Chapter 240 - 189: Gift and Thank-you Gift

On Monday, filming for Soul Ferryman wrapped up, and the photoshoot for the October cover of Fashion was also finished. Ni Bingyan began a two-week vacation.

Her cousin was getting married next week during the Qixi Festival, so she had to make a trip to Guisheng to attend the wedding. This week, she planned to stay home and organize her manuscript in preparation for publication.

The house hadn’t had a deep clean in over half a year, and dust had settled in every nook and cranny. She didn’t hire a cleaning service. After sleeping in, she got up, stripped the bedsheets, duvet covers, and curtains to start the laundry, then began vacuuming the entire house.

When Sang Yuan arrived, she was emptying the vacuum’s dust canister, shaking the dust out over the trash can.

"Oh? You don’t have work today?"

After letting him in, Ni Bingyan quickly washed her hands at the garden faucet.

"You can’t just work overtime constantly. I need to take a break too!"

In the laundry room, the washing machine was SLOSHING and the dryer was HUMMING. Sang Yuan knew at a glance that she was deep-cleaning, and he immediately rolled up his sleeves to help.

Ni Bingyan suspected he had likely taken the day off just to be with her, but since he’d said he needed a break, she couldn’t say anything. ’It would feel a little presumptuous of me.’

"Don’t worry about that, I’m almost finished. I have a very important mission for you."

"What mission?"

"Ta-da! Look what we have here."

"The sample copies are already done?"

Sang Yuan took them, flipping through the pages, unable to put them down. He looked even happier than she did.

Ni Bingyan couldn’t help but smile. "I’ve gone over them several times these past few days and haven’t found many mistakes. Could you help me give them a thorough check? Remember to note down any errors you find. By the way, this set is for you. When the final version is published, I’ll give you another set. It’ll be really fun to compare them!"

The final, flawless publication could be bought by anyone with money, but a sample copy like this held a completely different significance.

Sang Yuan turned the box over and, sure enough, found a line of text in a blank space on the back:

[For Sang Yuan: A true warrior dares to face every mistake! —Ni Bingyan, XX/XX/XXXX]

He then opened the title pages of the four photo albums in turn.

The one about Wangcai read: [Grateful for every encounter in life—with him, and with you.]

The one about the film crew read: [The world is an inn for all creation, and we, the passing guests of generations. How fortunate I am to walk this path with you!]

The one titled Ink Charm read: [Shades follow the heart, but the charm is eternal.]

The one titled Four Seasons read: [As the seasons turn, may we spend the fleeting years together.]

He had always known that Ni Bingyan was quite the romantic.

She didn’t care much for ceremony, but she cherished the sentiment behind a gesture.

When giving gifts, she always made a habit of tucking in a small card with a personal, handwritten note.

The gifts she gave him were sometimes laser-engraved, other times she would use a marker to write a few words in an inconspicuous corner. Either way, every gift from her brought a unique kind of joy.

But he was certain that this set of sample books was the most meaningful gift he would ever receive in his entire life!

Sang Yuan quickly pulled out his phone to check the date.

August 15th.

’Ah! An anniversary!’

Once his excitement subsided, he looked around for her, only to find Ni Bingyan squatting in the garden, wearing rubber gloves and pulling weeds.

A putty knife from the storage room proved to be especially convenient for getting rid of the small weeds in the vegetable patch. With a few quick jabs, she could sever the roots, while her other hand swiftly picked up the weed and tossed it into a basket.

The lettuce and celtuce had grown old, so she pulled them out and piled them in a corner. Later, she would cover them with soil to decompose into excellent fertilizer.

Once the weeds were gone, she would turn the soil. Ni Bingyan planned to plant a new crop of vegetables for the winter.

When Sang Yuan came outside, he saw that the back of her shirt was soaked with sweat and her face was flushed red from the sun.

His excitement slowly subsided. Sang Yuan went back inside to get a large straw hat and placed it on her head. Then, he grabbed a hoe from the storage room and, without a word, began to turn the soil in the patch she had just weeded.

The two of them worked in silence, preparing all the empty plots of land.

"What do you plan on planting?"

There were still a few ripe blueberries on the bushes. Ni Bingyan washed her hands, grabbed a small basket from the kitchen, and went out to pick them. When she saw Sang Yuan leaning on his hoe, watching her from the garden patch, and finally speaking, she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

’He probably didn’t understand my meaning.’

Ni Bingyan felt a pang of disappointment, but she rallied her spirits and answered him.

"I have to start deportment training next month for a new movie, so I probably won’t have much time to tend to the garden. I was just thinking of planting things like radishes, cabbage, and spinach."

Seeing him fall silent again, Ni Bingyan started making small talk to fill the quiet. "These blueberry and raspberry bushes have grown so much. I’m thinking of keeping one of each in the corner and digging up the rest. I planted way too many and can’t possibly eat everything. They just attract flocks of birds, and now there are droppings all over the yard. Ugh, I’ve used so much pesticide this year. It’s a good thing I’m not home often, or the smell alone would give me a headache..."