Why don't you open it now?

....

Han Ye arrived at Topaz at exactly 7 p.m. Since the woman had not arrived yet, he decided to order a glass of red wine while he waited. Even after the red wine was served, the woman was still nowhere to be seen.

"Am I being played?" thought Han Ye as he took a sip from the glass of red wine. "Come to think about it… What am I supposed to talk to her about? Ziyan said that she's smart… So, the current affairs? Politics? Economics?"

"Shaun! What are you doing?!"

A sudden loud yell caused Han Ye to turn to the table two tables away from him. At the table were a man, a woman, and a boy that looked like he was around 12 years old.

"Shaun, you're too young to drink!" the woman said as she took the glass of wine away from her son. When she was talking with her husband, the boy had sneakily taken a sip of the wine.

"But Dad said he had his first sip when he was 10! I'm already 12 years old!"

"Don't you dare listen to your dad...and if you want to compare, when your dad was 10, he had already started working," said the woman. Then she leaned closer to her son and nudged him. "Should I get you a job then?"

The boy made a face at his father. He then shook his head and crossed his arms. "Nope! I'm good at being a leech and I should focus on that!"

Han Ye chuckled as he turned away from the family. That scene reminded him of the first time he did something that only adults should do.

…

10-year-old Little Han Ye was reading in the library when he heard a not-so-subtle "pssst". Turning around, he saw Little Fan Wushuang from behind the windows.

"Come!" Little Fan Wushuang whispered and gestured for him to come out.

When Little Han Ye went out to meet her, Little Fan Wushuang giggled and said, "It's your birthday today, right? I bought you a present. Come…"

"What present?" Little Han Ye asked as he followed behind her.

Little Fan Wushuang chuckled. "It's not fun if I tell you. Just come with me!"

She took him to the room where the school kept all the sports equipment. When he entered, he saw a table laid with food and drinks. In the middle of the table was a birthday cake. Little Wu Yuexue was arranging the food when she noticed them.

With a bright smile, she said, "Happy birthday, Han Ye…"

Little Han Ye blushed as he nodded. "Thank you. I didn't realize that you guys knew..."

"Of course we do! I know everything!" Little Fan Wushuang said with a smug grin before she ran in and sat at the other end from Little Wu Yuexue. "Come, quick!"

Little Han Ye took his seat in between the two. Once he was seated, the girls started singing softly, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you… Happy birthday to Han Ye…"

After Little Han Ye blew out the candles, they then clapped their hands. However, they clapped softly as they did not want to alert anyone else since all three of them were skipping the first period after lunch.

"I didn't know that it's your birthday until Wushuang told me earlier, so I didn't get you any presents..." Little Wu Yuexue said with a sigh. She then glanced at Little Fan Wushuang before she gently knocked the little girl's forehead. "You ah... Can't you tell me earlier?"

"Hehe..." Little Fan Wushuang chuckled. "If I've told you, he won't accept my presents then... You can give him his presents tomorrow..."

Having said that, Little Fan Wushuang grinned mischievously as she ran to the big metal box where they kept the balls. She threw all the balls out and accidentally fell into the box when she leaned too forward.

"Wushuang?" Little Wu Yuexue called out.

Suddenly, Little Fan Wushuang jumped up while holding a wrapped parcel. "Here!"

She tried to climb out but she could not, so Little Han Ye and Little Wu Yuexue went to help her out. Once she was standing on the floor, she grinned and handed Little Han Ye the parcel.

"Here! Coward Ye, your presents. Happy birthday! Hope you will enjoy it..."

"Thanks..." Little Han Ye said as he smiled at her. He took the gift and said, "I'll open this later..."

"Open it now... I wanna see your face..." Little Fan Wushuang said.

However, when Little Han Ye saw her mischievous looking grin, he did not really want to open the presents now... or ever.

"Why don't you open it now, Han Ye? There are no adults here, so don't worry about propriety," said Little Wu Yuexue. It was rare for Little Fan Wushuang to buy presents for anyone other than herself, so she was curious as well.