Chapter 47 Tokens of Love

The next day, Wen Zhi and Song Juelan slept until the sun was high in the sky.

The two of them fooled around until very late last night, and Song Juelan didn't close her eyes until dawn. Therefore, when the bright sunlight shone in through the window, neither of them woke up.

After finishing breakfast, Xiao Tang played with her toys by herself for a while. She waited and waited in the living room, but Wen Zhi still hadn't gotten up, so she decided to sneak in to take a look.

With a soft click, the door was quietly pushed open a crack.

Almost the instant the door opened, Song Juelan on the bed suddenly opened her eyes. She only had time to withdraw her hand from Wen Zhi's soft body before turning her head and meeting a pair of big, round eyes.

Xiao Tang was no longer surprised that Song Juelan had stayed overnight at her house. She simply leaned over the bed and whispered, "Brother Juelan, why aren't you getting up yet?"

Song Juelan's voice was hoarse from just waking up: "Get up now."

He very gently withdrew his arm from under Wen Zhi, but it still woke Wen Zhi, whose moist eyes slowly opened, her gaze falling on his face with a hint of confusion.

Wen Zhi had only slept for a few hours and was feeling extremely dizzy. She and Song Juelan stared at each other blankly for a moment before she looked at Xiao Tang standing by the bed.

This scene feels somewhat familiar.

He propped himself up on the bed, his long eyelashes still drooping sleepily, and then he yawned slightly.

Xiao Tang ran over to Wen Zhi, tilting her head up with her big eyes filled with worry: "Zhi Zhi, didn't you sleep well?"

The air froze for a moment, and the two people on the bed simultaneously recalled the chaotic scene from the previous night.

Wen Zhi's ears felt a little hot, and she gave a gentle smile: "I'm fine, I just went to bed a little late last night."

I don't know when I fell asleep last night. I only remember that when that incident ended, I heard a few birds chirping outside the window, so I guessed it was not far from dawn.

Wen Zhi threw off the covers and got out of bed to go to the bathroom to wash up. When she turned on the tap, she realized that her palms were still slightly numb.

He held his hands up to his eyes and looked at them. The skin on his palms was still a little red, but they were clean and smelled of shower gel. Song Juelan must have washed them for him last night.

Recalling the hot, hard touch from his palm last night, a wave of heat rose to his cheeks again, and he quickly bent down to wash his face with cold water.

While sitting at the table eating breakfast, Wen Zhi suddenly remembered that she had agreed last night to buy Song Juelan a birthday present today.

He lowered his head, took a sip of milk, licked his lips, and asked the person across the table, "What are your plans for today?"

Song Juelan's gaze inadvertently swept over Wen Zhi's moist lips, and he answered quickly: "No."

A while ago, some friends said they wanted to throw him a birthday party, but he had already decided to spend it with Wen Zhi, so he declined.

“Then let’s go buy gifts together later, and while we’re at it…” Wen Zhi originally wanted to say “let’s go on a date,” but after glancing at Xiao Tang sitting on the sofa in the living room watching cartoons, she changed her mind and said, “let’s also take a stroll around the neighborhood.”

Although he didn't say the word "date," Song Juelan seemed to understand his meaning, her dark eyes brightening slightly as she replied, "Okay."

After finishing breakfast, which was close to lunchtime, Wen Zhi took Xiao Tang back to the room to change clothes and prepare for going out.

When they came out after changing their clothes, Song Juelan was already standing in the entrance hall, carrying Xiao Tang's chubby little water bottle.

The three of them went out together and headed towards the nearby large shopping mall.

The summer streets were scorching hot under the sun, and Wen Zhi, holding a parasol, couldn't help but walk faster and faster.

As soon as I stepped through the mall's huge glass doors, a strong, cool blast of air hit me, instantly dispelling the summer heat.

They leisurely started browsing from the first floor, going into almost every shop before slowly making their way to the second floor.

Wen Zhi's gaze was drawn to a brand-name shoe store. She led Xiao Tang inside and browsed the shelves for a while before quickly spotting a pair of white sneakers.

The shoes had a simple and elegant design with clean, flowing lines, featuring only a subtle silver stripe along the side. The four-figure price tag was just right; not exorbitant, and wouldn't put any psychological pressure on Song Juelan.

He picked up the shoes, turned around, and asked the person behind him for their opinion: "Juelan, what do you think of these shoes?"

"It looks good," Song Juelan replied without hesitation.

Looking at his expression, Wen Zhi even suspected that if she randomly picked up a pair of children's shoes from the shelf next to her, Song Juelan would say they looked good without even blinking.

He asked Song Juelan what shoe size she wore and asked the sales clerk to bring out the same style of shoes in the correct size for Song Juelan to try on.

Song Juelan sat down in the chair, changed into his white sneakers, and stood up to show Wen Zhi. He didn't look at himself in the mirror, but only stared at Wen Zhi's reaction.

Looking at Song Juelan's tall and slender figure, the saleswoman next to him felt that the shoes looked even more expensive, and sincerely praised, "Handsome guy, these shoes really suit you!"

Wen Zhi looked her up and down, nodding repeatedly, quite satisfied with her own taste: "Very beautiful."

He decided to buy these shoes as a birthday gift for Song Juelan.

The sales clerk smiled and put the brand-new sneakers back into the shoebox, then took Wenzhi to the cashier to pay.

Song Juelan waited with Xiaotang in the same spot, noticing that Xiaotang's little head kept turning, frequently looking at the children's sneakers on the shelf, her gaze lingering on a pair of bright yellow shoes for a long time.

He led Xiaotang to the shelf, picked up the bright yellow sneakers on the top shelf, and asked, "Do you like these shoes?"

Xiao Tang stared at the shoes with bright eyes and nodded vigorously.

"I'll buy it for you." Song Juelan thought for a moment and then found a suitable reason, "Consider it a back-to-school gift for you."

He remembered that Wen Zhi had mentioned before that Xiao Tang would be starting kindergarten this year.

Xiao Tang stared at the shoes and swallowed, but still shook her head: "Zhi Zhi said that we can't just accept things from other people."

He remembered that Song Juelan had bought him a small bottle of Coke last time, and when he got back, Wen Zhi told him that he shouldn't let others buy things for him casually.

Song Juelan's eyes flickered slightly. He squatted down, his gaze level with Xiao Tang's, and said patiently, "I'm not just anyone. You can take my things."

Although it's too early to say that now, one day he will become a family with Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang.

Xiao Tang looked at him blankly, clearly unable to understand what he meant.

But Song Juelan had already led him to sit down on the chair, and then asked the salesperson to bring a pair of the same shoes in a smaller size. After helping Xiaotang put them on, he took the empty shoebox and walked to the cashier at the other end where there were fewer people, and quickly paid the bill.

When Wen Zhi finished paying at the cashier and came out with the paper bag, she saw Song Juelan holding Xiao Tang's hand, standing at the door waiting for her.

Xiaotang was wearing a brand new pair of bright yellow sneakers, which were clearly not the ones she wore when she went out.

Wen Zhi was taken aback at first, but quickly realized who had bought these shoes for Xiao Tang, and immediately put on a serious face: "Xiao Tang..."

Before he could continue, Xiaotang snuggled up to him, hugged his arm, and explained in a soft, sweet voice, "Zhizhi, Brother Juelan said he's not just anyone!"

"..." Wen Zhi was taken aback by this reason, and her gaze suddenly shifted to Song Juelan.

The meaning of this sentence is obvious, but only Xiaotang doesn't understand it.

Meeting Wen Zhi's gaze, Song Juelan felt a sudden surge of nervousness. She lowered her eyelashes and explained, "Xiao Tang seems to really like those shoes. They're not expensive either, so consider them a back-to-school gift for him."

The cheapest shoes in this store start at around four figures, which is far from the "not expensive" claim made by Song Juelan.

Wen Zhi even suspected that Song Juelan had spent all his summer job wages to buy these shoes.

Thinking that Song Juelan had wasted a whole summer, he felt a pang of heartache and didn't say anything more, softening his tone: "You don't need to buy these things for Xiaotang in the future, he doesn't lack anything."

Seeing that Wen Zhi did not refute the statement "it's not someone else," Song Juelan breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Okay."

They had already bought the birthday presents, but they didn't intend to go back immediately. They planned to slowly explore the remaining floors of the mall.

As Wen Zhi passed the shops displaying exquisite jewelry, she walked straight ahead without pausing, her eyes fixed straight ahead. Halfway there, she realized that the two figures, one large and one small, beside her had vanished.

He turned around in confusion and saw Song Juelan standing quietly in front of the glass display case, her eyes lowered as she intently looked at the ornaments under the light. Xiao Tang, on the other hand, was pressed against the glass, her mouth slightly open, also staring intently.

Wen Zhi found it somewhat amusing, so she turned back and patiently waited until the two had seen enough before leaving, each holding one of their hands.

After shopping the entire mall, they had dinner at a restaurant on the top floor and watched an animated movie before finally preparing to go home, completely satisfied.

Before leaving the mall, Wen Zhi took Xiao Tang to the restroom.

Song Juelan stood outside waiting with shopping bags in hand, looking at the bustling crowd in the mall, when she suddenly remembered the silver bracelet she had seen outside the jewelry store earlier.

The delicate chain is adorned with a few small and exquisite sapphires, somewhat resembling the toy bracelet that Wen Zhi wore that day.

The moment he saw it, he felt that the bracelet would suit Wen Zhi perfectly, and it would look beautiful against her fair and slender wrist.

Wen Zhi only said that she couldn't buy things for Xiao Tang, but she didn't say that she couldn't buy things for him.

Thinking of this, Song Juelan took long strides without hesitation and walked quickly toward the jewelry store she had just been to.

Upon entering the store, he went straight to the display window, exchanged no more than three sentences with the clerk, paid decisively, and left with the small jewelry box in hand.

The shop assistant had never seen such a straightforward customer. Before the free gift could even be handed out, the tall man had already left like a gust of wind, casually tossing the jewelry's outer packaging into the trash can by the door, leaving only a hurried silhouette.

When Song Juelan rushed back to the bathroom door, Wen Zhi and Xiao Tang had not yet come out.

The bracelet in his pocket was getting warm from being held in his hand, and he couldn't resist taking it out to look at it again, imagining what it would look like wrapped around Wen Zhi's wrist, and his heart started racing.

When Wen Zhi came out of the restroom with Xiao Tang, she saw Song Juelan staring intently at her and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Song Juelan gripped the bracelet in her pocket tightly, her knuckles tightening slightly, her face remaining calm as she shook her head: "It's nothing."

As I stepped out of the mall, it was already dark. A few stars dotted the dark blue sky, and a cool night breeze brushed against my face.

Xiao Tang, wearing her brand-new bright yellow sneakers, skipped and hopped around in a great mood, humming the theme song of an animated film.

Wen Zhi and Song Juelan walked slowly behind each other, their close figures stretched long by the streetlights.

Just as they were about to part ways at the entrance of the residential area, Song Juelan seemed to have finally made up his mind and called out to Wen Zhi.

He took the bracelet, still warm from his body, out of his pocket, paused, and then handed it to Wen Zhi: "This is for you."

Wen Zhi's gaze fell on the exquisitely designed bracelet, and her eyes flashed with undisguised surprise: "This... isn't cheap, is it?"

Although it lacked fancy packaging, the gemstones on the bracelet still shone brightly in the night, and the clasp was engraved with delicate patterns, demonstrating exquisite craftsmanship.

Fearing that Wen Zhi's next words would be "I can't accept this," Song Juelan immediately shook her head: "It's not expensive."

"It's your birthday today, and I'm making you spend so much money..." Wen Zhi was still a little embarrassed and didn't reach out to take the bracelet.

The next moment, his wrist was gently grasped by Song Juelan and pulled up.

Song Juelan lowered her head and, though her movements were somewhat clumsy, carefully helped him put on the bracelet. With a soft "click," the clasp was fastened, and the size was just right.

"It's nothing." Song Juelan lowered his eyelids, his fingertips rubbing the inside of Wen Zhi's wrist, thinking about how beautiful her hand would look with the ring on it. "You look very good in it."

The cool touch of the silver chain rubs against the skin, while the tiny sapphires, like a tranquil galaxy, refract a soft halo.

Wen Zhi glanced down at the bracelet, then gave up and smiled at Song Juelan, saying, "Thank you, I like it very much."

Song Juelan still held that hand, reluctant to let go, and tentatively asked, "Shall I escort you inside?"

"No need, you should go back and rest early too." While Xiao Tang was rubbing her eyes, Wen Zhi quickly kissed Song Juelan on the chin. "Happy birthday."

Song Juelan's heart skipped a beat, and he could barely resist the urge to kiss the other person. His Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "Mmm."

Wen Zhi led Xiao Tang and turned to walk into the community gate.

Along the way, he couldn't help but frequently raise his wrist to examine the bracelet on it, liking it more and more as he looked at it, and the corners of his lips involuntarily turned up.

As Wen Zhi stepped out of the elevator and walked to her front door, she was about to take out her keys from her pocket when the door was suddenly opened from the inside.

A beautiful face appeared behind the door, smiling at them: "Zhizhi, Xiaotang, where did you go to play?"

Wen Zhi stood there, stunned. Little Tang beside her rushed over and threw herself into the woman's arms, crying, "Mommy!"

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Author's Note: My precious son is back after causing trouble! [droopy-eared rabbit head]

Thanks to sweet wine and yiinnnnff for the landmines~

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution!

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