CHAPTER 276: CHAPTER 276: BIRTHDAY GIFTS

Hearing the door open, the two of them simultaneously turned to look at her, their facial expressions much more relaxed.

They had witnessed the situation on the stairs just now, but Su Xiaoxiao resolved it so quickly that they didn’t have a chance to do anything.

Since returning, they were more determined in pursuing Su Xiaoxiao and had an open conversation, preparing for fair competition.

"Comrade Su, the food is getting cold, hurry over and eat."

Song Weidong greeted her with a smile on his face. He was naturally handsome, and with that smile, he looked like a charming male spirit from the mountains.

Su Xiaoxiao had to admit, although she didn’t care for Song Weidong’s type, his face was indeed good-looking.

If he were in the present day, he’d definitely debut in Korea.

Zhou Cheng wasn’t one to smile much. He raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the person across from him with a mischievous grin, quietly pouring some hot water into Su Xiaoxiao’s cup.

They had been delayed for too long just now, and the water had become cold.

After Su Xiaoxiao sat down, she noticed that the dishes on the table hadn’t been touched much. They likely hadn’t eaten after she left.

She hurriedly said, "Comrade Zhou, Comrade Song, let’s eat quickly. The dishes are getting cold."

As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks first, and only then did the other two follow suit.

With her joining, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Su Xiaoxiao remembered that today was ostensibly the two’s birthday, whether true or not, she felt she should acknowledge it.

After all, these two had indeed given her plenty of gifts.

Since she wasn’t interested in them, she had to reciprocate; otherwise, accepting gifts without feeling confident enough to reject them felt wrong.

With this in mind, she put down her chopsticks and took out two exquisitely packaged gift boxes from her military green satchel.

Pushing one box to each of them, she said, "Comrade Song, Comrade Zhou, these are your birthday presents. I hope you won’t mind."

Mind? How could they mind?

Both thought to themselves that even if Comrade Su casually picked a stone off the curb and gave it to them, they’d probably still be overjoyed.

They exchanged a quick glance before averting their eyes again.

The only slightly uncomfortable thing was that the boxes looked identical in design, though what was inside remained unknown...

"Open them and see if you like them."

Su Xiaoxiao urged them to do so.

Song Weidong moved first, reaching out to open the box, discovering a blue watch with a style he’d never seen before.

Su Xiaoxiao quickly explained, "This is called an electronic watch. Not only can it tell time and date, but it also has a timer and a light."

It sounded much more advanced than an ordinary watch.

He hadn’t expected Comrade Su to give him such a valuable gift.

Song Weidong felt something warm in his chest, as if something had touched it.

"Comrade Su, this is too valuable, I..."

He looked at Su Xiaoxiao with mixed emotions, even feeling a slight sense of guilt.

The birthday was just something he blurted out, not expecting Comrade Su to take it so seriously and gift such an expensive watch.

This watch appeared more valuable than the one he had gifted.

Just as he was about to express his gratitude, he heard a soft click. Zhou Cheng had also opened his box.

Then... inside was an identical blue electronic watch.

Song Weidong: "..."

Zhou Cheng’s gaze froze for a moment upon seeing the watch in the box. He pursed his lips, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.

Though slightly disappointed, at least it was fair, and he found the result satisfactory.

Earlier, when Comrade Su wasn’t around, that brat surnamed Song kept saying how he and Comrade Su had known each other since high school, that they were quite familiar...

Now it seems, huh...

He raised an eyebrow at Song Weidong, a hint of challenge in his eyes, seemingly saying that three years as classmates didn’t amount to much.

Song Weidong’s previously excited mood was suddenly subdued. He had thought it was meant just for him, not expecting Comrade Su had one for each.

"Don’t you like them?"

Su Xiaoxiao noticed that both seemed slightly off and couldn’t help but ask.

"Like, of course, we like them."

They spoke almost in unison.

At this moment, the door of the private room was knocked, and it was the waiter bringing more dishes.

Su Xiaoxiao let them in and saw that both dishes they brought were meat dishes.

One was sweet and sour pork, and the other was braised pork with preserved vegetables. Both looked quite appealing and delicious.

Unexpectedly, Manager Chen was quite generous.

Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself, thanked the waiter, and then invited the two of them to eat.

The three of them got along fairly well for the rest of the time and finally finished their meal smoothly.

After eating, seeing it was getting late, Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly said goodbye to them.

She usually went home right after work, so coming back this late, she wondered if her mom would be worried.

Thinking this, she hastily said goodbye to the two and rode her bike home.

Along the way, she pedaled her bicycle so fast that sparks were almost flying, and she finally reached her gate before it got completely dark.

Just as she arrived at the entrance, two figures suddenly emerged from the darkness beside her.

Su Xiaoxiao was so startled she almost fell off her bike.

Who’s really got nothing better to do than try to scare people at this time of night?

"Comrade Su, it’s us."

The familiar voice came through,

By now it was getting quite dark, visibility was low, and Su Xiaoxiao squinted to barely see who it was.

A tall and a short figure stood in front of her, looking somewhat familiar.

Liu Dadan grinned, showing his white teeth and moved closer, his face wasn’t white, but those teeth were pretty bright.

With the last glimmer of sunset, Su Xiaoxiao recognized Liu Dadan’s big face, and the other must be Skinny.

She quickly realized that at this time, they must have come to pick up goods from her.

Su Xiaoxiao looked at her entrance and told them, "Wait here briefly, I need to go home first, or my mom will worry if I’m too late."

"Alright, Comrade Su, we’ll wait right here for you, hurry and come back."

Skinny’s attitude was extremely enthusiastic, even leaving Liu Dadan somewhat dumbfounded.

After Su Xiaoxiao wheeled her bike into the yard, he poked Skinny in confusion, "Bro, didn’t you just say that if this girl didn’t show up soon, you’d make her look bad? Why are you being so polite now?"

They’d been waiting for almost two hours, and this little girl just got back, practically treating them like they don’t exist.

"When did I say that? Don’t talk nonsense."

Skinny said, slapping the back of Liu Dadan’s head, clearly understood he just blurted it out in frustration.

That kind of talk doesn’t count, right? This idiot.

Su Xiaoxiao entered her home, immediately greeted by the aroma of food from afar.

She hadn’t eaten much at the state-owned restaurant, and after a rushed bike ride home, she was really quite hungry.

"Why are you only coming back now? You left work early, didn’t you?"

Liu Cuilan furrowed her brow when she saw her walk in.

She had been planning to send the fourth and fifth kid to find her.

"I ran into two acquaintances and got delayed."

Su Xiaoxiao said, quickly washing her hands, "Mom, today’s food smells great, when are we having dinner?"

"The fourth and fifth are doing their homework in the room, you can call them, and we’ll eat."

"Okay, I’ll go get them."

Su Xiaoxiao responded and got up, turning to enter her little brothers’ room. As soon as she walked in, she smelled something odd.