Chapter 111: A Birthday Surprise

Ji Yan was in the mood for some fun, and with her persistent advances, Gu Yuan was becoming tempted to indulge her. However, after checking the time, he quickly reined himself in.

"I’m all for having some fun," he whispered into her ear, his voice low and teasing, "but I have a surprise for you first. How about I fuck you after that?"

The desire in his voice sent a shiver through Ji Yan’s body. Even so, she managed to hold herself back, giving him a curious look.

"Was that why you were so insistent about the time?"

"Yes." Gu Yuan nodded, then stood up and scooped her into his arms, carrying her toward another room in a princess carry.

When he entered, Ji Yan found herself facing a room decorated for a celebration.

Unlike the wedding, where red dominated everything, this time the colors were light: cream and pale gold, soft pink ribbons looped along the walls, garlands of fresh flowers hanging from the ceiling. Round, translucent orbs of soft light floated near the roof like the balloons of his old world.

The arrangement was simple compared to the grand celebrations she had witnessed over her long life, but it had clearly been prepared with care.

In the middle of the room stood a table crowded with sweets and drinks, and at the center of it, a large cake, or something close enough to one. Across the top, in cream and slices of crystal fruit, were the numerals of Gu Yuan’s old world: a one followed by seven zeros.

Ji Yan stared at the display, momentarily at a loss.

"What is all this for?" Ji Yan asked, not understanding why he would go to such lengths. She was happy that it was all for her, though. Very happy.

"It’s your ten-millionth birthday." Gu Yuan chuckled.

"Birthday?" Ji Yan repeated.

Ten million years?

She quickly began calculating her age, counting both her current life and her previous one. After checking the numbers in her head, she realized he was right. She really was about to reach ten million years old... only a few hours short.

She stepped out of his arms and looked at him. Age had never been something she hid, unlike Ji Yue, who bristled whenever the number came up. To Ji Yan, a number was only a number.

But. No one had ever turned a number into a feast. Her eyes lingered on the cake, on the floating lights, on him, with a mix of amusement, disbelief, and something warm that she didn’t quite know how to name.

"How did you figure that out?"

"Magic?" Gu Yuan replied, stifling a laugh.

Ji Yan raised an eyebrow but didn’t press him on it. Instead, she rose onto her toes and gave him a brief kiss.

"Thanks."

"It’s still early for that." Gu Yuan smiled.

There were still gifts to come, after all. But first, they had a birthday to celebrate.

He had considered singing a birthday song for her, but the thought of standing there and singing alone was a little too embarrassing. In the end, he activated several array formations he had prepared beforehand. Soft petals of light drifted down from the ceiling, and a slow shimmer of sparks rose and fell around the table like a quiet shower of stars.

Satisfied with the effect, Gu Yuan sat beside Ji Yan at the table.

"How about you feed me?" she asked, leaning toward him with a playful smile. "That might make me feel even more celebrated."

Gu Yuan naturally didn’t mind. He picked up a small, colorful sweet resembling a macaron and brought it to her lips.

Ji Yan opened her mouth and took a bite, savoring the unfamiliar sweetness. When she finished, however, her tongue lingered on his fingertips, slow and thorough, as though she had decided that the sweetest part of the treat was him all along.

"Sweet," she said with a faint smile.

"The macaron, right?"

"Was it?" Ji Yan chuckled.

Even though his breath caught for a moment at the deliberate intimacy of the gesture, he continued feeding her. She, in turn, kept finding excuses to linger over his fingers, sometimes licking away the cream, sometimes letting her lips remain just long enough to make the simple act feel indecent.

He watched her enjoy every new flavor, watched the subtle movement of her throat as she swallowed, and felt the earlier heat return, stronger than before.

They remained like that for a long while, feeding each other and exchanging small touches. Neither paid much attention to the wine. They were growing drunk on the atmosphere instead, and Gu Yuan knew that if he let things continue, he might forget the rest of the evening altogether. Reluctantly, he decided it was time for the gifts.

He took out two boxes and held them out to her.

"Happy birthday. These are for you."

Ji Yan’s smile softened. "You even prepared gifts?"

"Of course. What kind of husband would I be if I didn’t?"

She laughed quietly and opened the first box.

Inside lay a pair of black daggers, their blades dark as the night. They were his first work to reach the Earth Grade.

Ji Yan picked them up and examined them, testing their weight and balance with a few casual movements. After a moment, she seemed satisfied.

"I like them," she said, putting the daggers away. "I’ll use them from now on."

Gu Yuan felt a small sense of accomplishment. He had spent considerable effort making them, so hearing that she intended to use them was more satisfying than simply watching her admire them.

Ji Yan opened the second box.

"What are these?" she asked, looking at the small garments inside.

"Underwear."

The cultivation world had no bras or panties, as far as Gu Yuan knew, so he had designed these himself and commissioned a tailor in the sect to make them. He had been curious about how modern designs would look on Ji Yan, and he had to admit that the finished pieces had turned out rather well.

Ji Yan lifted the soft black fabric, a bra and a matching pair of panties, and examined them with interest. Then she looked at him, a playful glint entering her golden eyes.

"Then I should try them, right?" she asked, already beginning to take off her clothes.

Was it to check the unusual design, the size, or the texture? No. It was to tempt him.

"You are absolutely right." Gu Yuan nodded and helped her out of the rest.

When she stood naked before him, he was convinced that no clothes could compare to her birthday suit. Yet adding spice to a dish wasn’t always about making it more delicious; sometimes, it was simply about experiencing something different.

He helped her into the matching black set, his hands lingering just a little longer than necessary on her skin. For a moment, the sight was so familiar that he felt as if he had stepped back into the modern world.

Ji Yan turned slightly, giving him a chance to appreciate the fit from different angles.

"Well? Do they suit me?"

"Too well."

She stepped closer, her smile growing more mischievous.

"Then why are you still only looking?"

That was Ji Yan for him. No matter how innocently an occasion began, this red-haired woman could always find a way to turn it into a provocation.

Gu Yuan finally gave in. He settled his hands on her waist, his fingers brushing the bare skin above her panties, then drew her close and kissed her. This time, the kiss was slower and deeper, no longer an attempt to restrain his desire. Ji Yan responded immediately, looping her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him.

She rolled her hips, dragging the new fabric against the hard line of him. The thin cloth caught between them; she seemed impatient to be taken. Gu Yuan, however, was in the mood to appreciate the work of art that was Ji Yan.

He guided her backward until she reached the table. With a sweep of his hand, he sent the remaining dishes into his storage ring, then lowered her onto the cleared wood.

His mouth found her neck first, lingering there before traveling lower to the breasts held by the new bra. He buried his face in the soft valley between them, his tongue alternating between bare skin and the unfamiliar fabric, testing how the material responded to moisture.

One palm slid down the curve of her hip and lower still, to the thin cloth already damp with her arousal. He didn’t remove it. He simply enjoyed the contrast between fabric and skin.

"Yuan..." His name escaped her lips in a breathless plea, carrying all the frustration of someone who knew exactly what she wanted and was being made to wait for it.

Rather than show mercy, Gu Yuan smiled against her skin.

He moved lower. One hand slipped beneath the bra to cup the full weight of her breast; the other teased along the edge of her panties, never quite granting her what she wanted. Ji Yan arched under his attention. His mouth left her navel and settled on the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, close enough that his tongue occasionally brushed the damp fabric, but never close enough to satisfy the need building within her.

"You said... after the surprise," she managed between uneven breaths.

He smiled against her thigh.

"I did."

He hooked the panties aside, exposing her, and gave one deliberate, slow lick from her entrance all the way up to her clit.

"Aah~!"

Her thighs closed around his head at once, trying to hold him there. He turned aside just enough to escape the trap, then rested his teeth lightly against her thigh instead.

He continued teasing her, taking his time and refusing to rush, until her body had gone soft and her legs no longer tried to pin him down. He had decided that today he would leave no part of her untouched by his mouth, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. By the time her skin glistened with a mixture of his saliva and her own sweat, he was naked above her.

He leaned down until their foreheads nearly touched. The head of his cock pressed just enough to part her.

She looked up at him with frustrated, accusing eyes, her lips parted around a sound that was half demand. One leg hooked around his waist.

"Don’t you dare stop now."

Gu Yuan gave a low, rough laugh and kissed her.

What followed needed no further description.