Chapter 1543: Surprise is Approximately Equal to Shock

Ji Yingjie continued to guess: "Cosmetics that keep you looking young?"

Shi Youxuan said: "I don't even use much cosmetics myself; if I gave them to you, would you dare to use them?"

She thought for a moment and realized she truly wouldn't dare use them.

"Then what could it be?"

"You'd better stop guessing. Since it's a surprise, it's something you can't think of. If you can already guess it, what kind of surprise would it be?"

"That's true, hahahahaha!" Ji Yingjie was in a very good mood.

Shi Youxuan said: "Auntie, I won't chat with you anymore. If we keep talking, you'll definitely insist on getting to the bottom of it."

"Fine, let's hang up."

She was in a good mood, so she was especially easy to talk to.

As soon as Shi Youxuan hung up the phone, she immediately racked her brains to think about what kind of birthday gift to give her aunt.

First, she made a round of phone calls.

The first call was to Nianyin.

It was her mother's birthday, so she absolutely could not forget.

Nianyin had used a piece of high-tech fabric to make a set of shimmering, colorful clothing that was so beautiful it was impossible to look away, but there was something even more marvelous about it.

This set of clothing could change into different patterns under different lighting, and it was waterproof in the rain yet still breathable.

It was no surprise that she could get her hands on such fabric.

Back then, the tribe where Lao Qi lived produced this kind of silk, only their technology wasn't as good at the time; now, after upgrades and improvements, it had become what it was today.

Shi Youxuan then called Wan'er.

She asked: "Auntie's birthday is next week, what gift are you giving?"

Wan'er exclaimed: "Auntie's birthday is next week? Thank goodness you called me, otherwise I would have forgotten."

It seemed she wasn't the only one who had forgotten her aunt's birthday.

"Hahahahaha, you owe me a big favor, remember to pay me back."

"Why?"

Shi Youxuan said brazenly: "If you forget her birthday, she might kill you, so you owe me a favor."

The two of them bickered for a while before returning to the main topic.

Wan'er planned to give jewelry.

Even if her aunt already owned a lot of jewelry, what woman would refuse beautiful gemstones?

Nianyin was giving clothes, Wan'er was giving jewelry, so the gift she gave couldn't be either of those two things.

Shi Youxuan didn't know much about cosmetics that kept one looking young, and besides, her aunt had already guessed that, so she had to give a gift her aunt wouldn't expect!

Giving her aunt a birthday gift was a headache; she wasn't like an average old lady where you could just give a big red envelope if all else failed.

Her aunt had money, had seen the world, and liked surprises—where were there so many surprises to be found?

Shi Youxuan pondered deeply, and suddenly a flash of inspiration hit her; she had an idea.

On the day of Ji Yingjie's birthday.

Just past midnight, someone knocked on the door.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

It was called knocking, but it was actually more like smashing the door.

Shi Yucheng was startled awake from his sleep.

He sat up, turned on the light, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and grumbled with dissatisfaction: "Who is this? Smashing the door in the middle of the night, honestly." He prepared to get up to take a look.

"Don't go, let the bodyguards go." Ji Yingjie was very alert; she was afraid there were bad people outside.

The bodyguards lived on the first floor, and since the masters on the second floor had been disturbed, there was no reason they wouldn't have heard it.

The bodyguards opened the door, but there was no one outside!

"Strange, there's no one here. Where did the knocking come from?"

They patrolled the courtyard once, found no signs of anyone having been there, and then closed the main gate to go upstairs and report.

"Reporting to Madam, there is no one outside."

"If there's no one, where did the knocking come from?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

Ji Yingjie was very dissatisfied with this answer. She raised her voice an octave and shouted at the doorway: "What use are you all to me? You don't even know about such a small matter..."

"Madam, please don't be angry, we'll go look again."

"Forget it, it was probably just a snail knocking on the door; it would have run far away by now, what's there to look at?" Ji Yingjie flew into a great rage and sent the bodyguards away.

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe it was just someone playing a prank; is it worth scolding people over such a small thing?" Shi Yucheng had a heart of gold and couldn't stand many of his wife's methods.

"Hmph! If you aren't strict, who will take you seriously? Go to sleep."

She turned off the light, lay down, and turned away.

However, her eyes remained alert in the darkness.

The bodyguards in the house were no ordinary people; Nianyin had sent the most capable bodyguards from the security company. If they hadn't discovered the problem, it meant the problem was significant.

It might even be a killer.

Speak of the devil, at that very moment, the same knocking sound as before rang out again.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The bodyguards were fast; almost as soon as the third knock fell, they had already pulled open the door and rushed out, but they were still a step too late—just like before, it was quiet outside and there was nothing there.

Ji Yingjie and Shi Yucheng also put on their coats and came down from upstairs.

Ji Yingjie ordered: "Search thoroughly for me! Do not let a single place go, even if the one knocking on the door is a ghost, you must catch it!"

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

The bodyguards answered and began a wider search.

But after searching for more than ten minutes, there was still no discovery at all!

Ji Yingjie's face was gloomy, and she said to her husband: "You go upstairs, do not come down until I call you."

"No."

He refused flatly: "If anyone should go upstairs to hide, it should be you. We are husband and wife, and I am a man; a man should naturally protect a woman."

Shi Yucheng refused to leave; he wanted to stay and protect his wife.

Ji Yingjie did not waste words with him and directly had the bodyguards carry him upstairs.

"You being here only hinders me. I, your lady, will protect you; I don't need you to protect me."

At this moment, the knocking on the door sounded again.

The bodyguards quickly pulled open the door, and just like before, there was still no one outside.

A cold wind whistled into the house; outside, there was only the silent, dark night!

"Who is playing tricks and acting like a ghost at my house? If you have the guts, come out! When I was playing tricks and acting like a ghost, you didn't even know where you were!"

Unable to find anyone, Ji Yingjie simply raised her voice and cursed.

She wasn't raised to be easily scared; don't think you can frighten her with such a petty trick. At this moment, the outside suddenly became brightly lit, and fireworks went off!

How beautiful.

Colorful fireworks exploded above in the sky, magnificent.

Ji Yingjie stopped cursing; she was intoxicated by this beautiful scene and couldn't bear to blink her eyes even once!

The fireworks started off individually brilliant, but soon changed patterns, forming beautiful shapes in the sky.

One moment it was a flower, the next a birthday cake, then it formed Ji Yingjie's portrait, and after a while, words appeared in the sky.

First a 'birth', then a 'day', and then 'happy'; put together, it was 'Happy Birthday'.

Ji Yingjie stood in the courtyard, stunned. She was well-traveled and knowledgeable; what kind of good things had she not seen?

But this was the first time she had seen such a birthday gift, and she was moved to tears!

I don't know when it happened, but Shi Yucheng walked out of the house and stood by his wife's side. He put his arm around his wife's shoulders and smiled: "It must be that little rascal Xuanxuan who set this up; besides her, no one else could come up with such an idea."