Reborn: The Return of the Villainous Mr. Liu-Chapter 1235: Wish

Chyou stared at the duo and the duo stared back at her. This exchange went on for a few long minutes.

"Hello, my dear Shui!! So this is where you were hiding!" Chyou beamed ecstatically. "A rendezvous with your secret lover!"

Shui choked. "W-What are you talking about? What rendezvous?"

"It is, isn’t it? After all, Uncle Zhi and Aunt Xinyi don’t know about it, right~?" She sheepishly grinned.

"..."

"My humblest apologies. Was I disturbing something?"

Her cheeks burned. "Of course not!"

"Hm? Really? Weren’t you going to share your first kiss! I definitely barged in like a sore thumb, didn’t I?" She scratched her head. "My bad..."

Shui unceremoniously pushed him away. "We were just talking, that’s all...!"

"Aish, you don’t have to be so reserved. You are going out with each other so you are allowed to do lots of naughty things together."

Shui lacked a place to hide.

"Lin!" She glared and nudged her elbow with a hard and meaningful jab. "Don’t you have anything to say?"

He pursed his lips. "What should I say?"

"Along the lines of that we were just talking..." she slightly gritted her teeth.

His gaze seemed downcast. He lamented the loss of the perfect atmosphere for their first kiss.

"Yes, we were just talking."

Chyou laughed. "Ahaha, you don’t sound convincing at all. You are definitely mad at me, aren’t you?"

"No, I am fine."

Shui cleared her throat. "What did you come here for?"

"Playyyyyy! It’s your birthday! We should be playing lots of games! Everybody is waiting for you."

She coughed and quickly dusted her dress. "O-Of course. I will be right there."

"Yes, yes, you need to hide the blush on your cheeks or Uncle will get suspicious~"

"..."

Shui harrumphed. "I see pregnancy gives women mood swings, but here you are all happy and blooming like a sunflower. Even when it’s night! Dial down on that brightness a little bit."

Happily experiencing her second pregnancy, the glow on Chyou’s face was unmistakable.

"Whenever I think about my sexy Yating, happiness just overflows out of meeee," she squealed.

"Ahem!" Shui coughed. "Yes, clearly I see the overflow."

Lin tilted his head. "Mrs. Gu is a superstar, but when it comes to Mr. Gu, it’s like you turn your fan mode on."

"What can I say~? I cannot help but gush whenever I look at his handsome face. But at least, I am only gushing and squealing. You should see Alix. She is a whole new person altogether with that pregnancy of hers. She has achieved nirvana."

Shui shuddered.

"Yeah I am afraid to meet her when she is like that..."

"I think she is her usual?" Lin blinked.

The two stared at him.

"...How in the world do you think that not plotting revenge against a self-centered, arrogant woman who clearly greedily snatched the dress from her in the mall is normal? She didn’t even throw her usual jabs filled with poison and needles that would kill a person multiple times over!"

"She just smiled and said ’You can have the dress. We don’t need to fight over this.’ I thought a ghost possessed her!" Chyou cried.

Lin took a thoughtful pause. "That...does sound concerning."

Shui pressed her lips together. "See? Finally you agree this is unnatural."

Chyou waved it off dramatically. "Well, pregnancy rewires the brain. Trust me, I’m speaking from experience."

She then looped an arm around Shui’s shoulders and tugged her forward. "Come on now, birthday girl. If you don’t show up soon, Uncle Zhi will personally come looking for you, and then the interrogation will begin."

Shui stiffened. "Interrogation?"

"Yes," Chyou nodded solemnly. "The kind where he pretends to casually ask questions while already knowing half the answers."

"...That’s terrifying."

They made their way back towards the party, where the glow of fairy lights illuminated the open space. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"She is here!"

The twins immediately slipped their arms through her at the same time, twirling with her till she felt dizzy.

"It’s cake cutting timeeee!"

"It’s stuffing our stomachs with cake timeeee!"

Zhiyuan approached them and forcefully separated the twins from her.

"Don’t hog her all to yourself," he scowled.

"Boooooo," they pouted.

Zhiyuan held her shoulders, tears brimming his eyes slightly. "Aish, you look so beautiful dear..."

"Dad, why are you crying? It’s my birthday, but you look like it’s my wedding."

His hand went to his chest. "That hurt a lot...Xinyi, I am uncomfortable in my chest."

Xinyi smacked him on his head. "Don’t be so dramatic. It’s only her birthday."

Zhiyuan felt the stifling feeling ease a bit. "Yeah, yeah, of course."

"But soon, there could come a time when we will see her in a wedding dress," she beamed.

Shui and Zhiyuan choked at once - Shui, with her face as bright as a dark beetroot and Zhiyuan, whose face was bright as a tomato but not in the same context.

Leina brightened. "Of course! I am dying to see Shui in the wedding dress one day~"

"Hoho, you are right," Chyou merrily laughed. "She will look so beautiful, won’t she Lin?"

She targeted Lin, who was just standing right beside her.

"Indeed," Lin didn’t take even a moment’s hesitation, staring at Shui’s reddened face. "Miss. Han would be the most beautiful bride in the world."

Heart, heart, my heart...

Shui felt it pounding too fast for her own good. All too sudden, their near-first kiss popped into her mind and she struggled to catch her breath.

"Well of course my daughter will look beautiful in anything she wears, but do we have to talk about her wedding when it’s her birthday?" Zhiyuan protested.

Nuo patted his shoulders and glared at the gang. "Don’t bully my Dad!"

"Booooooo!"

Zhiyuan wiped his eyes. "Thank you, Nuo. Only you care about me in this house."

"Heyyyy," Siying raised his hand. "I care about you toooo!"

"Then why did you not open your mouth just now?"

"Ugh...I mean she is at that age so well...it wouldn’t be a shocker if she has a boyfriend."

"..."

Xinyi sighed. "Siying, you would make Zhiyuan end up in the hospital like this..."

"Oops~" he grinned. "Soryyyyyy."

Nuo pushed Shui towards the cake and said eagerly. "Come on, come on, make a wish! Make a wish!"

Shui peeked a glance at Lin once and smiled. She closed her eyes and made her wish. She opened them again and blew upon the candles.

"What did you wish~" Leina asked.

She chuckled. "That’s a secret."