Su Man stretched up and reached back, twisting her whole body to grab the gift box from the backseat.

She opened it — and of course it was a jewelry set!!!

A platinum necklace, earrings, and bracelet! Set with small diamonds that sparkled and glittered in the dim light.

Su Man’s temples began to throb!

And she was past anxious now — she was angry too!

She hated being coerced, or tricked into accepting gifts!

She grabbed her phone immediately and called Lu Yuwen, but before the call could even connect, someone tapped lightly on the car window.

A hotel doorman politely informed her, “I’m sorry, Miss, you can’t park here.”

“I’ll be gone in a moment,” Su Man said, frustration creeping into her voice. “Just let me finish this call.”

“I’m sorry, Miss…” The doorman looked apologetic and gestured behind her.

Behind the SUV, several cars had already lined up, unable to reach the hotel entrance because Su Man’s car was blocking the way.

She had no choice but to hang up and drive away.

There was nowhere to park in the immediate area, and she circled around for quite a while before finally finding a spot — by which time nearly fifteen minutes had passed.

The flash of irritation that had flared up earlier had gradually cooled with the passing time.

She replayed the entire date with Lu Yuwen from beginning to end in her mind. She was no longer angry, but still felt it was necessary to make things clear to him — she truly could not accept this gift.

No matter what persuasive things he might say, she could not accept it!

Su Man sat in the car, quietly organizing what she wanted to say. Then, with great solemnity, she dialed Lu Yuwen’s number.

— No answer.

She called eight times in a row. Lu Yuwen didn’t pick up a single one.

She couldn’t help but suspect it was deliberate.

“What is wrong with this man?!”

Su Man slapped the steering wheel in frustration!

It was already very late. The streets were empty. She had to be up early tomorrow to help cover the morning rush, and if she didn’t go home soon, there’d be barely any hours left to sleep.

Su Man bit her lip, started the car in a thoroughly bad mood, and drove home.

……

She pulled into the garage and got out, then gathered the assorted gift bags from the backseat — along with that box of jewelry — and walked inside with a heavy heart.

The house was empty. Dark.

She turned on the lights, piled everything on the sofa, and sat down, staring blankly at the small collection of things.

…Truthfully, even though she was a little angry… there was also, somewhere deep down… a tiny, secret flicker of delight.

Maybe it was vanity. Being given expensive gifts by a man — it really was the kind of thing that made a person happy, and she was no exception.

Sigh…

She sat alone in the quiet, hollow living room and let out a long, quiet sigh.

The phone rang suddenly, jolting her out of her thoughts.

She picked it up — it was Lu Yuwen. The complicated tangle of feelings in her chest immediately grew even more complicated.

Su Man pressed the answer button.

“Manman, did something happen? I just saw I had several missed calls. I’m sorry — I was in the shower just now…”

Oh. He was in the shower…

Come to think of it, of course he’d shower when he got back to the hotel. She had misunderstood him.

“About the… jewelry,” she said, pressing her lips together, her tone aggrieved. “I can’t keep it. I’ll return it tomorrow.”

There was a brief silence on the other end. Then she heard Lu Yuwen ask carefully, “Are you… upset?”

His voice was cautious, with a thread of unmistakable trepidation.

Even if she had been truly angry, hearing a tone like that made it impossible to hold onto her indignation. So she answered in a muffled, sulky voice:

“I’m not upset… In any case, I was already embarrassed that you spent so much on the dress, and I really can’t accept this gift on top of it.”

“But you treated me to dinner too, didn’t you?” Lu Yuwen said.

Su Man couldn’t help rolling her eyes inwardly. That dinner cost almost nothing compared to any of this.

Then she heard him ask over the phone: “Manman, are you upset because I gave you a gift — or… because the gift is too expensive?”

—