The Sickly Fake Daughter, But a Beloved Darling of All - Chapter 44

Jīn Xī and Wū BóRǎn were indeed arguing. The two had fallen out over a small piece of cake—it was completely childish, yet neither was willing to back down, so they just sat there in awkward silence.

It wasn’t until they heard Xǔ ChéngJǐn’s voice that they both turned around simultaneously—

This was the first time they had seen Xǔ Chéng Jǐn today. Although she was looking down at them, it didn’t feel uncomfortable; on the contrary, it gave people a sense of gentle warmth, even with the makeup intentionally crafted to make her look like a cool, aloof beauty.

“Do I look nice?”

Xǔ ChéngJǐn stood up straight. Seeing the two of them speechless, she started to tease them: “Little mutes?”

Jīn Xī was the first to snap out of it. She stood up and smiled at Xǔ ChéngJǐn: “You look especially beautiful today. Happy birthday, little Jǐn.”

She handed over her gift: “This is a bracelet I bought within my means.”

Xǔ ChéngJǐn tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. The gift was exquisitely wrapped, with hand-drawn patterns on the outer box. It looked perfect and was clearly very thoughtful.

“I really like this gift.” Xǔ ChéngJǐn smiled genuinely. She met Jīn Xī’s gaze, “I truly like it.”

Jīn Xī shyly turned her head away: “I’m glad you like it.”

Wū BóRǎn stood by, watching their exchange. She cleared her throat: “Um, I have a gift for you too.”

She took out her prepared gift, a watch—a small, delicate timepiece that looked custom-made in pink and white, inlaid with many pink diamonds. She cleared her throat: “Want to try it on?”

Xǔ Chéng Jǐn wasn’t wearing her fitness tracker today, so both her wrists were bare. Before she could answer, both her wrists were seized by the two of them. The next second, a bracelet and a watch were fastened onto her left and right hands, respectively.

Wū BóRǎn: “Perfect.”

Jīn Xī: “Beautiful.”

Xǔ Chéng Jǐn: “…”

She looked down at her wrists but didn’t take the items off. Xǔ Chéng Jǐn smiled helplessly: “I like them both very much. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Wū BóRǎn started acting cool: “I can afford this watch. It’s your birthday today. Happy birthday.”

Jīn Xī nodded: “Right, want to have a slice of cake?”

She picked up a small cake: “I feel like a lot of people will be surrounding you soon.”

Xǔ Chéng Jǐn understood what they meant—they wanted to celebrate her birthday and share a cake with her alone. Just as she was about to take the cake, she suddenly remembered something. She asked softly, “Have you guys eaten this cake?”

“Yes, we have.”

Jīn Xī and Wū BóRǎn hadn’t eaten all afternoon, so naturally, they were hungry when they arrived and had grabbed a few things to fill their stomachs.

“Does it have any strawberry jam?”

Xǔ Chéng Jǐn didn’t rush to eat. Her voice was gentle: “I’m allergic to anything made with strawberries.”

Wū BóRǎn, who was about to speak and explain, instantly froze. She immediately took the cake from Xǔ Chéng Jǐn’s hand: “We’ll get a different one. It’s a good thing you asked, or this would have been serious.”

“Yes, an allergy is not a small matter.” Jīn Xī was also nervous. She said softly, “Let’s change it.”

Xǔ Chéng Jǐn listened to them, sitting on the swing and tilting her head back, letting the two of them select a small cake for her. Afterward, the three quickly devoured it.

“Happy birthday, little Jǐn.”

Jīn Xī’s gaze was tender: “I hope you can be this happy every year, and I hope I can be with you to celebrate every birthday.”

Her words didn’t sound like a joke. Xǔ ChéngJǐn was silent for a few seconds before she smiled. She leaned back against the swing: “Alright, I hope to see you every year too.”

“What about me?”

Wū BóRǎn stood aside, looking displeased: “Am I just going to be the third wheel?”

Xǔ Chéng Jǐn looked down and chuckled: “No, we’ll celebrate together.”

“That’s better.”

Wū BóRǎn was finally satisfied. She casually mentioned: “We ran into Sī Yǔ when we first arrived today. She even mocked us, calling us little kids.”

“Sī Yǔ?”

Xǔ ChéngJǐn hadn’t seen Sī Yǔ all day. They had greeted each other on their phones in the morning and hadn’t spoken since. She hadn’t sent a gift, nor had they met, even now.

“I’ll talk to her for you later.”

Xǔ ChéngJǐn stood up and motioned to the two of them: “Come inside with me.”

“Me too?” Jīn Xī hesitated a bit. She was the one with the lowest status at this banquet. If she went in…

Xǔ ChéngJǐn didn’t give Jīn Xī time to hesitate. She took both their hands directly: “Let’s go. I’m taking you in.”

She held one person in each hand and walked toward the banquet hall, ignoring the gazes of others. Xǔ Chéng Jǐn had originally intended to take them in to look around and meet new people, also giving Jīn Xī a chance to feel less fearful or self-conscious about class differences. However, she forgot one thing: they were bound to run into Sī Yǔ and Xǔ Jìng.

Sī Yǔ and Xǔ Jìng were talking at that moment. When they saw the three people entering, the fake smiles on their faces instantly vanished. Xǔ Jìng was the first to walk over: “Little Jǐn.”

“Sister.”

Xǔ ChéngJǐn let go of the two hands she was holding. She looked at Sī Yǔ behind her and called out softly: “President Sī.”

Sī Yǔ nodded but didn’t say much. Her gaze, however, fell on Xǔ ChéngJǐn’s wrists.

There was nothing she had sent.

“I brought them in to look around.” Xǔ ChéngJǐn told Jīn Xī and Wū BóRǎn to say hello: “Don’t be nervous.”

Wū BóRǎn snorted: “President Xǔ, President Sī, we meet again.”

Jīn Xī also spoke up: “President Xǔ, President Sī.”

“Of course, we’d meet again.” Xǔ Jìng looked at Xǔ ChéngJǐn’s wrists. She raised an eyebrow: “Did you two give these?”

“That’s right.” Wū BóRǎn boldly stepped forward: “Don’t they look great?”

Jīn Xī pursed her lips: “I think they suit little Jǐn very well.”

“Naturally. Gifts given with sincerity won’t be bad.” Xǔ Jìng curved her lips. She slowly let out a breath: “By the way, what is President Sī planning to give? I didn’t seem to see your gift just now.”

This sentence was clearly not very polite, sounding as if she were forcing the other person to present an item, but coming from Xǔ Jìng, it sounded more like a taunt.

Sī Yǔ finally walked over. She had put on makeup today, but it was very light. When Xǔ ChéngJǐn looked up, she could still see the dark circles under her eyes. To say she had slept well was clearly a lie.

“The thing I sent?”

Sī Yǔ gave a soft laugh. She reached out and produced a key. The style of the key resembled an ancient Western duke’s residence key—intricate, with complex patterns. There was no amusement in her eyes; she simply said: “What you are standing on—”

“Is the gift I gave to Xǔ ChéngJǐn.”