Chapter 36
Although Tang Hui's tone and eyes were so gentle when he mentioned his aunt that they were almost dripping with tenderness, Shen Bining still keenly sensed sadness in them.
She knew Tang Hui was thinking of his deceased mother and his murderous father. He should have had a happy and fulfilling family, but it all vanished overnight. From then on, he became an orphan. Even though his aunt had taken the place of his family, he must have missed his mother very much deep down.
The topic was too heavy, and Shen Bining didn't want Tang Hui to recall unhappy things, so she tried to change the subject naturally, "I thought you were the kind of person who was extremely disciplined and health-conscious, and never ate late-night snacks. I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about food. Looking at how thin you are, you really don't seem like a foodie."
Tang Hui naturally knew that Shen Bining didn't want to reopen his wounds, so he was happy to go along with her words, "I exercise and work out, and I'm usually too busy with work, so I don't gain weight from eating too much. On the contrary, you also don't gain weight no matter how much you eat. The young girls in our law firm don't even dare to eat dinner in order to maintain their figures, but you actually eat late-night snacks."
"And you ate so much." Tang Hui silently added in his mind, of course, he could never say this directly to the girl's face.
Shen Bining tossed her head smugly and boasted, "I have good genes, so I don't get fat no matter how much I eat. All three of us in my family are skinny."
"You can say that to my face, but you can't say it in front of other girls, or you'll get beaten up." Tang Hui couldn't help but chuckle.
After saying that, the two of them laughed together.
As the late-night snack drew to a close, Shen Bining, who had been lively just moments before, became somewhat hesitant, as if she had something to say to Tang Hui.
After noticing her unusual behavior, Tang Hui asked directly, "Is there something you want to tell me? It's okay, just say it. There's no need for such formalities between us."
Encouraged by Tang Hui, Shen Bining finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Are you going to work overtime this Saturday?"
Hearing this, Tang Hui replied, "The law firm is my own. I can work overtime whenever I want, and I can leave anytime if I need to. My hours are very flexible."
The unspoken message is: just say what's wrong, and I'm willing to adjust my work schedule for you.
Shen Bining visibly cheered, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Tang Hui, a smile playing on her lips. At the same time, she cautiously said, "How about you spend the whole day with me on Saturday? It's my birthday that day, and it's so sad that I'm spending my birthday alone this year."
Tang Hui was stunned. He never expected that Shen Bining would ask him to celebrate her birthday with her. He was surprised but also secretly delighted. He hurriedly agreed, "Of course, no problem. I'll celebrate your birthday with you."
Shen Bining let out a long sigh of relief, her expression becoming more relaxed. She said with lingering fear, "Thank goodness you were here, otherwise I would have really had to spend my birthday alone in misery."
"It can't be that bad, can it? Where are your parents? Aren't they going to celebrate your birthday with you? Besides, isn't Chen Nian there too?" Tang Hui asked. Although he was happy that Shen Bining wanted to celebrate her birthday with him, he didn't believe that Shen Bining would have to celebrate her birthday alone if it weren't for him.
Listening to Chen Nian's casual conversations, he could deduce that Shen Bining's family was very happy and that her parents loved her very much.
"Don't even mention it. I don't know if those two planned it together, but they're going on a business trip together this week, which means they'll perfectly miss my birthday," Shen Bining said indignantly.
She actually guessed why her parents went on a business trip together on her birthday—they wanted to create an opportunity for her to celebrate her birthday with her boyfriend.
Otherwise, even though her parents often travel for work, they would still overcome all difficulties to stay and celebrate her birthday every year, or at least one of them would stay.
Shen Bining then complained, "And the timing is really coincidental. My birthday is also Qi Wang's grandfather's birthday. The old man is turning eighty this year, and Qi Wang will definitely take Niannian to celebrate his birthday. Am I supposed to monopolize Niannian and compete with an old man for his birthday?"
After hearing Shen Bining's explanation, Tang Hui felt very uncomfortable, a sense of frustration stuck in his chest, which instantly cooled his emotions.
A voice echoed faintly in her heart—she only thought of you as a second choice because she couldn't find anyone to celebrate her birthday with. If her parents or Chen Nian were free, it wouldn't be your turn to celebrate her birthday with her. You're just a backup option.
Shen Bining didn't notice Tang Hui's low spirits. She lowered her eyes shyly and whispered timidly, "Actually, I really wanted to celebrate my birthday with you. It's my first time dating, and it's also the first time I've had a boyfriend to celebrate my birthday with. Even though we're not a real couple, the feeling is still wonderful and something I long for. I just know you're busy with work, and I was afraid you wouldn't have time. I hesitated for several days and didn't dare to ask. Luckily, you didn't reject me, or I would have been heartbroken."
"How could I refuse? I'd love to celebrate your birthday with you. It's settled then, we'll celebrate together this Saturday." Tang Hui's mood, which had just been gloomy, instantly brightened, and her voice was filled with rare excitement.
I'm so easy to please. That was Tang Hui's only self-assessment at that moment.
*
The day after they agreed to celebrate together, Tang Hui began preparing for the upcoming Saturday, including choosing a birthday gift for Shen Bining and selecting a location and restaurant for their birthday date.
These two preparations sound simple, but for a master of romance or a henpecked husband like Song Ziyi or Qi Wang, they could come up with a dozen good ideas in no time, and they could be as romantic and flamboyant as they wanted.
But for Tang Hui, who is immune to emotions, it's even harder than getting him to fight a lawsuit.
Tang Hui fully demonstrated his excellent work ethic of "if you can't do it, don't try to do it yourself, leave it to someone who can." After struggling with the problem all morning without any clue, he decisively chose to ask for help.
The best people to ask for help should have been Song Ziyi and Qi Wang, but Tang Hui could imagine what kind of crazy ideas these two mischievous friends would come up with without even thinking, so he immediately passed on them.
Therefore, the only suitable and best candidate is Chen Nian.
During his lunch break, Tang Hui sent Chen Nian a WeChat message, making his request directly.
Chen Nian, who was on her day off, was shopping for groceries with her retired mother when she saw the WeChat message from Tang Hui and immediately burst into laughter.
She was already happy to learn from Shen Bining that Tang Hui would be celebrating his birthday with her. Now that she saw how much Tang Hui valued this opportunity and was taking the initiative to ask for her advice, Chen Nian was naturally happy to help him out.
“When a few of us girls were chatting, Ningning said that if she had a boyfriend, she would really like him to go to Disneyland with her for her birthday.”
Chen Nian replied.
Tang Hui raised an eyebrow in surprise when he saw the WeChat message from Chen Nian—going to Disneyland for her birthday? It was quite unexpected. It seems that girls, no matter what age, always consider Disneyland their home.
"What kind of birthday gift should I give her? What does she like?" Tang Hui then asked.
Soon, Chen Nian sent a reply. "She doesn't really want any gifts, but Qi Wang gives me a piece of jewelry every year for my birthday. He says I can wear it every day, and it also has value as a keepsake and a keepsake. You can consider that."
Having received the answer he wanted, Tang thanked Chen Nian and then immediately sent a WeChat message to Shen Bining.
"If you don't have any special plans for your birthday on Saturday, how about I take care of the arrangements?"
Shen Bining was probably busy, as her reply came two hours later: "Sorry, I just met with the patient's family. I don't have any plans, so I'll have to leave the arrangements to you. I'm really looking forward to it."
After receiving Shen Bining's reply, Tang Hui quickly opened his phone app to check Disney tickets and hotel bookings. Always efficient, he had already arranged all of Saturday's itinerary before leaving work.
For some reason, he was looking forward to Saturday, and for the first time in his life, he didn't even feel like going to work.
Early Saturday morning, Tang Hui came to pick up Shen Bining from her apartment complex.
Shen Bining got into the car with a yawn, her eyes glazed over as if she hadn't slept. "Why so early? I don't usually get to work this early, this is killing me. Where are we going? None of the places are open yet, are they?"
She thought today's itinerary would just be eating, shopping, and watching a movie, but it was only seven o'clock, and apart from breakfast shops, nowhere would be open.
Tang Hui glanced at Shen Bining, whose eyes were barely open from sleep, and intentionally kept her in suspense. As he started the car, he said, "It's a secret for now. You'll find out when we get there. If you're really sleepy, just keep sleeping. I'll wake you up when we arrive. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised."
"Okay, I'll take a nap. Wake me up when we get there. Drive carefully." Shen Bining stayed up until 3 a.m. last night watching dramas and thought she could sleep in before going on her date today. However, she was woken up by Tang Hui's phone call at 6 a.m., who said to meet her downstairs at her house in an hour.
Shen Bining got up groggily to wash and put on makeup. Although she was out of bed, her soul seemed to still be fast asleep. She really couldn't stay awake any longer, so she didn't stand on ceremony with Tang Hui and closed her eyes to go back to sleep.
Tang Hui looked at Shen Bining, who was completely unsuspecting and didn't care about her image, and couldn't help but smile. He first parked the car on the side of the road, then helped Shen Bining adjust the seat and covered her with his own coat so that she could sleep more comfortably.
After doing all this, he drove his car toward Shanghai, the neighboring city.
H City is only about 200 kilometers away from Shanghai City. Including the travel time in the city and on the highway, it will take at most two or three hours to get there.
Tang Hui drove towards Disneyland. During the drive, Shen Bining woke up once. She was so sleepy that she could barely open her eyes. In her drowsy state, she realized that she was on the highway. Without asking where she was going, she just mumbled a joke, "Where are you taking me, Attorney Tang? You studied law, you should know that trafficking women is illegal, right?"
Without waiting for Tang's reply, he fell asleep again, his obliviousness leaving everyone speechless.
Tang Hui glanced at the sleeping Shen Bining out of the corner of his eye. She was curled up in the passenger seat, covered by his suit jacket, her long hair covering half of her face, making her face look small and white, especially pitiful.
At this moment, Tang Hui finally understood why some men like girls with beautiful sleeping faces. In the quiet car, he could almost hear his heart beating faster and faster.
At 10 a.m., the two arrived at their destination. Tang Hui gently shook Shen Bining awake, said they had arrived, and then got out of the car first.
Shen Bining was still groggy from sleep and felt quite sluggish. She got out of the car and then instantly snapped back to reality when she saw the building in front of her.
Disneyland.
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