"Jin!"
Nana merrily hopped to his side and held his arm.
Jin smiled. "Mom. You look extra cheerful today."
"Hehe of course I am. Tomorrow is Shui's birthday after all."
Jin stared at her but said nothing.
"Jinhai and I were deciding on a gift for her, but it's so difficult," she sighed. "Do you have any idea?"
"I don't," he smiled. "It's fine, Mom. Shui will like whatever you have to give her."
She pouted. "I know, but I still want it to be thoughtful. Oh, what are your plans by the way?" She clapped her hands once in delight.
"Nothing. Sorry, Mom but I won't be coming to the party tomorrow."
Nana widened her eyes. "Why not?"
He didn't know how to answer that. It was difficult to make her understand but at the same time, he had no interest in being a part of Shui's birthday banquet.
"...I am feeling a little sick."
"What? How? Why? What happened?" She quickly touched his forehead to check for a fever, but there was none. "Okay, you don't have a fever. You seemed to be well at the breakfast table," she pursed her lips, "How could I not notice it?"
"Oof, Mom. You don't have to feel guilty," he pinched her cheeks. "It's not so bad. Just feeling tired. It will be too much to attend the party for me. Of course, I will give my wishes to Shui."
Nana wondered about something and anxiously asked, "Jin. Is it because Jun will be there too?"
He blinked his eyes in surprise. "No. It's not because of Bro. In fact…Bro and I are good now."
This wasn't what Nana expected. "Really!?" Her heart bloomed with immense joy. "You and Jun are…"
He smiled. "Yes. It was my mistake, Mom. I was being silly about the whole thing. We had a good conversation and sorted things out."
Her eyes ached with tears. "Aish, I am so happy to know this," she sniffled. "I was so worried about you two."
Jin held her hand and guiltily apologized. "I am sorry, Mom. I didn't want to make you sad over this. But everything is fine now between us."
"En!" Nana bobbed her head. "Good, good."
Nana patted his head. "You should take a good rest. Don't worry about tomorrow's party," she kissed his forehead. "I will cook your favorite dishes for you too!"
He brightened. "Mom is the best!"
Nana left even more happily than before to give this good news to Jinhai about the brothers' patch up.
The sunny expression on Jin's face reversed to his grim and icy countenance.
After talking to Jun, he knew that there could have been many things at play in his last life that involved Shui and the events that transpired later.
But that was separate from how she broke Jun's heart. In his last life, this birthday was a major turning point. Jun had proposed to her. She had accepted it but soon asked for some space in their relationship which broke Jun's heart. The subsequent four years were nothing but a torture to him.
"I don't know if you were manipulated or not Shui," Jin balled his fist. "But it had nothing to do with how you treated Bro. Celebrate all you want, but I would never be a part of it."
—
The next evening at Han villa was dazzling and sparkling with lights and flowers as Shui's twenty-first birthday party sprung into action. Guests poured in and the atmosphere became even more lively and cheery.
Naturally, the main question in everybody's mind was about the Liu and Han family's relationship, especially Jun and Shui. It was already public for a while now that Jun and Shui had broken up, and he was also happily in a relationship with Ai. It was a big discussion at that time but tonight, it will be different to witness it.
"Hey, do you think Liu Jun would come to the party tonight?"
"I don't think so. I mean sure, they claim they are still good friends, but we all know the truth. It will be so awkward to face each other after years of their relationship."
"Yes, yes. It's impossible for Liu Jun to be here, much less his girlfriend."
"No way! Zhou Ai, that writer right? It will be so embarrassing if they did come together. Like ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend together at the same place?" One snorted. "Not happening. Han Shui will never accept this."
"But we still don't know what caused their breakup. It was going so good and then Zhou Ai suddenly entered into the picture…"
"Who knows if she seduced Liu Jun and forced this breakup to happen…" one murmured.
Amidst all the rumors and talk, the two controversial people in question gracefully made their presence known in the banquet. The group of socialites who were gossiping about them were left stunned and aghast at their entrance.
"W-wait what? Liu Jun and Zhou Ai…together?"
"The hell…they actually came…"
"I can understand Liu Jun for once but even Zhou Ai…!"
"How will the Han family react to this?"
Unaware of the brewing discussions about them, Jun and Ai were in their own world. Ai sincerely appreciated the arrangements and decorations of the birthday banquet.
"Everything is so pretty," she nodded hard.
Jun's ears perked up. "I will make it even grander for you on your birthday. Be ready to be impressed even more."
She chuckled. "You always have to compete, don't you?"
"I don't like your attention spanning away from me," he narrowed his eyes and kissed her temple.
That earned even more silent gasps from the different groups of people observing them. But that wasn't the end of their shock therapy yet.
"Jun! Ai!"
The birthday girl Shui beamed upon seeing them and immediately rushed towards them in joy. "You are here!" She chirped.
She hugged Jun and then hopped to embrace Ai. "You look so pretty, Ai!"
Jun smirked with pride. "I chose the dress for her."
"Tch, why do you have to take the credit, Jun? Ai's beauty has nothing to do with you."
"..."
"It has definitely a lot to do with me, excuse me? Of course, Ai was always beautiful. But now she has even more glow to her face, you know thanks to- Ouch!"
Ai stomped on his foot and squinted her eyes. Jun received her message and shut his mouth. "Well, I don't need to state it explicitly."
Shui laughed.
The whole scene between the trio made everybody dizzy.
When did these three get into such good terms!?
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