?Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Preparing the Birthday Gift   Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Preparing the Birthday Gift                                   “Okay, then watch my performance from now on.” He Xing held onto Fu Han’s hand tightly, wishing he could bind them together with a rope, no, an iron chain, so they would never be separated.


    As dinner wasing to a close, the He Family elder suggested, “He Xing, Xiaohan, since you two are together now, why not announce your engagement when we host guests at the He Family’s celebration?”


    “Engagement?”


    He Xing and Fu Han asked in unison, their faces and eyes expressed utter surprise.


    Fu Han, flustered, spoke hastily, “Grandpa, don’t you think it’s a bit too soon? I… we should spend more time together, what if we find out we’re notpatible?”


    “Notpatible?” The color drained from He Xing’s face, and he looked at Fu Han with a threatening gaze, “Dare you repeat that statement?”


    As soon as the words left her mouth, Fu Han knew she had misspoken. She stuck out her tongue and sneakily tugged at He Xing’s sleeve, “It’s not entirely what I meant, but…”


    At this point, she identally saw the amusement in He Xing’s eyes and immediately realized she had fallen into his trap. She smiled slyly and said earnestly, “But, after all, we haven’t been together for three years; who knows if the other’s temperament and character have changed? What if we end up arguing every day?”


    He Xing watched her with a look that seemed to say, “Let’s see how you’ll spin this tale,” until her face turned red. Only then did he drop his teasing demeanor and said seriously to the He Family elder, “Grandpa, let’s wait on this matter, no need to rush. It wouldn’t be good to announce it so abruptly; it’s better to n properly first.”


    “Then it’s up to you,” the He Family elder said with a smile, taking another sip of red wine and blinking twice, “but if you two fight or whateverter on, don’t me your grandpa for not helping you.”


    He Xing, who was in the midst of drinking, choked upon hearing this and began coughing violently, covering his mouth.


    Fu Han couldn’t stopughing at his predicament, thinking to herself, He Xing, you too have your day, huh?


    This dinner was the most enjoyable one for everyone, even more so than the New Year’s Eve dinner.


    In the days to follow, He Xing was busy every day, attending banquets, and that was after turning many of them down.


    Fu Han and Bai Wei weren’t idle either; the He Family elder, iming it was good training for Fu Han and Bai Wei, made them responsible for all the events at his banquet on the sixth day of the new year.


    The banquet venue wasn’t the vi they were staying in, but another vi the He Family owned in Lanwan Mountain – only a bit over a hundred meters away.


    At first, they drove there, butter, feeling the distance was too short for driving to be justified, they decided to walk as if hiking.


    The He Family elder had only assigned Uncle Zhou to assist them; he himself enjoyed a leisurely time every day, basking in the sun and sipping tea in the courtyard of the He Family’s vi.


    In the blink of an eye, it was already the evening of the fifth day, and as Fu Han and Bai Wei returned, night had fallen. He Xing had gone to attend another banquet as part of his routine.


    Fu Han quickly gobbled up a bowl of rice and instructed the servant to tell He Xing that she had gone to bed early feeling tired. Then she retreated to her room.


    Tomorrow was He Xing’s victory; she hadn’t given him a present in three years, so this year she wanted to give He Xing a “valuable” birthday gift, to make up for the missing years.


    Actually, she had been hesitant about giving He Xing a present this year since, beforeing to the He Family for the New Year, she had been nning to escape from his side. How could she give a gift if she meant to flee? Wouldn’t that be contradictory?


    But since He Xing confessed, saying he loved her, everything was naturally different.


    Her heart wavered, willing to give it another try.


    So, this was to be their first gift since starting anew, how could she not treat it with importance?


    All the curtains in Fu Han’s room were drawn up as she, wearing an apron and with a smallmp lit, busied herself; a thick notebooky open on the nearby desk, with a fountain pen ced beside it.


    When the first rays of sun shone over the mountain, Fu Han opened the heavy curtains and stood on the balcony, stretchingnguidly.


    Despite staying up all night, there wasn’t a hint of fatigue on her, only bloodshot eyes.


    It was still early, the entire vi remained asleep. The banquet wouldn’t start until the afternoon, so she decided to get some sleep first, readying herself for the special day ahead.


    He Xing reached for his phone before even opening his eyes—as he had messaged Fu Han the previous night, asking her toe find him as soon as she woke up, eager to see if she had replied.


    Sure enough, there was an unread message, sent just over an hour ago by Fu Han: “I’m so tired these past few days, going to sleep in today. Tell everyone not to disturb me.”


    He Xing chuckled, thinking to himself that thisss was clearly afraid he would disturb her and had made a grand request for everyone not to bother her.


    Hey in bed a bit longer, considering that today was his birthday and Valentine’s Day. He was very much looking forward to what present Fu Han would prepare for him.


    As far as he was concerned, he had originally nned to give Fu Han the ne on Valentine’s Day, followed by his confession, but that happened a few days earlier than expected.


    This was their first Valentine’s Day together since getting back together, and He Xing thought it was significant, of course, he would have been happier if they could have spent the day together without any family events.


    He felt under the pillow and pulled out a small box to look at; unconsciously, his lips curled into a smile, then he tucked the box back underneath the pillow.


    When He Xing got up, Bai Wei was sitting alone in the garden downstairs, lost in thought.


    She was dressed in a very thick housecoat, looking round and plump like a bun. Silently she sat on the swing, her eyes hollow as she stared ahead at nothing in particr.


    If you looked closely, you could tell she hadn’t washed her face yet, her eyebrows were faint, and there were even fine dark circles under her eyes – a rare sight for Bai Wei.


    Bai Wei was the type who was very conscious of her image as a celebrity. Whenever she left her room, it was impossible to catch her without makeup, and unless it was for an advertisement, one would never see her in pajamas.


    He Xing thought for a moment and then approached her to ask softly, “What’s wrong?”


    A cold wind passed through the bare grapevines. It took Bai Wei several seconds to react. When she looked up and saw He Xing, her mouth opened and she started crying loudly.


    He Xing frowned deeply, scrambling in his pocket for tissues as he said, “Don’t cry, okay? Xiaohan will think I’m bullying you.”


    It would have been better if he hadn’t spoken. With his words, Bai Wei burst into even more tears, clutching at He Xing’s sleeve and sobbing, “Luo Qinghe said he doesn’t like me, he said he doesn’t like me.”