"Yeah. I was surprised, too! Well, not by the fact that they do that for her sister.

"

"Oh?

" Pan An arched a brow at her and asked,

"What were you surprised about, then?

"

Shu Xian giggled for a while. With her turning to look at Pan An, she answered his question, Pan An, not expecting what she told him.

"Her sister and I have the same birthday—I'm turning 20. With this being talked about, too, I realized I'm aging in a few days! Such coincidence is life, right?

"

When Pan An heard this, he stopped in his tracks, Shu Xian, walking on ahead. When she realized that the professor is not following her, she turned back and cocked her head to the side, curious.

"What's wrong, Pan An? Did you forget something?

" she asked, Pan An, blinking his eyes a few times as he looked at Shu Xian.

"You… why didn't you tell me that your birthday is coming soon!?

"

Shu Xian arched a brow at him and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Why would I tell you about my birthday? Of course, I wouldn't tell you about it—we're not that close yet!

"

She let out a scoff and rolled her eyes at him, too.

"Besides, Pan An… wouldn't it be awkward if I go like, 'Hey! My birthday is on blablabla…'

"

With Shu Xian chuckling as she shrugged her shoulders, Pan An followed her, sighing at the same time.

"Yeah, you do have a point… but something like this, it's something to look forward to, right?

"

"Hmm…

"

When Pan An said this, Shu Xian couldn't help but furrow her brows. With her giving him a melancholic smile, she shook her head to disagree to what he said, further stating her point.

"Since we live together and we're sort of close now, I think I'd let you in on what I feel about birthdays,

" she said, both of them already in front of the house.

Before they even entered, Shu Xian sighed, looking at the sky as she tried her best to cover the sadness that took over her even though they just had a fun dinner with Wang Fang.

"Ever since my uncle raised me until I ran away, never have I ever celebrated my birthday. He just told me when I was born when I saw my papers and that's it. Nothing else.

"

She then looked at Pan An, the professor feeling sad for the girl as she continued telling him what she thinks about birthdays.

"It's like an ordinary day. But of course, Shi Lian knows my birthday—she celebrates with me in the simplest way of eating out and that for me is already okay because I don't like celebrations—it'd be kinda awkward.

"

With Shu Xian forcing out a laugh, she then looked back at the professor, faking a smile as she said her last sentence before entering the house.

"Birthdays… it's just a day to commemorate one's birth. That's all.

"

As Shu Xian already entered the house, Pan An followed, closing and locking the door behind him.

"Good night, Pan An! Thank you for the dinner with Miss Wang Fang.

"

With a yawn coming from her, Wan Wan followed her, too, both of them already going inside the room. Once the professor heard the door close, he sighed, blankly staring at her door.

Looking at the time, it is almost midnight. It only occurred to him now that he ate and talked for almost three hours with Shu Xian and Wang Fang in Molto Affamato.

As the professor went inside his room and with Shu Xian's words still ringing in his mind, he couldn't help but sigh, feeling sad that a person like Shu Xian is telling him that birthdays are nothing to her.

He thought that since it's coming in a few days, if there is something that they could do—even at least a small celebration just so this year, it would make a difference to her.

With that in mind, Pan An wanted to relax before he thought of what to do on Shu Xian's birthday. Already removing the necktie that was given to him by Shu Xian, he looked at it and smiled, thinking of something right at this moment.

'Shall I give her a birthday present? If so… what would I give her?'

With Shi Lian coming to mind and knowing that she has a playful personality like her older brother, Wang Lei, Pan An couldn't help but roll his eyes, wondering how he could get information from her without her teasing him.

As he heaved another sigh, he furrowed his brows, already undressing himself. He now only wore his boxers, putting his suit inside his hamper for laundry.

With him lying down on the bed, he wondered why he wanted to make a difference for Shu Xian's birthday this year—when they only met for a few weeks.

"There's nothing wrong with doing something for her, right? Well… she did do something for me—the necktie,

" he mumbled to himself, looking at his phone.

When he saw his wallpaper that Shu Xian changed when she was drunk, he couldn't help but grin. He laughed as he remembered how childish and playful she was that time, making him think when would be the next time that he'd see her that way.

However, when his mother suddenly texted him this night, he slightly widened his eyes when an idea came out of nowhere.

The message from his mother read: How's it going with Shu Xian?

Not answering her question instead, Pan An replied to her message with something even better that made Cai Li feel excited.

Pan An sent: Shu Xian's birthday is this Thursday. Want to do something for her?

The professor was expecting a text message from his mother. However, with him suddenly getting a call from her, he answered the call immediately, Cai Li not bothering to even say hi.

"Of course! Let's do something for Shu Xian on her birthday! Why tell me this now!? We only have a few days left to prepare!

"

With the call suddenly ending and with Cai Li not also saying good bye, Pan An playfully rolled his eyes, chuckling as he found his mother's excitement unusual.

However, his frown soon disappeared when he remembered Ruo Xi and how different his mother treated her and Shu Xian.