Shi Song’s sharp retort left Su Tang completely speechless, and it took a very long time before any new messages were sent over.
Shi Song didn’t even bother to wait. He carelessly tossed his phone aside, yawned, and got out of bed to wash up.
Over the past two days, their team had taken on a lot of new tasks. Shi Song was so busy at the company that his feet barely touched the ground, and in the blink of an eye, it was already time to clock out.
After a full day of intense mental labor, he was exhausted to the bone. As he boarded the bus home, he felt himself growing a bit drowsy.
The bus happened to pass by Beijing’s most famous luxury shopping mall.
The nightlife in this area was just beginning. The surrounding streets were bustling with an endless stream of shoppers, and the colored lights decorating the main structure of the mall radiated an aura of luxury and sophistication.
Looking at the mall, a sudden thought struck Shi Song, and he instantly sat up straight.
The day after tomorrow was also Wei Huaichen’s birthday, and he had been meaning to prepare a gift for him for a while now. Ordinary things wouldn’t suit him, so since he happened to be passing by this mall, wasn’t it the perfect opportunity to go in and buy a birthday present?
Just as luck would have it, the bus came to a stop. Shi Song hurriedly stood up and squeezed through the crowded Beijing evening rush hour bus, rushing off just before the doors slammed shut.
Once inside, Shi Song wandered around aimlessly for a bit before his gaze finally locked onto a specific high-end brand.
Shi Song had seen Wei Huaichen wear things from this brand before, so it shouldn’t be a miss.
However…
As Shi Song walked around the store, he blinked his eyes discreetly.
Even though he had prepared himself beforehand, he still couldn’t help but think… Wow, this is expensive.
He lamented silently in his heart.
When he made enough money in the future, he would definitely walk into this store with absolute arrogance, just like characters do in TV dramas, pointing left and right and telling the clerk to pack everything up.
Thinking this way, Shi Song’s heart, which had been slightly shocked by the string of zeros on the price tags, finally calmed down a little.
But wishes aside, the present still had to be bought.
In the end, Shi Song’s gaze fell upon a small pair of cufflinks inside the display case.
The cufflinks were designed in the shape of gears, with a few small diamond fragments embedded in the center, radiating a subtle, restrained brilliance amidst their low-profile elegance.
As expected of a luxury brand; Shi Song’s eyes were instantly captured by this exquisite design.
A few thousand yuan it wasn’t an entirely unaffordable amount.
Ultimately, Shi Song gritted his teeth and headed home carrying the heavy, small shopping bag.
The next day, just as he was about to leave work, Shi Song suddenly received a message from his father.
“The day after tomorrow is Saturday. If you have time, come back home. We can celebrate a combined birthday for you and Huaichen.”
“I know you both are busy on Friday, so we didn’t pick the actual day. You absolutely cannot make excuses to skip out the day after tomorrow.”
Shi Song thought for a moment and replied, “Okay, Dad.”
A moment later, Cheng Gao sent another message: “I heard you’re celebrating your birthday with your university classmates after work tomorrow?”
“That works out perfectly. I just asked your brother, and he has some things to wrap up at the office, so he’ll be leaving a bit late. When you’re finished on your end, you can ask him. If it works out, you two can come back together, saving you the trouble the next day.”
Shi Song blinked: “Mm-hmm.”
In fact, he had hesitated earlier about whether he should invite his brother to join his birthday celebration.
But on second thought, the people he invited were mostly his college classmates, and Wei Huaichen might feel uncomfortable if he came.
So he had no choice but to drop the idea.
However, since his dad had put it that way, Shi Song felt that he could drop by and see Wei Huaichen today, using the opportunity to give him the birthday present.
Tomorrow he would have to go straight to his birthday party, and carrying a gift around would be a bit too conspicuous and awkward.
With that thought in mind, Shi Song shut down his computer.
The colleague sitting next to him leaned over and said with a smile, “Going to find your brother again? I really envy the relationship between you two brothers.”
“Huh?”
Shi Song was stunned for a moment.
“You have no idea, I’ve been fighting with my brother recently.”
The colleague shook his head. “He wants to control every single thing I do. I am honestly annoyed to death by him.”
Shi Song couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “I don’t have that kind of delayed rebellious phase like you do.”
Curiosity piqued, the colleague asked Shi Song, “Now that you mention it have you really never had a fight with your brother?”
“Never,” Shi Song answered very decisively.
“Is President Wei’s temper really that good?”
The colleague still found it hard to believe. “Then what if you did fight? Between the two of you, who would coax whom?”
“What do you mean ‘who would coax whom,’ you make it sound like a young couple,” another colleague who had been listening in laughed while looking at their computer screen. “But based on how President Wei came over to stand up for Shi Song last time, it must be President Wei who gives in to Shi Song, right?”
They looked at Shi Song with curious eyes.
Being stared at like that, Shi Song inexplicably felt his ears growing warm. “How could that be?”
“If we actually had a fight…”
Shi Song visualized the scenario for a moment, then shook his head. “Then he’d definitely not bother to pay any attention to me afterwards.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!”
Shi Song’s words made the first colleague burst into laughter. “Does President Wei know you’re slandering him behind his back?”
“Alright, if you’re in a hurry, you should get going.”
Shi Song sighed softly in his heart.
Although he had said those words casually, they were indeed his true feelings.
To be fair, even though he and Wei Huaichen had gradually grown closer, their relationship couldn’t be considered exceptionally deep.
Shi Song could tell that Wei Huaichen was emotionally detached. In Shi Song’s eyes, it always felt like that man could detach himself and walk away at any given moment.
If he left, then the few family members Shi Song had left would be completely gone.
“I’m off, see you guys.”
However, Shi Song only felt downcast for a brief second before quickly recovering his spirits. He grabbed the birthday present he bought yesterday from under his desk and smiled. “Bye-bye.”
Taking the elevator to the top floor, Shi Song knocked on the door of Wei Huaichen’s office and walked in with light steps.
“Brother.”
Wei Huaichen had already grown accustomed to his visits, so he merely hummed in response without lifting his head.
“What’s the matter?”
“Brother, isn’t tomorrow your birthday? I wanted to give you your birthday present first.”
Shi Song handed the exquisitely wrapped box to Wei Huaichen, his voice laced with a smile. “Happy birthday!”
The young man’s tone was cheerful, and Wei Huaichen wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt an implicit sense of anticipation hidden within Shi Song’s words.
He felt a faint prickling sensation on his earlobe.
Click.
Wei Huaichen capped the fountain pen in his hand and gently clipped it onto the document beside him.
He lifted his eyes, meeting Shi Song’s soft gaze.
Shi Song’s eyes were very bright, sparkling vividly under the office lights.
Wei Huaichen felt his heart skip a beat.
It took him a moment to process what he should say next: “Thank you.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever received a birthday present.”
“The first time?”
Shi Song froze for a second, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief.
But it was very obvious that Wei Huaichen did not wish to dwell further on the matter.
He reached out his hand to take the small bag.
Their fingertips brushed against each other briefly, and Wei Huaichen felt a small patch of warmth grazing over his highly sensitive finger pads.
His fingers tightened imperceptibly around the bag.
Shi Song didn’t notice Wei Huaichen’s subtle movement.
With a look of great anticipation, he said to him, “Why don’t you open it and take a look?”
Wei Huaichen gave an “mm” and deliberately, slowly unwrapped the packaging.
Then, he saw it…
“Cufflinks?”
Wei Huaichen was stunned for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Looking at this pair of cufflinks, he felt as though he had been pulled back to a few days ago.
The slightly tipsy boy.
The raspy voice.
The sweet, intoxicating scent of alcohol.
Shi Song had tugged at his sleeve, his fingers unintentionally brushing past that cufflink, wrapping his body heat all around it.
And so, he had unfastened that cufflink.
Even he himself didn’t understand the meaning behind his own behavior back then.
Or perhaps he was just acting out of a temporary fit of madness, but at that moment, he felt that the cufflink had to be hidden away by him, never to be seen by another soul.
Yet today, Shi Song had actually given him a pair of cufflinks as a gift.
Wei Huaichen’s fingers twitched slightly.
For a split second, he almost thought his bizarre behavior from that night had been discovered.
“Why did you buy this for me?”
His dove-gray eyes grew somewhat deep and unreadable.
Shi Song noticed that whenever Wei Huaichen received something, he always liked to ask “why.”
It was the case when he gifted him the pastries last time, and it was the same with the cufflinks this time.
Shi Song figured that he might just be lacking a sense of security.
His long, slender fingers picked up one of the cufflinks and placed it directly into Wei Huaichen’s palm. As the small metal object landed, it brought with it a wave of tingling, crisp warmth.
“I saw that you like this brand. There weren’t many things at the counter that I could afford, and this one looked really nice.”
“Brother, you don’t dislike it, do you?”
Shi Song blinked his eyes gently.
Wei Huaichen let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.
He unfastened his original cufflinks, took the ones Shi Song gave him one by one, put them on, and then looked up with a warm, gentle smile.
“No.”
“I like them very much.”
“That’s good then.”
Hearing him say this, Shi Song’s heart leaped with a tiny burst of joy.
Because he was too exhausted, Shi Song went straight to sleep after returning home.
When he woke up, he knitted his brows and sat on the bed for a long time, sorting through his tangled thoughts.
This time, Shi Song had experienced a very long dream, and he finally understood exactly what was going on.
He was a character inside a book, but now that he possessed self-awareness, he was able to perceive the events that were about to unfold.
And today’s birthday party would serve as a major turning point.
Since heaven had granted him this chance to alter his destiny, he absolutely had to seize it.
After pondering for a moment, Shi Song picked up his phone and sent a message to Lin Yiming.
“Today is my birthday party. If it’s convenient for you, you can invite Su Tang to come along as well.”
“It just so happens that there are some misunderstandings from before that I need to clear up with him.”