Chapter 47: Making Up for the Past

"Sorry about that." The owner of the bakery looked somewhat embarrassed.

Xu Su'an didn't mind. "It's fine. By the way, can you add one of those chibi-style fondant figures?"

"Sure, I'll teach you."

Xu Su'an spent the entire morning at the bakery making the cake base and working on the fondant. Naturally, quite a bit of it went to waste.

When the little fondant figurine finally took shape, his expressionless face finally wore a hint of a smile.

"For your first time, being able to make it look this much like the person is already quite impressive."

It was past three in the afternoon when Xu Su'an finally left the bakery and returned to his apartment.

After placing the cake in the refrigerator, he hurriedly rushed to the flower shop near the apartment. The flowers this morning were ones he had arranged for someone else to deliver. But the flowers for her birthday—those he had to wrap himself.

A birthday missed for four years, plus this year, made it five.

Until it was time to get off work, Qiao Xu had not caught a single glimpse of Xu Su'an. He hadn't replied to her messages either. This made Qiao Xu wonder if her words earlier today had somehow hurt his young and childish heart.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Xu-Xu, darling, time to clock out."

Qiao Xu packed her things. "Let's go. My cousin and the others are already on their way."

Upon reaching the parking lot, Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin handed their gifts to Qiao Xu. "Our dear Xu-Xu is twenty-eight already. Make an effort to let us attend your wedding banquet by the time you're thirty."

Qiao Xu teased, "If you're that keen on attending a wedding banquet, you could always get engaged and married to my cousin."

"What's the fun in eating at someone else's wedding? Much better to have our own." Ye Yurou gave her a knowing look. "Just wait, tonight I'll propose to your cousin and make you call me cousin-in-law fair and square."

Meng Zhe had chosen the same hotel for dinner where Qiao Xu had gathered with her classmates a couple of days ago. As luck would have it, as soon as they stepped inside, they ran into He Yanxun again.

Walking alongside Qiao Xu were two young men in their early twenties, both employees from Meng Zhe's auto repair shop.

"Qiao Xu, so this is the type you go for."

Qiao Xu's brows twitched. "Mr. He."

"Out for dinner? Your ex-boyfriend and pursuer isn't tagging along?" He Yanxun teased with a playful glint in his eye.

Meanwhile, Si Shen beside him wore an icy expression. He had received a video from Xu Su'an not long ago showing him tinkering with flowers, only to find out that the man had gone out on a date with someone else—bringing two companions along for good measure.

"No, he's busy."

"Sister Xu, Brother Zhe asked me to go outside and help him bring something in," whispered the young man standing closest to Qiao Xu.

Qiao Xu smiled faintly. "Alright, you guys go ahead. I'll head to the private dining room first."

After offering He Yanxun a polite smile, Qiao Xu turned to head toward the dining room.

"Miss Qiao."

Qiao Xu looked back. "Are you calling me?"

"If you like Xiao An, you should still maintain some distance from other men. If you don't like him, make it clear as soon as possible."

With that, Si Shen took He Yanxun's hand and walked away.

Qiao Xu stood frozen in place. "What a bizarre person."

Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin hurried over and greeted He Yanxun.

"Xu-Xu, what's wrong? What did Mr. He say to you?"

"Oh my god, are Mr. He and that handsome guy next to him a couple?"

"They look quite well-matched."

Qiao Xu figured Si Shen must have misunderstood, but she saw no need to explain. They weren't close anyway.

"I suppose so."

"Come on, let's go order the food."

Qiao Xu sent a text message to Xu Su'an: [Have you eaten yet?]

No reply.

[Remember to eat.]

Still no reply.

Meng Zhe pushed in a four-tier cake, followed by his two employees carrying four large gift boxes.

"You missed out on celebrating your birthday for four years, so we're making up for all of them today."

Qiao Xu rubbed her temples in dismay. "This cake is big enough for our entire company to share."

Meng Zhe didn't mind at all. "No worries, we can hand out the rest to the hotel restaurant staff later."

They pushed the cake aside, and Qiao Xu snapped a picture to send to Xu Su'an.

[My cousin is completely over the top.]

This time, Xu Su'an replied: [I'm waiting for you at your place with Cherry.]

He also attached a photo of himself holding Cherry downstairs while eating wontons. Compared to the sixteen dishes on their table, it looked rather pitiful.

[Okay, wait for me then.]

Qiao Xu always kept her birthdays simple and disliked noisy, chaotic celebrations. After finishing dinner, she lit the candles and made her wish.

Out of the four-tier cake, Meng Zhe only kept the small topmost tier, having the hotel staff distribute the rest. Qiao Xu only took a symbolic bite; she had a hunch that Xu Su'an was planning to celebrate her birthday with her properly.

"Xu-Xu, how come President Xu isn't here for your birthday?"

Fang Kexin slid her chair closer to Qiao Xu. Ye Yurou, on the other hand, had already moved over to sit right beside Meng Zhe the moment he appeared. Women deeply in love were truly impulsive.

"He probably wants to celebrate my birthday with me alone."

Knowing Qiao Xu was in a rush to head home, the others didn't try to hold her back. However, the four large gift boxes from Meng Zhe, along with the ones from his employees and Ye Yurou's group, plus various gifts from closer colleagues at the office, ended up filling the entire back seat of her mini electric scooter.

Her head ached just looking at it—how on earth was she supposed to get all of this home?

When Qiao Xu drove back home, she noticed that yesterday's supercar was still parked in its original spot. Could it really be his? So he had been staying around here all last night? The last time Xu Su'an dropped her off, he hadn't been driving this car.

She couldn't carry the gifts in the back seat, so she grabbed only the presents from Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin and headed upstairs.

Reaching her door, she punched in the password and unlocked it.

The apartment was pitch dark—no person, and no dog.

"Xu Su'an?"

Qiao Xu switched on the lights. It was completely empty, exactly as she had left it this morning.

Before she could dial his number, she heard a commotion from outside the door.

"Xu Su'an, where did you go?"

No one was there. Only a dog wearing a ribbon tied around its neck.

Qiao Xu squatted down to scoop it into her arms. "Where's your dad?"

Cherry lunged toward the slightly ajar door across the hall, and Qiao Xu almost lost her grip.

"Little rascal, what are you doing?"

Carrying the dog, Qiao Xu peeked in from the doorway before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

So the car downstairs really was his. Instead of living in his massive villa, he chose to stay in her rundown little apartment opposite hers.

The interior was dark, and the curtains remained drawn. Without her glasses, Qiao Xu's vision was slightly blurred.

"Xu Su'an, where's the light switch?"

*Click*—A blue and yellow flame sparked to life. The coffee table was laden with fresh flowers, gifts, and a strawberry cake.

"Wife, stop holding the dog and come hold me instead."

Qiao Xu carried the dog over and sat down beside him. The cake on the table clearly wasn't store-bought. "You skipped work the entire day just to bake a cake?"

The man proudly demanded a kiss from her. "Of course. My wife's birthday cake has to be made by me."

Qiao Xu returned his kiss. "Thank you."

Xu Su'an scooped the dog out of her arms and tossed it aside, pulling her onto his lap. "Darling, I don't want to hear you say thank you to me."

"Make a wish. You need to make five wishes this year to make up for the past four."

Qiao Xu's clasped hands froze. "You're being way too greedy."

Xu Su'an pressed his palm over her fair hands and rested his cheek against hers. "Be a good girl, I'll make the wishes together with you."