Little Gift

Alice's birthday party was being held at a hotel in the city center, conveniently close to An Shiyu's home. It was the sort of place you could practically see from the window.

Ye Shuang drove Chen Qin, Bai Yuyou, and the others there. Behind him followed two small cars shaped like chopped-pepper fish heads. Combined with the considerable size of his own vehicle, the two cars trailing behind looked almost like the two-colored tail of a rainbow.

“This should be the place, right?”

“Yeah.”

Ye Shuang got out with the girls. A doorman immediately came over.

“Good evening. Would you like us to park your car for you?”

“Thanks. Much appreciated.” Ye Shuang handed him the car keys.

An Shiyu and Anshi Yi, however, had no intention of handing their car over. They drove straight into the parking garage and parked it themselves.

“Are Little Yu and the others planning to park their car themselves?”

“Not exactly. It’s just that their car…” Ye Shuang fell silent for a few seconds.

Although the cars looked soft and cute on the outside, their interiors were surprisingly high-tech and hardcore. There were so many buttons and instruments that they looked almost like the cockpit of an airplane.

They probably didn’t trust anyone else to drive them.

“Ah…”

The voice from nearby made Ye Shuang and the others turn around. A familiar figure was standing at the entrance in a long dress.

“My dear girl.”

Naturally, it was Aunt Xian. After reconciling with Alice, it was only natural for her to attend the party. Although their relationship had not returned to what it once was, she had chosen Alice and let go of her obsession, so her complexion looked much healthier now.

After all, Alice was a child Aunt Xian had watched grow up and raised with her own hands. The love she had poured into her was genuine.

She could never forgive Zhou's Father, but children were innocent.

“Aunt Xian.” Ye Shuang greeted her as well. He hadn’t seen her in quite some time. After all, she had been touring the country, traveling from province to province. Going more than half a year without seeing her was perfectly normal. Bai Yuyou, however, kept in touch with her from time to time.

“Qin, I heard you had an accident during your last performance…” Aunt Xian naturally knew that Chen Qin had been injured. Seeing that she appeared to be all right now, she asked with concern, “Are you completely recovered?”

“Mm. I was lucky. They managed to save me.” Chen Qin nodded.

An Shiyu and Anshi Yi came over at that moment, so Ye Shuang smiled and said, “Let’s not stand around here. We should head into the banquet hall. Alice is probably waiting for us.”

“Sounds good.”

Alice had rented an entire banquet hall. It wasn’t particularly large, with only a dozen or so tables arranged inside. In the center stood a champagne tower, along with a magnificent thirteen-tier chocolate cake for her thirteenth birthday.

Once Ye Shuang and the others entered, they noticed that quite a few people were already there. Some of them even looked rather familiar.

“Wow…” Tang Keke looked a little surprised. “They’re all famous influencers and celebrities.”

“That makes sense. Alice is a celebrity herself, after all.” Ye Shuang wasn’t surprised. He didn’t pay much attention to the guests, however. His gaze instead fell on the figure at the far end of the room.

Finding Alice was easy. When looking for someone, you generally needed an anchor point—and Bobo’s tall, broad figure served perfectly as Alice’s.

“There she is.” Ye Shuang waved after spotting Bobo.

When Bobo saw Ye Shuang and the others enter the banquet hall, he led Alice over to them.

“Good evening, everyone.” Bobo smiled and greeted them. “Thank you all for attending Miss Alice’s birthday celebration.”

“You didn’t even dress up properly?” Alice looked Ye Shuang over. He was wearing a very ordinary outfit. It wasn’t casualwear, exactly, but it was still just a simple formal suit. He wasn’t even wearing a watch.

“I came straight here after finishing work.” Ye Shuang smiled.

Alice was dressed in a snow-white, billowing princess gown. The crown on her head was set with jewels of every color, and along with the various pieces of jewelry she wore, she looked dazzling under the warm lights.

“Heh heh. You didn’t expect it to be my birthday, did you?” Alice said.

She hadn’t told Ye Shuang that it was her birthday. She had only said that there would be an evening banquet.

“Here. This is your birthday present.” Ye Shuang took a small jewelry box from his pocket.

“Meep?” Alice looked surprised. Her round eyes blinked once. She had originally planned to see Ye Shuang look shocked, or even regretful, upon realizing that he had forgotten Lady Alice’s birthday. Instead, he had pulled out a birthday present.

“You didn’t just give me something meant for someone else, did you?” Alice accepted the little box, eyeing him suspiciously.

But when she opened it, her expression froze.

Inside was an adorable little teddy bear pendant, along with a note that read: Happy Birthday, Alice.

“Oh?” Alice looked at her small gift. “You knew Alice’s birthday?”

“Mm.” Ye Shuang didn’t mention that he had searched it up.

“Thank you…” Alice lowered her head and closed the box before honestly expressing her gratitude.

“Miss Alice is embarrassed,” Bobo added from the side.

“Bobo, don’t say irrelevant things!”

Bai Yuyou and the others handed Alice their presents as well. They were all small items, none of them particularly valuable. Judging by the way the corners of Alice’s lips curled upward, however, she seemed quite pleased.

“Hmm? Where are those two?” Alice suddenly realized that she had seen An Shiyu and Anshi Yi when they first came in, but the two of them had disappeared somewhere.

Ye Shuang looked around and finally spotted the two fishes across the room.

At that moment, one of them was holding a pastry while the other had a dessert. Both were chewing away happily.

“What do you want?” Anshi Yi asked when she noticed Ye Shuang and the others looking at them.

“You two really started eating the moment you came in…” Alice put her hands on her hips.

“If we weren’t going to eat at a banquet, what did you think we came here for?” Anshi Yi asked. “It’s not like you’re going to perform a striptease for me.”

“Eating comes first,” An Shiyu added.

“What?”

“What’s my birthday present?” Alice held out a hand. The next second, a small cake appeared on it, along with Anshi Yi’s voice.

“Here. Your present.”

“That came from the table next to you, didn’t it?!” Alice puffed out her cheeks, clearly annoyed.

“I’m kidding. I actually have a present.” Seeing Alice look like a tiny pufferfish, Anshi Yi smiled faintly. “Give me your hand.”

“What are you planning to do?” Alice suddenly had a bad feeling.

“Come on.”

Alice extended her hand. Anshi Yi took it, and in the next instant, a rose suddenly appeared in Alice’s palm.

“Huh?” Alice looked surprised.

“Happy birthday, little princess.” Anshi Yi handed the rose to Alice with a gentle smile.

“A magic trick? Hmph. At least you put some thought into it.”

But at that moment, Ye Shuang noticed the vase beside An Shiyu. One bunch of roses was missing from it.

Ye Shuang: “…”

She picked those fresh, didn’t she?