Gu Susu dried the last bowl and put it in the cupboard. When she turned around, she found Yang Sijie standing behind her. She couldn't help but panic and asked, "Why aren't you in the living room watching TV?"
"You're more interesting than the TV," Yang Sijie said, producing a bracelet as if by magic and dangling it before Gu Susu's eyes. "This is for you. Your birthday is in a couple of days. Happy birthday."
Gu Susu looked at the bracelet, which seemed expensive, and quickly declined, "It's too precious. I can't accept it."
Yang Sijie pulled one of her hands and tried to put it on her wrist.
Gu Susu, however, withdrew her hand and said, "Brother Sijie, I already know my real birthday. It's not the day after tomorrow. I can't accept this gift. Please keep it for a girl you like."
"Susu, you're so cruel," Yang Sijie said helplessly. "You know very well that you're the only girl I like. You've also forgotten that our birthdays are on the same day. We promised to celebrate our birthdays together every year."
Gu Susu hadn't forgotten. Back then, in the orphanage, neither of them knew their birthdays, so the院长 (yuànzhǎng - director) used the date they were sent to the orphanage as their birthday.
Coincidentally, they were sent to the orphanage on the same date in the same month, so they celebrated their birthdays on the same day every year.
"Sijie, I've told you, I'm already riddled with holes," Gu Susu said with a dry laugh, hoping he would understand that she couldn't be as carefree with him as she was when they were children. "Imagination and reality are different. If we were truly together, you couldn't help but mind my past. And you saw it yourself just the day before yesterday. You saw how pathetic I was with my ex-husband..."
"I don't care!" Yang Sijie didn't know how to make her understand the sincerity of his feelings. Did he have to dig them out for her to understand? "I will protect you and won't let that scoundrel bully you again."
Gu Susu said with a bitter heart, "He's not a good person, but he's not entirely bad. Between him and me..."
"He treated you like that, and you're still defending him?" Yang Sijie didn't want to hear her talk about her relationship with Qin Tianyi.
He knew it was because of Qin Tianyi that she was reluctant to accept him.
Gu Susu said, "You don't understand what we've been through together all these years. I'm not defending him, I just don't want to go to court with him over Xiao Xingxing. That would hurt Xiao Xingxing the most."
"You can handle your affairs with your ex-husband however you want? I won't interfere and will respect your choice. But your ex-husband is getting remarried. Why can't you consider your own happiness?"
Gu Susu's heart twisted into a knot, and she still couldn't agree to Yang Sijie's proposal.
Yang Sijie looked at her with anticipation, "What we mean is... let's try dating first. If you think we're not compatible, we can go back to being friends. Don't you remember saying when you were little that you'd marry me when you grew up and be with me forever?"
Gu Susu hadn't forgotten anything she had said to Yang Sijie as a child, but back then they were ignorant of love. It was just a game of playing house.
"Now I don't dare to hope that you'll be willing to marry me," Yang Sijie continued to plead. "Just being willing to try dating me would be enough. Are you willing?"
Gu Susu stared at him blankly, unable to nod. She lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, and said, "I will consider it carefully. Please give me some more time, and I'll give you an answer."
"Can you tell me how long you need?" Yang Sijie's eyes welled up. "We've already missed too much time. Shouldn't we cherish every minute and second after our reunion?"
Gu Susu remembered that Qin Tianyi's wedding should be in a week. She gritted her teeth and said, "Give me another seven days, and I'll tell you my answer."
Yang Sijie placed the bracelet in her palm and told her to hold it tight. "A week later, come with me to Qin Tianyi's wedding. You don't have to say anything. As long as I see you wearing this bracelet, I'll understand that you've agreed. If you don't wear it, I'll understand too."
Gu Susu couldn't bear to see his sad expression and nodded forcefully.
Yang Sijie turned and left the kitchen. He went to the living room, picked up his jacket, and resolutely left her residence.
After he left, Gu Susu leaned against the sink, feeling weak all over, and took out the bracelet to examine it closely.
The bracelet was inlaid with diamonds. The middle part had her and Yang Sijie's English initials strung together with a heart, a clear meaning and thoughtfulness.
Holding the bracelet, she thought about Yang Sijie's words before he left. How would he be invited to Qin Tianyi's wedding in seven days? And should she wear this bracelet and go with Yang Sijie?
Could she witness Qin Tianyi entering into a happy marriage with another woman?
At the thought of that scene, her heart ached. She couldn't do it, she really couldn't!
Moreover, she still didn't know how to get Xiao Xingxing back from Qin Tianyi, given how things had escalated.
So many troublesome matters intertwined, making her feel like she was falling apart.
...
The next day, she was still preoccupied with her thoughts, but she hadn't forgotten her promise to treat Chang Qingchuan and Huo Jin to dinner. She went to the restaurant they had agreed upon, treating it as a way to clear her mind.
Because of traffic, Gu Susu arrived in a hurry. Chang Qingchuan and Huo Jin were already waiting for her at the extremely high-end restaurant.
Gu Susu had followed the address sent by Chang Qingchuan, checked it on an online map, and taken a bus. The rush hour traffic was terrible, and she was half an hour late.
But when she entered the restaurant and saw the luxurious decoration inside, she was secretly amazed. Dining here must be very expensive, and she wondered if she had enough money in her account.
A formally dressed waiter approached her and asked, "Do you have a reservation?"
Gu Susu gave Chang Qingchuan's name. The waiter, with a smile, led her to a private room.
Chang Qingchuan and Huo Jin were sitting together, chatting and laughing. Seeing her arrive, Huo Jin stood up first and smiled, "Susu, you're here. I chose this seat. Do you like it?"
Gu Susu looked at Huo Jin, who was wearing a beige dress with lace trim and a stylish little cardigan, making her look both playful and elegant. Gu Susu smiled back and said, "The environment here is very nice. I like it very much."
The two of them seemed to have let bygones be bygones. Huo Jin stepped forward, took her hand, and said, "Then please sit down. Qingchuan and I have agreed, I'm treating today. It was my fault before. I was too impulsive and caused you a lot of trouble. This meal is my apology."
Gu Susu sat down in the seat next to Huo Jin and quickly said to Chang Qingchuan, "Didn't we agree yesterday that I would treat? How can Huo Jin treat? No, no."