The next day.
Unsure whether it was because of the jet lag, Su Jianan had woken up really early, yet she refused to open her eyes, and clung onto Lu Boyan in a daze. Just when she was about to return to sleep, a gentle voice whispered into her ear,
“Happy birthday.”
She had almost forgotten; it was her birthday.
That was the first birthday Lu Boyan was celebrating with her, or perhaps, she could also say it was the last one.
Su Jianan opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Lu Boyan’s handsome facial features. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. “Thank you.”
Lu Boyan caressed her head and asked, “Are you still sleepy? If you are not, then let’s get up, and we’ll head to Paris after breakfast.”
An hour later, outside the hotel entrance—
Su Jianan’s hand shielded over her eyes, and looked up. It was a clear blue sky, and the sun was shining more brightly and warmly than ever.
The weather that day was better than the day before. She should be happier.
At that moment, a car stopped right before the two of them. A young man got off and opened the door, “Mr. and Mrs. Lu, please enter the car. We’ll reach Bordeaux Airport in 30 minutes.”
Su Jianan held Lu Boyan back, with a mysterious smile on her face. “It’s my birthday today. You have to listen to me!”
Lu Boyan raised his brows, anticipating to hear more.
“We won’t take the plane to Paris,” Su Jianan was getting excited. “We’ll take the train!”
“…” Lu Boyan furrowed his brows, withholding his response for the moment. He had never taken the train. Firstly, trains were slow, and secondly, the carriages would be full of people, and he had never liked noise.
“We’re taking a high-speed train! It will take only about three hours, which is similar to taking the plane!” Su Jianan shook Lu Boyan’s arm, trying hard to persuade him. “We’ve never taken the train before. Acpany me just once.” She stuck up her index finger of her right hand, and said emphatically as if she were making the only wish of her lifetime. “Just this once!”
Finally, Lu Boyan submitted to her soft and persistent pleading, and ordered the driver to head to the train station.
People of all colors, speaking in all sorts of languages were ing and going at the train station. Some were carefree and leisurely; others were busy and rushing.
Su Jianan held onto Lu Boyan’s hand tightly, while following him to purchase the tickets, getting through security checkpoints, and waiting for the train.
They were very lucky. They managed to buy the tickets to the next high-speed train trip. It was only ten minutes to boarding time.
Just after they had found their seats, Su Jianan was stunned.
She and Lu Boyan did not manage to get adjacent seats. They were separated by the aisle, on different rows!
“…”—Su Jianan’s current state of emotion could only be accurately represented by these punctuations.
It was not what she had imagined! What she had imagined was her and Lu Boyan snuggling with each other by the window, her leaning on Lu Boyan’s shoulder, and him looking gently at her as she watched the changing scenery outside the window!
Miserable…
Lu Boyan proposed, “I could exchange seats with the person sitting next to you?”
Su Jianan glanced at the seat next to her. It was a girl who looked close in age to her, who was dressed very casually. She was looking out of the window, wearing a pair of headphones, and looked like a tourist heading to Paris.
She immediately pushed Lu Boyan in that direction, “Go ask her!”
Lu Boyan was slightly surprised, “You sure?”
He had thought, given Su Jianan’s clinginess of the past few days, she would not have given him any chance to interact with the opposite sex.
“Very sure!” Su Jianan nodded firmly. “You’re handsome, she definitely won’t reject you!”
Lu Boyan approached, first greeting the girl in French. She smiled while shaking her head, saying that she was from the United States.
Lu Boyan effortlessly switched to English, expressing politely that he needed very much to exchange seats with the girl.
The girl took off her headphones, and asked doubtfully, “Why, mister?”
“It’s my wife’s birthday today. She wished for me to take the train once with her,” Lu Boyan looked helpless, “But it is a pity that our seats are not adjacent.”
Perhaps Su Jianan was right about the irresistible quality of a handsome face. The girl very agreeably collected her bag and stood up. She said, “I wish your wife a happy birthday. May both of you have a great day.”
Lu Boyan smiled saying, “Thank you.”
Su Jianan also thanked the girl, and sat down happily. She propped her chin with her hand, watching Lu Boyan while remarking candidly, “I realized that your face is really useful during crucial moments!”
Lu Boyan grinned. Su Jianan could sense an air of wariness, and emphasized immediately, “Of course, I was not denying your other areas of performance!”
“Oh?” That someone stared at Su Jianan, suggestively and intrigued. “Other areas… What other areas?”
“Like—” Su Jianan poked Lu Boyan’s head, “This area.”
Lu Boyan: “…”
In that moment of speechlessness, the train had departed. The scenery during the journey was not exactly breathtaking, but it was fresh and novel enough for Su Jianan. She leaned on Lu Boyan’s shoulder, occasionally chatting with him, and other times watching the landscapes. When she got tired of it, she would rest while cuddling with him. A few hours passed by unknowingly.
The high-speed train pulled in at the Paris station.
As pared to the train station at Bordeaux, the Paris station was much more modern and spacious. The human traffic flow was greater as well.
Su Jianan was very afraid of being separated from Lu Boyan, holding onto his hand tightly while he looked for an exit.
When she was traveling all over the place with Luo Xiaoxi, she was the one booking the hotel, planning itineraries, and navigating, while Luo Xiaoxi was dedicated to only enjoying and playing.
But that time with Lu Boyan, she could be a carefree idiot in life.
Following the signs, Lu Boyan very quickly led Su Jianan out of the train station. Soon, someone approached to wele them, “Mr. and Mrs. Lu, good afternoon. I’m the chauffeur from the hotel.”
Lu Boyan turned to look at Su Jianan, “Do you want to eat first or should we go to the hotel first?”
“I’m not hungry yet, let’s head to the hotel first.”
Actually, Su Jianan was guessing—could Lu Boyan have arranged some surprise at the hotel for her?
For example, she would open the door to the room, to see an arrangement of fresh roses and heart-shaped candles.
Even though it was so incredibly cliched, she… did not reject the idea of it!
Once they were at the hotel, Su Jianan suppressed her inexplicable excitement when she pushed open the door to their room—oh, nothing special in the living room.
Ooh! There was still the bedroom!
She walked right towards it—Aish… nothing there, either.
Lu Boyan clearly knew it was her birthday!
Or could it be that he had other arrangements?
In the end, there was also no surprise at lunch. She changed into an elegant and presentable outfit for the visit to an incredibly classy restaurant. They dined while listening to a violin performance. Everything was per normal.
After leaving the restaurant, Lu Boyan asked, “Where would you like to go?”
Su Jianan pondered, but to no avail. She readjusted from her state of disappointment, and let Lu Boyan do the thinking, “What would you suggest?”
Not far from where they were, there was the world-renowned street of Paris. Lu Boyan turned down the chauffeur’s offer to ferry them, and decided to stroll there with Su Jianan.
Even if it were the coldest time of the year, that street which was claimed to be “the most beautiful street in the world” was still lively and bustling. Su Jianan held onto Lu Boyan’s arm, like an ordinary married couple on vacation, leisurely strolling along the shaded pathway.
After walking around 700 meters distance of a serene and shaded pathway amongst the bustling city, Su Jianan headed towards the mercial street of the western district in anticipation, while saying, “I don’t feel like going back.”
Lu Boyan asked, “You like it here?”
“Yeah,” Su Jianan replied and nodded. “Don’t you think it’s nice here?”
Nobody here knew them, no gossips and scandals, no business crisis, no threats. Just them. Nothing could interrupt them. As long as they wished to, they could do anything.
“Let’s visit here a few more times. If you still like this place so much, we can consider migrating,” Lu Boyan said.
Su Jianan was stunned in her position.
Lu Boyan noticed that something was off, looking at Su Jianan. “What’s the matter?”
Su Jianan quickly regained her senses. Concealing her heartache, she forced a smile, “Never mind about migration… Our family and friends are all in the country! I would probably not like this place anymore once the novelty had worn off.” She momentarily indulged herself while imagining. “You just have to take me here once a year!”
Very soon, the two had reached the entrance of a famous shopping mall. Yet, Su Jianan did not spare it a look, seemingly not having the intention to enter. Finally, it was Lu Boyan who had stopped in his tracks, asking, “Shall we?”
“Are you buying anything?” She paused, then suddenly smiled. “Is it a present for me?”
Lu Boyan smiled faintly, “How would I dare to buy your present on the day itself?”
“Does that mean—you’ve already prepared my birthday present?” Su Jianan’s eyes lit up instantly. “What is it?”
Lu Boyan refused to reveal more, “You’ll know once you reach the hotel.”
Su Jianan recalled Lu Boyan’s birthday from a few months ago, when he had requested certain conditions from her. Therefore, she picked up the same thing from him, “A disclaimer, if it’s not enough of a surprise, the present doesn’t count!”
Lu Boyan smirked. It felt like there was something more behind it, which sent a chill down Su Jianan’s spine.
As expected, he pressed his voice, saying, “Definitely parable to your ‘birthday present’ for me.”
“…”
They were right in front of the entrance of a shopping paradise which would drive women crazy, in the western district of Champs-Élysées. Su Jianan’s face instantly flushed red. She sprinted into the mall, and impulsively chose a scarf and a coat.
When she was about to make the payment, she calmed down as she was reminded of Lu Enterprises’ current situation. She held Lu Boyan’s hand, “Forget it, I don’t like them that much.”
Lu Boyan knew what she was worrying about, and smiled as he handed his card out, “It’s just a scarf and a coat. We can still afford them even with Lu Enterprises’ financial problems.”
The tall, beautiful shopkeeper had packaged the coat and scarf, handing them to Su Jianan, along with a fresh rose stalk. She added, “Mrs. Lu, happy birthday.”
Su Jianan was so surprised by the shopkeeper that she had almost forgotten to give her thanks. The shopkeeper explained with a smile, “Our top designer had once designed a gown for you. We have your personal particulars, so we knew that it’s your birthday today.”
“Thank you all,” Su Jianan smiled while receiving the rose. She placed it in the shopping bag, then left the shop while holding onto Lu Boyan.
Right after, the two visited the Eiffel Tower. Suddenly, Su Jianan recalled something important, and hurriedly opened the camera app in her phone, turning to Lu Boyan, “Mr. Lu, ever taken a selfie?”
Lu Boyan: “…”
Faced with the predicted expression, Su Jianan shook her head, “I knew you wouldn’t have done anything so trendy!” She hugged onto Lu Boyan with one hand, and raise her phone in her other hand, adjusting for a good angle. “Snap”— the image of her and Lu Boyan was captured on the phone.
Su Jianan inspected the result. She studied Lu Boyan’s expression for a while, and concluded: “The Eiffel Tower behind us looks even happier than you are.”
She must have a satisfactory photograph!
Su Jianan asked for help from a passerby. After handing her phone over, she excitedly suggested to Lu Boyan what poses to make. Lu Boyan did not speak, and just went ahead, holding the back of her head and he kissed her.
Just at that moment, the camera shutter went off: “Snap—”.
The moment was preserved.
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