Chapter 425 Birthday
With Professor Evans' praise and my project making waves in the industry, these big shots started seeing me differently. Everyone was all about my achievements at such a young age.
But let's be real, I didn't take their compliments to heart; they were just being polite because of Professor Evans.
Professor Evans asked me to toast each senior there, you know, out of courtesy.
I wasn't feeling it and tried to dodge the whole drinking thing. But when Professor Evans insisted, I had no choice but to raise my glass and toast everyone.
I knew this toasting gig was a rare privilege. Without Professor Evans, I could struggle for ten years and still not get this honor.
Professor Evans was giving me opportunities others could only dream of. I was super grateful.
Since Professor Evans didn't point out who was the most senior, and my dull eyes couldn't tell, I started from his side and toasted one by one.
After making the rounds, I had downed twenty-one glasses of wine and felt like my stomach was about to explode.
Professor Evans saw me walking back steadily and asked, surprised, how I was feeling, if I was dizzy. I shook my head and said I wasn't dizzy, just felt like my stomach was full.
At this, not only Professor Evans but everyone there laughed and said that not only was I good at painting, but I also had a great capacity for alcohol and a promising future.
Only I knew my stomach was about to burst.
Luckily, everyone was pretty gentlemanly, and no one gave me a hard time.
Professor Evans was having a blast catching up with his old friends and drank quite a bit. By the end, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes were a bit hazy. I helped him out of the club along with the crowd.
Silverbrook City wasn't Professor Evans' usual hangout, and he hadn't arranged for a car. A big shot sent a black luxury car to take us.
At the hotel entrance, we ran into Elliot, who showed up out of nowhere, and he helped me get Professor Evans back to his room.
I took out the room card from my bag, swiped it, and opened the door. A sudden burst of floral fragrance hit me.
From the bright hallway into the dark room, my eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness immediately. I was surrounded by the scent of flowers and sniffed deeply, thinking it was a birthday event organized by the hotel.
Being treated so thoughtfully on my birthday in a foreign land, anyone would be moved.
I turned on the room light, and the scene before me made my eyes widen in shock.
Such a meticulous arrangement couldn't possibly be the hotel's doing. It was Brad, the one I'd been waiting for all night, who secretly prepared this birthday surprise for me.
In twenty-four years, I had never seen such a splendid scene, which belonged only to me.
The spacious hotel room, from the entrance to the bathroom to the bedroom, except for a narrow passage, every place that could hold something was filled with red roses. The sheer number and variety were unprecedented for me.
The rose petals were everywhere, filling the air with their sweet scent. It felt like I was in a sea of roses, the kind of scene every girl dreamed of when she was in love.
I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. I bent down to touch the soft petals, taking in the floral scent, and felt my eyes moisten.
I knew Brad must have set this all up for me. Could it be that the Brad I had waited for so long at the club was actually here, waiting for me to come back?
I walked along the narrow path, and the tears I had been holding back finally burst out. All the emotions I had been suppressing—longing, love, and the pain of being apart—came pouring out.
I wished Brad would appear right then, standing among the flowers, smiling at me with that gentle look in his eyes. And I would run to him, not caring about anything else, and throw myself into his arms, hugging his waist, feeling his abs, and his burning love!
I walked further into the room, and on the wall directly opposite, there was a life-sized portrait of me. It showed a girl in a light blue dress, with her hair down, standing under a peach tree, trying to tiptoe to touch the peach blossoms with her lips.
At that moment, all my longing turned into tears.
How familiar this scene was!
But how did Brad know and paint me so perfectly?
It was spring, the perfect time for peach blossoms, and we were both caught up in our own troubles.
One beautiful sunny afternoon, I went to Crystal House to paint.
The peach blossoms were in full bloom in the yard, and just looking at them lifted my spirits. Watching the branches sway, I couldn't help but tiptoe to touch them.
I remembered it clearly; I went there after lunch, and the whole yard was just me.
If Brad hadn't seen it with his own eyes, how could he have painted it so vividly, even down to the patterns on my blue dress? It was like he had printed the scene onto the canvas.
Brad, he not only loved me deeply but also understood me.
In the center of the big bed, rose petals were arranged in a heart shape, and a large red velvet box lay quietly in the middle, waiting for me to open it.
I looked at the necklace in the velvet box and the familiar handwriting on the card: [Baby, happy birthday!]
I laughed and cried like a fool.
I knew that every minute I missed Brad like crazy, he was thinking of me just as much. Brad remembered every moment we spent together and knew my wishes at every moment.
What made us, despite being separated by time and space, tempted by money and power, still love and care for each other so deeply?
I thought it must be the pure, crystal-clear connection between our hearts.
This was what love should be like—endlessly yearning for each other, giving wholeheartedly, and being there without regret.
In this world, no other man would be so thoughtful for my birthday. Ronan also loved me, but Ronan's thoughts would always be for my mom. Only Brad had his heart and eyes full of me.
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