“Are you an orphan?” Mia asked, her eyes wide with surprise and disbelief as she looked at Charlie.


    Charlie nodded and replied, “Before I turned eight, I was probably the happiest child in the world. Then, everything changed overnight, and I found myself in a muddy situation, struggling through the muck ever since.”


    Mia eximed, “You’re so young, yet you hold a key position at Yisu Shipping! That shows how impressive your abilities are.”


    “Really?” Charlie said, scratching his head in slight embarrassment. He smiled and added, “Haha, I guess that’s true.”


    He kept to himself the fact that he was actually the majority shareholder at Yisu Shipping.<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">


    At that moment, several middle-aged individuals approached them, all sporting cheerful expressions. The leader of the group was Uncle Nan, who still held arge box in his hands, the contents unknown.


    When they reached Mia and Charlie, Uncle Nan beamed and said, “Miss Mia, happy birthday!”


    Uncle Cheng, who was next to him, quickly opened the big box, revealing a stunning birthday cake inside.


    The group joined in unison, cheering, “Miss Mia, happy birthday!”


    Mia, taken aback, murmured, “But today isn’t my birthday… Uncle Nan, Uncle Cheng, what’s happening?”


    Uncle Nan chuckled and exined, “Miss Mia, today is the fourth day of the fourth month in the lunar calendar, which is your birthday ording to that calendar. You see, we older folks tend to check the lunar calendar first thing each day, so the sr calendar dates slip our minds, but the lunar dates are always clear to us.”


    Mia’s eyes glistened with tears as she covered her mouth, softly saying, “I didn’t know…”


    Cheng Bo added with a warm smile, “We’ve been nning this surprise for a few days now. We were worried you might note, but it’s great to see you brought your boyfriend along!”<fn054a> ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? find~novel</fn054a>


    Mia’s tears flowed freely this time. Instead of exining, she expressed her gratitude, saying, “Thank you, everyone… Thank you so much…”


    Uncle Nan and Uncle Cheng held the cake and began singing a birthday song in Cantonese: “Congrattions to you, congrattions on your happy birthday! Every year has this day, every year has today! Congrattions, congrattions to you!”


    Everyone apuded enthusiastically. Uncle Nan handed Charlie two candles and a box of matches, saying with a smile, “Young man, today marks Miss Mia’s 24th birthday! We’ve prepared two candles for her. Could you please help light them?”


    Charlie nodded, ced the candles into the cake, and lit them with care.


    The group eagerly urged Mia to make a wish and blow out the candles.


    Mia nced at Charlie, closed her eyes to make a silent wish, and then blew out the candles before everyone’s eyes.


    Cheers erupted once again, and soon everyone served Mia and Charlie their own special dishes or snacks. Each portion was small, and Cheng Bo remarked, “We know Miss Mia doesn’t like waste, so we prepared smaller servings. If you need more, just let us know, and we’ll dly prepare more for you two!”


    Mia, with tearful eyes, said, “Thank you for being so thoughtful and remembering my birthday…”


    Cheng Bo smiled warmly and replied, “No problem at all, Miss Mia! To us, you’re like our own daughter!” He then turned to the others and announced, “Alright everyone, let’s move along and not intrude on Miss Mia’s special time with her boyfriend!”