Ai stared at the small but beautifully gift-wrapped box in her palm. A gasp then escaped her lips. "Today is my birthday!"
"You are strange in forgetting your birthday," Jinhai teased her. "Nobody forgets their birthday here in the Liu family. Everybody starts giving their long list of demands from one month before, especially the twins."
Ai could very well imagine the chaotic twins getting super excited for their birthday.
"I completely forgot. I was so wrapped up in Jun acting oddly that I couldn't think of anything else."
Her eyes shone with pure joy as she thanked him. "Thank you for your wishes, Dad. Can I open the gift?"
"It's your gift. You don't need to ask."
Ai happily untied the ribbon and gently and carefully unwrapped the gift paper. Inside the small maroon box lay a beautiful heart-shaped diamond pendant, scintillating in the dim yellow lights of the living room.
Her jaw dropped as she felt blinded by the pendant's luster. "It's so beautiful."
"I thought the symbol of your name would be a perfect gift for you," Jinhai smiled and continued to say with a gentle gaze. "For me, it also signifies how you healed my son's heart. I am forever grateful to you for that."
With so much thought and emotions put into her gift by him, Ai felt her eyes tear up. More than the diamond, the meaning behind the diamond filled her heart with bliss.
"Thank you, Dad. I love it very much."
"Great!" Jinhai's radiance shone brighter than the diamond.
She said with a soft smile. "I will always cherish your gift. But," she coughed, "this is very expensive."
"You will get used to it. This is nothing. I am sure Mom, Dad and your uncles would have arranged for an even more expensive gift than mine," he shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "Dad always wants his gifts to be the most expensive, the loudest and the best."
"You are gonna be showered with nothing but gifts and lots of love today."
Ai's phone buzzed with Zhou Yichen's incoming call and as she picked it up, she saw Xie Nuying's call coming parallely.
"Ai-chaaaaaaaaan!!! My dearest, loveliest and super adorable daughter! Wish you a very, very happy birthday from your super adorable-"
"Wish you a very happy birthday, Ai," Xie Nuying's pleasant voice cut Zhou Yichen's hyper birthday wishes midway.
"Hey! Nuying! How dare you interrupt my birthday wish! Are you that jealous of me?"
"Excuse me, I don't need to be jealous of you when I already have the top spot in Ai's heart."
"Hah! You only have the top spot in your students' hearts who curse their strict and not so fun professor! And for your kind information, Ai picked up my call first. This goes to show that I am more important to Ai-chan than you."
"This only goes to show that you are an idiot to quantify such foolish things." ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by NoveI[F]ire.net
"Don't feel salty because I wished Ai-chan first!"
Ai cleared her throat. "Actually, Dad wished me first."
"Yes, yes that's what I am saying Ai-chan~"
Zhou Yichen and Xie Nuying - "..."
"He also gave me his gift."
"Mr. Liu Jinhaiiii!" Zhou Yichen's scream of agony was heard by Jinhai crystal clear. "Ai hasn't even officially become your daughter-in-law and you are already snatching my role!? How can I ever forgive you for this betrayal!? How dare you wish her before me!?"
Jinhai shrugged with arrogance. "Get used to it."
"You! Ai-chan is my only daughter! I won't let you steal her from me!"
"She is already living with us," he flashed an evil smile. "You can hardly do anything."
Xie Nuying expressed her sour reaction. "I didn't expect this from you, Mr. Liu. Shouldn't I, as her mother, give wishes to my daughter first?"
"Yes, yes and so do I as her father!"
He cocked his brow. "Nana and I are her parents too now."
"You are GOING to become her in-laws. Don't use the present tense already!" Zhou Yichen said, aggrieved.
"From what I see, the wedding doesn't seem so far away. At this point, the present and future tense doesn't really matter."
Ai coughed hard, her cheeks blushing pink.
Xie Nuying coldly said, "You are evil, Mr. Liu."
He chuckled. "You have only understood the tip of the iceberg, Miss. Xie. Anyway, I will give some privacy to my daughter to talk to you two."
"Hey! Don't talk as if you are doing us a favor! Mr. Liu, how could you?" Zhou Yichen sniffled dramatically. "Didn't we bond like best buddies when we worked together in your company with Jini-boy? How could you stab me in the back , you scheming capitalist!"
Jinhai stood up on his feet, his chuckle continuing to echo and poke their hearts further. "Good night, Mr. Zhou, Miss. Xie."
He left her on the staircase to her complaining parents, smiling and whistling.
"They are not the only ones to complain, Dad."
He heard his son's bitter voice and turned to see Jun with a salty expression which he was sure would be on Zhou Yichen and Xie Nuying's faces too at the moment.
"This is Ai's first birthday with me. I wanted to wish her first!" He competition starting from her parents till me. And sorry to say, you can never beat your father."
Jinhai smiled. "You couldn't have won, son. There was too much competition starting from her parents till me. And sorry to say, you can never beat your father."
His expression twisted. "Is this your revenge for Grandpa managing to wish Mom birthday first every year?"
He sneered. "I have suffered a lot in these past years, Jun. Time for you to taste my pain."
Jinhai patted his shoulder. "You couldn't be the first one to wish Ai but make sure you are the only one to give her a surprise she wouldn't ever be able to forget. That's how I defeated Dad no matter how many awesome gifts he gave Nana."
The mention of surprise made him sweat. "Yeah I have it all planned already, but I am suddenly not so sure…"
He snorted. "You aren't but I am sure that we all will hear the good news. Put the ring in her finger quickly so that Mr. Zhou would stop talking about the future and present tense with me."