Gorgeous Female Tenants

Chapter 151: Happy Birthday

Leaving Dragon Tiger Group, Gu Xiangyi’s face was always adorned with a smile that, upon closer inspection, seemed as staged as the smile of a model in a stunning poster, somewhat lacking in authenticity.

Her starry eyes held a faint glimmer of tears, making them even more captivating.

Xu Xiangbei silently pondered that Gu Xiangyi should be quite happy about securing the chip contract, yet why has she become so sentimental?

"Are we going straight home?"

Gu Xiangyi lowered her eyes, her voice turning gentle, "Could you take me to the zoo in the southern part of town?"

Xu Xiangbei glanced curiously at Gu Xiangyi, "Want to go to the zoo? Is it to see the lions and tigers? You certainly have refined tastes."

Gu Xiangyi didn’t respond, her lips still wore that indifferent smile.

"Alright, little sis, your brother will take you to see the lions and tigers."

Despite his playful words, Xu Xiangbei’s actions were swift, as he hit the accelerator, the Ferrari transforming into a red lightning bolt, heading towards the city zoo.

It’s not the weekend today, so the zoo isn’t very crowded. The entrance and parking lot appeared empty, making it easy to find a parking spot.

Getting out of the car, Gu Xiangyi’s complexion turned rosier, her smile innocent and romantic, the complexity in her eyes suddenly cleared, as if traversing time back to childhood, restoring that heart long obscured by worldly dust.

Disregarding the risk of damaging her blue tasseled cheongsam or twisting her ankle in seven-inch heels, she quickly ran to the ticket booth and bought two tickets.

Her smile innocent and romantic, she waved at Xu Xiangbei behind her, "Hurry up, let’s go see the cute animals together."

With no choice, Xu Xiangbei followed closely, for the sake of Gu Xiangyi’s joy.

Xu Xiangbei took the ticket handed to him, guessing carelessly, "Is this considered my reward?"

"Of course, you helped me a lot today, allowing us to obtain this order. With this order, our company’s performance can double this year, and it will be a good account to Uncle Liu. Your merit is so great, I’ve brought you to the zoo to have fun, let me know what you want to eat, today it’s on me, don’t be shy with me."

Glimpsing at the stalls selling fried skewers, cold jelly dishes, sugar figurines, the kind of snacks kids love, Xu Xiangbei wasn’t hungry.

"I don’t want to eat anything, just buy me a bottle of mineral water."

Unknowingly, Gu Xiangyi linked arms with Xu Xiangbei, enthusiastically admiring the enchanting scenery of the zoo. By a simple, old stone bridge, her eyes lit up again.

Wearing her seven-inch heels, she skipped along, arriving at a stall selling candied hawthorns, and bought two sticks.

"That uncle’s candied hawthorns are especially sweet, the best, I loved eating them when I was a kid. We each have a stick, but you can’t snatch mine!"

Xu Xiangbei didn’t want to eat even one, but was forced by Gu Xiangyi to accept a stick of candied hawthorn in his mouth. Helplessly, he took a bite, finding the sweet exterior full of sugar, while the hawthorn inside was so sour it made him wince.

Seeing Xu Xiangbei’s sour expression while eating the candied hawthorn, Gu Xiangyi laughed heartily, "Haha, isn’t it sour? My first time eating candied hawthorn was just like this, so sour my teeth nearly fell out. But by the second bite, it won’t feel as sour, and later, I gradually came to enjoy this sour taste, it’s strong and flavorful."

Xu Xiangbei tried another bite, indeed, as Gu Xiangyi said, it wasn’t as sour, though he still wasn’t used to it and handed the remaining candied hawthorn to Gu Xiangyi.

Gu Xiangyi munched with elegance, her face covered in red sugar, smiling like a child.

In the zoo, there was a huge, beautiful artificial lake, the water clear as a mirror, with some visitors gliding on boats enjoying the lovely scenery.

"Let’s go boating together, shall we?"

"Sure, boating is definitely more fun than watching those little animals."

At the boat rental place, they rented a small boat and sat side by side, pedaling the wheel with their feet, the boat slowly set sail.

Looking at the shimmering lake surface, Gu Xiangyi seemed to fall into contemplation.

Xu Xiangbei lit a cigarette, exhaled a smoke ring, and handed one to Gu Xiangyi, speaking softly, "Why did you suddenly want to come to the zoo? It’s not quite like your style."

Receiving the cigarette from Xu Xiangbei, Gu Xiangyi finally opened up, "Do you know what my sister and I wished for most when we were little on our birthdays?"

"Birthday celebrations? Could it be coming to the zoo?"

Gu Xiangyi smiled, twirling her delicate hair, gazing into the distance, her expression enchanted.

"Yes, to come to the zoo. Other children have their parents, grandparents, taking them to the zoo. The whole family, adults and kids, carrying gifts, laughter, visiting the zoo. But my sister and I didn’t have that, no one remembered our birthdays, no one gave us gifts, even less so to take us to the zoo."

"Once on my birthday, I secretly took my sister to the zoo. That day at the zoo entrance, there was a cute Mickey Mouse doll, so tall, as tall as a ten-story building. My sister and I spent the day playing, and after returning home, I got a vicious scolding from my uncle, but I didn’t cry, because I was happy that day."

Xu Xiangbei looked at Gu Xiangyi with pity, her profile extraordinarily graceful and charming, yet her smile was tragically beautiful.

"I had no parents from a young age, no one to accompany me to learn piano, painting, no one to teach me makeup, how to be a lady, I had to strive all by myself. As a child, my cousin Ah Jie always bullied me, I’d cry and ask why, and he’d nonchalantly smile and say, ’Because you have no parents, children without parents are destined to be bullied.’

A line of sparkling tears rolled down her cheeks, Gu Xiangyi pretended to be troubled by sand and quickly used a tissue to wipe them away.

"You know why I work so hard, willingly risking being taken advantage of to negotiate deals. It’s not because I’m shameless, or love money, but because I know if I want success, I have to do this. To stand out in the Gu Family, I must."

With her tissues exhausted, Xu Xiangbei offered her his to gently wipe the red sugar from her lips and the tears from her face, these fiery red candied hawthorns sweetened the mouth, but could not sweeten the heart.

Xu Xiangbei thought of something, "Is today your sisters’ birthday?"

Gu Xiangyi smiled, "You guessed right, you’re not as dumb as you seem."

Xu Xiangbei stealthily slipped an arm around Gu Xiangyi’s soft shoulders from behind, gently pulling her into his embrace, "Since today is your birthday, let me wish you a happy birthday first, and later when we go back, let’s buy a big cake, alright?"