Just after midnight on the 28th, Xia Wenxi received several messages wishing her a happy birthday.

It must have been tough on my parents, who usually go to bed early, as they stayed up until midnight to wish her a happy birthday.

Thank you, Mom and Dad. Go to bed early!

Xia Hengyuan: [Go to sleep, your mom's eyes are almost closed. Take the red envelope and get some rest too.]

Xia Wensheng didn't post it in the family group chat, but instead messaged her privately, transferring her a sum of money as well—

Happy birthday, Xia Wenxi! Study hard and make progress every day! Dad's retired now, so our Xia family will be relying on the two of us from now on!

Xia Wenxi was certain that Xia Wensheng was definitely the reincarnation of the head of the teaching department.

【Understood, Teacher Xia!】

Afterwards, Xia Wenxi replied to the blessing messages sent by her roommates and Sister Minghuan, and of course, Lin Shen's message at the end.

Lin Shen: [Happy birthday, see you tonight.]

Xia Wenxi rolled around on the bed with her phone in her hand, and finally typed five words in the chat box.

Thank you, see you tonight.

After sending it, Xia Wenxi rolled around in her phone again.

Roll to the left. "Speaking like this sounds a bit ambiguous, is that okay?"

Roll to the right, "No way! That's clearly a polite reply."

Roll back to the middle, "Thinking too much is pointless, let's just go to sleep."

——

"Xiao Bao, let's not read today. Come on, it's time to get your hair styled."

"Okay, Mom."

Xia Wenxi obediently put down the book in her hand and left the study.

"Mom, does it start at seven o'clock tonight?"

While Xia Wenxi was getting her hair and makeup done, Ke Shurong was sitting on the sofa next to her. Upon hearing this, she replied, "It's seven o'clock, but the guests should arrive around six."

"Then I'll tell my friends that the driver will be waiting for them at the school gate at six o'clock," Xia Wenxi sent a message in the dormitory group chat on her phone.

Xia Wenxi had originally planned to have a few dresses sent over, otherwise it would be too embarrassing to ask her roommates to spend money on dresses they don't usually wear when they came to her birthday party.

However, they all said it wasn't necessary and that they could handle it themselves, so Xia Wenxi didn't say anything more. Anyway, there wouldn't be too many people coming today; it was just a small banquet, and the guests were all close to the Xia family, so there was no need for them to dress too formally.

Xia Wenxi herself was wearing a light pink halter-neck dress. The lustrous satin fabric looked as if colors were flowing across it under the light.

Ever since she wore a halter-neck dress once, Ke Shurong has been choosing dresses in that direction when picking out gowns for her daughter.

"It looks good, this style suits you."

Ke Shurong tidied her daughter's hair in front of the mirror.

"So elegant," Xia Wenxi said with a smile. "I have to be a lady tonight."

I have to be a lady, this dress is different from the short skirt I wore last time, so it's not appropriate to wear flat shoes with this dress.

However, Xia Wenxi had never worn high heels before. Ever since she chose the dress, she had been secretly practicing walking in high heels, but so far she could only walk slowly.

Wearing this dress, Xia Wenxi looked like Sun Wukong with the golden headband on, and she was too embarrassed to cross her legs anymore. She even felt that scrolling through short videos didn't suit her current temperament, and in the end, she forced herself to read a book for more than an hour.

The first to arrive in the evening were Xia Wensheng and Ming Huan, who arrived a little after six o'clock.

"Wenxi looks beautiful today. This is a birthday present for you. Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Sister Minghuan." Xia Wenxi said with a smile as she accepted the gift. "I've received two gifts from you in just a few days."

The last time Minghuan came to our house, she gave Xia Wenxi a custom-made Suzhou embroidery piece depicting the theme of passing the imperial examination. This time, it's a diamond bracelet, made of tiny pink diamonds, which is perfect for the dress Xia Wenxi is wearing today.

"Let me put it on for you."

"good!"

"Minghuan, you smell so good! What perfume are you wearing?"

"You like this flavor? I happen to have a bottle at home that I haven't used yet, I'll bring it over for you next time."

"Okay, thank you, Minghuan. Mom, do you think it looks good?"

"Beautiful! Huanhuan has great taste."

...

As Xia Wensheng listened, he suddenly felt like he was superfluous; it must be his imagination.

"Mom, where's Dad?"

Ke Shurong stood up. "I had forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. He's upstairs, taking forever to change his clothes. I'll go call him!"

As soon as Ke Shurong went upstairs, Jin Wenyao and the others arrived. Zhang Jiayi was fine, as she had attended many banquets like this before. However, Jin Wenyao and Li Mengting were extremely nervous as soon as they entered the room.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xia Wenxi.

"Wenxi, your house is too big! Are you a princess?"

Xia Wenxi was amused by her, "No, I don't have a fiancé."

"Let me introduce you. This is my brother, and this is my future sister-in-law. Brother, Sister Minghuan, these are my roommates, Jin Wenyao, Zhang Jiayi, and Li Mengting."

After exchanging greetings, Xia Wenxi, worried that they might feel uncomfortable, pulled them aside to talk, saying, "My parents are upstairs; they'll come down in a bit."

"Just let us enjoy some good food on the side later, I'm nervous about going out and meeting people. But Wenxi, your dress is so pretty today, you look like a mermaid!"

Hearing Jin Wenyao say that, Xia Wenxi laughed and teased her, "You get nervous sometimes? Aren't you a tough guy?"

“I’m selective about who I am,” Jin Wenyao said, pulling Li Mengting over. “Wenxi, look at my and Mengmeng’s dresses, aren’t they beautiful?”

Xia Wenxi nodded, realizing that although the style was simple, the cut was appropriate and it was indeed very suitable.

"It looks great."

Jin Wenyao said happily:

"My mom made it herself. Our family factory is in the clothing business, and my mom can also make clothes. Besides, my mom's surname is Gao, so rounding up, it's pretty much like haute couture, right?"

Jiayi had previously mentioned bringing dresses from home for me and Mengmeng to wear, but I said it wasn't necessary, as I have custom-made dresses available.

When no one else was around, Jin Wenyao's true nature as a social butterfly was fully revealed; she only remembered what they were holding after talking for a while.

"This is a birthday present for you. Happy birthday, Wenxi."

"Thank you." Xia Wenxi heard voices outside and guessed that guests had probably arrived, so she put away the gifts she had just received.

Sure enough, as soon as she put it down and came back, she heard her father calling her.

"Wenxi, come and say hello to Uncle Guan."

Xia Wenxi obediently greeted the visitors.

"It's been several years since we last met, hasn't it? You've grown up so much, I wouldn't recognize you if I saw you outside."

"It's because you live in the countryside and don't want to come back."

...

As Xia Wenxi stood awkwardly laughing to the side, she suddenly heard Xia Wensheng's slightly sarcastic voice.

"President Lin, you've arrived quite early!"

Xia Wenxi subconsciously looked outside and met Lin Shen's gaze. Seeing Lin Shen under these circumstances, Xia Wenxi suddenly felt that the word "friendly" was written all over Lin Shen's face.