Chapter 151: The Importance of Birthdays

Ultimately, Boss Huang He decided to treat Leng Zhiwen to a meal at Donglaishun to taste authentic mutton hot pot, and Leng Zhiwen's expression finally softened a bit.

"By the way, Zhiwen, today is March 2nd. If I'm not mistaken, today is your birthday!" Huang He said with a smile.

"My birthday is indeed on the 2nd, that's true, but it's not March 2nd. It's April 2nd!" Leng Zhiwen's expression grew cold again.

"Is that so?" Huang He said awkwardly. "I somehow just remembered that you had a birthday on the 2nd, and I completely messed up the month."

"Actually, I'm not the only one whose birthday is on the 2nd. There's someone else whose birthday is also on the 2nd. Do you know who that is, brother-in-law?" Leng Zhiwen asked indifferently.

"Uh... I don't quite remember!" Huang He shook his head. He only vaguely remembered seeing Leng Zhiwen's ID card, where the birthday was listed as April 2nd, but he had mistakenly remembered it as March 2nd.

"It's Zhimeng. She was born on February 2nd!" Leng Zhiwen said.

"I see!" Huang He rubbed his head awkwardly. "Doesn't that mean I forgot Zhimeng's birthday too? That's quite a sin. Looks like I'll have to find a way to make it up to her with a birthday gift."

"Actually, the birthdays of us sisters are mostly concentrated on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Do you know which one of us sisters was born on the 4th?" Leng Zhiwen continued to ask.

"Zhiting?" Huang He guessed tentatively.

"No, it's Zhiyuan. She was born on December 4th! Do you know who was born on the 3rd?"

"I don't know..." Huang He shook his head again.

"My mother's birthday is April 3rd!" Leng Zhiwen smiled faintly.

"Mother? She isn't your sister, that doesn't count!" Huang He said, amused and exasperated.

"Fine, then let me ask you this. Do you know who was born on the 1st?" Leng Zhiwen looked at Huang He.

"Zhiruo?" Huang He pondered. The only ones whose birthdays he couldn't remember were Zhiruo and Zhiting, so he just picked one at random.

"Sister Zhiqing!" Leng Zhiwen's words were extremely calm, but a chilling aura permeated her tone.

"Leng Zhiqing..." Huang He drew in a sharp breath, then felt a chill run through his entire body. Leng Zhiqing was his deceased wife, the eldest sister of them all. With Leng Zhiwen bringing up Leng Zhiqing at a moment like this, Huang He suddenly felt completely at a loss.

"Brother-in-law, did you think I couldn't sense what was going on between you and the second sister?" Leng Zhiwen looked at Huang He with a resentful gaze. "How can you justify doing this to Sister Zhiqing?"

"Well!" Faced with Leng Zhiwen's soul-searching question, Huang He was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Your question is completely meaningless, because I don't need to justify myself to your sister. I only need to have a clear conscience!"

"Zhiqing is gone. No matter how you look at it, she is no longer in this world. When she was alive, I did nothing to wrong her. After she left, I also have the right to pursue my own happiness. There is no question of wronging anyone here. I hope you won't ask such questions in the future, and especially don't ask your second sister. She is not like me and cannot take things so lightly. She will be driven to her grave by your questions," Huang He said calmly.

"Hmph!" Leng Zhiwen snorted and said nothing more. Instead, Huang He pressed on, "Zhiwen, since we've brought this up today, there's something I've always found very strange and I'd like to get to the bottom of it."

"Go ahead, but I don't guarantee I'll answer," Leng Zhiwen said.

"Why have you always maintained such deep hostility toward me?" Huang He sighed. "Ever since the first time I met you, I could feel your hostility. All these years, from high school to university, it has never changed. I can honestly say I've never done anything to wrong you or the Leng family. On the contrary, I've helped your family from start to finish. I've done more than enough and done it well. Why do you treat me this way? Is there some kind of misunderstanding between us?"

Huang He could feel Leng Zhiwen's hostility crystal clear. At the time, Huang He had assumed he must have done something to wrong Leng Zhiwen in his past life.

So Huang He tried hard to recall all his remaining memories related to Leng Zhiwen. From the very first time he visited their home as a guest, all the way up until his rebirth, Huang He realized he had always treated Leng Zhiwen quite well. Yet Leng Zhiwen had always maintained the exact same cold attitude, which baffled Huang He completely.

Normally, Huang He wouldn't have brought this up, but since the conversation had progressed this far, he simply decided to ask directly.

"..." Leng Zhiwen's chopsticks involuntarily slipped from her hand. She abruptly stood up, staring at Huang He with a look of shock and anger. "You surnamed Huang, how do you even have the face to ask such a question? Have you completely wiped everything that happened back then from your memory?"

"No... Zhiwen, you know that when the company was in its most critical crisis, I passed out once. Ever since then, many of my past memories have become blurred. I truly don't remember doing anything to wrong you back then. If there was something, tell me now. If I was in the wrong, I will compensate you, apologize to you, or even pay with my life if necessary, as long as I actually committed such a mistake," Huang He said sincerely.

"You really don't remember?" Leng Zhiwen asked once more, though her initial anger seemed to have dissipated by quite a bit.

"Yes, I really don't remember!" Huang He said earnestly.

"Then let me ask you, what color was the skirt?" Leng Zhiwen suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What skirt? Stop asking such bizarre and inexplicable questions, will you!" Huang He rolled his eyes. To his surprise, Leng Zhiwen let out a long sigh of relief, sat back down in her chair, and lowered her head without speaking. However, Huang He could clearly sense that the hedgehog, which had previously been covered all over in sharp quills, had suddenly softened every single spine on her body in an instant.

"Zhiwen, what is this whole deal with the color of the skirt?" Huang He asked out of curiosity.

"Ask that again and I'll cut off what's below you!" Leng Zhiwen said viciously. Huang He shrank his neck and instantly didn't dare to ask anymore.

"If you insist on buying me a birthday gift, then accompany me to Liulichang tomorrow!" Leng Zhiwen said.

"Why..." Huang He originally wanted to ask why, but then he noticed the corner of Leng Zhiwen's lips curling into a hint of a smile. In that fleeting second, she looked breathtakingly peerless. More importantly, at that exact moment, a certain shadow deep within Huang He's heart emerged.

"Zhiqing? Is that you?" Huang He muttered softly. At that moment, a massive, indescribable wave of love surged forth from his heart. This wasn't directed at Leng Zhiwen, but rather at his deceased wife, Leng Zhiqing—the love belonging to another Huang He.

As for why it surged forth at this exact moment, it was because when Leng Zhiwen smiled, she looked precisely, identically like Leng Zhiqing.

————————

The next day, Huang He kept his promise and took Leng Zhiwen to Liulichang.

In many grave-robbery or antique-appraisal novels, Liulichang was a presence that simply could not be omitted.

Liulichang got its name during the Ming Dynasty because the vicinity was a place specially designated for firing glazed ceramic tiles for the Ming royal family, featuring an imperial official kiln.

By the Qing Dynasty, the official kiln was gone, but the name Liulichang persisted. Because this neighborhood was located very close to the imperial examination compound, candidates participating in the imperial exams would live nearby, and the area naturally transformed into a gathering place for intellectuals selling various types of paper, books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

However, selling only brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones around here could hardly sustain the rent, so gradually people began selling all sorts of calligraphy and paintings by famous figures. As it developed further, antique goods of all descriptions were brought to Liulichang to be sold, eventually forming the most famous antique trading district in old Beijing.

Even to this day, Liulichang remains much the same, except that brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones are rarely sold anymore; instead, all kinds of bizarre and varied cultural relics are found here.

Many cultural relics even had soil clinging to them, exuding a distinct earthy odor, along with all sorts of fading colors. Their condition could only be described as horrifying to behold.

Yet, items like this attracted the most inquiries. The sellers would mysteriously glance around before whispering, "Just brought out from the ancestral home, an heirloom from the elders, a rare treasure indeed!"

Well, the "ancestral home" was a grave, and the "elders" were ancestors from several hundred years ago. As for whether the items were genuine, only the heavens knew. In any case, Huang He never believed that true treasures could be panned from stalls like these; it was pure nonsense.

However, Leng Zhiwen looked at them very seriously, browsing through the stalls one by one. This prompted Huang He to ask curiously, "Zhiwen, what on earth are you trying to buy?"

"I want to buy a sword!" Leng Zhiwen made no secret of it and answered very directly. "The master who taught me martial arts is about to turn fifty, and I plan to give her an ancient sword. She raised me since I was a child, and one must know gratitude and repay it!" Leng Zhiwen said.

"I see!" Huang He nodded. It was just that swords here in Liulichang seemed to be rare items, mostly consisting of mottled bronze swords allegedly dating back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Yet Leng Zhiwen didn't have the slightest bit of interest in such swords because bronze swords looked far too ugly. She still preferred those with biting, freezing gleams of light, decorated magnificently in the styles following the Tang Dynasty.

True to Liulichang's reputation, however, Leng Zhiwen soon spotted a satisfactory ancient sword inside a shop. The sword was about one meter long—the legendary three-foot sword.

The blade was relatively slender, and the scabbard was adorned with various auspicious beast motifs and texts. The hilt featured a string of white jade sword tassels. At first glance, it looked exceptionally exquisite, which explained why it had caught Leng Zhiwen's eye.

"The young lady has a discerning eye. This is a sword from the Qianlong era, emulating the craftsmanship of Tangxi swords and the style of Longquan swords. Although it is not an imperial treasure, it was the personal sword of the great historical scholar Wang Mingsheng. It was later sold by the Wang family—a well-known, named item with verifiable historical records!" the shopkeeper introduced.