“Elder Brother Shi, happy birthday.” Wearing a dazzling red dress, Feng Yiyi looked charming and attractive as she stood in front of Tang Shi. She raised her glass, her meticulously manicured nails sparkling like jewels under the brilliant rays emitted by the room’s crystal chandeliers.
Tang Shi stole a glimpse at Gu Qingcheng, who was standing quietly in the place where she’d been just about to greet Tang Shi. She looked very composed. She didn’t seem annoyed or disappointed that Feng Yiyi had barged in before her.
Then Tang Shi turned toward Feng Yiyi and smiled blandly, clinking glasses with her.
After the toast, Feng Yiyi handed Tang Shi the gift that she had prepared for him.
“Thank you.” Tang Shi accepted her gift. Stealing a glance at Gu Qingcheng out of the corner of his eye, Tang Shi noticed that she was looking totally calm. His hands wavered indecisively for a second or two before he passed Feng Yiyi’s gift to Lin Jinchen.
That was the first gift tonight from a wealthy young woman that Tang Shi had handed over to Lin Jinchen.
So it appeared as if Feng Yiyi meant more to Tang Shi than just a mere acquaintance.
Gu Qingcheng blinked quietly and suppressed the dejection in her heart. Having now clinked glasses and toasted Tang Shi, she handed him her gift, saying, “Happy birthday, CEO Tang.”
“Tang Shi, Shiguang…” Tang Shi’s thoughts were turbulent. “Since when had she started to address him with such alienating terms like Mr. Tang and CEO Tang?”
Tang Shi stared at Gu Qingcheng’s alluring smile for a long time and didn’t appear to have any intention of accepting her gift.
Although the gift was not heavy, Tang Shi’s long delay in not accepting it made Gu Qingcheng feel as if her hand was sagging from its weight.
“What’s wrong? Why is Mr. Tang not accepting her gift?”
“Who is this woman?”
“The daughter of the Gu family, named Gu Qingcheng.”
“Oh, it’s her. I’ve heard that she used to be very close to CEO Tang.”
“Didn’t she go off to the UK a couple of years ago?”
Because of Tang Shi’s inaction, many of the guests had begun to whisper.
Gu Qingcheng was so embarrassed that she could only grip her gift with all her strength, causing its wrapping paper to become slightly crumpled.
Despite being on Gu Qingcheng’s side and empathizing with her, Siyue didn’t dare antagonize Tang Shi so she sent Lin Jinchen an eye signal to do something.
Siyue had no clue as to how or why Gu Qingcheng had upset Tang Shi to merit such treatment from him. Also, she absolutely knew for a fact that Tang Shi would regard the birthday gift from Gu Qingcheng as a priceless treasure.
For this group of close friends who had grown up together, just a look or a gesture among them was enough to convey any intended message. Picking up on the hint from Siyue, Lin Jinchen quickly took two steps forward, faced Gu Qingcheng, and said, “Thank you” on Tang Shi’s behalf as he then proceeded to accept her gift.
However, at that very moment, Tang Shi suddenly reached out, snatched the gift from Gu Qingcheng’s hands, and shoved it over to Lu Ran, signaling to her that her gift would be swallowed up in the mountain of gifts that meant nothing to Tang Shi.