‘Are you thinking of gifting him something? I think it’s a great idea to just gift yourself to him.’ When Yan read the message, she was so shocked that she instantly felt faint. Oh my God, why on earth is Lin Xuzheng saying these kinds of things? It’s embarrassing just listening to it, alright? Thus, she decided to ignore him and didn’t even bother to answer his message.
Even so, Lin Xuezheng took the initiative to send her another message. ‘Yan, why did you suddenly think of giving Han Qing a present?’
When she read his message, she was tempted to ignore it. After mulling over it, she decided to answer anyway. ‘It’s nothing; I just thought that we’ve been together for quite a while, but we don’t have any mementos to show for it. So… I wanted to give him something.’
A memento? The moment he saw those words, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his heart. When he first saw the word ‘present’, he thought about it carefully, then realized that his best friend’s birthday was going to come up soon. At first, he was afraid that Yan was thinking of celebrating his best friend’s birthday. However, now that his concern had been allayed, he naturally felt relieved.
Moreover, her reply was excellent—it did not reveal anything. Thus, he did not doubt her. After all, she was a young lady. There was nothing wrong with a young lady like her thinking of giving something to her boyfriend as a memento while they were in a relationship. Still, he felt that he needed to mention it to her. ‘Yan, you aren’t thinking of giving Han Qing a gift in conjunction with any special occasions, right?’
Although he did not mention the word ‘birthday’ directly and only mentioned ‘special occasions’ in general, he believed that if she had that sort of idea, she would definitely associate the two together. Still, each person’s thought processes varied. How could she understand his actual intentions? When he mentioned special occasions, all she thought was, Are there any holidays coming up soon?
After doing some calculations, she shook her head. ‘But, there are no upcoming holidays to speak of.’
Seeing that, he finally felt utterly relieved. It seemed like she merely wanted to give a memento to him. Thus, he discussed it with her seriously. ‘In all the time I’ve known Han Qing, I’ve never seen him hold any interest in anything. So, I suggest you give up on the idea of giving him something he likes. You should find something that is collectible or has sentimental value instead. It should be something that can represent the both of you.’
‘Huh?’ Yan was very surprised by his suggestions. ‘Xuzheng, how is it that you know so much? You’re amazing.’ As soon as she sent the message, she realized that she had misspoken. Lin Xuzheng held deep affection toward his wife. After her death, he had been depressed. Moreover, he refused to remarry, nor allow any other woman to approach him. Thus, it can be seen that he had been very attentive toward his wife. Perhaps, he had previously done these things for her.
Although she knew she had misspoken, there was no chance for her to retrieve her message. Besides, if she withdrew her message now, it would only make it more conspicuous. If she was lucky, he had not even thought about it. However, if he saw her withdraw her message, it might remind him of his sadness. Therefore, she could only pretend as if nothing had happened and continued with her next question. ‘Then, do you have any good suggestions?’
For a moment, he had been reminded of his late wife. When they were still together, he had been the one who thought of these things. However, his late wife was just like Yan. She would occasionally buy some mementos and souvenirs, saying that they should cherish the memories they created together. The memories were both sweet and bittersweet, yet at the same time, it brought happiness.
Feeling as if he had returned to the time when he and his late wife had just gotten together, he began to type; his fingers flew across the screen. Then, he started telling Yan about the things his late wife had done, one by one. ‘Nothing is specific, but the places the two of you have been to together have sentimental value. It can also be applied to a precious memory you share. In short, there are many kinds of things. As to what the gift is, I can’t give you any further suggestions. After all, the two of you are the ones in the relationship. You know better than I do what you’ve experienced together.’
She stared at the words blankly for a long time. That’s right; I should know best what we’ve experienced. ‘I got it. Thanks for giving me the answer, Xuzheng.’
Then, she placed her phone aside and began to reminiscence about what they had experienced together. The places they have been to together were not many. Besides, the only time they had gone on a trip by themselves was during the vacation Han Muzi had arranged for them. Unfortunately… she had not thought of buying any souvenirs while they were on the little island.
At that time, there were all sorts of stuff being sold on the island. Why didn’t I think of buying something then? There’s no point only thinking about it now! Sigh. Yan held her head in her hands. This is such a headache.
Two days later, the travel agency called her up to inform her that the photo album from their vacation was ready and asked her to find a time to pick it up. The moment she got the call, she decided to head there since she had nothing else to do anyway. Thus, she went to pick up her photo album in the afternoon.
When she received the photo album, Yan felt inspired. Although the things she and Han Qing had experienced together were not many, they still had some experiences to speak of. Using these experiences, she could create a book out of them by recording them down. It would also serve as a memento for both of them. Simply thinking about it made her happy.
“By the way, this is a small gift of local specialties, Mrs. Han. It’s something our company had prepared for you and President Han.”
There was a free gift representing the local specialty! She was pleasantly surprised. After receiving the gift, she looked very happy. “Your company has thoughtfully prepared for everything! Thanks! I love it!”
The staff member laughed heartily. “It’s great that you like it, Mrs. Han. If so, I hope you and President Han will approach our company again the next time you want to go on another trip. If you have friends who are interested, please do introduce them to our company too!”
“No problem,” Yan promised generously. Afterward, the staff member asked her to leave a good review for their company on a mobile application. Not only did she not refuse their request, but she also wrote a long evaluation, exaggeratedly praising the work performance displayed by the company as well as the staff members.
By the end of it, the staff member was dizzy with satisfaction and left happily; she was floating on cloud nine. Yan then brought the bag home with her after the staff member left. Feeling inspired, she quickly took out her notebook and started to draft out her plan.
After doing some calculations, she found that there was not enough time left as Han Qing’s birthday was only a week away. Thus, she had no choice but to burn the midnight oil to finish in time.
As Han Qing didn’t lack for anything, she did not bother to consider the monetary value or practicality of the gift she was making for him. Instead, she made it purely for its sentimental value. For that, she also folded 9,999 paper cranes.
However, it was difficult to fold paper cranes, not to mention 9,999 of them. The thought of folding all those paper cranes in a week was daunting, but Yan was the type that would never give up on something she set out to do. Thus, she started to fold the paper cranes all day and all night, working hard on her memento. Due to this, she stayed up all night, causing the circles under her eyes to darken.
