Chapter 35 Happy Birthday
An Yuan pushed open Yan Zhen's door.
Unlike the mess she had expected, Xiao Zhen's room was clean today. In the past, whenever Xiao Zhen was at home for more than half a day, his room would be like a storm, with all the sundries and books thrown in all kinds of weird places. But today, everything was tidied up and in its proper place.
An Yuan was stunned for a long time.
Did her son change his gender? The room is so tidy today.
As a mother, she actually felt a sense of loss.
Click. There was a sound coming from under Xiaozhen's desk.
What's that sound? An Yuan squatted down to check. In a corner under the table, there was a small clay figure.
Its body was hidden behind the table legs, with only a part of its head showing, as if it was watching from the dark. An Yuan picked up the little clay figure. When did Xiao Zhen have such a toy? She looked around and thought it looked a little cute, except that it was covered in dust.
She decided to help her son clean it. An Yuan just walked out of Xiao Zhen's room with the little clay figure when her cell phone suddenly rang loudly, and it showed that it was a call from her best friend Fang Ziwei.
Fang Ziwei said that she had dealt with Luo Qingxi's nasty mother-in-law. At least in the short term, the mother-in-law would not come to harass Luo Qingxi again.
"Did you know that Luo Qingxi is planning to rent a store?" Fang Ziwei said, "The agent she found happens to be an acquaintance of mine."
"Store? What kind of business is she planning to start?"
"The agent said she was planning to open a wonton shop."
"Wonton shop? The catering business is not doing well right now."
"She doesn't have a high level of education, and it's hard for her to find a job. She doesn't want to work for your husband's company, so it's good for her to open a wonton shop on her own," Fang Ziwei said. "The catering business is very tiring, and this is all for her son."
"Do you know where she plans to look?"
“Around No. 4 Middle School.”
"Okay, give me the agent's phone number."
Fang Ziwei asked, "Are you planning to let the real estate agent rent your storefront to Luo Qingxi at a low price?"
"We should help if we can. Tell your friend to keep his mouth shut."
"I say, you're too nice to Luo Qingxi." Fang Ziwei half-jokingly said, "I'm really jealous. Tell me, who's number one in your heart?"
"Go, go, go. First, go and give birth to a child like Liu Xingquan and let me be his godmother. Then I will consider where you rank."
"Tsk, I'm so sorry, I just want to be single and happy until I die. No son or daughter can compare to my cat." Fang Ziwei said, "Speaking of which, have you dealt with your cat and chicken?"
"Don't mention it!!" An Yuan replied angrily.
After hanging up the phone, An Yuan looked at the table and the little clay figure that was originally placed on it disappeared without a trace.
She looked up and down, left and right, but couldn't find it anywhere.
An Yuan was anxious. She had always respected her children's toys. This little clay figure might be Xiao Zhen's favorite. If it was lost, she would not be able to explain to her son. How could a good little clay figure disappear? She thought about it over and over again, and decided that it must be the cat's fault!
Maybe the cat took the clay figurine away when she was on the phone. Thinking of this, she checked the rooms one by one, trying to find the theft suspect, Mr. Cat. Soon, she locked on the target.
On the balcony on the second floor, Mr. Cat was squatting in a chair.
An Yuan originally wanted to rush up and catch the suspect cat, but what the suspect was doing made her dumbfounded. Mr. Cat was reading a book, a thick book was spread out in front of the cat, and the cat's paws were turning the pages. The cat lowered its head and read for a few seconds, and then the cat's paws would turn another page. It was like a steady scholar reading a book.
My cat is reading a book.
This must be a spirit.
She took out her phone and took several photos of Mr. Cat, but still found it difficult to record this wonderful moment. So she took another few dozen seconds of video, added filters and music, and uploaded it directly to TikTok.
After a while, several more comments from relatives and friends appeared under the video. "Don't delay the cat from going to college, send it to the college entrance examination as soon as possible." "This cat is good enough to go to Peking University or Tsinghua University." "Don't delay the child from getting a scholarship." "I'm so tired, I suddenly realized that cats are smarter than children."
An Yuan was amused by the comment, and the disappearance of the little clay figure was forgotten by her.
In this midterm exam, Luo Qingxi achieved high scores in mathematics.
She took the first place in the grade in English, surpassing Yan An. Her total score directly ranked third in the class. Wei Hongzhuo became the first in the class, while Yan An, who had always been the first, dropped to fifth.
Wei Hongzhuo's father was very happy. She met Wei's father when she went to the tutor for extra lessons. The famous industrialist was handsome and elegant, and was smiling and thanking the tutor. Luo Qingxi greeted the teacher. Wei's father noticed her.
"Luo Qingxi, long time no see." Wei's father said with a smile.
"Hello, Uncle Wei."
"Lao Luo is so lucky. The little girl has grown up and is getting more and more beautiful."
Luo Qingxi bowed her head and thanked him. Wei's father and her father were friends in the past.
"Xiao Luo, come to my house when you have time. My Hongzhuo will learn from you." Wei's father said. He smiled and glanced at Wei Hongzhuo who was standing beside him. Wei's father had a natural majesty. At this moment, Wei Hongzhuo, the number one troublemaker in the class, was as obedient as a little white rabbit in front of his father.
When they finished their tutorial, Wei Hongzhuo offered to send Luo Qingxi off. Luo Qingxi declined his request. Wei Hongzhuo smiled and seemed unconcerned. When they went downstairs, Luo Qingxi congratulated him on getting first place in the class.
"It's no big deal." Wei Hongzhuo shrugged. "I guess Yan An will push me down next time."
In the dim corridor, Luo Qingxi saw Wei Hongzhuo's eyes flashing with sarcasm. "The old man keeps talking about getting first place every day. This time, I can finally make him shut up."
“You did take first place.”
"Because Yan An's mother is sick and in the hospital."
"His mother is in the hospital?"
"Yes. He has to take care of his mother, work and go to school." Wei Hongzhuo said, "I got the upper hand this time." When the boy talked about Yan An, there was no jealousy on his young face, only resentment and full of unwillingness, as if this victory was just an unfair one.
After arriving home, Luo Qingxi's father was also happy. In order to celebrate his daughter's first place in a single subject, he opened a bottle of wine. As soon as he entered the door, his father talked more than ever before, saying that this was his good daughter. His mother was even more beaming and cooked a table full of delicious dishes.
This was the harmony between the couple after a long cold war. Luo Qingxi felt somewhat pleased with herself, but she soon remembered the matter of Yan An's mother, and her favorite dishes lost their taste when she chewed them.
"I told you that Xixi will never let us down," said the father. Because they were in a good mood, the father and mother talked about her future, which prestigious university she should go to, which major she should study, and what she should do in the future. The father thought his daughter should become a university teacher, while the mother hoped that she would become a doctor.
When they talked about the future, they never asked her.
That was the case originally. Her parents had arranged everything for her all along. In the future, she would continue to live a stable life according to her parents' plan. This was the case for everyone.
She was filled with an indescribable sadness, and her chest was squeezed by something invisible. She opened the bedroom window, and the damp and cold air rushed into the room. In a trance, a green-winged bird flew by outside.
Two days later, Luo Qingxi's father told her that he was going to hold a 17th birthday party for her. Luo Qingxi was stunned.
"I was thinking about celebrating your birthday properly." Father Luo said excitedly. He said that he and Mr. Wei happened to have dinner together these two days and accidentally talked about their children's birthdays. Father Luo was away on business all year round and had not celebrated his daughter's birthday for many years, which was a pity for him. Mr. Wei patted his chest and said that he would pay for the venue of his old friend's daughter's birthday party. There was no need to delay it, so he just held it in a grand manner this time.
"Call all your classmates. Dad wants to make it a lively party." said Luo's father.
Luo Qingxi wanted to say no. But her father was very enthusiastic, and her mother took her to try on dresses one by one. Finally she chose a nude long dress. The light-colored fabric had fine embroidery, cleverly decorated with glittering hand-made beads, and covered with a semi-transparent gauze skirt. When she put it on, the shop assistants all whispered praises: "It's so fairy" and "What a little fairy."
The girl in the mirror, wrapped in a gauze dress, looked as sweet as a princess, and even she herself looked a little dazed. This was a famous dress, the only one in the store. My mother immediately decided to buy this one.
"My Xixi is so pretty." Mom said proudly, reaching out to tidy up Luo Qingxi's long hair. "Your classmates will be stunned by your appearance. I think your Uncle Wei's son has never seen Xixi dressed so beautifully."
All the classmates in the class received invitations. Yan An had already taken a week off. She didn't know if he knew about her upcoming birthday party. She was worried about it and hoped that his mother would recover soon.
The day before her birthday party, Yan An finally came to school. Luo Qingxi repeatedly rehearsed in her mind how to start a conversation with Yan An, rehearsing 18 ways. After performing various small dramas in her mind, she finally mustered up all the courage to invite him.
But before she could speak, Wei Hongzhuo turned around and knocked on Yan An's desk, and said with a smile that Luo Qingxi's birthday was coming up, so don't forget it tomorrow.
"I can't go." Yan An replied. His expression was cold and indifferent, as if he was commenting on today's weather, or rejecting an ordinary dinner invitation. Luo Qingxi stood there. Then she asked: "Yan An, is your mother feeling better?"
"Better now." Yan An said, but his dark eyes did not look at Luo Qingxi, "I still have to work, sorry."
This birthday party held at a five-star hotel under the Wei Group was lively and successful, just as my parents had expected.
When the special guest singer Tan Yun appeared, the scene was filled with surprise and screams. The students couldn't help but applaud wildly, and some fans even shed tears because they could see Tan Yun up close.
Yan An was a fan of Tan Yun. Luo Qingxi had always known it. Every time he requested songs from the school radio station, they were all Tan Yun's songs. He would hum Tan Yun's songs while packing his things. The last few pages of his Chinese notebook were filled with Tan Yun's lyrics. She had always known it.
For Tan Yun, she had begged her father for a long time. She bit her lip and unconsciously grasped the wooden pendant on her chest. This was Tan Yun, whom she had begged for a long time before finally getting.
What is he doing now?
She didn't want to think about anything. It was raining heavily outside, and the boy was riding his bike to his part-time job.
At night, Luo Qingxi changed into pajamas in the bedroom. Under the dim light, the dress on the bed was like a soft cloud, and the two small flowers on the lacquered surface of the pendant and the cold-colored beads embedded in it reflected the dim light, like the starlight in the sky.
She stood in front of the window, the air was filled with the smell of wet earth. A green-winged bird landed on the roof opposite and called to her.
As if by divine intervention, she walked out of the bedroom and went downstairs quietly. His parents were already asleep.
She opened the door and a box was placed neatly at her door.
Opening the box, there was a notebook inside. Opening the notebook, the first page was a catalog, categorizing math questions into different categories. Luo Qingxi took a breath, and she turned the pages one by one. It was filled with ideas and analysis of various question types, and also noted the frequency of their appearance as college entrance examination questions in the past six years. This was Yan An's handwriting.
Clean and neat, just like him.
On the last page of the notebook, there were four short words written: [Happy Birthday].
She looked around, and saw only dark bushes, dim house outlines, and the ground soaked in moonlight, as if she was the only one in the world. But she felt as if the warm sunshine penetrated her skin.
She put the notebook against her heart and went back to her room..
