Knowing that today was also Gu Zheng's birthday, Qiao Xi's first thought was that it had nothing to do with her. Her second thought was that she should get him a birthday present as well. After all, she still had to rely on Gu Zheng to taste food.
At the thought of this, she took a taxi and went straight to the nearest internet cafe.
At the same time, Gu Zheng was sitting on the sofa in the apartment, looking at the gift Black Tide had given him with a frown.
There was a pair of silver cufflinks and a greeting card.
The card said, "Happy birthday." The signature belonged to Black Tide. The handwriting was bold and unrestrained.
Gu Zheng put the card aside and picked up one side of the cufflinks. The silver cufflink had complicated patterns on it. When looked at carefully, it looked like a coiled five-clawed dragon. The dragon's eyes were embedded with shining obsidians. After looking at it for a long time, the dragon seemed to come alive, making others feel as though they were flying in between clouds.
Gu Zheng massaged the space between his eyebrows.
The cufflinks were nice, but they were too showy. They were more suitable for young people in their 20s.
In the past, Black Tide would always send him an animation of a person waving their lightsticks according to the rhythm of the music. Why was it different this year? Could it be that she felt she had been asking him too many questions recently?
When he thought about this, he could not help but think of Qiao Xi. Black Tide had only asked him a few questions yet she knew how to give him a gift to express her gratitude, but what about Qiao Xi? She clearly still needed him to treat her illness that made whatever she eat bitter, yet she did not even say anything to him. Did she still want him to help treat her? He would let her taste only bitter things for the rest of her life!
Ding!
The notification sound of a new email pulled Gu Zheng out of his negative emotions. He casually clicked on it and saw two words. [Happy birthday!]
Immediately after, there was another line of words. [I wish you happiness every day. I wish you all the best!]
Gu Zheng sneered. He was just about to mock the person who had sent such an old-fashioned and dull blessing when he saw the signature below. "Qiao Xi."
Gu Zheng, "..."
This blessing was actually quite good. It was simple and sincere.
However, Qiao Xi wanted to brush him off with just an email? Was he that easy to fool? Gu Zheng tried his best to ignore the corners of his mouth that were curled up. He continued reading the email and finally found a link at the bottom.
He clicked on it and the familiar birthday song played. In the middle of the screen was a colorful figure waving a light stick along to the rhythm of the music.
Looking at this familiar scene, Gu Zheng was stunned.
This... Did Black Tide not send him this every year? She said that it was exclusively made? Various emotions flashed across Gu Zheng's eyes. He grabbed his car keys and returned to Longwan Residential without hesitation.
Back in Longwan Residential, Gu Zheng went straight to the third floor as soon as he entered. Qiao Xi's tools were still placed in the corner. He looked through them one by one and finally found a stack of designs that had been modified countless times. This design was exactly the same as the cufflinks he received.
"Heh."
Gu Zheng chuckled with an inexplicable meaning.
Black Tide... Qiao Xi... It turned out that Black Tide was Qiao Xi, and Qiao Xi was Black Tide.
Who would have thought that the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, who was tossed to the countryside, would be a hacker? They were clearly two people who should have nothing to do with each other, yet she and he were strangely connected.
However, the smile on Gu Zheng's face soon vanished. He recalled that Qiao Xi had sent him a message earlier asking him what it meant to like someone. How did he answer her then? Did he warn her not to like anyone?!
If he had a device that could allow him to time travel, he would definitely return to that moment and slap himself! What kind of stupid words did he say?!
When he found out that Black Tide was Qiao Xi, Gu Zheng was surprised. However, there was an indescribable and obscure feeling under his surprise.
In Gu Zheng's heart, Qiao Xi was like a floating cloud. He kept having the feeling that she would suddenly float away at any time without leaving a trace. They had nothing to do with each other apart from their marriage certificate.
Now, however, he knew that Qiao Xi was Black Tide—the Black Tide he had known for many years. In Gu Zheng's heart, his relationship with Qiao Xi was like a kite with a string or like a large tree that had taken root—steady and reliable.
...
When Song Shiyu received Gu Zheng's call, he was uneasy. He knew that the things Qiao Xi had requested earlier were not to make Gu Zheng a gift. He kept feeling like there was a knife hanging over his head and it might just drop anytime soon.
Hence, he could not even tell the difference in Gu Zheng's tone and apologized directly. "President, I'm sorry. I misunderstood Young Madam. If you want to hit or scold me, go ahead. As long as you don't deduct my bonus for this year, you can punish me however you like."
Gu Zheng knew that he was apologizing for the birthday gift, but without Song Shiyu, he might not have had the chance to discover Qiao Xi's secret.
"Five minutes. Find Young Madam if you want to make up for your mistakes."
Song Shiyu did not expect the punishment to be so simple. He agreed without hesitation. "Alright, I'll do it right away!"
After the call ended, Song Shiyu finally realized that Gu Zheng's tone was off... He did not sound angry but seemed to be in a good mood. Had he gone mad from anger?