"Gu, your boyfriend is so romantic," a female colleague passing by said to Gu Susu.
Gu Susu could only smile and nod, then asked Yang Sijie, "Can you put the flowers in your car first?"
"You don't like them?"
Gu Susu had to take the bouquet and said, "I like them, they're just too eye-catching."
"I don't think there's anything wrong with them, unless you don't want people to know I'm your boyfriend," Yang Sijie asked, looking into her eyes.
"Brother Sijie, can we go to your car first? I have something to tell you."
After handing her the flowers, Yang Sijie tried to put his arm around her waist and said, "What important thing? Let's eat first. I've arranged everything for tonight, a candlelight dinner, a private cinema... By the way, tell me anything else you want to do, anything you like..."
"Brother Sijie, thank you, I want... I want..." Gu Susu cleverly avoided him, but couldn't bring herself to say she wanted to return the bracelet.
Yang Sijie sensed something was wrong and asked, "Susu, does your wrist still hurt? Or did something happen?"
"Nothing," Gu Susu said with a smile, "Didn't you book dinner? I'm hungry, let's eat first."
Yang Sijie quickly said, "Okay, I have a big surprise for you."
Gu Susu didn't say anything more. They got into the car together and went to the restaurant he had booked.
Yang Sijie said the booked restaurant was on the top floor of a five-star hotel. Gu Susu found the entire top floor exceptionally quiet, and there were no other guests in the vast restaurant.
On the large round dining table in the center of the restaurant, there was an exquisite candelabra. Around the candelabra was a circle of heart-shaped roses, and above them hung colorful mirrored balls, arranged at different heights, creating a romantic and almost unreal atmosphere.
"Brother Sijie, it's just dinner, it doesn't need to be so extravagant." Gu Susu stood still, hesitant to approach the dining table.
Yang Sijie took her right hand, gazed at her with all his sincerity, and said softly, "For me, it's not just a simple meal with you. Yesterday, when I knew you agreed, I was ecstatic. I've waited for this moment for so long, and I want to properly commemorate the moment you officially became my girlfriend. Susu, this is not extravagant at all. Let it be just you and me here, and let's have a good dinner together."
Gu Susu was touched. Memories from her youth flooded back in an instant. They were so pure and innocent back then, with only each other in their hearts and eyes, a feeling like family, like friendship, and a hint of nascent love.
Yang Sijie pulled her down to sit. She relaxed, no longer tense or awkward. With Yang Sijie, she felt a romantic warmth that she had never experienced with Qin Tianyi.
At this moment, soft violin music filled the restaurant, and someone walked over playing the violin. Gu Susu looked up and recognized the person as Allen.
She covered her mouth in surprise and whispered, "Brother Sijie, your friend plays the violin?"
Yang Sijie smiled and nodded, then whispered in her ear, "When we were backpacking through France, we relied on this to earn our travel expenses."
Allen smiled as they whispered, immersing himself in his performance without being disturbed.
A waiter poured them red wine, and the soup and salad were served. Yang Sijie raised his glass and clinked it with Gu Susu's, asking, "Do you like it?"
Gu Susu nodded and said, "I like it."
After finishing a piece, Allen bowed to them and smiled at Gu Susu, saying, "Miss Gu, Frank has been looking forward to this day for a long time. I wish you both happiness."
Gu Susu didn't know how to respond. She couldn't explain things clearly tonight.
Allen beckoned to a waiter, who immediately brought a dessert and placed it in front of Gu Susu.
Gu Susu smelled the aroma of the dessert and asked, "Did Allen make this himself?"
Allen smiled at Yang Sijie and replied to Gu Susu, "Yes, I made it especially for you. Please try it."
As he spoke, he picked up a small spoon from the table and handed it to Gu Susu, as if waiting for her evaluation after she tasted it.
Gu Susu took a small bite. The dessert was sweet but not cloying, soft and smooth on the palate, and incredibly delicious. She couldn't help but eat two more bites, and suddenly discovered something inside the dessert.
She used her spoon to scoop it out and found a ring, a simple circle inlaid with a small diamond.
Seeing the ring, her heart fluttered, and she quickly said, "Brother Sijie, I can't accept this, really, I can't."
Yang Sijie took the ring out for her and smiled, saying, "Susu, what are you afraid of? I'm not proposing. I know you still need time, and I'll wait."
Seeing that she still wanted to avoid him, he gently held her bandaged left hand and said, "I bought this ring with the first money I earned. You were sixteen that year. I was already thinking that in two more years, I could pick you up from the orphanage and bring you to my side."
Yang Sijie held the ring up to her eyes and continued, "Look what's engraved inside this ring?"
Gu Susu dazedly took the ring and realized that Allen, who had been holding the violin beside them, had quietly left at some point.
She used the candlelight on the table to try and see the inscription inside the ring clearly.
Yang Sijie added, "Back then, I just thought you loved making rings and necklaces out of grass to wear. If you saw this real ring when I picked you up from the orphanage, you'd be very happy."
Gu Susu finally looked at the engraving inside the ring: "Little rascal, happy eighteenth birthday."
She couldn't help but chuckle. Remembering something, she said, "Brother Sijie, do you remember when I was sixteen, it was very cold? I saw on the news that it was even colder where you were than where we were, so I learned to knit a scarf. I asked the director for your address abroad and sent it to you. Did you receive it? Was the scarf not knitted well, with mistakes in some places, or was it too short? Did you wear it?"
Yang Sijie looked slightly surprised and immediately shook his head, "I didn't receive it. It might be because I had already moved."
"Do you move often with your adoptive parents?" Gu Susu felt a sense of regret and disappointment, having always thought he had received it back then.
To pay for the postage of that scarf, she had washed dishes in the orphanage's canteen for two months. In the winter, her hands were immersed in cold water, causing her skin to peel and crack.
In the candlelight, Yang Sijie's gaze was ambiguous as he said, "Not very often. I didn't know until you mentioned it. I will definitely find a way to find that scarf you sent me."
Gu Susu shook her head, "No need. It's been so long, it's impossible to find now..."
"You also missed me, you've always missed me, right?" Yang Sijie was indescribably happy to think that she had also sent him something. But then, he inadvertently noticed that the bracelet on her wrist was gone.
His mood plummeted like a roller coaster, from the clouds to the depths. He asked, "Where's the bracelet? Why aren't you wearing it today?"