Shao Yichen nervously tugged at the string of the party popper while observing Li Xingyu's expression, unconsciously wrapping the thin red line around her finger again and again.
How was it? Did he have any reaction?
She saw Li Xingyu genuinely surprised for once—not his usual expressionless surprise that she had to intuit, but real, unmistakable surprise that anyone could recognize!
But he reacted quickly, imdiately realizing what was happening.
"This is modeled after the Golden Leaf Awards ceremony?" he surveyed the entire venue. "No wonder it felt so familiar—because the setting is exactly like that night."
"That's right. Though I've forgotten so details, the overall layout has been recreated, with the only difference being a slightly smaller scale," Shao Yichen nodded. "Last ti you had a birthday, I was still filming my previous movie, and you weren't in the crew, so I only sent a congratulatory ssage on your phone... This year, your birthday happens to be close to our expected wrap date, so I thought we might as well combine the wrap party with your birthday celebration—of course, I got everyone's consent first, and they were all supportive!"
"As for why today and not tomorrow, it's because I heard your fans are also planning a birthday event for you..."
At this point, Shao Yichen's voice grew increasingly softer.
After all, despite being busy planning the party, her behavior had indeed seed like she was deliberately distancing herself from Li Xingyu, which was an undeniable fact.
Moreover, so people genuinely dislike these kinds of surprise shenanigans.
Would he be angry?
Li Xingyu finally understood why everyone had been looking at him with amused expressions these past two weeks.
He had thought sothing was off about Shao Yichen's attitude and that others were worried—it turned out they were secretly planning sothing behind his back!
Logically, having been collectively deceived for two weeks, he should be slightly annoyed, show a little reluctance, perhaps jokingly threaten to "get them back next ti" or sothing similar.
But looking at Shao Yichen, he couldn't summon even a hint of anger.
On the contrary, an irrepressible smile appeared on his face.
"I never imagined you were all secretly planning this event," he looked at Shao Yichen. "I'm very happy, truly."
"In previous years, hardly anyone would send birthday wishes. Last year, receiving greetings from you and others in the crew already made very happy."
"Given the circumstances this year, I thought I probably wouldn't receive any birthday wishes—but this is even more special than simple congratulations."
"I'm very happy, truly," he repeated, looking directly into Shao Yichen's eyes.
Shao Yichen felt her face instantly transform into a steam engine.
—A simple thank you would suffice, no need to stare at people with that rare smile!
Do you have no awareness of your own good looks? Or are you deliberately weaponizing your handsoness?
Shao Yichen feigned composure with a couple of coughs, quickly running to the back to help wheel out the trophy-shaped cake.
"You didn't win the Best Newcor Award before," she explained. "We all thought it was a sha. So we had a trophy made for you, the edible kind."
"In our hearts, you're the eternal Best Newcor."
After speaking, she gave Li Xingyu a thumbs-up.
Li Xingyu nodded: "This cake trophy is nice—much more practical than the one given by the organizers."
❀⋆｡°✿☆❀✿°｡⋆❀
After cutting the cake, blowing out the candles, and making a wish, the party officially entered its next phase—the free foraging stage.
After all, although this party was exclusively for Li Xingyu, it still fell within the category of a wrap party. If a festive red banner with yellow characters were hung at the venue, it would probably read "Li Xingyu's 22nd Birthday Party and 'The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons' Crew Wrap Party"—a two-in-one title.
So after the crowd noisily celebrated around Li Xingyu for a while, they gradually dispersed throughout the venue to enjoy the buffet.
Except for Shao Yichen.
She kept secretly observing whether anyone was around Li Xingyu, wondering if she could seize the opportunity to steal a brief mont alone with the birthday boy.
But true to form, after watching from the sidelines for quite so ti, Shao Yichen noticed that although the crowd around Li Xingyu was thinning, there were still a few people lingering.
This was normal, after all—he was both the birthday celebrant and the male lead; it would be strange if people weren't gathering to congratulate him.
After observing for a while and finding no opportunity to approach him alone, Shao Yichen poured herself a glass of sparkling water and went to the balcony to brood in the breeze, hoping to wait a bit longer to see if she could catch Li Xingyu alone near the end of the party.
Unexpectedly, a mont later, she heard the balcony door creak open. Looking back, she discovered that the party's main character, whom she had been observing for so long, had followed her out and closed the balcony door with a "click."
"The night view here is nice," she heard Li Xingyu say. "You can overlook the entire A City, and the night lights are beautiful."
"How did you know I was here?" Shao Yichen tilted her head.
Li Xingyu smiled without answering—he could hardly admit that he had been quietly monitoring the director's movents, which was why he managed to break away from others to join her.
Shao Yichen didn't bother playing guessing gas since her mind was on sothing else. She felt the object in her pocket, steeled her nerves, closed her eyes, and pulled out the box.
She heard herself say: "I actually prepared a birthday gift for you too—I don't know if you'll like it."
"Didn't you already give one?" Li Xingyu seed a bit surprised.
That was true. Earlier, Shao Yichen had joined everyone in presenting gifts to Li Xingyu—though everyone's gifts were quite creative. For instance, Jiang Miaomiao's "photography voucher" and Qin Lu's "comic voucher." Shao Yichen had given a so-called "ga exchange voucher," aning that if Li Xingyu needed it, she would help boost his ga character to the highest level, though she suspected Li Xingyu might never play any gas in his lifeti.
What she now had in her pocket was another gift she had prepared.
"I thought you might not really like what I gave earlier, the ga boosting voucher and such," she said tactfully.
Li Xingyu imdiately responded: "I like anything you give ."
Shao Yichen gave him a look of disbelief: Li Xingyu, of all things to learn, why choose the cheesy lines of a domineering CEO!
Li Xingyu smiled slightly: "Just kidding."
With Li Xingyu's light-hearted interruption, Shao Yichen's nervousness dissipated, and she actually felt relieved. She extended the gift toward Li Xingyu: "I happened to see this earlier and thought it might suit you, so I bought it."
Li Xingyu opened the package to find a brooch.
"...It's like stars shining in the night sky," he said softly, looking at the design.
"Right?!" Hearing Li Xingyu's assessnt, Shao Yichen grew excited again. "That's what I thought too! Plus, it gives off a composed feeling overall, which matches your temperant. Moreover, your na, 'Xingyu,' ans 'starlight,' corresponding with the stars in the brooch."
Hearing these words, Li Xingyu carefully picked up the brooch and pinned it to his suit on the spot: "As it happens, today's suit was missing an accessory. How does it look?"
"I think it suits you perfectly," Shao Yichen examined it from different angles, giving Li Xingyu an approving thumbs-up.
As expected of Li Xingyu, he looked good with any decoration. The brooch wasn't complicated in design, and paired with the suit, it created a simple, understated effect that accentuated Li Xingyu's already reserved deanor—it truly matched him exceptionally well.
Li Xingyu nodded with a smile: "Thank you, I'll gladly accept it."
Amid her happiness, Shao Yichen felt a tinge of regret—because apart from giving the brooch, she hadn't said anything else!
She had originally planned to use this opportunity to have a proper conversation with Li Xingyu about other matters, such as the issues they'd encountered before, life, ideals, poetry, or philosophy... but as soon as she saw Li Xingyu, her brain automatically short-circuited, and she couldn't say anything beyond "Take my gift attack!"
She seed to always have this problem when eting Li Xingyu. Perhaps she should discuss these Li Xingyu fan club troubles with Little Bai to see how he reacted when faced with his idol's visual assault...
While Shao Yichen was simultaneously happy and frustrated, she heard Li Xingyu say: "Actually, I've prepared a gift too."
Shao Yichen was taken aback: "For yourself?"
Li Xingyu shook his head: "No, for you."
"?" Shao Yichen was puzzled. "But I'm not celebrating a birthday, and there's nothing to commorate. If it's to celebrate the crew's wrap, others have contributed much more than I have..."
Li Xingyu said softly: "It's unrelated to work—it's my personal thought."
Shao Yichen held her breath.
She seed to guess what was coming.
—Wait, wait wait wait a minute, isn't this too sudden!
—The reason I wanted to talk with you was because of that issue Li Qianqian advised on, and I haven't figured it out at all!
—Are you really going straight to the core now?!
Her mind was flooded with ntal comntary, yet outwardly she just stood there, dumbfounded.
Then she watched as Li Xingyu, with utmost seriousness, pulled out a docunt and a small box like a magician. Judging by the box's size, this gift was about the sa size as the brooch.
Li Xingyu pressed so unknown button, and the box suddenly popped open, revealing a simple ring sitting in its center.
"I've never been completely honest with you about my thoughts, and even dragged your company into my personal affairs, for which I'm truly sorry," Li Xingyu lowered his eyes. "But I promise, such issues will never happen again, and I will forever remain just the actor Li Xingyu, who wants to be your exclusive male lead."
"Shao Yichen, I like you."
Even though Shao Yichen had ntally prepared herself, she was montarily speechless.
She heard Li Xingyu continue: "You don't need to respond imdiately; you can take ti to think. Whether you reject or accept, I'll fully accept your decision—but as long as you haven't found the person you truly love, I won't cease my pursuit."
Under the starlight, Li Xingyu's eyes sparkled brilliantly.
It took Shao Yichen a long ti to finally find her voice.
In her fluster, she avoided the main point: "Um, that... why is there a piece of paper underneath the ring box?"
Li Xingyu replied calmly: "It's five percent of Liming Group's shares—they belong to you."
Author's Note:
Finally, the confession!
The author sheds tears of emotion (aning I've finally written this part)
Reviews
All reviews (0)