“Thank you. I like them all. Don’t be so extravagant in the future. I feel like I am being kept by you now.” Li Li touched his nose sheepishly.
u Beibei glanced at Li Li’s expensive suit and sneered. “I can’t afford to feed you yet, CEO Li.” As the general manager of Zeus Airlines, Li Li’s annual expenses were not small. Just those custom-made suits alone cost a fortune.
“Alright, let’s go eat.”
Su Beibei drove the car to Deep Alley Restaurant and had a romantic western meal with Li Li.
After the meal, Li Li felt rather restless. He asked Su Beibei, “Which hotel do you want to stay in? Is there any place you prefer?” Since they wanted to book a room, Li Li had to fork out the hotel money. This was his final stubborn streak.
Su Beibei smiled. “Let’s not stay in a hotel. We’ll stay in the mountains.”
“Ah?” Li Li thought he heard wrongly. “Stay on the mountain?”
“Let’s go. I’ll bring you to see the stars.”
The two of them rented an off-road vehicle and drove to the outskirts. Only then did Li Li understand that Su Bei said that she wasn’t going home that night not because she wanted to check into a hotel and do something embarrassing. Instead, she wanted to go camping on the mountain and watch the stars.
The car could only be parked halfway up the hill. They had to hike up to the top.
Su Beibei changed into sportswear in the car and put on shoes. As they alighted, Li Li noticed that Su Beibei had wound up her hair in a rare display, revealing a face the size of a palm.
A 23 year old little girl was extremely tender.
“You look pretty good in sportswear.” Li Li felt that Su Bei looked good in anything.
Su Beibei snorted.
As she hadn’t informed Li Li beforehand, Li Li hadn’t prepared any sportswear. He was wearing a suit and leather shoes, while Su Beibei and he each carried a small bag to hike.
Arriving at the top of the hill and setting up her tent, Su Beibei took off her shoes. Under Li Li’s shocked gaze, she nimbly climbed onto a large, thick tree. Sitting on the tree trunk, Su Beibei looked down and called out to Li Li, “Come up, Ah Li. The stars are better here.”
Li Li took off his leather shoes and climbed up the tree in socks. He sat down with Su Beibei and looked up at the stars in the sky.
Wangdong City was polluted by air. In a year, only a few stars could be seen in the night sky after heavy rain. But the air was fresh on the high mountains in the suburbs and visibility was high. One could see stars all over the sky just by looking up.
Li Li cherished this moment.
Su Beibei told Li Li, “When I was young, my father would occasionally bring me up to the mountains to stargaze.” Su Beibei pointed at the two brightest stars and told Li Li, “That’s my father and that’s my mother.”
Li Li’s grin was gone. “Your parents…”
“They passed away.” Su Beibei told Li Li, “I was only 9 years old that year. My father said that people will turn into stars after they die. I brought you here today to meet my parents.”
Su Beibei gazed tenderly at the two stars in the night sky. She said to them, “Father, Mother, I am in a relationship. The man beside me is my boyfriend. His name is Li Li. Today is his 29th birthday. I brought him to meet you.”
Su Beibei started singing a happy birthday song.
“Happy birthday to you…”
“Happy birthday to you…”
Li Li watched Su Beibei sing and his heart melted.
After Su Beibei finished singing, she turned to Li Li. “You can have your cake now.”
]Li Li reached out and cupped Su Beibei’s cheek. He gazed lovingly at her. “Where should I start eating?”
Su Beibei had already wiped off her lipstick. She tapped her red lips. “Here.”
Li Li tasted it.
Soft and sweet.
“So sweet.” It’s really sweet.
Su Beibei smiled and secretly told him, “I put honey on it.”
Startled, Li Li bent down and kissed her again…
…
A small boat was cruising along the surface of Gmunden Lake. Song Ci covered her face with her hat and laid flat on the boat, bathing in the warm autumn sunlight.
Holding the fishing rod, Han Zhan sat there like an old monk in meditation.
Song Ci put a white fishermen’s hat on his head. The contrast between that white hat and his bronzed skin was stark.
Song Ci’s voice suddenly came from under her hat. “Last night, Su Beibei sent me a message asking me what present she should get for Li Li’s birthday today.”
Han Zhan stared at the lake. Hearing this, he finally said, “Oh yes, today seems to be Li Li’s birthday.”
“Tsk, you still say that you’re his good brother. You don’t even remember his birthday.” Song Ci took off her hat and put it on. She sat up and crossed her legs as she looked at the blue sky. “Did you catch a fish?”
“The fish here have turned into sperm.” Only after Han Zhan gave them a sum of money did the management agree to let him fish. Several hours had already passed and the fish still hadn’t taken the bait.
He said, “I suspect there’s no fish in here. The money is wasted.” Han Zhan didn’t bother with the hook anymore. He picked up his cell phone and said,” I’ll transfer some money to Li Li so that he can buy cakes to eat.”
Han Zhan opened WeChat and transferred 10,000 yuan to Li Li. “Alright, I transferred 10,000 yuan to him.”
Song Ci widened her eyes. “So much” Song Ci was stunned. She hugged Han Zhan’s arm and asked him, “Brother Han, on my birthday next year, can you transfer some money to me so that I can buy cake?”
“Look at you!” Han Zhan tapped Song Ci’s forehead and said, “Even if you want the tallest building in Wangdong City, I can buy it for you to rent out, not to mention cakes.”
Song Ci loved the way Han Zhan doted on her. “I love being a landlady.”
Song Ci picked up Han Zhan’s cell phone and saw that Li Li still hadn’t accepted the money. She cupped her chin and said, “It’s only 10pm in the country now. CEO Li shouldn’t be sleeping yet, right? Why didn’t he accept your money? Did he feel that it was too much and didn’t dare to accept it?”
“He’s a greedy person and wouldn’t mind that it’s too much.” Changing the topic, Han Zhan said, “You said that Su Beibei went to celebrate his birthday with him?”
“Yeah.”
‘Han Zhan gave a profound smile and said, “If you want to sleep, when can you not? He’s busy, you should lie down for a while more.”
Han Zhan had guessed correctly. At this point, Li Li and Su Bei were in the tent experiencing the joy of being adults. The tent was slightly small and appeared squeezy, but it didn’t hinder the passion between the couple.
–
Su Beibei was wearing Li Li’s shirt. She was kneeling at the entrance of the tent, smoking. The breeze blew away the heat on her face. Li Li was lying beside her, his arms flat against his chest, his chin resting on his arm.
He looked up at Su Bei smoking. The red glow on her face flickered. It was a dangerous and mesmerizing sight.