Chapter 228

Henry Smith had his hands tucked casually in his coat pockets, looking at me with that calm, almost lazy air. "It’s your birthday today. I took time off early just to celebrate with you. You sure you wanna skip it?" His voice was so chill, like if I didn’t say yes right away, the whole plan would be scrapped—no hesitation. I didn’t even bother checking my phone to double-check the date. I immediately linked my arm with his, lighting up with excitement. "Of course I want to! Where’s my gift though? Empty hands, really?" He gave a small smile and said, "Don’t worry, let’s eat first." Honestly, birthdays never meant much to me. Probably because growing up, I rarely celebrated them. It just wasn’t something I paid attention to. If Henry hadn’t brought it up, I might’ve gone the whole day without realizing it was my birthday. So I locked up my files, grabbed my coat, and under my coworkers’ envious stares, walked out of Quying with Henry. He took me to this well-known Michelin three-star re