Spring Night Kiss.

Cheng Yizhen also stood up and said softly to Nie Yuhuai, "I'm going up too. You should get some rest."

The other person called out to her, "Aunt Cheng."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" She stopped in her tracks.

Nie Yuhuai asked, "Is Qingjia's birthday coming up soon?"

Cheng Yizhen was somewhat surprised, her eyebrows twitching slightly: "Yes, the 8th of next month, it's kind of you to remember."

Nie Yuhuai didn't reply, but took out a dark blue velvet box from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it over: "This is a birthday present for Qingjia. Please ask Aunt Cheng to give it to her for me."

Cheng Yizhen took it, opened it, and found a pearl bracelet. The pearls were full and round, with a warm and lustrous color.

"this……"

"I bought this while I was picking out a gift for Zhiyi; it's nothing expensive," he said.

Cheng Yizhen paused for a moment, then closed the box: "Then I thank you on Qingjia's behalf."

"Okay, Aunt Cheng, get some rest." Nie Yuhuai nodded slightly, got up and left.

-

Song Qingjia sat up in bed with a yawn, and Xu Zhouye pushed the door open and came in from the outside.

"Awake?" He placed the water glass on the bedside table and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Mmm." Song Qingjia responded lazily, tilted her head, and lay down on his lap again, hugging the blanket.

She stayed up late again last night, and now she feels really lethargic. But that's the good thing about holidays; no matter how late you stay up the night before, it's okay, you can sleep in until you naturally wake up in the morning.

"What time is it?" she asked.

Two points.

Xu Zhouye played with her hair, the smooth black hair slipping through his fingers, still carrying the fresh scent of yesterday's shampoo.

Song Qingjia: "...Should we tone it down a bit in the future?"

Sleeping until noon every day is really inappropriate.

Xu Zhouye raised an eyebrow: "Restrained? I've already restrained myself quite a bit, didn't you notice?"

Song Qingjia: "?"

"Honey, it's not my fault that you have so much stamina."

Seeing that he was about to continue talking, Song Qingjia quickly climbed off his lap: "Okay, stop talking, I'm going to wash up."

Xu Zhouye followed him to the bathroom door and leaned against the door frame.

"Which one do you want to wear today? I'll go get it for you."

While squeezing toothpaste, Song Qingjia said, "Whatever."

Xu Zhouye replied with an "okay," and turned to walk towards the walk-in closet. Opening the closet door, he saw that she now occupied more than half of what should have been his wardrobe.

He touched each item one by one, and a strange sense of satisfaction arose in his heart, which gradually spread and made him feel comfortable all over.

Song Qingjia has excellent taste; every dress she wears is beautiful. This made him hesitate for a long time before finally choosing a black square-neck fitted long dress.

The first time I saw her, she was wearing a black dress, like an elf in the night, so beautiful she seemed otherworldly.

Xu Zhouye curled the corners of her lips, picked up the dress, and walked out of the dressing room.

Song Qingjia came out of the bathroom, glanced at the dress on the bed, and paused: "Dressed so formally, where are you going?"

Xu Zhouye handed her a water glass: "Drink some warm water to soothe your nerves first."

She took it and sipped the cup slowly.

"I'll take you somewhere tonight," he said, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.

Song Qingjia: "Oh."

"Such a lukewarm response?" He tilted his head. "Don't you want to know where it is?"

Song Qingjia put down her water glass and looked up at him: "You'll know when you get there." She paused for a moment, "You can't bear to sell me off."

-

The car was parked in an inconspicuous gray building on the East Fourth Ring Road in Jingzhou. There was no sign at the entrance, only a copper wall lamp.

After the two got out of the car, Xu Zhouye handed the key to the waiter who was waiting nearby, and then put his arm around Song Qingjia and pushed open the door.

Inside, it's a completely different world.

Unlike its unassuming exterior, the interior is remarkably modern and stylish. Linear LED strips extend along the geometric structure of the ceiling, dividing the space into clean blocks of light and shadow.

Song Qingjia looked around and realized that this was an auction house called Huanyu.

"You brought me all the way from Shanghai to Jingzhou just to come to a place like this?"

"This isn't an ordinary place." Xu Zhouye led her by the hand toward the exhibition hall. "This is an auction house under the name of Boss Shen's wife."

Song Qingjia raised an eyebrow. This was the second time she had heard about Boss Shen's wife. She was a painter and owned an auction house, and she was quite curious.

Xu Zhouye handed her an auction catalog and said, "Take a look first, and bid on anything you like."

She flipped through them and saw that most of the items were jewelry, along with some antiques, paintings, and calligraphy—all of them were top-quality treasures, quite valuable.

She closed the booklet and looked up at the person beside her: "Why did you suddenly bring me to the auction house?"

Your birthday is coming soon.

Song Qingjia was stunned for a moment. She had almost forgotten about it herself, but she didn't expect him to remember.

"So, this is for me to take pictures of my own birthday present?"

Xu Zhouye replied, "Of course not."

He leaned down, a smile playing on his lips, and said, "This is just a way to coax you. As for your birthday present, I've already prepared it in advance."

Song Qingjia hummed in agreement: "Then I'll have to make you spend a lot of money today."

"It would be my great honor."

His girlfriend's sly little expression was so cute that Xu Zhouye couldn't resist leaning down and pecking her lips.

Behind the glass door on the other side of the exhibition hall, Nie Yuhuai's face darkened instantly as he stared intently at Song Qingjia, who was smiling broadly inside.

Zheng Zhiyi followed his gaze and asked softly, "Did you see someone you know?"

Nie Yuhuai snapped out of his reverie and responded softly.

"Should we go say hello?" she asked.

Nie Yuhuai didn't answer him. He strode forward, pushed open the glass door, and walked straight towards the handsome couple.

Zheng Zhiyi frowned slightly, hesitated for a second, and then followed.

"Seika."

Song Qingjia was warning Xu Zhouye not to be affectionate in public when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

She turned her head, her gaze pausing.

What a coincidence to run into Nie Yuhuai here. And the lady beside him—she glanced at her and realized she must be his arranged marriage partner, the daughter of the Zheng family.

Nie Yuhuai walked up to her, his tone softening slightly: "Why didn't you contact me... or your family after you returned to Jingzhou?"

Song Qingjia said, "It was a last-minute decision; I won't be staying for more than a few days."

Well, in front of others, I'll give him face. She unusually refrained from arguing with him.

But just because she doesn't want to cause trouble doesn't mean Xu Zhouye will stay quiet.

The moment he saw Nie Yuhuai, he went into high alert, secretly wrapping his arm around Song Qingjia's waist, silently asserting his dominance.

At this point, he said sarcastically, "Mr. Nie, you're being quite nosy. Do I have to report to you that my girlfriend and I are going back to Jingzhou?"

Nie Yuhuai's expression darkened further.

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Song Qingjia slapped the hand on her waist in annoyance, but did not say anything to stop him.

Instead, Zheng Zhiyi gently spoke up to mediate: "Yu Huai, won't you introduce him to me?"