Munni held the card in her hand and, after hesitating for two seconds, took out her phone from the coat pocket and dialed Xu Yisen’s number.
It was as if Xu Yisen had anticipated her call; it rang only once before he answered.
A slightly lazy voice came from the other end, "Yeah, Munni."
"Are you still at my doorstep?"
"Yes." A simple word that carried a charming hint of a smile.
Munni pursed her lips, struggled for a second, and finally spoke up, "Wait."
"Sure, I’ll wait." Yisen’s voice grew even more joyful with laughter.
Munni hung up and tossed her phone onto the sofa beside her, hurriedly getting up to run upstairs.
She ran back to her study, entered the password into the safe under the desk, took out a delicate gift bag, then closed the safe and ran downstairs.
When she reached the front door, she stopped to catch her breath, and once she calmed down, she reached out to open the door.
"Here." She handed the gift bag in her hand to Yisen at the door.
Yisen had his left hand in his coat pocket; upon seeing the gift bag Munni handed over, his beautiful eyes curved into crescent shapes, and a delighted smile almost overflowed from his eyes.
He reached out his right hand to take the gift bag, eagerly taking out the gift box from it.
As he untied the ribbon on the gift box, he suddenly heard Munni in front of him emphasize, "I’m only giving you a gift because yours was to my liking."
Yisen feigned surprise and nodded, teasing with his words, "Thank you for the gift you specially prepared for me."
He emphasized the word "specially," and when he opened the lid, he saw a black scarf inside, with his deep sea-like eyes shimmering with a brilliant light.
"Stop showing off, hurry and go back." She said impatiently, waving her hand.
"Thank you for the gift, Munni, I really like it."
Seeing that he liked the gift, Munni’s lips couldn’t help but gently curve up. She waved again, "Got it, goodbye then."
After saying that, she closed the door again.
Xu Yisen placed the lid back on the box, put the box back in the gift bag, and carried it home.
When he reached home, he took the box out again, retrieved the scarf from it, and was about to try it on when he noticed a card pressed beneath the scarf.
Surprised, he pulled out the card and opened it—[Yisen, happy fourth wedding anniversary. During winter, the neck is the most likely to catch cold, so I specially learned how to knit and made this scarf for you. I hope you don’t find it unpleasant. Thank you for your care and companionship over the years. May we stay together and grow old together. —Your wife, Munni]
The handwriting on the card was delicate and beautiful, yet every word inexplicably brought a sense of bitterness to Xu Yisen.
Munni indeed did not prepare a Christmas gift for him; this gift was meant for their fourth wedding anniversary before they divorced.
Sadly, they divorced two months before the wedding anniversary, so Munni had kept this gift until now.
A pang of sorrow suddenly surged in his heart, spreading like a virus throughout his body, permeating every cell, and tormenting him relentlessly.
Since the day of the third day of the Lunar New Year when Xu Yisen sent Munni home, he hadn’t seen Munni again.
Although they were neighbors on different floors, it was as if they were separated by a great distance, and it had been a long time since they had seen each other.
Every time Xu Yisen went to Munni’s home to look for her, she was never there, and he didn’t know what she was busy with.