Chapter 107 An Shixia's Gift

An Shixia reached out and untied the silk pouch on the gift box, gently opening the box to reveal an enamel bracelet inside.

It consists of 16 beads strung together, with a small tag in the very center that protrudes slightly above the beads and reads: "for love聿".

The patterns on each bead were hand-drawn by An Shixia, and she personally completed every step of the process. The beads are elegant and sophisticated, making them a sight to behold.

"Sister-in-law, did you make this yourself?"

Wu Yang looked at it several times in disbelief.

He had heard of this; it uses intangible cultural heritage techniques, and the lacquer used is also known as natural lacquer, raw lacquer, earth lacquer, or national lacquer, hence it is generally referred to as Chinese lacquer.

That's not all. It's all handmade, with at least ten steps involved, and even the simplest design takes two months to make.

The one that An Shixia gave her wasn't very complicated, but it was her first time firing it, and she's already very skilled at making it like this.

"Yes, there is a mentor guiding me."

Xiao Yin is a painter, and An Shixia was influenced by her from a young age, so she is also very good at painting. Therefore, when painting the pattern on the bracelet, she did it very smoothly and did not waste any time.

The rest of the time was spent on firing; otherwise, it would have been absolutely impossible to finish before Yan Lingyu's birthday.

Yan Lingyu stared intently at the bracelet, then reached out and picked it up, his movements somewhat cautious.

Following his gesture, An Shixia put the bracelet on his wrist, raised the corners of her mouth, and smiled slightly: "It looks good."

Yan Lingyu was surprised that she would give him such a gift, and he felt both touched and heartbroken.

I felt sorry for her, doing it secretly without telling me; she must have stayed up many nights.

He looked at each bead; the patterns on them were all different, and these patterns were all familiar—they were places the two of them had visited before.

“Xiaxia…”

"Yo yo yo, we're still here! Want to go home and kiss us?"

Zheng Yiyuan saw the two people getting closer and closer, and interrupted them loudly.

An Shixia glanced at everyone in the room, her face flushed slightly, and she immediately sat up straight and stopped moving.

Yan Lingyu's expression remained unchanged as he glanced lightly at Zheng Yiyuan, who didn't hold back at all: "We're celebrating your birthday today, not watching you two show off your love, right everyone?"

"Yeah yeah!"

An Shixia blushed slightly at the echoes of these voices and gently tugged at Yan Lingyu's sleeve.

Yan Lingyu gestured for a pause: "Serve the food, let's eat."

The implication is to shut them up.

The first thing the waiter brought out was a cake covered with strawberries. Yan Lingyu cut into it and handed the first slice to An Shixia.

He then handed the knife to Xiao Mushen, who was closest to him: "You cut it and divide it among them."

Another wave of sighs erupted from the crowd.

Yan Lingyu used a fork to pick up a strawberry and fed it to An Shixia's mouth: "Want to try your favorite strawberry cake?"

He didn't care about the teasing from the people around him. His girlfriend was his own, and they, a bunch of single dogs, could just wait to be envious.

Wu Yang glanced at Shen Tongtong furtively, and suddenly felt a little envious of Yan Lingyu.

He was timid and dared not confess his feelings, fearing rejection.

As he was watching, Shen Tongtong suddenly looked in his direction, and their eyes met in mid-air, neither of them looking away.

An Shixia ate strawberries and, observing the atmosphere between the two, couldn't help but smile.

Yan Lingyu asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

An Shixia leaned close to Yan Lingyu's ear, gently covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered, "Look at Tongtong and Wu Yang."

Yan Lingyu looked over as she spoke. The atmosphere between the two of them had been a bit strange, best described as ambiguous.

"This kid..."

Yan Lingyu suddenly felt a little annoyed with him. How long had it been? The atmosphere had already turned like this?

Shouldn't he have a crush on me like I do?

However... thinking of the bracelet An Shixia gave me, I felt smug. Not everyone can be as amazing as Xiaxia, so it's only right that I pursue her for a while.

An Shixia was so focused on watching them that she didn't notice the cream smeared on her lips. Yan Lingyu wiped her lips with his index finger and said, "Okay, stop looking and eat first."

The two stared at each other for a long time before Shen Tongtong looked away first, picked up the cake and stuffed it into her mouth, not daring to look up again.

Wu Yang suddenly understood, and a smile appeared on his lips. He even found Xiao Mushen, who was in a flustered state, much more pleasing to the eye.

Xiao Mushen was still unaware of what had happened. The cake was so big that it was difficult to cut. Finally, a portion was distributed to everyone present, and he could finally rest.

Turning his head, he saw Wu Yang grinning foolishly and said with some disdain, "What are you laughing about?"

You don't understand.

Wu Yang is now starting to look down on Xiao Mushen; soon he'll be the only single man left.

Thinking about how pitiful he was, Wu Yang couldn't help but add, "Xiao Mushen, do you have someone you like? Look how sweet Yu-ge and he are."

Xiao Mushen felt a headache coming on when he mentioned this, and said with great distress, "Do you think I don't want to? I just can't find you! It's okay, I still have you with me anyway."

When he said the last sentence, his tone was still smug.

Wu Yang gave him a deep look: "I'll definitely find a partner before you do."

Xiao Mushen paused in his cake-eating motion, then burst into laughter: "You deadbeat otaku, you don't even know as many girls as I do. If you get out of singlehood before me, I'll..."

He said he suddenly stopped here, because some things shouldn't be said too absolutely.

Wu Yang couldn't hear what he was going to say next, so she urged, "What did you say? Keep going."

He was really looking forward to seeing Xiao Mushen's expression when he found out he was no longer single; it was sure to be quite a sight.

After thinking it over, Xiao Mushen felt it was impossible for Wu Yang to find a partner, so he confidently said the second half of his sentence: "If you finish junior high school before me, I'll give you my entire month's bonus!"

A month's bonus is no small amount. Wu Yang pretended not to hear, but secretly turned on her phone to record: "Xiao Mushen, what did you say? Say it again."

Xiao Mushen scoffed lightly: "I said if you get into junior high before me, I'll give you my entire month's bonus."

Wu Yang had a strange smile on his face, which made Xiao Mushen feel uneasy.

What's wrong with this guy today? He seems weird, like he's plotting something behind my back.

Forget it, forget it, let's just ignore him.

Seeing that Wu Yang had completely outmaneuvered Xiao Mushen, An Shixia said to Yan Lingyu, "Xiao Mushen is so pitiful."

Yan Lingyu showed no sympathy, but instead curled his lips and said, "He deserves it. Here, have another bite."

Yan Lingyu didn't even look up, but continued to make a strawberry and put it to An Shixia's lips.

An Shixia was happy to have some free time, so she took a bite from his hand. It was sweet and sour, and so delicious.

"You said some of the gifts are inconvenient to bring. When do you plan to go and see them?"

Yan Lingyu was eager to know what An Shixia was talking about; he had a feeling it was related to the two of them.

Moreover, it can definitely be preserved for a very, very long time.

He was really looking forward to it.