The round, pretty paper box on the back attracted many curious looks from children.

Some who recognized An’an even asked him what it was.

An’an, eating chocolate ice cream, said, “I can’t tell you.”

It was a surprise for his mother, and he didn’t want anyone else to know first.

Chuxia hummed a birthday song, cooked four dishes, and made the longevity noodles.

When she brought them to the living room, An’an and Jiang Zhida came in through the door.

Seeing Jiang Zhida with a round paper box, Chuxia was surprised and immediately looked at An’an, “Did you tell your uncle it’s my birthday today?”

“Mm. Mom, sit down.”

Cen Huai’an pushed Chuxia gently, his eyes shining brightly.

Chuxia immediately saw his intention but still cooperated by sitting down and waiting to see what he had prepared.

“Mommy, this is a birthday cake for you. Uncle Zhiduo said it’s from the capital, and there’s also this, which is for you as well.”

At this moment, Jiang Zhiduo handed Chuxia a gift, which was similar to An’an’s, wrapped in a paper box, but his gift was a bit heavy.

“Auntie, you should have told us in advance. Now you can only receive gifts from An’an and me. You won’t get any from Grandpa or my parents.”

Aunt Yang Mei, who works with many countries and has traveled abroad, was familiar with the Western custom of having cakes for birthdays.

The younger generation in her family would also have cakes on their birthdays.

If the Jiang family knew it was Chuxia’s birthday today, those who were free would certainly make sure to celebrate it properly, with more than just the four dishes they had now.

Chuxia smiled and shook the gifts from both of them, “Your gifts are enough. I’ve received your blessings.”

Especially since An’an had bought her a cake, Chuxia felt her heart swelling with happiness.

She was very pleased and hugged An’an tightly.

The cake wasn’t very large, but not too small either.

The three of them couldn’t finish it all.

After dividing the cake among An’an, Jiang Zhiduo, and herself, she saved the rest to enjoy later.

After eating the cake and longevity noodles, Chuxia became curious about An’an’s other gift, “An’an, what’s in this small box you gave me?”

“Mommy, just open it and see.”

Chuxia carefully unwrapped the paper box and found a magenta silk scarf inside.

The material felt nice, like silk, but the color was something she felt she couldn’t wear out.

An’an and Jiang Zhiduo watched her with eager expressions, waiting for her reaction.

Chuxia licked her lips and, though somewhat reluctantly, held the scarf up to her neck, “It’s nice. Who picked this out? It’s very stylish.”

Jiang Zhida immediately raised his eyebrows proudly, “I did. An’an said he wanted red, and I thought this shade of red was the best. Bright red is too flashy and doesn’t suit your temperament.”

Chuxia:……

This color is even less suited to my temperament. I’d rather choose bright red.

No wonder Jiang Zhida always wears floral shirts with no fewer than five colors. If not for his face, his outfits would be quite awful.

Chuxia tried hard to make her smile look natural. “Dazi, the scarf you picked is really nice. But I suggest you don’t give scarves to girls so easily in the future.”

Jiang Zhida looked puzzled. “Why? I picked such a nice one. Shouldn’t I give it to them? If they see such a beautiful scarf and like it, won’t that mean I’ve won them over? Hehe.”

He even awkwardly scratched his head.

Chuxia smiled. “I’m worried that too many girls will like you. It’s not good to be too popular. If you attract too much attention, people might call you a scumbag, and that’s no good.”

Jiang Zhida nodded repeatedly. “Cousin, you’re right.”

Chuxia sighed with relief.

Most girls would probably like the scarf now, regardless of the color. But Chuxia couldn’t imagine how high one’s looks would need to be to pull off a color like magenta.

Cen Huai’an thought his mom’s smile seemed strange but couldn’t quite figure out why.

However, since she seemed genuinely happy, he smiled slightly as well.

While eating, Jiang Zhida suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Chuxia. “Cousin, didn’t you just say that all women would like the scarf I gave?”

Chuxia’s hand paused mid-air as she was serving food, and she reluctantly replied, “Yes.”

The scarf was from An’an, the color was chosen by An’an, and Jiang Zhida picked it. It was their thoughtful gesture, and Chuxia really couldn’t say anything bad about the color. She planned to find a bag or outfit to see if it would look better with the scarf.

Jiang Zhida clapped his hands. “My mom keeps nagging me about not having a proper job and scolding me every day. I don’t even dare go home. Do you think if I also give her a scarf, she might scold me less?”

Chuxia almost choked on her food, quickly looked up, and seeing that he was serious about the gift, tentatively suggested, “Why don’t you consider a different gift? I think lipstick would be good too.”

Lipstick colors are fewer now, mostly bright red, so it’s hard to go wrong.

Yang Mei wasn’t someone who couldn’t match colors; her job required her to pay great attention to dressing, ensuring it matched her status.

Jiang Zhida’s eyes lit up. “Lipstick sounds good too! I’ll see if I can find a lipstick in the same color as the scarf!”

Chuxia said, “I think a classic red lipstick would be quite good.”

Jiang Zhida waved his hand. “That color is everywhere on the street. It’s not special enough.”

Chuxia: Alright, I’ve tried my best. I hope that Aunt Yang will like the lipstick when she gets it.

Aside from Jiang Zhida’s obsession with magenta, Chuxia and An’an had a good time at dinner.

After asking An’an, Chuxia also had Jiang Zhida bring some cake to Grandpa Jiang.

The leftover cake was planned to be eaten in the evening. With summer here, it’s hard to keep cakes fresh.

After leaving Chuxia and An’an’s home, Jiang Zhida first went to the department store but couldn’t find the lipstick color he wanted.

He then went to a foreign exchange store and finally bought a magenta lipstick.

Carrying the lipstick, he hummed a song and went to Grandpa Jiang’s house, then dropped off the cake and rode to the small shop in the alley, calling Cen Zhengnian.

As expected, Cen Zhengnian didn’t answer, but he told the guard to have Cen Zhengnian call back when he had time.

Jiang Zhida rode back home, humming a song.

Uncle Jiang’s house and Grandpa Jiang’s house were not far apart, allocated by the unit.

Since both Uncle Jiang and Yang Mei had high positions, their allocated house was quite spacious.

At this time, no one was at home. Both Uncle Jiang and Yang Mei were at work.

In the evening, when Yang Mei came home and saw Jiang Zhida lounging on the sofa watching TV, she instantly exploded with anger and threw her bag at him.

“Look at you! Either watching TV at home or running around. Can’t you find a proper job? Even if you’re doing business like your brother, it’s better than this. Look at you now; everyone in the compound says you’re a good-for-nothing!”

Jiang Zhida was used to hearing these complaints and rubbed his ears, still smiling. “Mom, isn’t it enough that I have an accomplished brother and sister? Let them say what they want. I haven’t done anything immoral. I just haven’t found something I like to do.”

Yang Mei raised her hand to hit him again. Jiang Zhida quickly pulled out a lipstick. “Mom, Mom, don’t hit me. Look at what I bought for you!”

Yang Mei lowered her hand and frowned at the lipstick in his hand. “Lipstick? Why did you think of buying this?”

“It’s Cousin’s birthday today, and I bought her a scarf in this color, which she really liked. I thought I’d get one for you too, but Cousin said you might prefer lipstick, so I bought you this. Considering my filial piety, could you not scold me too much?”

Yang Mei’s frown deepened as she looked at Jiang Zhida choice of clothing. She didn’t trust his taste.

But she couldn’t discourage her son’s good intentions. Yang Mei took the lipstick from Jiang Zhida.

She unscrewed the cap and looked at the color, pausing for a moment.

“This color, was it recommended by your cousin?”

Yang Mei was skeptical.

She had seen Chuxia; her dressing was always appropriate, and she matched her outfits well.

She wouldn’t pick such a challenging color for lipstick.

“No, my cousin wanted me to buy classic red. I felt that color was too common and wouldn’t stand out.”

Yang Mei applied the lipstick on her lips and asked Jiang Zhida, “Is this color special? Does it look good?”

Jiang Zhida nodded without hesitation, looking sincere. “It looks good!”

Yang Mei: Her son’s taste is hopeless.

“Good? Can’t you see it doesn’t match my clothes at all? If I go out with this lipstick, won’t people laugh at me?”

Yang Mei slapped him on the back. “From now on, don’t ever pick this color for me again. It’s lucky that your cousin is kind enough to compliment your taste for this color of scarf!”

She could guess this was a birthday gift, and Chuxia’s kindness meant she didn’t want Jiang Zhida to feel his choice was wrong.

Yang Mei rubbed her forehead, looking at Jiang Zhida who still didn’t understand his mistake, feeling more and more troubled.

Luckily, a phone call saved Jiang Zhida.

He quickly ran downstairs to answer the phone, hoping to avoid further wrath from his mother.

“Hello?”

“It’s me.” On the other end of the line was the voice of Ceng Zhengnian, his brow furrowed and eyes filled with concern.

Ceng Zhengnian had instructed Chuxia to contact Dazi if she couldn’t reach him.

Worried that something might have happened to Chuxia or An’an, he immediately returned the call when he saw it was from Jiang Zhida.

Jiang Zhida glanced at the darkening sky, marveling at his second cousin’s dedication. If it were him, he wouldn’t be so diligent even if it was his job.

“Today is your wife’s birthday. You know that, right?”

Ceng Zhengnian’s hand, which was rubbing his forehead, suddenly froze.

He looked up and asked, “What’s the date today?”

“May 21st,” Jiang Zhida replied instinctively, then, with disbelief, added, “Second cousin, you seriously don’t know the date? Do you even know what year it is?”

Ceng Zhengnian didn’t respond and simply said, “Thank you.”

Then he hung up the phone with a “click.”

Jiang Zhida, listening to the busy tone, chuckled and thought, “Second cousin, go make it up to your wife. Don’t thank me too much.”

Feeling good about doing a good deed, Jiang Zhida hummed a song and headed home.

Ceng Zhengnian hung up on Jiang Zhida and immediately dialed Chuxia’s number.

As he waited for Chuxia to pick up, Ceng Zhengnian felt extremely anxious and apologetic.

He had planned to give her a gift for her birthday back in May and even wrote it down in his notebook to ensure he wouldn’t forget.

However, work had been so busy, especially during a crucial experimental phase, that he lost track of the date.

It wasn’t that he forgot Chuxia’s birthday, but rather that he forgot what day it was.

“Hello?”

Chuxia’s gentle voice came through the phone, with a slight, sweet lilt at the end.

Ceng Zhengnian snapped back to attention, lowering his hand from his forehead, and said, “Chuxia, I’m sorry. I forgot today was your birthday.”

Chuxia’s voice was naturally cheerful as she replied, “I thought something happened. It’s just a birthday; you forgot because of work. It’s okay. And now you remember, right?”

Ceng Zhengnian’s voice was filled with more guilt, “It was Dazi who reminded me.”

Chuxia’s laughter grew louder, “Do you know what An’an and Dazi got me for my birthday?”

“What?” Ceng Zhengnian, indeed distracted, asked.

“An’an and Dazi picked out a magenta silk scarf, and Dazi gave me a set of test papers from a key high school in Beijing. If someone who doesn’t like doing exercises saw that set, what do you think their reaction would be?”

Chuxia was quite happy with the gift herself, as she actually needed such papers and accepted whatever came.

However, an ordinary student who disliked doing exercises would likely have a very displeased expression.

Ceng Zhengnian couldn’t help but laugh, “Dazi meant well.”

“I know. But let me tell you, in the future, if you’re going to give me scarves or lipsticks, don’t choose magenta or pink, okay?”