Chapter 134: Ahead of Schedule
Upon hearing his wife’s words, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but say, "Alright, we’ll go back together tomorrow then."
Yang Liu’s eyes lit up at the news, "Really, A Cheng, you’re finished with your tasks?"
"Yes, all done, so let’s head back together. Leaving the day after tomorrow would be a bit rushed."
This trip to Shangjing was mainly to visit Grandma, but despite Grandma being kind to Liu’er, others still treated her the same way, making Liu’er unhappy at the Fang Family’s residence. Fang Cheng felt he owed his wife and wanted to take her away from Shangjing as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Ding Yuejun had just finished packing when she slapped her forehead, looking regretful.
"Mom, what’s wrong?"
Ding Yuejun looked at her daughter with a guilty expression and said, "I completely forgot, tomorrow is your birthday, and I just realized it now."
Upon hearing her mother’s words, Yiyi also realized that tomorrow was the sixteenth of the lunar month and her birthday. Yet she hadn’t really celebrated her birthday before and didn’t feel strongly about it either. "Mom, once we’re home tomorrow, we can just cook a bowl of noodles casually."
Since they had taken the train on the way here, this time they chose to buy plane tickets for their return, followed by a bus ride back to Houshan Town.
Hearing her daughter’s words, Ding Yuejun replied, "No, we can’t do it so casually. I heard there’s something called birthday cake now. Come, I’ll take you to get one and try its taste. It’s rare to come to Shangjing, of course, we have to buy something delicious." Since they couldn’t afford to celebrate her birthday before, now that they had the means, she wouldn’t let her daughter be wronged.
Seeing her mother’s enthusiasm, Yiyi didn’t refuse, nodding with a smile in agreement, and the two headed out together.
"Yiyi, what do you think of this cake?"
Ding Yuejun eagerly asked her daughter while pointing to a cream cake.
"Good, let’s get this one."
Nowadays, cakes were mostly simply styled floral cream cakes, but the one Ding Yuejun chose was quite novel among them, topped with two adorable little rabbits.
Seeing her daughter also liked it, Ding Yuejun was delighted and immediately paid for the cake.
"Yiyi, let’s head back now. Once we’re at the hotel, we’ll eat the cake."
"Okay."
Just as the mother and daughter were about to head back, a voice nearby called uncertainly, "Yiyi?"
Upon hearing the voice, Yiyi initially thought she had misheard until she turned around and saw Gu Tingyu, realizing she hadn’t imagined it—it really was him.
"Gu Tingyu, why are you here?"
Seeing the young girl’s excited expression, Gu Tingyu couldn’t help but smile, "I should be the one asking you, what brings you here?" He said as he turned to look at Ding Yuejun, quickly calling out "Aunt Ding."
"Hello."
Ding Yuejun greeted Gu Tingyu with a smile, then glanced at her daughter in puzzlement, noticing how excited Yiyi was upon seeing the handsome young man before her.
Yiyi was indeed quite excited; she hadn’t expected to run into Gu Tingyu here. She ran up to him with a soft smile, her eyebrows lively and joyous, "My mom and I came to Shangjing for some business, planning to go back tomorrow. It’s great to see you before leaving; we haven’t met for a long time."
"You should have written to me earlier; I could have hosted you."
Yiyi indeed knew Gu Tingyu was in Shangjing, but in their last correspondence, Gu Tingyu mentioned he had gone on a mission and wouldn’t return for over two months, so she assumed he was still on his mission.
"I thought you were on a mission; otherwise, I’d have written earlier."
Yiyi felt a bit regretful; had she known Gu Tingyu was in Shangjing, she would have met him much sooner, not just on the day before her departure.
Seeing the young girl’s regretful expression, Gu Tingyu couldn’t help but smile, "It’s alright, I’ll come visit you when I have time next."
Ding Yuejun watched her daughter chatting familiarly with Gu Tingyu, puzzled as they had only met twice but seemed quite close.
"Xiao Gu, since we’ve run into each other, why not have some tea together?"
Upon hearing this from Ding Yuejun, Gu Tingyu quickly agreed, "Sure," and led the mother and daughter to a teahouse he was familiar with.
"My grandpa enjoys coming here for tea; the ambiance is nice, and the tea is good."
Seeing the quaint environment, Ding Yuejun quite liked it.
Yiyi wasn’t particularly adept at tea drinking, but given the current moment with no other place to sit, enjoying some tea here was quite pleasant.
Then Gu Tingyu noticed the cake in Ding Yuejun’s hand and couldn’t help asking, "Aunt Ding, haven’t you had dinner?"
"We have; the cake’s for Yiyi. Tomorrow’s her birthday, but since we’re leaving tomorrow, we got the cake in advance tonight."
After hearing Ding Yuejun’s words, Gu Tingyu turned to Yiyi and said, "Happy birthday."
"Thank you, even though it’s tomorrow, I’m accepting your wishes in advance."
Once the Pu’er tea was served, Gu Tingyu poured tea for Yiyi and her mother, then filled his own cup last.
"Mom, let’s have the cake here; Gu Tingyu can share it with us, and we won’t waste such a large cake."
Ding Yuejun found this reasonable and began slicing the cake.
Gu Tingyu hesitated, wanting to say he didn’t like sweets, but seeing Yiyi’s hopeful expression, he refrained from speaking and ultimately ate two pieces.
Seeing Gu Tingyu eat the cake made Yiyi really happy, even though tomorrow was her birthday, celebrating a bit early was perfectly fine since she was spending it with Gu Tingyu.
Ding Yuejun noted her daughter’s expression, recalling her attitude towards Gu Tingyu last time, giving her some food for thought.
Once they finished the tea, Gu Tingyu escorted the mother and daughter back to their hotel, "I’ll come see you off tomorrow. Yiyi, Aunt Ding, goodnight."
"Goodnight, Xiao Gu, but don’t trouble yourself to send us off tomorrow."
Gu Tingyu replied with a smile, "Aunt Ding, don’t worry, I’ll come by in the morning." Saying that, he waved them goodbye.
Once inside the room, Ding Yuejun had Yiyi sit down, "Yiyi, what’s the deal with this Gu Tingyu? You seem familiar with him."
Yiyi explained to her mother about her correspondence with Gu Tingyu.
"So that’s it."
Hearing this, Ding Yuejun felt relieved and then urged her daughter to sleep, "We have to get up early tomorrow, you should rest."
"Alright."
The next day, Yiyi and her mother got ready and planned to head straight to the airport.