Chapter 31 [VIP]
Chapter summary: "What is unexpected is often the most surprising."
The girl was also holding back; she wanted to laugh but dared not, her face turning red. She managed to stammer, "This...this is your thermos. The card will be...it will be delivered to your home by express delivery once it's made."
"Thank you," Xu Tianzhou said, then pulled Ni Zhenzhen away.
As Ni Zhenzhen walked away, she didn't forget to turn back and wave to the girl, "Goodbye."
"Hurry up," Xu Tianzhou urged.
"knew."
Xu Tianzhou opened the mall door, and after Ni Zhenzhen went inside, he turned his head and looked at the girl below the steps.
Before the girl could look away, their eyes met, and Xu Tianzhou nodded to her, as if to express his gratitude.
The girl understood immediately and smiled.
The door behind him slowly closed, and in front of him was Ni Zhenzhen's innocent and cheerful smiling face. "Hurry up, why are you urging me? You're so slow."
Xu Tianzhou chuckled and said, "Here you are."
Upon entering the second door, a bright light suddenly appeared before my eyes.
The mall was brightly lit, the lights spilling onto the marble floor and reflecting starlight, making it seem as if every step you took was on the Milky Way.
Xu Tianzhou was pulled into the elevator by Ni Zhenzhen, and a warm breeze accompanied by memories rushed towards him.
Two days ago, Su Wenjin contacted him. He said that several departments in the company had been discussing for half a month, but still hadn't decided how to distribute the year-end bonuses.
Su Wenjin: "The business departments think it's not enough, and the support departments think it's too little. I really have no other choice. After thinking it over, I think you should make the decision so that no one can complain."
Xu Tianzhou glanced at him and said slowly, "You're making me play the bad guy."
Su Wenjin smiled and did not deny it.
Xu Tianzhou pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, we'll split it into two payments, one before the New Year and one after. Most importantly, we'll change the name; don't call it 'Year-End Bonus'."
“That’s good.” Su Wenjin nodded. “What’s unexpected is what’s most surprising.”
It was Su Wenjin's words that reminded Xu Tianzhou, and thus an unexpected surprise ensued.
Ni Zhenzhen was still in the dark, and Xu Tianzhou certainly wouldn't tell her the truth; he hoped this happiness could last longer.
Xu Tianzhou even sketched out such a scene in his mind: in a small house with a view of the sea, the old and immobile Ni Zhenzhen was holding a cat and boasting to her grandchildren about how lucky she was back then, "I could just randomly draw a cash prize."
Thinking of this, Xu Tianzhou couldn't help but smile, even happier than if he had won the lottery.
Ni Zhenzhen was also smiling.
Every time she looked at Xu Tianzhou, she couldn't help but be drawn to the two frog-like eyes on the top of his head, and then she would laugh nonstop, completely forgetting what she wanted to say.
Xu Tianzhou knew what she was laughing about.
He glanced at her sideways and said rudely, "Nobody else is laughing, only you are."
As he walked along, many people were drawn to the headband on his head, and some even pointed it out to their companions.
Ni Zhenzhen said, "Why don't other people laugh? They just don't laugh in front of you."
"I don't care, you hurt me anyway."
"Then what do you want me to do?"
Xu Tianzhou thought for a moment, then put his arm around Ni Zhenzhen's shoulder and whispered something in her ear.
Almost simultaneously, Ni Zhenzhen shuddered as if she had been electrocuted.
She subconsciously glanced around. The nearest person was several meters away and couldn't possibly hear Xu Tianzhou's words, but she still felt as if someone was watching her, and her face flushed and her heart pounded uncontrollably.
The culprit, however, shamelessly continued to provoke her. Xu Tianzhou hooked her chin with his finger and asked, "How is it?"
Ni Zhenzhen threw a punch at him, "Not good at all!"
Why does he always think about those kinds of things? He's a complete hypocrite.
At the same time, Ni Zhenzhen received a text message. She took out her phone and exclaimed, "Wow! Wasn't it supposed to take three business days? It's so fast!"
Xu Tianzhou said, "Show it to me."
It was a text message notifying her that cash had been deposited into her account, with the note "a prize for opening a card and receiving a gift".
Ni Zhenzhen read the text message several times and checked her account again. The joy of winning the prize finally became clear to her.
She really won! It's unbelievable!
Ni Zhenzhen seemed to have thought of something and said mysteriously, "I heard that if you find money, you should spend it immediately, otherwise bad luck will come your way."
Ni Zhenzhen thought Xu Tianzhou would definitely scold her—how could she believe such nonsense? To her surprise, he nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, yes, yes, have you decided what to buy?"
In fact, Xu Tianzhou had the same idea.
That day, Rong Xiaodan invited Ni Zhenzhen to dinner. He saw Ni Zhenzhen sitting at the table from afar, resting her chin on her hand, with a section of her wrist sticking out.
At that time, he thought, "If only I had a bracelet."
Before Xu Tianzhou could even make a suggestion, Ni Zhenzhen tapped a few times on her phone and said, "It's all spent."
"So fast? What did you buy?"
I won't tell you.
Xu Tianzhou scoffed dismissively.
Even though Ni Zhenzhen didn't say anything, he guessed it. She probably bought him something but didn't want to tell him, so she deliberately kept him in suspense.
Xu Tianzhou didn't expose her, but simply cooperated and said, "Okay."
The two had just sat down at the grilled fish restaurant when Ni Zhenzhen received a phone call.
The store was noisy, but Qian Lina's urgent voice still came through very clearly.
"Zhenzhen, are you free this afternoon? Could you come to the branch to rehearse the dance?"
"..."
"Please, you have to help me."
Qian Lina was getting anxious. They were rehearsing a dance in the activity room when a boy pushed the door open and walked in. After looking around, he asked everyone present if anyone had hosting experience.
Everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke for a long time.
"No?" the man asked again.
Qian Lina paused for a moment, then suddenly raised her hand, "Me, me, me."
When the man's gaze fell on her, Qian Lina added, "I hosted the department's welcome party."
In fact, she never hosted the event, and since no one bothered to verify it, they just let her say whatever she wanted.
The man looked her up and down for a moment, then said, "Okay, you can come here."
Qian Lina was immediately overjoyed. That was the annual meeting host, a role that everyone, including the bank president, could see. How could a mere ensemble dancer compare?
However, the dance teacher said that it would be difficult to choreograph the formation if one person was missing, and asked Qian Lina to find someone to replace her.
Isn't that simple?
Qian Lina immediately called Ni Zhenzhen, but to her surprise, the person on the other end of the line seemed hesitant.
Qian Lina also felt that doing so was inappropriate.
When the director asked who would go, she didn't say. Later, when Ni Zhenzhen went, she wanted to take the dance opportunity from Ni Zhenzhen. Now that she has a better opportunity, she wants Ni Zhenzhen to replace her. If it were her, she would just refrain from cursing. How could she possibly agree?
At this moment, putting aside all considerations of saving face, Qian Lina pleaded, "Please, please."
Ni Zhenzhen sighed and said, "Okay."
After hanging up the phone, Ni Zhenzhen apologized to Xu Tianzhou, "I'm sorry, I can't watch the movie. I have to go to dance practice."
"..."
Xu Tianzhou really wanted to laugh, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
After an unknown amount of time, he nodded wearily and said, "Let's eat first."
After finishing her meal, Ni Zhenzhen went to a cake shop and bought a slice of tiramisu. As she came out of the mall, she looked around for a moment, then asked curiously, "Why did you leave?"
Who are you talking about?
"It's that girl who signed up for the card."
Xu Tianzhou then understood Ni Zhenzhen's intention, "You bought her the cake? I thought you bought it for me."
Ni Zhenzhen shoved the bag of cake into Xu Tianzhou's arms, saying, "It's yours now."
Ni Zhenzhen pondered to herself, "It's over just after noon, so the task must be complete, right?" Although she hadn't delivered the cake, Ni Zhenzhen was still happy for the girl.
A few days later, Xu Tianzhou received a package addressed to Ni Zhenzhen.
The package was small, and you couldn't tell what it was from the outside, which only piqued Xu Tianzhou's curiosity even more.
He looked at it from left to right, then held it in his hand and weighed it in his hand. Could it be something that Ni Zhenzhen bought for him with her bonus?
A tie? A ring? Cufflinks?
Xu Tianzhou endured until Ni Zhenzhen returned, but strangely, Ni Zhenzhen didn't know what was inside either.
"I didn't buy anything."
Xu Tianzhou: "Why don't we just open it up and see?"
Xu Tianzhou opened it and found a letter and a small badge inside.
"I understand!" Upon seeing the badge, Ni Zhenzhen understood. She held the badge in her hand, admiring it. "So cute!"
Xu Tianzhou disagreed.
To be honest, the badge was very poorly made; it was the kind of badge that no one would even glance at if it were placed on the roadside. I don't know why Ni Zhenzhen bought it.
It wasn't until Xu Tianzhou opened the letter that he truly understood the meaning behind the badge.
Xu Tianzhou sighed heavily, looked at Ni Zhenzhen with a heavy gaze, and said with a helpless tone, "You donated the prize money?"
“Yes.” Ni Zhenzhen was still playing with the badge, not feeling at all that there was anything wrong with what she was doing.
"..." Xu Tianzhou really didn't know what to say.
The most ridiculous thing is that he was so presumptuous as to think that Ni Zhenzhen would use that money to buy him a gift, or even just a little bit, but in the end, she didn't give him a single penny.
"You... sigh..."
Another sigh escaped Xu Tianzhou's lips. His heart felt as if it were filled with something, a sour and astringent feeling that was quite unpleasant. But that feeling was only temporary, because he soon realized that all of this seemed to be perfectly natural.
Xu Tianzhou patted Ni Zhenzhen's head resignedly, feeling both annoyed and amused, but mostly filled with an indescribable sense of melancholy.
"Okay, whatever makes you happy."
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