Charlotte came to the private room and knocked on the door.
The door swung open from the inside.
Charlotte stepped in, and the next second, cheers erupted.
Then someone shoved something into her arms.
She froze for a moment, then looked down to see a bouquet of flowers.
“You’ve got the wrong person!” Charlotte’s first thought was that they had mistaken her for someone else.
“Don’t be silly! It’s for you. Today’s your birthday, you forgot, didn’t you?” Charlotte laughed from beside her.
“My birthday?” Evelyn turned her head and stared at her friend.
“Look at you, you’re so busy with your internship you’ve lost track. Today’s your Gregorian birthday. Don’t tell me it’s not!” Charlotte said with a grin.
Evelyn suddenly realized she had genuinely forgotten.
Her family always celebrated the lunar calendar, so she never paid attention to the Gregorian date.
But she never expected Charlotte to remember.
And she had even gathered their classmates to celebrate with her.
No wonder Charlotte had insisted earlier that Evelyn finish work on time and come straight to the party.
“I forgot it myself! Thank you. I’m so happy!” Evelyn said.
“Birthday girl, please sit down. We’ve been waiting for you!”
Evelyn was guided to a seat in the center, like a throne.
Then Zoe announced the official start of Evelyn’s birthday party and Charlotte’s welcome-back banquet. Applause filled the room.
Evelyn smiled and thanked everyone.
After everyone took their seats, they began ordering.
Evelyn picked a dish and passed the menu around. Everyone added their choices.
She leaned in and whispered to Charlotte, “Did you come back just for my birthday?”
“I’m so touched!” Evelyn said with a smile.
“Since you’re so touched, how about you promise yourself to me?” Charlotte teased.
“I’m afraid you wouldn’t want that!”
“No way, I’d dream of it!” Charlotte shook her head, still smiling.
“What are you two whispering about?” Lily protested with a laugh.
“Evelyn said she’s so moved she wants to pledge herself to someone!” Charlotte announced loudly.
“Evelyn, there are so many of us here. Who are you going to choose?” everyone started to tease.
“Isn’t it obvious? The hero who shows up at the end!” Lily replied directly.
“Right, I almost forgot about the hero!”
Evelyn watched them joke around, tears of laughter in her eyes. “What hero?”
“See? Evelyn’s still playing dumb!”
“Exactly!”
“Just wait, you’ll find out soon!”
Everyone kept teasing her, and Evelyn felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.
The dishes arrived one after another, and they chatted while eating.
Even though they hadn’t gathered in a long time, there was no awkwardness. Everyone could joke freely, so the atmosphere was naturally warm.
“Evelyn, I heard you’re interning at Sterling Group?” Lily asked.
“Yes, just two months into the internship,” Evelyn replied, looking at her.
“Are they still hiring now?”
“Not right now, but I heard they recruit a batch every year during the internship season,” Evelyn said.
“Too bad I missed it,” Lily said regretfully.
“It’s okay. You can check the official website’s recruitment page. They post all their openings there,” Evelyn offered.
“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on it,” Lily nodded.
“You haven’t even graduated yet. Why are you in such a rush?” Charlotte said with a smile.
“You don’t know how hard it is to find a decent job now, especially at big companies!”
“Really?”
The conversation shifted from the earlier topic to employment.
“It’s even harder for me to find a job when I go back home.”
“No way, you’ll be a returnee. Returnees have it easier than us!”
“If you can’t find one, you can always rely on me, dear!” Charlotte grabbed Evelyn’s arm and said playfully.
Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh. “Fine, fine. If you can’t find a job, I’ll support you!”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Everyone assumed it was the waiter.
Zoe, sitting near the door, answered and let the person in.
The door opened, and the person who entered first made everyone pause. The next second, cheers erupted.
“You’re finally here!” Zoe said, clapping him on the shoulder.
“Sorry, the plane was delayed. I kept everyone waiting,” Noah apologized.
“It’s fine. Three drinks and you’re forgiven!” everyone coaxed.
Evelyn turned her head and looked at Charlotte, still processing.
“The hero,” Charlotte whispered with a low laugh.
“Noah, sit here, sit here!”
Lily moved over, leaving the empty seat next to Evelyn for Noah.
Evelyn felt embarrassed.
So this was the hero Charlotte had been talking about all along.
Noah took the seat next to Evelyn and greeted her with a smile. “Evelyn, long time no see!”
“Long time no see!” Evelyn replied with a smile.
She remembered their last meeting a year ago, when Noah had said the same thing to her.
Next, Noah voluntarily punished himself for being late and downed three drinks.
“Noah, your tolerance has improved a lot! You used to get drunk after just one glass,” Lily said with a smile.
“That’s right. Today, you’re really going all out!”
“No, no, I was late. I had to show my sincerity,” Noah said with a smile.
They continued talking, and someone suggested playing a game.
The winner could make a request of the loser, and the loser had to agree unconditionally, as long as it was within their ability.
The rules were simple: draw a toothpick. The person with the shortest one lost, and the one with the longest won.
The toothpick itself wasn’t the point. The real fun was in the punishment game.
“As long as you don’t make me drink,” Evelyn said with a smile.
“It doesn’t matter, as long as we have fun!” Charlotte said boldly.
So Zoe went first, and they passed the toothpicks clockwise.
After counting them, Zoe kept one whole toothpick, broke another in half, and only snapped a small piece off the rest, so the lengths would vary.
They confirmed the rules and started playing.
In the first round, Charlotte lost, and Zoe won.
Zoe looked at Charlotte with a sly smile.
“Have fun with it!” Charlotte protested.
“Call me big brother!” Zoe said with a mischievous grin.
“Get lost!” Charlotte laughed.
There was a story behind this. Charlotte and Zoe had been desk mates in kindergarten. Charlotte had an older brother and often fought with him, so she always hated being treated like the younger sister. She had been bossy since childhood. In kindergarten, she forced Zoe to call her “big sister.”
Zoe had cried after Charlotte beat him up, and eventually, under her intimidation, he gave in.
Later, in elementary school, Zoe discovered he was born a month before Charlotte. So he proudly demanded she call him “big brother,” insisting she was the younger one.
Charlotte beat him up again for that, forcing him to admit she was the older sister.
In the end, under Charlotte’s coercion, Zoe called her “big sister” from kindergarten all the way through junior high.