Chapter 227 - 226: I Should Still Have a Long Time Before I’m 92

The top floor of Prosperity Pavilion.

Yvonne Lowell stood before the closed door of the private room. With a smile, she made a "go ahead" gesture at him.

"Go, Pikachu! Go push open the door to your 26th year."

Leo Grant shot her an amused look but obediently did as she said. ’It’s not like there are monsters or anything waiting inside... right?’

But the moment he pushed the door open, the smile on Leo Grant’s face instantly cracked.

’Well, I’ll be. There really are fucking monsters in here...’

A line of people stood across from him, all grinning foolishly with big, toothy smiles.

Everyone who was free and usually hung out with him had come.

Nina Jennings, Zachary Jacobs, Adrian Lowell, Simon Sutton, the Crawford brothers, the three Forrest siblings, Simon Fisher, Evan Donovan, Lyle...

And each of them held up a colorful, square LED sign. Together, the signs spelled out a halting message:

’HAPPY... 92ND... BIRTHDAY... HANDSOME... LEO... GRANT!’

Leo Grant turned his head stiffly to look at Yvonne Lowell, who had somehow ended up two meters away from him.

"This is...?"

He had thought it would just be the two of them tonight and was already prepared to turn down any invitations from Nolan Crawford.

’Oh, wait. Nolan actually didn’t invite me out today...’

Yvonne Lowell shook her head frantically in a classic three-part denial.

"I don’t know anything! I just asked them to come have dinner with us. I didn’t arrange this."

’Can’t they see I’m already cringing in the corner hard enough to build a mansion?’

’How could they secretly pull a stunt like this? And they even held the number signs wrong!!’

’Where is the morality? Where is the law? And where did the other sign go?!’

"Brother Leo, I stayed up all night getting these signs custom-made. Pretty great, right? I actually wanted to get party poppers at first, but Yvonne wouldn’t let me. She said I couldn’t ruin the expensive suit she bought for you, so I came up with this brilliant alternative!"

Nolan "Thick-Skulled Mastermind" Crawford immediately piped up to take credit. "And to make sure you saw me first, I specifically grabbed the number signs!"

Leo Grant shot him a cold glance. "I think I’ve still got some time before I turn 92. You can save those numbers for then."

"How is that possible?! Isn’t it this year... Huh? 92?!" Nolan Crawford froze for a second before it dawned on him.

He looked down at the ’2’ and ’6’ signs in his hands. He’d somehow reversed their order and held one upside down, turning ’26’ into ’92’.

’CRAP! This is a huge embarrassment!’

’Losing face was one thing, but the key point was that he was totally screwed!’

’After today, he was definitely going to be sent to mine coal in Continent F or dig ores on the border!’

The others bent over to look, and when they saw the glorious ’92’, none of them could hold back their laughter.

The big dummy had gone to great lengths to get them to join him in flattering the boss, but he ended up missing the mark spectacularly.

Nolan Crawford hastily corrected the signs in his hands and said with a fawning smile, "Brother Leo, it was an accident, a total accident. Why don’t you go back out and push the door open one more time?"

"That’s enough. Everyone, have a seat."

Leo Grant’s expression didn’t change much. He simply took Yvonne Lowell’s hand and led her to the seat of honor.

Everyone else shoved their signs into Nolan Crawford’s arms, took their seats one by one, and told him to let the kitchen know they could start serving the food.

Nolan Crawford: ’...So? You think I have three heads and six arms?’

’Is it me, is it me, is it really me? Your hero, Kid Comet?’

Simon Fisher was the first to start, taking out a prepared gift box and handing it over.

He said gently, "Leo, happy birthday."

Yvonne Lowell raised an eyebrow. ’His northeastern accent is gone.’

She thought he would’ve said something like, ’Little bro, happy birthday there! C’mon, your big bro here’s gonna down one for ya.’

"Thanks," Leo Grant said as he accepted the gift box.

The others also gave him their gifts in turn, along with presents from those who couldn’t make it, and soon a small table nearby was piled high.

Throughout it all, Leo Grant maintained a straight face, like a robot that could only say "thank you."

But Yvonne Lowell could just tell that the old boy was happy. Very happy. Extremely happy.

He was radiating a "I’m in a good mood today, everything is on Young Lord Grant" kind of vibe.

It made sense, though. In the past, his birthdays were usually celebrated with Boss Crawford and her brothers.

Even though they weren’t always all there, every year at least one person would organize something to drag him out of the office.

But this time, she had called over all of his friends from Continent R and wrangled everyone who was still in Kingsland.

’Wasn’t it obvious he was thrilled?’

But this damn tsundere was still putting on an act, leaning close to her ear to complain softly,

"I thought it was just going to be the two of us tonight. Why did you have to call them all here? A bunch of clueless third wheels."

The third wheels: "...?"

Yvonne Lowell couldn’t be bothered to call his bluff. She just mimicked him, whispering back,

"Isn’t this to help you rake in more gifts? Trading one dinner for tens of millions in presents... isn’t that a sweet deal?"

The corners of Leo Grant’s mouth twitched, threatening to smile, but he remained stubborn. "It’s alright, I guess. I’d still rather spend more time alone with you."

Yvonne Lowell shot him a sidelong glance. "Alright, that’s enough. Don’t push your luck with me."

’Aside from when he’s at the office during the day, we’re basically together all the time. We even share a bed at night. How is that not enough alone time?’

"I was wrong!" Leo Grant admitted defeat without a second thought.

’In the face of absolute love, you admit you’re wrong whether you are or not. You stand at attention whether you’re about to be disciplined or not.’

The others watched this display, their teeth aching with cringe. Why on earth did they even come?!

They should have just been like the ones away on business trips and sent a gift. Losing money was better than having their hearts stabbed.

Fortunately, a timely knock on the door saved them. Waiters entered carrying the evening’s dishes, quickly filling the entire dining table.

Looking at the table laden with dishes that were a feast for the senses, Lyle couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement.

"Yvonne, this is so unfair. How come the food at Prosperity Pavilion in Aurelia looks so much more delicious than the one in Continent R? Or are you just giving Brother Leo special treatment?"

Yvonne Lowell lazily lifted her eyelids to glance at him. "Every Prosperity Pavilion focuses on the local cuisine. So, have you ever considered the possibility that Aurelia’s food is just inherently better than the food in Continent R?"

’This really wasn’t her trying to stir up comparisons. Aurelia has its Eight Great Cuisines. A single head of cabbage can be prepared in dozens of ways, not to mention all the unconventional methods.’

’Aurelia has over five thousand years of history, after all. Our ancestors might have endured all sorts of hardships, but they never mistreated their own stomachs.’

’She might not know how to cook, but that didn’t stop her from knowing how to eat!’

Lyle looked up at the ceiling and sighed dramatically. "I’m turning into a green-eyed monster. Is it too late to change my citizenship?"

Nolan Crawford tapped his glass. "Alright, everyone, let’s toast! To Brother Leo, may your fortune be as vast as the Eastern Sea and your life as long as the Southern Mountains! And all you minors, stick to the soft drinks."

Martin Crawford and Phoebe Lynch: ’If you’ve got the guts, just read our ID numbers out loud!’

Everyone stood up and raised their glasses. "Happy birthday!!!"

Yvonne Lowell took a sip of her wine and glanced sideways at Leo Grant. "The manager said he needs to see me about something. I’ll be right back."

"Is it urgent? Should I go with you?" Leo Grant placed a piece of braised pork rib he had just picked up into her bowl, then set down his chopsticks.

"No need. You eat with them first. I’ll be back in a bit," Yvonne Lowell said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Seeing this, Leo Grant didn’t press the issue.

After saying a word to the others, Yvonne Lowell left the private room by herself.