Stars In His Eyes

Chapter 1840: Sincerely Treating Each Other 53

Lin Deng returned in a daze, still unable to comprehend why Ye Zi was upset with him after their last meeting. Why wouldn’t she see him?

He asked He Da and Chen Ning, and they both said that Ye Zi wasn’t upset with him nor did she regret helping him.

So, after sending the letter, Lin Deng thought Ye Zi would surely meet him, but in the end, he still didn’t see her.

Time flew by, and it was soon Little Tuanyuan’s birthday.

In the two days leading up to Little Tuanyuan’s birthday, many people asked her what gift she wanted this year.

Unlike previous years, this year, Little Tuanyuan didn’t explicitly say she wanted a model or a book or an album. Instead, whenever someone asked, she would look at He Zhilan mysteriously and remain silent.

"I say, kiddo, when people ask what gift you want, why do you keep staring at me?" He Zhilan said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Do I have the answer written on my face?"

"Will mom give me whatever I want?" Little Tuanyuan tossed aside the high-tech puzzle in her hand as she spoke, got up, and sat directly next to He Zhilan.

"That depends on what you want. If you want planes and cannons, where am I supposed to get those for you!" He Zhilan nudged He Teng’s arm, asking, "Brother, your son wants planes and cannons, can you get them for him?"

He Teng was reading a military report and wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. Hearing He Zhilan call him, he looked up and asked, "A model?"

"I don’t want planes and cannons; I can’t even use them right now!" Little Tuanyuan huffed, "I want something else! But I know mom definitely won’t give it to me!"

"You haven’t even said what it is, and you already think I won’t give it to you?" He Zhilan was intrigued, "What have you wanted lately that I refused you?"

He Zhilan thought for a moment but couldn’t recall anything. She was usually generous with what her son wanted, "Last time you said you wanted a dagger, and I didn’t give it to you, but didn’t you have your dad buy it for your collection in your study!"

Cold weapons had recently become one of Little Tuanyuan’s new interests, not for playing with but for collecting.

At such a young age, having this kind of hobby, He Zhilan could only say, what a money-burning passion!

He Zhilan glanced at Little Tuanyuan, raising an eyebrow, "You’re not really thinking of buying planes and cannons to collect, are you?"

"No! Even if I could buy those, they wouldn’t fit in my study! Dad got me a few antique pistols the other day; I haven’t been interested in anything like that lately." Little Tuanyuan shook her head, "Mom, what I want is simple. Just say whether you’ll agree to give it or not."

"You tell me what you want first." No way was He Zhilan going to let her son lead her around.

"You have to promise to give it to me first, then I’ll tell you." Little Tuanyuan was, after all, a highly intelligent child, not as easy to coax as other kids.

"Then you better not say it for life, because I won’t listen!" He Zhilan spread her hands, showcasing a defiant ’what can you do’ expression. Seeing Little Tuanyuan look as if he’d swallowed a fly, she giggled with satisfaction and leaned into He Teng, "Look at that, your son trying to compete with me! I’ve eaten more salt than he’s eaten rice!"

He Teng shook his head, ruffling his little wife’s hair helplessly. The older she got, the more childish she became, continually sparring with their son. Sometimes, he felt as though their family of three was composed of a father, daughter, and son, rather than a father, mother, and son.