A small candy

Chapter 52 Such a sincere birthday gift
Cheng Zhixu carried the koala-like Jian Ling into the house, but she suddenly jumped off him and said hurriedly, "Wait, I haven't brought anything in yet."

She ran out the door in her short boots and dragged in a small silver suitcase from the corridor, the kind usually used for business trips.

Cheng Zhixu stood there, too surprised to utter a word for a long time. It was not until Jian Ling closed the door, changed her shoes, and pushed the suitcase to the living room that he followed her and asked uncertainly: "What do you mean? Are you going to stay here? Are you not going home?" He was so surprised that he asked a series of questions without thinking.

"You wish." Jian Ling raised her chin and grinned, revealing a row of white teeth. She raised her hand and unwound the scarf around her neck, then took off her down jacket. "I'll tell you what it is later. Keep it a secret for now."

Cheng Zhixu took her scarf and down jacket and hung them on the hanger.

The sound of the kitchen range hood stopped, and the aunt heard the movement in the living room. She washed her hands, wiped them on her apron, opened the door and walked out. When she saw Jian Ling, she was stunned for a moment, but quickly calmed down and greeted her with a smile.

"Mr. Cheng, the meal is ready. I'll be leaving first." Auntie pointed outside the door. "I'll take out the trash for you. I may not have time to come over these few days."

"It's okay. I'll be back at the old house tomorrow, so you don't have to come over to cook." Cheng Zhixu went into the study on the first floor and handed a thick red envelope to his aunt. "You've worked so hard, and you didn't have time to prepare New Year's gifts. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I'll buy your grandson some delicious food."

The aunt was embarrassed to accept his money, as she usually paid him well. She quickly pushed it away. In the end, she didn't want to argue with Cheng Zhixu, and since she didn't want to delay their meal by pushing it back and forth, she smiled shyly, took the red envelope and left.

Jian Ling looked at the man with crescent eyes and smiled, "Cheng Zhixu, I want a New Year's gift too!"

"I'll give it to you in a few days." Cheng Zhixu pinched her face and went to the kitchen to serve the dishes.

Perhaps the nanny wanted to get rid of all the remaining food in the refrigerator before the New Year, so this dinner was particularly sumptuous, more than enough for two people, and even the remaining fruits were cut into pieces and put on a plate.

Jian Ling clasped her hands together, looking at the food with a reverent look: "I really came at the right time, otherwise it would be a waste if you couldn't finish it by yourself."

"Well, eat more." Cheng Zhixu picked up some food for her with joy in his eyes. He was in a very good mood. He never expected that she would come to see him on the night before New Year's Eve without saying hello in advance. It was like a surprise that he had prepared for a long time, and all the happy factors in his chest expanded rapidly.

If he hadn't considered that she couldn't drink much, he would have wanted to open a bottle of red wine to celebrate in such a wonderful atmosphere, as if it were an early birthday.

The two chatted while eating. Jian Ling's mouth never stopped eating and was always full. The nanny's cooking skills were better than Cheng Zhixu's, and the dishes she made were so delicious.

This dinner was the first shot in my plan to gain weight during the New Year holiday, Jian Ling said silently.

After the meal, Jian Ling collapsed in the chair, touched her round belly, and regretted that she only cared about satisfying her appetite when faced with delicious food without caring about her figure.

Cheng Zhixu's mind was still on the suitcase. He raised his chin and said, "Can I reveal the secret now?"

"Wait a minute, let me rest for a while." Jian Ling leaned back on the chair with her neck tilted back, looking at the chandelier on the ceiling. The peach blossom-shaped lampshade cast a warm and soft light. She found that the decoration here was much more beautiful than the apartment she lived in. It was obviously the result of careful decoration. No wonder he didn't live there anymore. "I want to live in your apartment."

"Sure, we'll move here after the New Year. It's very close to the company." Cheng Zhixu had no objection and agreed happily.

He stood up and cleared the tableware, throwing the kitchen waste into the designated trash can and throwing all the pots and pans into the dishwasher to slowly clean it. He sat back in his chair leisurely, and the expression on his face had been smiling since she entered the door. "But first, I need a name."

Jian Ling said angrily, "Don't talk nonsense. Haven't we already met the parents?"

"That doesn't count. I don't think it's formal enough." Cheng Zhixu didn't want to reveal too much to her for the time being, so he changed the subject. "What's in the suitcase?"

Jian Ling sat up straight, slowly moved her feet, and pushed the suitcase to the center of the living room. She squatted down, unlocked the locks on both sides, and lifted the lid. Inside were not the daily necessities and clothes that Cheng Zhixu had expected, but gift boxes of all sizes, black, blue, crimson... all kinds of colors.

Cheng Zhixu tilted his head, still confused.

Jian Ling took out a gift and handed it to him like she was presenting a treasure: "This should be a tie." She picked up another one and glanced at the logo on the box before she remembered, "Ah, this is a tie clip that matches the tie perfectly."

Belts, wallets, scarves, gloves, leather shoes, Bluetooth headsets... boxes of all sizes were piled in his arms. Cheng Zhixu was almost overwhelmed by these gifts.

After presenting all the gifts, Jian Ling breathed heavily with exhaustion, stood up with her hands on her hips and announced, "These are all your birthday gifts. I bought every gift I could think of for a man. Is everything complete?"

Cheng Zhixu was stunned. He swore he'd never seen such a thoughtful birthday gift in his entire life. Aside from the suit, he was practically completely outfitted from head to toe. He figured Jian Ling probably didn't know his clothing size. Most of the suits he wore for formal occasions were custom-made, requiring precise measurements, but leather shoes were much easier; all they needed to do was look at his regular shoe size.

Cheng Zhixu was at a loss for words again. After a long silence, he asked her, "...how much did it cost?" He remembered that she had said she would no longer ask her parents for pocket money, and these gifts were all well-known brands and were not cheap.

Jian Ling looked at Cheng Zhixu, surrounded by gifts, and felt satisfied. She felt that all the time she had spent choosing gifts was worth it. She approached him and smiled innocently, "I've spent all my salary these past few months, except for the red envelopes I saved for my brothers during the Lunar New Year. Otherwise, I would have bought you a watch, but watches are really too expensive!"

The watches Cheng Zhixu wore at work were all very expensive, and she couldn't just buy another one to lower his status. She didn't have enough money saved, so Jian Ling only regretted that she had been too extravagant in the past and hadn't been able to save a small treasury for herself.

Cheng Zhixu picked up the gift boxes piled in his arms, placed them neatly on the coffee table, took her hand and pulled her into his arms. He was so moved that his heart felt warm and soft as if it had been soaked in warm water.

"You worked for me for several months for nothing and didn't save a dime." Cheng Zhixu threaded his fingers through hers, his voice softening. "Should I give you an extra year-end bonus?"

"No." Jian Ling refused directly. "Did you forget that you still have a bank card with me? Besides, I will receive a lot of New Year's money during the Spring Festival, so I will have enough money to spend."

He had asked Minglang to give her that card a long time ago. She had only used it once, to have a meal with Dai Wangchu and buy dessert. Apart from that, she hadn't touched a cent of it. When she returned it to Cheng Zhixu, he didn't want it, so the card had been in her hands ever since.

Cheng Zhixu remembered and smiled: "These are all for you, spend them as you like."

Jian Ling smiled, hugged his neck happily, and kissed him on the lips: "You are so nice." The two of them were affectionate for a while, and Cheng Zhixu got up and went to the master bedroom to find her a set of his pajamas. When she came here, she had decided to stay overnight here, so she brought some underwear with her, which she put in a small bag and stuffed into the compartment of the suitcase.

Her flight is at 8:30 tomorrow morning, so he plans to let her rest early and drive her to the airport tomorrow.

Cheng Zhixu watched Jian Ling enter the master bedroom bathroom, then grabbed another set of pajamas and went to shower in the adjacent second bedroom. He had just turned on the shower and adjusted the water temperature when there were knocks on the frosted glass door.

"Cheng Zhixu! It's over!" Jian Ling's panicked voice came from outside the door.

Cheng Zhixu thought she had an accident, so he didn't bother to ask her what happened. He just pulled a bath towel around his waist, opened the bathroom door, and asked, "What happened?"

Jian Ling flashed a triumphant smile and scurried through the crack of the open door at lightning speed, leaping onto him and hanging onto him like she had done when she entered. The towel wrapped around her waist was almost loose. Cheng Zhixu didn't know whether to hug her or hold onto the towel to prevent himself from exposing himself.

"So what happened?" Cheng Zhixu hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem yet. "Are there bugs in the house? Why are you so scared?"

Jian Ling blinked her clear eyes and said the most ridiculous thing: "The shower in the master bedroom is broken. There is no hot water. It's freezing. Let's take a shower together."

The temperature in the bathroom gradually rose due to the hot water, and the mirror on the wall of the washbasin was blurred by the water vapor, making it impossible to see how intimate the two people were entangled with each other.

Cheng Zhixu admitted that his breathing was disordered and his heart rate was off-kilter, but his face remained calm and composed. He knew Jian Ling was lying. The master bedroom shower couldn't be broken; he had checked it before finding her pajamas.

Reason told him that he couldn't, mainly because of that reason, the family hadn't prepared...

Cheng Zhixu was just about to ask her to come down when Jian Ling suddenly took out a small box from her pocket as if by magic and waved it in front of his eyes, automatically accompanied by a surprising sound effect of "Dangdangdangdang".

Cheng Zhixu was stunned for a second, feeling rather amused and helpless. He turned his head away, eyebrows raised, no longer caring whether the towel around his waist would fall off. He supported her body with both hands, and his voice mixed with the sound of dripping water, teasing her with what she had said before: "Jian Ling, you are the one who has been planning this for a long time."

Jian Ling didn't argue, she leaned over to his ear and whispered, "So do you want it or not?"

Cheng Zhixu didn't say anything, but answered her true thoughts with practical actions.

……

Cheng Zhixu's plan to go to bed early was disrupted, and the bathroom was in a mess with spilled water stains everywhere. He had no time to clean it up, so he carried Jian Ling to the bed in the master bedroom.

He was worried about her flight tomorrow morning, so he set the alarm on his phone and hugged her to sleep. Jian Ling had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. Cheng Zhixu closed his eyes, then opened them again after a while. In the darkness, he kissed her forehead and whispered softly, "Wait for me. I'll take you home right away."

Both of them had a good night's sleep.

When the alarm went off, Cheng Zhixu was the first to wake up, shaking the person in his arms awake. Jian Ling was sound asleep, unaware of the day or night. Cheng Zhixu pulled her awake, and within two seconds, she toppled over like a tumbler, then was pulled up again, only to fall back down again.

During this process, Jian Ling never opened her eyes, her brows were tightly furrowed, and she was more irritable than ever before, almost wanting to kick someone.

Cheng Zhixu sighed, gave up trying to wake her up, and dug her out of the warm bed. He quickly helped her get dressed, carried her to the bathroom, and placed her on the sink. He then took a toothbrush, squeezed toothpaste on it, and brushed her teeth.

The mint-flavored toothpaste stimulated her nerves, and her mouth felt cool and refreshing. Jian Ling finally opened her eyes a little, squinted at Cheng Zhixu, and asked, "What time is it?"

"I don't know. It's getting late anyway. If we don't hurry up, we'll miss the plane." Cheng Zhixu threatened her.

Jian Ling shuddered all over and quickly took the toothbrush to brush her teeth. She went out without even having time to put on makeup.

Cheng Zhixu was sitting in the driver's seat. It was New Year's Eve and there were only a few breakfast shops open. He drove for a long way before he came across one. He got out of the car and bought soy milk and dumplings for Jian Ling to have a simple breakfast.

Before she even reached the airport, Jian Ling's phone rang. She swallowed a mouthful of scalding soy milk, burning the tip of her tongue. She picked up the phone and pressed speakerphone. Ye Xianxin's voice came over: "Lingling, where are you?"

Jian Ling hummed, "And...it'll be there in about five minutes."

"That's good. I was worried that you would miss the plane." Ye Xianxin breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that.

Five minutes later, Cheng Zhixu appeared in front of the two parents, holding Jian Ling's hand. After politely greeting them, he asked, "Uncle and aunt, have you had breakfast? Do you want me to buy you some?"

"We've already eaten." Ye Xianxin knew without asking that Jian Ling must have had breakfast, and Cheng Zhixu would take good care of her. "Thank you for sending Lingling here so early in the morning."

Cheng Zhixu smiled: "No trouble."

He accompanied them throughout the entire process, watching the family of three pass through security and slowly move forward with the crowd. Jian Ling finally turned around and waved at him with a smile.

Cheng Zhixu looked into her eyes and said silently in his heart: I will come to find you soon.

　There is one more chapter to finish, see you tomorrow~
　　I wanted to finish it today, but I didn’t...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)