Chen Shuo was completely dumbfounded. He looked at the cute little Lolita Cheng Xinran and was filled with incomprehension.
Cheng Xinran had come to Haiyi Apartments for the special purpose of telling Chen Shuo to prepare a birthday present for Su Xiyan on her birthday.
Chen Shuo really didn't know when Su Xiyan's birthday was previously. After being reminded by Cheng Xinran, Chen Shuo felt that since they had lived together for a while, it was appropriate to give his "roommate" a birthday present.
"Thank you for the reminder! Do you happen to know what Su Xiyan likes?"
"I want to prepare in advance. Her birthday is only ten days away."
This stumped Cheng Xinran.
She tilted her little head and thought hard for a long time, but couldn't figure out what hobbies Su Xiyan had:
"She never shows her likes openly. I've been her bestie for so many years and I still don't know what gifts she likes."
"In previous years, we would just have a meal together and call it a day."
"This year, you have to give her an unforgettable birthday!"
Right after Cheng Xinran finished speaking, the bathroom door opened.
Su Xiyan walked out from inside: "It's just a birthday. We can just have a meal together when the time comes!"
Cheng Xinran didn't expect Su Xiyan to be at home. She immediately became a little incoherent: "Uh...Xiyan, I noticed you seem a little tired lately, so I wanted to discuss with your Chen Shuo at home to give you a more memorable birthday."
After saying a whole bunch, the only words that registered in Su Xiyan's mind were "your Chen Shuo".
Su Xiyan's eyes shone with excitement. Did Cheng Xinran just say "your Chen Shuo"??
However, in front of Cheng Xinran and Chen Shuo, Su Xiyan maintained her aloofness and deliberately corrected: "He's just Chen Shuo. What do you mean he's my Chen Shuo?"
Chen Shuo agreed with what Su Xiyan said.
It was all because of Cheng Xinran randomly assigning titles and insisting on saying Chen Shuo belonged to Su Xiyan's family.
Seeing Su Xiyan siding with Chen Shuo,
Cheng Xinran stuck out her tongue: "Humph! If I had known you two were already so tacitly in sync, I wouldn't have made this trip!"
After saying that, Cheng Xinran deliberately pretended to be angry and turned to leave.
Su Xiyan just stood there. She didn't seem to have any intention of placating Cheng Xinran.
Chen Shuo was puzzled: "Your bestie seems upset. Aren't you going to comfort her?"
Su Xiyan knew Cheng Xinran too well, so she didn't try to keep her there either. She simply turned and walked towards the kitchen.
As she walked, she asked:
"What should we have for dinner tonight? With all the ingredients you bought, you can make lots of delicious food, right?"
Upon hearing the words "delicious food", Cheng Xinran, who was already at the elevator, zoomed right back.
Smacking her lips, she asked: "Xiyan, there's yummy food? Tell me what we're eating?"
Seeing Chen Shuo open the fridge, Cheng Xinran's eyes lit up at once:
"Wow! The fridge is packed full!"
"I remember last time I came to visit, the fridge was empty."
"It looks like a household really needs a domestic man."
"I'm right, aren't I? Chen Shuo?"
Caught off guard with another question thrown his way while holding ingredients, Chen Shuo could only nod and perfunctorily respond: "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right."
It seemed Su Xiyan was quite satisfied with that answer.
After over half an hour of busy work in the kitchen, Chen Shuo finally untied his apron.
On the table were four dishes, one soup, and a dessert.
Cheng Xinran's eyes were wide open as she smacked her lips, continuously praising Chen Shuo's superb cooking skills.
Hearing her good friend praise Chen Shuo made Su Xiyan delighted inside. This also indirectly proved she had made the right judgement.
After eating her fill, Cheng Xinran let out a satisfied burp with her round protruding belly:
"Burp~~ Xiyan, the food your Chen Shuo makes is so tasty!!"
"In the future, if our gorgeous beauty Su School Flower gets fattened up, what should we do?"
"I have to hurry home now. I can't keep being a light bulb disturbing your romantic world for two."
"Bye! Thank you for the delicious food. It was truly too yummy!"
Before leaving, Cheng Xinran didn't forget to remind Chen Shuo to prepare a birthday present for Su Xiyan.
After Cheng Xinran left, Su Xiyan held a book in her hand and casually flipped through several pages.
"Chen Shuo."
Chen Shuo, who was wiping the table, responded with an "Hmm?"
Su Xiyan tried her best to sound nonchalant: "Xinran is casual and outspoken. Don't take her words about giving birthday presents seriously."
"I don't like celebrating my birthday. Gifts and stuff, just don't get any."
After speaking, Su Xiyan glanced at Chen Shuo out of the corner of her eye, wondering how he would respond.
To Su Xiyan's surprise, Chen Shuo nodded without any hesitation: "Okay."
"Then I won't get you anything."
Su Xiyan: "..."
Her hand that was flipping the book clenched it tightly, crumpling the pages!
He really was a thickheaded straight man! She said not to get her anything, and he actually took her words at face value and agreed not to get her a present??
But since she had already said it, Su Xiyan couldn't take it back gracefully either.
Yet she was secretly hoping to receive a birthday present from Chen Shuo! It didn't need to be expensive or require much effort. As long as it came from Chen Shuo, it would be special.
While Chen Shuo was washing dishes, Su Xiyan tiptoed into his room and left a book on top of his desk.
The title on the book clearly read "108 Tips for Giving Gifts to the Opposite Gender".
This book was secretly stuffed to Su Xiyan by Cheng Xinran just now, but Su Xiyan had refused it because of her pride.
Yet Chen Shuo had just taken Su Xiyan's tsundere act at face value and agreed not to get her a gift.
Left with no other choice, Su Xiyan could only leave this book on Chen Shuo's desk, hoping he would get her hint when he saw it.
Su Xiyan was about to leave but felt just leaving the book there was too conspicuous.
Her fair hand picked up some scrap paper nearby and covered the book.
She hoped Chen Shuo would appreciate her thoughtfulness when he discovered this book.
Su Xiyan held her petite chin high and left Chen Shuo's room.
The first autumn rain came without warning.
The soft pattering rain brought a touch of coolness.
Su Xiyan wore a refined little cardigan and pants in matching colors, which made her already tall figure even more striking.
She was dressed more formally today because she was going to meet the top boss of the Su City Demon Hunters, Tang Zhiyuan.
Tang Zhiyuan had been away from Su City for a while. Word was he had gone specifically to surrounding cities to seek cooperation from demon hunters of other cities, joining forces to deal with the Ghost King Vampire that had appeared in Su City before.
Right after returning from out of town, instead of going to the Demon Hunter headquarters building in Su City, Tang Zhiyuan came directly to find Su Xiyan.
This was an unprecedented exception!
Su Xiyan's gaze was calm as she held her handbag, her nails turning a little white.
She wondered what important matter Boss Tang had looking for her?