“Steward Xu, enough talking. I don't have time; I'm going to go now!” Ye Wanwan shouted.

“Alright, Miss Wanwan, but wait—Ninth Master probably isn't in his bedroom right now. Go to the loft on the top floor and take a look there!” Xu Yi said.

Ye Wanwan paused. “The loft?”

Xu Yi nodded. “Yes, after coming back to Jin Garden, he went to the loft by himself. I heard Ninth Master isn't in a good mood on this day every year…”

Ye Wanwan furrowed her brows. “OK, got it!”

Ye Wanwan glanced at the time on her phone and rushed to the loft.

There were 10 minutes left.

Ye Wanwan sprinted to the top floor in one go before bursting through the door to the loft.

“Ah-Jiu!”

Ye Wanwan called softly, but the loft was silent without a sound.

“Ah-Jiu…?”

What's going on? He doesn't seem to be here…

Did he leave already?

After calling a few more times, Ye Wanwan still didn't hear anyone, so she could only check elsewhere.

Because she wanted to give him a surprise, she moved carefully and as quietly as possible. She could only covertly search room after room.

In the end, she couldn't find him anywhere. He wasn't in the loft, the study, or the bedroom.

D*mn! Where the heck did he go?

Ye Wanwan watched the clock drop down to three minutes before midnight and spun around anxiously.

Her birthday surprise!!! Was it going to be aborted prematurely just like this?

Three minutes…

Two minutes…

Ye Wanwan was standing in front of the bedroom, about to look elsewhere, when her ears twitched and heard some shuffling from the bedroom.

Eh?

Ye Wanwan opened the bedroom door immediately. The noise seemed to have come from the bathroom.

D*mn! She was in too big a hurry earlier and only looked outside, not expecting him to be in the bathroom.

Sh*t! I only have one minute left!!!

Ye Wanwan had no presence of mind for anything else and launched toward the bathroom like a rocket, kicking open the door without a word.

BANG!

The door slammed against the wall, shaking from the impact.

And so, with the man's stunned gaze on her, Ye Wanwan leaped toward him, maintaining her bullet speed…

Si Yehan appeared to have just finished showering. His hair was wet and he still wasn't dressed with only a white towel tied around his waist.

“Wanwan?” Si Yehan's hands stayed poised inches from his hair with a towel in them, in the middle of drying his hair. He didn't expect Ye Wanwan to suddenly appear at all, staggering a step back when she barreled into her.

Si Yehan immediately extended his arms to stabilize her and prevent her from falling. His expression was solemn as he asked, “Why did you come here? Did something happen?”

Ye Wanwan ignored Si Yehan's inquiries and hastily made a shus.h.i.+ng noise, signaling him to be quiet before peering down at her phone. She counted down, “Nine, eight, seven, six…”

Five…

Four…

Three…

As Ye Wanwan counted, she scrambled to pull out a slender sparkler from her pocket and lit it with a lighter before turning off the bathroom light with a pah…

DONG!

Downstairs, the clock resounded as it struck midnight.

At the same time… Sizzle!

The sparkler ignited and the faint but brilliant sparks illuminated the small bathroom, casting a glow on the girl's flushed, panting face as well as her mesmerizingly enchanting eyes.

“Si Yehan…”

The girl raised her sparkler as she stood on tip-toe and kissed the man on the lips. Her sweet and glutinous voice, accompanied by the sound of the fireworks and the chiming clock, rang next to his ears. “Happy birthday…”