~~~ Five months later

"(It's almost Wei's birthday, what can we get him?)" Lisa asked while putting some oil on the frying pan.

"(Maybe we can buy him a new shirt? Or a watch? A book maybe, would that be enough?)" Qiqi replied cutting a fish.

Lisa snorted. "(What if he has it already? I want something he might like... what about a homemade cake? Would he like that?)"

Qiqi considered that for a while. "(We did that for Yunlan already. It's Wei's first birthday since we live all together, it would be nice to surprise him, maybe we could...)"

"(Stop chatting, we're working here.)" The chef's loud voice shut them up.

Lisa murmured, "(Grumpy's yelling. We'll talk later,)" then she blew her a kiss.
Qiqi giggled and they focused on their cooking.

The first free day they had they got out together and after a long search they ended up choosing a board game they agreed he would like.

They involved Yunlan too because Wei's birthday happened to be on a Wednesday, so they wouldn't be at home.

Finally the day arrived; as Yunlan and Wei walked inside their apartment, Yunlan told him to go get ready because he had planned a dinner for the two of them to celebrate his birthday. He even called a taxi because it was "a very special occasion after all" and Wei felt over the moon, even more when he realised where they were going to eat.

Yunlan winked at him. "I heard the food is really good here," he said as the name "2000" came into view.
Wei beamed happily throughout the dinner, the food was delicious and he couldn't stop thanking him.

On weekdays the restaurant wasn't as crowded as it was during the weekends, so after a certain hour the girls were allowed to join them at their table.

Qiqi arrived first with a big smile on her face. "Happy birthday Wei!".
He didn't expect to actually see them that night, knowing that they were working, and he was so happy they could celebrate with him.

Lisa arrived with an equally big smile. She half-hugged him with a "(come here birthday boy!)", giving him a kiss on each cheek, then she began pulling his earlobe.

Yunlan laughed at his uncomfortable expression, but Wei didn't protest.

Finally Lisa sat down. "(Wow, how cute you are, I always complained while my mom did it to me.)"

Wei widened his eyes. "(She don't do it  no more?)"

Lisa laughed. "(Oh no, I put a stop to it long ago.)"

Wei faked annoyance and she laughed again.

The two girls looked at each other, then giggled and Qiqi pulled out the wrapped box she had hurried to get while he was busy getting his ear pulled.

"(This is for you!)" They exclaimed at the same time.

He unwrapped it and looked at the board game with a confused expression. "(What is it?)"

"(It's a board game, so we can play all together!)" Qiqi said. "(You throw a dice to choose a letter, then you must write as many things starting with that letter as possible! It's fun!)"

Lisa joined in. "(And your Italian is so good now! The challenge is to think of them in a minute's time, we could try it next Monday if you want.)"

Wei doubted his Italian was as good as she said, but it had certainly improved a lot living with her, and he was touched both by the gift and her words.
"(Thank you, I love it,)" he said, sounding as moved as he was.

"(Really, thanks, all three of you, I didn't expect all this, it's wonderful,)" he added, and the girls moved to hug him one at each side.

"(That's what family's for)" Lisa said before squeezing him a little more.

Yunlan smiled.

~~~ Three months after that

Wei heard the girls loud voices and turned to Yunlan.

"What are they fighting about?"

"Qiqi is complaining that she always have to tidy their room because Lisa makes a mess every time. She wants Lisa to put things in order instead of expecting her to do it."

Wei took Chu's pillow that Lisa had left on the table and put it back on the couch.

"She's not wrong."

Yunlan laughed. "I don't think she can change much. That's just who she is."

Wei sat on Yunlan's lap. "How did you become so wise?"

Yunlan wrapped his arms around him. "It's a gift. I'm a natural genius."

Wei laughed and kissed him.

Suddenly they heard a knock at the door. They rarely received visitors. It had happened that one of Lisa's friends came to visit her, or that they had to discuss something with the apartment building's manager, so Yunlan sighed and let go of Wei.

Yunlan stood up while Wei went to open the door.

"I hope your couch is comfortable." The man said before engulfing Wei in a bear hug.

The girls heard Wei yelling and came to see what was happening. Qiqi understood immediately when she saw Wei hugging a man twice his size.

"Chu!" She yelled too and went to greet him as well.

Yunlan watched them filled with curiosity.

"How long can you stay?" Wei asked him, and the big man shrugged his shoulders. "Only a few days, so let's make the most of it."

He gave Qiqi a soft hug and a pat on the head. "I told you that you two would have liked each other, didn't I? I'm a great judge of characters."

Wei laughed. "You're just as humble as Yunlan."

"Right, you still have to introduce me." Chu scolded him.

Yunlan came closer and Wei made the introductions. Yunlan offered his hand.
"Thanks for taking care of my Wei when he was young. I heard a lot about you."

Chu shook his hand. "Wei wrote a lot about you as well. Thanks for loving my little bro here."

Qiqi also introduced him to Lisa who until now had stood behind them not understanding a word. She smiled realising that Chu was the reason why her Qiqi had come to Rome in the first place.

Wei and Yunlan showed him around the apartment. Chu laughed when they explained to him that for everyone else they were actually two straight couples. For all the Chinese people, that is, because Lisa's friends knew of her relationship with Qiqi.

Chu had a loud laugh. He knew already about all that, but he still laughed thinking that their coworkers and Wei's parents, as well as all his townspeople, really believed that Wei was engaged to Qiqi and Yunlan to Lisa.

"This is our little world," Yunlan confirmed moving his arms to hint at their apartment. He smirked. "If only they knew what really goes on inside those bedrooms..."

Wei punched him on a shoulder and Chu laughed again.
"Well, what happens in Rome stays in Rome right?"

Yunlan winked. Lisa laughed as well after Qiqi translated it for her.

"Tomorrow we'll have to work," Yunlan said. "Will you get bored waiting for us?"

"Waiting?" Chu made a horrified face. "I'm not staying locked in here, I want to see as much as I can during my stay. I plan on staying outside  until your return."

"Won't you get lost?" Wei asked worried.

Chu looked at him. "I don't care, kid. Why worrying about that, getting lost is part of the fun. I already have your address written on a piece of paper. When I want to come back I'll show it to a taxi driver and they'll take me here."

Yunlan approved and showed him the couch where he would be sleeping, while the girls forgot their fight and began discussing what could they make that day to celebrate his arrival.

Wei looked at them feeling as happy as he could ever be.

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