[Music Recommendation: "A Sweet Smile" by Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin Impact OST) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

After an hour-long drive, we finally arrived at Verrill's house. It was my—and Hora's—first time there, and I'd say they were extremely wealthy as well. Their house was a mixture of modern and traditional Chinese homes. The design looked very luxurious and dignified.

From the main gate to the house was a small bridge where a large and beautiful pond could be found below, with its colorful lotus flowers and koi fishes. Their servants ushered us inside and towards the main hall with glass wall panels. They told us it's the place where the party would be held later. But since we were early, they let us into the living room where Verrill and Callan were waiting for us—it seemed that he got there earlier than us.

Verrill wore a white suit with red tie, and Callan wore an all black one. Kaiden, on the other hand, wore a deep blue suit, which was very similar to the color of my dress. We didn't agree on a color though. And it wasn't like he saw what color I was wearing, or I saw his'. It was purely coincidental! And I quite liked it. He-he. Thank you, fate and chances!

"Verrill!" Crystal called him so happily and ran towards him to give him a hug. "Happy birthday! I hope you enjoy your day. But for now, enjoy my gift to you."

Crystal handed him his gift which was wrapped in a pretty purple box, along with the birthday card she made. So that's why she chose lilac purple paper—to compliment the color of her gift. Nice one, Crystal!

"Thank you," Verrill gently smiled at her and patted her head.

"Go on! Open it," Crystal urged him. Her eyes were twinkling so excitedly.

"Here?"

"Yes. I want to see you open it."

"Alright."

Verrill opened his gift, pulling the ribbons out of the way, and lifting the lid of the box. Inside was a luxurious golden watch. It was really beautiful and expensive looking. I wondered how much it cost though I could only imagine since Crystal already bought it before we got ours.

Verrill was surprised with her gift. He smiled at it and thanked her but… I'm not sure if it was just me, or he didn't like his present very much? He looked like he was only being polite in thanking Crystal. Hmm… I hope that wasn't the case.

On the other hand, Crystal looked so happy. Well, she always looked happy but this time… it was like a special kind of happiness. Her cheeks were blushing, and she was smiling so sweetly while he patted her head. Yes, so sweet as if she was the happiest girl in the world. And Callan, who was behind them, turned gloomy all of a sudden.

'Oh no. Oh no. Oh no no no no no. Is this what I think it is?'

My eyes widened upon the sudden realization.

'If that's the case then… that time during the barbecue party… Was the reason why Crystal looked upset was because Verrill called Hora cute? And here I am, already shipping Hora with Verrill! I didn't know Crystal liked him! Oh my goodness! What should I do? And what about Hora? I'm not really sure if she likes Verrill, too but… Oh no! This is too complex! But who does Verrill like?'

Wanting to know the answer to my question, I urged Hora to give him her gift next.

"Go, Hora. You can go first. I'll give mine after," I told her.

Hora who had no idea what was going on, simply agreed. Crystal's warm smile burst like bubbles when Hora went near them. She kindly smiled to Hora and Hora smiled back as she always did.

"Uuuuhh… I didn't know much of what you like but here, your gift," Hora shyly said and gave Verrill the small box she was carrying. Then, she smiled politely and told him, "You can open it too, if you want."

I made sure to observe Verrill's expression.

"Really?" Verrill looked surprised… and excited? "Alright. I'll open it."

"Oh! And here's your birthday card. I almost forgot."

Verrill took the card, too, and he looked surprised again. But he smiled warmly after seeing the card. I wouldn't blame him. Hora's card was really outstanding. And it was red so maybe he liked that.

When Verrill opened the box, he was surprised for the third time. But this time, his eyes sparkled as if in awe of whatever Hora's gift was. Even I didn't know what it was since she separated with us for a moment when I was buying my gift with Crystal. She said she saw something interesting. Maybe that was it.

"A kalimba! I've been wanting to get one of these! Thank you!" Verrill smiled so happily. It wasn't hard to tell he liked it very much.

"Really? That's great. I knew you liked music so I thought of gifting—"

In Verrill's joy, he embraced Hora tightly, much to her surprise. Hora froze up and her face turned red in an instant.

"Thank you so much!"

'Oh no… poor Crystal. She averted her gaze and bit her lips. And like last time, Callan went to her, goofing off, trying to make her smile. Verrill probably didn't know how she felt about him. And knows nothing of what's going on. Waaa… this is so hard.'

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—it's, I got used to—" Verrill tried to explain but his words just jumbled up. His face flushed in embarrassment. Just a few more and it would have the same color as his hair.

"It's okay. No worries. Happy birthday!" she greeted awkwardly and ran to me, pushing me to go next.

Oh well, I gave him my gift after and told him he could open it later. He politely agreed. Kaiden gave his' after which he also told Verrill to open later since he was hungry. And so, we all went to grab a late lunch together.

Good Lord. I hope nothing bad happens during this happy celebration.