The other woman's face instantly darkened.
She glared unhappily at Xu Zhi's room door.
She secretly spat, "So young, yet even worse than your old man..."
Just as they were about to retort, they heard footsteps from the other end of the corridor. The two immediately fell silent and quickly walked away in different directions.
Jiang Cheng put down his phone after finishing his call with Chen Xueer.
On Xu Zhigang's side, the net had tightened, and the fish was struggling. He only needed to wait for the right moment to reel it in; there was no need to rush.
Seeing Jiang Cheng stand up, Xia Li routinely asked, "Young Master Jiang, have you finished eating?"
He looked up at her; she was quietly tidying the tea set on the table, her movements as precise and agile as ever, making almost no unnecessary sounds.
Her back was straight, and a cold, unapproachable aura emanated from her.
It seemed somewhat out of place with the luxurious yet cozy apartment environment, yet she blended into his life with unusual harmony.
Jiang Cheng paused, his gaze falling on her.
He recalled Xia Li's subtle, fleeting abnormal reaction from earlier.
This female Bodyguard and personal assistant, whose loyalty was as high as 120% but whose personality was always like a frozen lake, seemed to be experiencing emotional fluctuations she hadn't even noticed herself.
Thinking this, after uttering an "Hmm?", Jiang Cheng's mind stirred, and he silently summoned the system.
[Name: Xia Li]
[Age: 24]
[Height: 178]
[Looks: 90]
[Figure: 93]
[Privacy: 0]
[favorability value: 88]
[Loyalty: 120% (Locked)]
[Personal Info: Chinese-Thai mixed heritage, Birthday...]
Jiang Cheng was slightly taken aback when he saw the date in the birthday field.
What a coincidence, Xia Li's birthday is actually today?
Just say it, once fate arrives, there's no stopping it.
To think that someone like her, who was trained as a special operative from a young age and grew up amidst brutal training and life-or-death missions,
A birthday, for her, was probably no longer a day worth commemorating, perhaps just a symbol on a document.
And for him to open it today of all days, if this wasn't fate, what was it?
With this thought, Jiang Cheng didn't immediately leave but walked towards his room.
Xia Li heard his footsteps leaving the living room. Her movements didn't stop, but her eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
She was accustomed to Jiang Cheng's freedom to come and go, accustomed to appearing when he needed her and blending into the background when he didn't.
A few minutes later, Jiang Cheng walked out.
In his hand was a dark blue, square gift box tied with a silver ribbon.
The box wasn't large, but the packaging was exquisite.
Seeing Xia Li look at him, Jiang Cheng extended the box, saying, "Here."
Xia Li stopped arranging the new teacups.
Turning to face Jiang Cheng, her gaze fell on the gift box. She reached out, took the box steadily, and glanced at it.
Then she looked up at Jiang Cheng, asking in a steady voice, "Young Master Jiang, do you need me to pass this on to someone? Or... do you need me to do something?"
Seeing that this was what she thought, Jiang Cheng felt a bit helpless.
"No. It's for you."
These words made Xia Li's fingers, holding the gift box, tighten almost imperceptibly for a moment.
The wrapping paper made an extremely faint rustling sound, which she immediately controlled.
Her expression went blank for a brief moment.
Those eyes, usually calm and sharp, constantly observing every movement around her, now stared fixedly at Jiang Cheng, then slowly shifted to the gift box in her hands.
Her brain seemed to halt at that moment, unable to immediately process the meaning behind that simple sentence.
For her?
Why?
The person with photographic memory from last night, she immediately searched her mind for any special occasion today.
Contract signing anniversary?
No, none of those.
Her memory, like the most precise instrument, quickly retrieved and eliminated all possible "work-related" connections.
Then, a number almost forgotten by herself, existing only in a corner of her identity documents, abruptly popped out... Was it her birthday?
This realization was like a small stone dropped into a deep pool.
It didn't stir up turbulent waves, but rather an extremely unfamiliar, even somewhat helpless, subtle ripple, quietly spreading from the deepest part of her frozen heart.
No one had ever remembered, and no one would ever specifically "send" her anything for it.
But... Jiang Cheng actually remembered.
Not only did he remember, but he also prepared a gift?
An extremely complex emotion suddenly seized her.
A strange, faint tremor came from her heart, like the tip of a feather lightly grazing it—a little itchy, a little numb, but mostly an unbelievable bewilderment.
She looked at Jiang Cheng, her eyes losing their usual sharpness and distance, replaced by a rare sense of bewilderment and softness.
But she quickly realized her "lapse."
She tried hard to tighten the lines of her face again.
Xia Li's reaction was within Jiang Cheng's expectations.
If it were any other Girl, receiving such a surprising birthday gift would either lead to ecstasy or tears of 感動.
There were probably few who would try so hard to restrain themselves and pretend that nothing had happened, like her.
However, this kind of Girl who is outwardly restrained would most likely return to her room and cry even more fiercely while holding the gift.
"Open it and see."
Xia Li seemed to be startled awake from her chaotic thoughts by this sudden command.
Her fingertips moved slightly, instinctively obeying the order, but then paused as they touched the ribbon.
She had never formally accepted a purely "gift" outside of "missions" or "work."
Opening it implied a crossing of some private boundary.
But Jiang Cheng's gaze rested calmly on her, waiting.
Accustomed to accepting tasks, she pursed her lips, then neatly untied the silver ribbon and lifted the dark blue lid.
On the soft inner lining, a necklace lay quietly.
A necklace of exquisite, even dazzling, design.
A delicate platinum chain, with a unique fan-shaped pendant as the main charm, its edges inlaid with tiny diamonds.
It shimmered with a cool, brilliant luster under the indoor light.
The inner lining of the box bore the highly recognizable "Bvlgari" lettering.
This was a Bvlgari Divas' Dream series necklace.
Even Xia Li, who didn't have much knowledge of luxury goods, could tell its considerable value from the unique design and brand logo.
She had also carried out missions to protect important assets and had come into contact with various priceless items.
But those had nothing to do with her; they were merely "targets" or "scenes."
And now, this expensive, beautiful, and clearly feminine necklace was indeed a gift from Jiang Cheng to her.
"Young Master Jiang." Xia Li looked up, her eyes having largely regained their composure.
She slightly extended the open gift box forward.
"This... is too valuable. My status is not suitable for wearing such jewelry, and... it's not worth you spending so much."
Looking at her eyes, which tried to mask her helplessness with professional calm, Jiang Cheng did not take the box.
Instead, he took two steps forward, narrowing the distance between them.
"What do you mean 'not worth it'? Xia Li, things are inanimate; people are alive."
Jiang Cheng's voice was not loud, but it carried a peculiar penetrating power.
It made Xia Li's fingers pause.
Although he didn't activate his 'affectionate gaze,' Jiang Cheng spoke seriously.
"Things are just things. I never believe that the value of any item can exceed the person it is given to."
These words were like a key, unexpectedly unlocking Xia Li's heart, which had been sealed for many years.
Her eyes instantly reddened.
For over twenty years, her birthday had always been just a cold symbol.
It was a punctuation mark used by training camp instructors to calculate age and divide training stages.
It was an insignificant string of numbers in the corner of an identification document.
She had long grown accustomed to days spent with black combat uniforms, daggers, and short guns, accustomed to living her life as a sharp blade.
She never dared to hope for such an exquisite and brilliant gift.
To her, such delicate ornaments belonged to another world.
A refined world belonging to "ordinary Girls" that she had never entered and believed she would never need.
Those deliberately suppressed emotions, those grievances and loneliness no one had ever cared about, surged forth at this moment.
She bit her lip, trying hard not to let tears fall, but her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
A thousand words choked in her throat, finally condensing into a hoarse, choked, "Thank you..."