Chapter 41


    41 Chapter 41: Losing the Vest


    When Xaviera found out that today was also Caleb’s


    birthday, her first reaction was, “What does this have


    to do with me?” Her second reaction was, “Should I


    also get him a birthday gift? After all, she still relied on


    Caleb to taste food.”@


    With that thought, she took a taxi to the nearest


    inte cafe.


    Meanwhile, Caleb sat on the sofa in his apartment, frowning as he examined the gift ck Tide had


    sent


    him.


    A silver cuff and a greeting card.


    On the card was written: “Happy Birthday.” The signature appeared to be from ck Tide, the


    handwriting erratic and mboyant.


    Caleb put the card aside and picked up the silver cuff. Intricate patterns covered its surface, which


    upon closer inspection, resembled a coiled five–wed golden dragon. At the dragon’s eye was


    embedded a secretive and radiant obsidian. The more he looked at it, the more alive the dragon


    seemed, evoking a sense


    of soaring through the clouds and mist.


    Caleb rubbed his brows.


    While the cuff was beautiful, it was too ostentatious, more suitable for someone in their twenties.


    In the past, ck Tide had always sent him a stickman waving a glow stick in rhythm to music for his


    birthday. Why had it changed to sending a gift this year? Perhaps it was because he had asked too


    many questions recently?


    Thinking about this, he couldn’t help but think of Xaviera. ck Tide would only ask a few questions


    and knew how to express gratitude through a gift, but what about Xaviera? She clearly still needed his


    help to treat her bitter taste disorder, but there was no sign of appreciation, and she expected him to


    cooperate with her treatment? Let her taste bitterness for the rest of


    her life!


    “Ding.”


    The new email notification pulled Caleb out of his negative thoughts. He clicked it open and saw the


    enormous words: “Happy Birthday!”


    216


    Following that was a line of smaller text: “Wishing you happiness every day, and may all your wishes


    come


    true!”


    Caleb scoffed, about to ridicule the clichéd birthday message when he noticed the signature at the


    bottom:


    “Xaviera.”


    Caleb: “…”


    Actually, this birthday message was quite nice, simple,


    and sincere.


    However, did Xaviera think an email would suffice?


    Was he that easily cated? Caleb tried to ignore his rising smile and continued scrolling down the


    email, finally finding a link at the bottom.


    Clicking it opened a familiar “Happy Birthday” song, with a colorful stickman in the center waving a glow


    stick in rhythm to the music.


    Looking at the familiar stickman, Caleb froze.


    This… wasn’t that the exclusive stickman that ck Tide sent to him every year? Various emotions


    crossed Caleb’s eyes as he grabbed his car keys and returned to the Lowen Clubhouse without


    hesitation.


    C


    At the Lowen Clubhouse, Caleb headed straight to the third floor upon entering. Xaviera’s tools were


    still in the corner, and after searching through each item, he finally found a stack of design drafts that


    had been heavily revised at the bottom, matching the cuff design he had received.


    “Heh.”


    Caleb chuckled, hisughter ambiguous.


    ck Tide… Xaviera… So ck Tide was Xaviera and


    Xaviera was ck Tide.


    their


    Who would have thought that Miss Evans, who had been raised in the countryside, would turn out to be


    a hacker magnate? Despite seemingly unrted, paths had somehow converged in a bizarre twist of


    fate.


    However, soon after, the smile at the corner of Caleb’s mouth disappeared as he thought about Xaviera


    asking him what it was like to like someone. How had he responded back then? By warning her not to


    like anyone?!


    If there was a time machine, he would definitely go back to that moment and p himself! What a


    foolish


    thing to say!


    Upon realizing that ck Tide was Xaviera, Caleb felt surprised, yet that sense of surprise was


    apanied by an indescribable ambiguity, like the settling of dust.


    In Caleb’s heart, Xaviera was like a fleeting cloud, as though one day she would suddenly drift away


    without a trace. Their lives were only connected by a marriage certificate, with no other form of


    intersection.


    But now that Xaviera was ck Tide, the ck Tide he had known for so many years, their rtionship


    felt grounded in Caleb’s heart, like a kite with a string, a tree with deep roots, both stable and reliable.


    When Steve received the call from Caleb, his heart was uneasy. Knowing that Xaviera hadn’t used the


    tools to make a gift for Caleb, he always felt as if there was a sword hanging over his head, ready to fall


    at any


    moment.


    Without even distinguishing Caleb’s tone of voice, Steve promptly apologized, “President, I’m sorry. I


    misunderstood Miss Evans. Feel free to punish me as


    you


    see fit, just please don’t deduct my annual bonus.”


    N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.


    Caleb knew he was apologizing for the birthday gift matter, but without Steve, he may not have had the


    chance to discover Xaviera’s secret.


    “Find Miss Evans in five minutes, and your past


    mistakes will be forgiven.”


    Steve hadn’t expected the punishment to be so simple, readily agreeing, “Alright, I’ll get it done right


    away!”


    After hanging up the phone, Steve only then realized the tone of Caleb’s voice had sounded off… It


    hadn’t seemed angry but rather quite cheerful. Could this be the fabled st* pidity brought about by


    anger?