Upon hearing Xia Qingyu’s well wishes, Tarik faltered for a moment before smiling and saying, “If you wished me a happy birthday on my actual birthday, I would be very happy.”
His birthday date had never been important.
Whatever day his adoptive father decided was his birthday, whatever day the banquet was held, it was up to his adoptive father to decide, and he just had to cooperate.
For an orphan, a birthday was a luxury. If someone was willing to celebrate it for him, he should be grateful.
Today, everyone was wishing him a happy birthday, and he accepted them all with a smile.
But only when facing Xia Qingyu did he want to clarify that today was not his birthday.
“Not today?” Xia Qingyu asked.
Tarik shook his head slightly and smiled, “The banquet is today.”
“Oh…” Xia Qingyu lowered her gaze slightly. She couldn’t be bothered with other people’s family matters and continued to drink the sparkling champagne in her glass, masking the awkwardness of having nothing to say.
“My birthday is the day you pushed me,” Tarik added.
“Pfft…” Xia Qingyu almost choked, coughed a couple of times, and then looked at Tarik, “Which day? The 17th?”
“Yes.” Tarik leaned forward slightly, his line of sight lower than Xia Qingyu’s, tilting his head pitifully. “Ouch… It still hurts so much, even now…”
“…” Xia Qingyu’s mouth twitched slightly. She had no idea that day was Tarik’s birthday.
If anyone was to blame, it should be Tarik himself. With so many birthday events, why did he have to choose that particular location and act so deviously?
She had only wanted to warn Tarik not to hurt her friends.
“Oh dear… it hurts so much…” Tarik caught the subtle shift in Xia Qingyu’s expression. He leaned closer to her, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“I… I’m sorry.” Xia Qingyu took a small step back as Tarik approached, feeling a little guilty. “I didn’t know that was your birthday.”
“What if you had known?” Tarik looked into Xia Qingyu’s eyes and asked, “What would you have done if you had known it was my birthday?”
“I…” Xia Qingyu met Tarik’s gaze, hesitating.
“Don’t lie to me,” Tarik added. “Answer honestly.”
Xia Qingyu recalled the event for a moment, then said honestly, “I might have pushed… more gently? Or… picked a softer spot… like… the lawn…”
As Xia Qingyu spoke, her confidence waned. She couldn’t be blamed; Tarik had told her to be honest.
Honestly speaking, even if she had known it was Tarik’s birthday and suspected him of bullying or using Shi Xingwu, Xia Qingyu would still have warned Tarik.
After all, there were some personal grievances involved before that.
“Pfft, hahaha.” Tarik couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her words. “As expected of you, hahaha!”
Hearing Tarik’s laughter, Xia Qingyu’s cheeks flushed red. She glared at him, saying, “You’re the one who insisted on asking!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll admit I deliberately made things difficult for myself at my own birthday banquet, okay?” Tarik straightened up and looked at Xia Qingyu with a smile, tilting his head. “So… shall I apologize to you?”
“Don’t try that trick, don’t use weird methods to guilt-trip me!” Xia Qingyu shot him a look. “It was wrong of me to push you on your birthday, but you were also at fault first. At most… at most, we’re even.”
“Even?” Tarik’s smile widened.
“Yes, even.” Xia Qingyu thought that now that she knew Tarik was Xiang Xueyuan’s adopted son, she truly had no intention of holding onto any grudges.
After all, Nie Qingkong was unlikely to return to the country. Knowing that Xiang Xueyuan was in Finland, she and her mother would definitely not set foot on this land again, nor would they come to this country.
Therefore, any grudges or resentments seemed superfluous.
How old was she? Her future life was still long, and she still had to earn money to support her sister. She had no time for grudges or resentment.
Thinking this, Xia Qingyu laughed heartily. She extended her wine glass forward, as if to say that after this drink, all past grievances would be forgotten.
Tarik’s gaze shifted slightly, his smile unchanged. He extended his hand holding the wine glass, and the rims of their glasses gently clinked with a clear sound. Then, they both downed the wine in their glasses.
Tarik glanced at Xia Qingyu from the corner of his eye, the curve of his smile deepening.
Even?
Between them, it was far from even.
It would never be even in this lifetime.
Just then, a female voice called out, “Tarik, so you were here.”
Xia Qingyu looked over and saw the strange girl she had met at the friendly match.
She remembered that this girl was Xiang Xueyuan’s adopted daughter… or was she?
Siv naturally linked her arm through Tarik’s and smiled at Xia Qingyu, saying, “Qingyu, hello. I’ve never introduced myself to you before. I’m Siv. I’m considered Tarik’s sister. Although we’re not related by blood, we grew up together, and our relationship… hehe, it’s pretty good~”
“Hello.” Xia Qingyu nodded casually.
As soon as Tarik saw Siv, his eyelid twitched. He knew this girl was up to no good. “Aren’t you supposed to be entertaining guests? What are you doing here?”
“Young Master Lei is talking to friends about business matters. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to be there.” Siv gave herself a nearly perfect excuse, especially with her innocent and clear eyes, which made her words seem particularly sincere and sensible.
If Tarik hadn’t known Siv too well, he might have believed her.
Siv glanced at Tarik’s warning look. The sourness in her heart was almost corroding her entirely.
She had noticed it before when Tarik smiled at Xia Qingyu.
Tarik’s smile was so bright and genuine, so unguarded. It was nothing like his usual smile.
That kind of smile made Tarik look like a stranger, and it frightened her.
She was afraid that the person she knew best would truly drift further and further away from her. If that were to happen, then her already dark and hopeless world might truly be left with only herself.
She couldn’t bear the fear of facing this world alone.
Therefore, even if she might be blamed by her adoptive father later, Siv still came over.
She couldn’t just stand by and watch the treasure she held so tightly be snatched away.
Absolutely not.
“Qingyu, speaking of which… I’m your sister too~” Siv revealed a nearly perfect smile and looked at Xia Qingyu, saying cheerfully, “Call me sister, won’t you? I’ve always looked forward to having a cute sister like you~”