Chapter 22
From the early hours of the day, Sharon had been receiving numerous birthday wishes. Before heading to work that morning, she received a video call from Grandma Shu.
In the video, Grandma Shu and Aunt Hui appeared, both smiling at the phone.
“Hasn’t the little girl left for work yet?” Grandma Shu asked.
“Almost,” Sharon replied.
“There’ll be snow tonight, so dress warmly,” Grandma Shu reminded her.
“I know,” Sharon assured her.
“Happy birthday to my big girl,” Grandma Shu said warmly.
“Happy birthday, Sharon,” added Aunt Hui with a smile.
Their faces brightened Sharon’s spirits, and she smiled back. “Thank you, Grandma. Thank you, Aunt Hui.”
The camera panned to reveal a row of plump, white dumplings on the table behind them.
Grandma Shu explained, “Tomorrow’s the winter solstice night. These dumplings were just made by Hui Ping—she ground the glutinous rice herself. They’re filled with your favorite shredded radish. Hui Ping will send some over later.”
Sharon nodded. “Just put them in the fridge when they arrive. Thank you, Aunt Hui.”
After a few more words with Grandma Shu over the video, Sharon set off for work.
Dai Jiao was away on a business trip these days, so Sharon called the project team for a meeting at ten. After the meeting, she still had a pile of drawings to review, and before she knew it, it was noon.
Wu Tianqi knocked on her office door.
“Sharon,” he called.
Without looking up from her computer, she replied, “What is it?”
“It’s already noon. Aren’t you going to eat?”
“I’m about to.”
Noticing he hadn’t left, she finally looked up.
Wu Tianqi smiled and asked, “What are you having for lunch?”
“Together. I have something to tell you.”
Seeing the serious look on his face, Sharon’s heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that he was planning to become a monk?
“Let’s go,” she said, standing up.
Just as she stepped out of the office, a group of people suddenly rushed out, startling her.
“Happy birthday!!”
“Happy birthday, Sharon!”
Wu Tianqi grinned. “Say goodbye to all your troubles.”
He began the song, and everyone joined in:
“Say hi, hi to all the joys,
Dear, dear, happy birthday,
May every day be wonderful...”
Wu Tianqi added, “Happy birthday, Sharon! Hope I’ll have fewer revisions and redraws from now on.”
“Dream on,” Sharon retorted.
He was speechless.
Outside, balloons, cake, and lunch were all ready, waiting to surprise Sharon as she left her office. Yet, when lunchtime came, she stayed inside.
Wu Tianqi teased, “I was worried you wouldn’t eat at all if you stayed in there.”
Sharon smiled. “Thanks. I’ll treat everyone to afternoon tea later.”
“Yay!” said Yuanyuan.
They all had lunch together, cutting the cake and sharing laughs. Sharon learned from Yuanyuan that Wu Tianqi had organized everything—the lunch, the cake, all his doing.
Interns in this field rarely earn much; some large firms pay almost nothing, and internships are mainly for experience. Looking at the logos on the cake and lunch, Sharon guessed Wu Tianqi probably spent his own money. But he likely didn’t mind.
She asked him, “How did you know today was my birthday?”
“Della told me first thing this morning,” he replied.
Back in her office, Sharon tried to call Dai Jiao, only to receive a call from her instead.
“Happy birthday, dear,” Dai Jiao said.
“Thanks,” Sharon replied.
“I’m on a business trip today, so I had to arrange your ‘official junior disciple’ to celebrate for you.”
Sharon was speechless. ‘Official junior disciple’—what kind of title was that?
In the afternoon, the front desk brought over a bouquet of flowers that had just arrived.
“Who sent these?” Sharon asked.
“No idea. The card was unsigned.”
“Sharon, do you want the flowers here or at the front desk?”
She had just been about to say the front desk when she looked at the yellow roses in her arms and remembered the bouquet Ji Xi had given her on the day they registered their marriage.
“Put them here with me,” she said.
The front desk placed the flowers on Sharon’s desk and left.
Sharon examined the bouquet. Inside was a card that read simply, “Happy birthday.”
The flowers looked fresh and seemed to be the same variety as those Ji Xi had given her—larger blooms than typical roses.
She found Ji Xi on WeChat and messaged him.
“Sharon: Are you the one who sent the flowers?”
After sending the message, she set the flowers aside and returned to work.
About ten minutes later, Ji Xi called her with a voice message.
She finished sketching two lines on her draft before picking up.
“Hello?”
No response came from the other end for a few seconds. Just as she was about to check if the signal was bad or if the call had dropped, a voice came through.
“Happy birthday, Sharon.”
So the flowers were indeed from him.
“Thank you,” she replied softly.
Then an unexpected silence followed.
Sharon felt Ji Xi was acting a little strange today.
Breaking the silence, she asked, “Did you see Wu Tianqi’s post this afternoon?”
Otherwise, how would he have known it was her birthday?
Ji Xi responded with a hum and asked, “How will you spend the evening?”
His usual tone was unchanged, calm and casual.
“I have to work overtime. Friends are throwing me a birthday party after work, then we’ll have a few drinks.”
Ji Xi chuckled. “You always have many people celebrating you.”
The words, paired with his light laugh, felt oddly sarcastic to Sharon.
What was he implying?
What did he mean by ‘always many’? As if he knew something.
“…Just with Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying,” Sharon answered hesitantly.
Ji Xi paused, then asked, “Want me to come by after?”
“For what?” Sharon’s voice unconsciously grew cold and distant after feeling that slight jab.
Ji Xi smiled. “It’s your first birthday after getting married. I, as your husband, have to give you a gift.”
Her cheeks flushed.
**
That evening, Sharon treated the colleagues who stayed late to dinner.
Wu Tianqi, who was also working overtime helping with his family’s hotel renovation project, stayed as well.
“Working overtime on your birthday?” he asked, unable to hide his surprise.
Seeing him, Sharon couldn’t help but recall Dai Jiao’s nickname for him—‘official junior disciple.’
“Do you think I want to? Get back to work—finish early, finish sooner.”
“...Okay,” Wu Tianqi replied.
The overtime didn’t last long; they wrapped up by eight.
Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying were waiting outside the building to pick Sharon up.
When she came out, Zheng Tingyan rolled down the window of the front passenger seat and waved.
Sharon hurried over.
Once inside the car, Zheng Tingyan said, “I was just telling Xu Ying that seeing you walk out with others is like picking up a child from school. Happy birthday!”
“Happy birthday, Sharon,” Xu Ying added.
The three of them went to a small tavern.
With the winter solstice night coming tomorrow, Zheng Tingyan had booked early. The tavern staff drove to nearby Su City at five in the morning, queued for hours at a time-honored shop, and brought back fresh winter brew just for them.
Xu Ying was the designated driver, drinking only soft drinks. Sharon and Zheng Tingyan sipped the winter brew.
The seasonal brew was low in alcohol, fragrant with sweet osmanthus, perfect for light chatting and nibbling.
“By the way, Sharon, did Ji Xi do anything special for your birthday today?” Zheng Tingyan asked. “I saw Wu Tianqi’s post about the birthday party at the office—it looked lively. As your husband, Ji Xi wouldn’t just ignore it, right?”
“Someone sent flowers in the afternoon,” Sharon said.
“Just one bouquet?”
Sharon hesitated, then said, “He said he’d come by later to give me a gift.”
“Where?” Zheng Tingyan asked curiously.
“Downstairs at my place,” Sharon answered.
Zheng Tingyan was intrigued. “I wonder what he’ll give you.”
She then asked Xu Ying, “What did Cheng Yexiu get you for your birthdays?”
Xu Ying thought for a moment. “Jewelry two years ago, an ancient text last year.”
Sharon recalled the old book.
Xu Ying had never been much into jewelry, so Cheng Yexiu had finally gotten it right the second year.
Zheng Tingyan said, “We’ve had enough to drink. Ready to head out? The sooner we leave, the sooner you’ll find out what Ji Xi got you.”
Sharon was silent.
Probably some kind of jewelry.
When they left the tavern, Sharon noticed clusters of white drifting in the air.
“It’s snowing!” Zheng Tingyan said excitedly, reaching out to catch flakes.
Xu Ying did the same.
It was the first snow of the winter in South City.
The three took a few pictures before getting into the car.
The snow was light and delicate under the streetlights.
“Sharon, have you told Ji Xi you’re on your way back?” Zheng Tingyan asked.
Looking down at her phone in the back seat, Sharon said, “I did.”
She had sent him a message earlier from the tavern, letting him know she was heading home.
About twenty minutes later, they arrived at Chuan Song No. 1.
“I wonder if Ji Xi’s here yet,” Zheng Tingyan said.
Sharon spotted a Cullinan parked right in front of them.
She grabbed the birthday gifts from Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying and stepped out.
The driver’s door of the Cullinan opened.
Sharon only turned her head when she heard the door close.
Snow fell diagonally before her, like a sheer curtain.
Ji Xi came forward holding an umbrella, half his face shaded beneath it.
Snowflakes hurried to settle on the umbrella, which then lifted slightly, revealing his full face.
In just moments outside the car, snow had landed on Sharon’s loose hair, some melting into droplets.
The black umbrella hovered over her head, and the crisp scent of winter was carried by the wind and snow.
Zheng Tingyan lowered her window to greet him.
Ji Xi looked at Sharon questioningly.
Their eyes met, and Sharon immediately understood his question.
“They know,” she said.
Ji Xi smirked and turned to greet Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying.
Zheng Tingyan said, “Not bad—they know it’s your birthday.”
Ji Xi smiled. “Of course I know my wife’s birthday.”
Sharon was speechless.
He obviously had seen Wu Tianqi’s post.
After the greetings, Zheng Tingyan and Xu Ying prepared to leave.
Sharon reminded them, “Drive carefully.”
“Don’t worry,” Xu Ying replied.
Once they drove off, Sharon shifted her gaze back to Ji Xi.