commodity around. Everyone wanted a piece—but not everyone could afford the tens of millions per year his endorsements cost.
Lately, most of the offers came from international brands. Chu Zhi thought about it and made a decision.
"Sister Niu, if a solid domestic brand approaches us, we can lower the endorsement fee a bit."
"How much is 'a bit'?" Niu Jiangxue asked.
"Within five million per year, I can accept that," he said. "I still want to support Chinese brands."
"You're amazing, Jiu-ye. A real patriot," Lao Qian gave him a thumbs-up.
"It's not about patriotism," Chu Zhi replied. "My base rate is already high. Even with a five-million discount, I'd still be the top-priced endorsement in the country. So it's reasonable."
"But if it's more than that, I'd hesitate. After all, endorsements aren't charity."
"Understood," Niu Jiangxue nodded.