Chapter 9: Gift

880th Floor (OP):

I haven’t been here for a few days. During these days, I’ve been preparing a birthday gift for c, afraid of him discovering it, so I’ve been on edge every day.

Of course, I’m not planning to surprise him and then pretend to forget about it. There were still a few days left until my wife’s birthday, I didn’t want him to be unhappy for such a long time.

I just don’t want him to know what the gift is, that’s how you create surprises. So right now, he only knows that I’m preparing a gift for him, but he doesn’t know what I’ve prepared.

My wife’s birthday is tomorrow, luckily it’s been a close call, I finally got it today!

Sigh… Today my wife happened to have a lot of classes, even lunch he just dealt with casually. I only had classes in the morning, immediately went to pick my wife up after his class, and took him to the place I arranged for his birthday.

881st Floor:

What kind of gift did OP prepare? Tell us, it’s out of your hands!

882nd Floor:

I’m bold, I think it’s either a car or a house!

883rd Floor:

Even though a house or car might be small stuff for OP, I don’t think so. If it’s a house, OP would definitely have to renovate it before giving it, out of the question. If it’s a car, it’s just a gut feeling! I don’t think he’ll give that!

884th Floor:

I agree, if it’s a house or a car, OP would definitely have to take c to see it first before giving it.

885th Floor:

Then I guess it’s some kind of jewelry, super expensive stuff. Maybe OP has the guts to just give a ring directly.

886th Floor:

OP wouldn’t have that kind of courage, don’t worry.

887th Floor:

Then I guess OP is going to give himself. Dog head.jpg

888th Floor (OP):

I want to give myself too, but I haven’t won my wife over yet, so he won’t accept it.

I’ve already arrived at the school, waiting for my wife outside the teaching building. Wait for the good news from me, my wife will definitely like the place I chose for his birthday~

889th Floor:

It’s not right, isn’t that my school’s couple? The description sounds so much like them, except my school’s couple has been together and torturing us for a long time.

As for my school’s couple, today I was in the classroom right next to theirs. Just as I was leaving, I heard his friend talking about his birthday, that his boyfriend came to pick him up and stuff. It’s really like luck opened the door, a lucky strike!

890th Floor:

Actually… I have a bold idea…

891st Floor:

Upstairs, don’t tell me…

892nd Floor:

Don’t beat around the bush, we’re suspecting that the pair from your school is actually OP and c.

893rd Floor:

But didn’t you say that pair is already together? Our clueless OP is still chasing after someone else.

894th Floor:

This is indeed a problem, but the level of resemblance is way over the top, right?

895th Floor:

Maybe this is fate?

896th Floor:

Let’s wait and see, we’ll probably find out in the future.

897th Floor:

Sure, if it’s not the same people, we just gained another pair to ship, not bad.

898th Floor (OP):

Originally, I was planning to invite some friends to celebrate his birthday together, but I have my own desires, I just want the two of us to celebrate separately. And then, I tried probing once more, and asked him how he wanted to spend his birthday. He said for me to decide, as long as it’s something I choose, he’ll like it.

I asked him who he wanted to spend his birthday with, and he seemed a bit unhappy, saying he wanted just the two of us to celebrate together, and then we could treat them to a meal later.

Of course, I couldn’t have been happier. Spending my wife’s birthday alone, who wouldn’t be thrilled about that?

I reserved a private room at a restaurant in the city center. We’ve been to this restaurant a few times before, the food is really good. Plus, the view is quite special, from the higher floors you can see the whole city’s night view.

My wife went to the restroom, and I’m waiting here for her. After we finish our meal, I’ll give him the gift, hoping she’ll like it.

899th Floor:

Sitting here waiting for OP to reveal the gift.

900th Floor:

Let me see what rich people give!

901st Floor (OP):

While my wife isn’t here, I ordered some dishes he likes and asked the waitress to secretly bring my gift over. Fortunately, the place is spacious enough to hide it.

902nd Floor:

So, the place isn’t that spacious and it can’t be hidden? What on earth are you giving, OP, that you need so much space?

903rd Floor:

Probably right. The restaurant is only so big, and even if you give a large snack gift package, it’s a whole box, not easy to hide.

904th Floor:

Makes sense, but OP definitely wouldn’t give a large snack gift package. Dog head.jpg

905th Floor:

OP might be giving a diamond gift package??? I’m bold, let me guess!

906th Floor:

Looking down on jade? I vote for jade!

907th Floor:

Enough already, let me give the correct answer, I think it’s—OP himself!

908th Floor:

OP and c must be enjoying a birthday meal together, right? So, how about everyone shares what kind of gifts they’ve received?

909th Floor:

You guys, stop going off-topic… Well, go off-topic if you want, waiting is so boring…

930th Floor (OP):

I’m here, my wife is sleeping now. He insisted on having a drink earlier. It’s his birthday, so he should be happy, plus it’s the weekend tomorrow, so having a drink isn’t a big deal. But his alcohol tolerance, he had just a bit and before I could even stop her, he got drunk.

My wife is really well-behaved when he’s drunk, not making a fuss, just sitting there quietly, answering whatever he’s asked, and when his mind can’t keep up, he just looks at me in confusion.

I had a couple sips with him, now I can’t drive, so I called the driver to come pick us up.

Initially, he was leaning on my shoulder, then he felt uncomfortable and moved to lay on my lap, his hand still around my waist, using me as a pillow.

The driver had that all-knowing look, he repeatedly reminded me that if I’m not around, don’t let c drink. I was already thinking that way, with such a low alcohol tolerance, if he gets drunk, I don’t know who might take advantage of her.

The gift has already been given. I was planning to give it after we finished eating, but while the dishes weren’t all served yet, c was looking at me with anticipation, asking what gift I had prepared for him .

At that moment, I told him to eat first and we could take our time looking at it after he finished. But he declined, saying with me here, he wanted to have a drink. He thought he might end up getting drunk directly after dinner.

I told him  that with me around, he won’t get drunk, but he still insisted. I couldn’t refuse my wife twice, so I agreed. Now it seems, considering my wife’s alcohol tolerance, it’s a good thing I let him see the gift first. Otherwise, if he woke up tomorrow and his birthday had already passed, he’d definitely feel disappointed.

Now I can tell you all. I gave a few things as gifts. First, I gave a bouquet of flowers.

Since I haven’t officially won my wife’s heart yet, I usually don’t dare to give him flowers as gifts, afraid it might trouble him, given the implications of flowers in such situations.

Although you can give flowers for friendship, I didn’t want to give them as a friend. I’m his pursuer, and I just want to convey my feelings to him.

This time was also my little scheme. Under the name of a birthday bouquet, I intertwined flowers with messages of love.

For me, this can’t really be considered a gift. It’s just a blessing, like saying “Happy Birthday.”

When I asked the flower service to bring them over, my wife visibly brightened up. He hugged that big bunch of flowers to his chest and said it’s the first time I’ve ever given him flowers.

Honestly, my initial reaction wasn’t happiness; it was regret. If I had known my wife likes it when others give him flowers, I should have given him a bouquet every day, the freshest and most captivating ones!

My wife was reluctant to put them down, even when unwrapping other gifts. But it wasn’t very convenient, so eventually he said he’d turn them into dried flowers to keep. Only then did he reluctantly let them go.

The second gift was a book. My wife is particularly fond of a foreign author who isn’t very famous and not well-known. Then I thought, maybe I could find the original manuscript by that author.

I actually looked for this quite a while and contacted a lot of people. In the end, I found it with a private collector. I asked if he would be willing to sell it to me, the price could be discussed.

Originally, he didn’t want to part with it. Because he’s a loyal reader of that author too, and since the manuscript isn’t very old and the author isn’t famous, the manuscript doesn’t hold much value in terms of collection. His reason for keeping it was purely because he liked it.

I had originally thought, if it’s not possible, then let it be, I’ll look for something else. But when he learned I was planning to give it to someone else and c also liked that author, he fell silent for a long while and then surprisingly agreed.

I was really surprised at the time, I never thought he’d be willing to let it go despite the pain. And he even offered to find a suitable box to store it in.

So, that’s how I could give it to c as a gift. Because I’ve been working on this for a while, so strictly speaking, it’s not a birthday gift, more like a regular gift, it just happened to coincide with the birthday.

The third gift was a pair of cufflinks. Although my wife doesn’t wear formal clothes very often, he still wears shirts quite often, so he can use them in daily life. I’m planning to give him more pairs in the future.

The brand is the same as the one he used when he gave me that brooch last time. I don’t care; in any case, the brand is the same, it’s a couple’s design!

Originally, I also wanted to give him a wooden carving I made myself, but in these few days, I couldn’t manage to carve something decent. I plan to work on this slowly and give it to him later.

After my wife received my gifts, he was really happy. Then he took a little extra sip and got drunk.

We’re almost home now. I’ll clean up my wife, let him rest quietly and sleep.

931st Floor:

Wuwuwu, let me say it again, I also want a boyfriend like OP. If you really can’t win him over, consider me!

932nd Floor:

Upstairs, stop dreaming. Do you think c’s attitude towards OP would lead to not being successful?

933rd Floor:

Then why hasn’t OP been successful in pursuing c for over half a year?

934th Floor:

Then why don’t you ask c? How would I know?

935th Floor:

Stop arguing. Use this time to let your boyfriend learn something.

936th Floor:

I have a boyfriend, and here I am being a love advisor?

937th Floor:

Not only do I not have a boyfriend, I don’t have a girlfriend either…

938th Floor:

Why do you all… always miss the point?

OP is helping c take a bath! Can you all stop being so off-topic? OP is going to see c’s body (censored term, you all understand)!!!!!

939th Floor:

F*ck, talk about late realization!!!

940th Floor:

Cough cough, OP, quickly make use of this time to do something…

941st Floor:

Don’t bother, a pure and innocent guy like OP won’t dare to do anything.

942nd Floor:

This is about respecting c, right? Why do you need to secretly do other things?

943rd Floor (OP):

I’m sorry, I’ve let down everyone’s trust. I took advantage of the situation…

When I was helping c take a bath, I didn’t think about anything else. Originally, I wanted to let him sleep and then return to my own room. But when I was tucking him into the blanket, he held onto me and wouldn’t let me go. He didn’t say anything, just stared at me, as if asking why I wasn’t staying with him.

Maybe I overinterpreted things, but in any case, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

It was already very late, and after lying down, I tried to coax him to sleep. But he just didn’t want to sleep. I asked him what was wrong, and he sadly said he wanted to be held.

Can I reject my own wife? I can’t. So, I held him and comforted him to sleep. People who are drunk tend to be more whimsical; my wife just wanted to be held! Could I refuse such a simple request?

So, I held him and comforted him to sleep. With each word I whispered, he responded with a soft sound. He gradually relaxed. And then, my daring side emerged, and I asked him if he liked me. True to form, he responded with another soft sound.

Then, carried away by my emotions, I asked if he considered me his wife, and he again responded affirmatively. I knew he wasn’t fully conscious, and he would respond with agreement to anything, but my heart was racing like crazy.

I then remembered c telling me before that my heartbeat was too fast and bothered him, so I tried hard to calm myself down.

Maybe in my heart, I was also afraid this might be the only time I’d hear c admit he liked me, so I got greedy and made him admit I was his wife.

Ah, I’m truly a hypocrite. My wife trusts me enough to let me see him drunk, yet I take advantage of this. I wonder if he’ll hit me when he wakes up later…

944th Floor:

… Wuwuwu, I’ve been slapped in the face.

945th Floor:

Hey OP, relax a bit! He was drunk and fell asleep in a daze. He probably won’t remember what happened at the time.

946th Floor:

He probably won’t hit you even if he remembers. Based on OP’s description, c has always been gentle and wouldn’t do something like that.

947th Floor:

Do it again — buy in and get out! Will c hit OP when he wakes up!