Surprise

It looked like the boy had fallen asleep.

Xiaoguo covered him with the blanket again before leaving with the towel.

After Zhuang Zhuang heard the footsteps leave the room, he quietly opened his eyes and secretly wiped his tears.

He must not cry. He needs to be a well-behaved child. It’s only right for Xiaohua and Xiaohu to receive gifts. He shouldn’t feel jealous. He has no reason to be jealous.

But still, he couldn’t help but cry and express his unhappiness under the pretext of talking in his sleep.

The more he thought about it, the more tears came to his eyes. The little boy wiped them away vigorously, trying to hold back the sobs at the corners of his lips. He was afraid that Xiaoguo would notice something amiss if she suddenly returned to the room.

He has to be a good child. He was already a big kid and should not be wilful and cause trouble for the adults.

Xiaoguo, who was standing outside the door, saw everything. She frowned and slowly closed the door with a sigh.

This silly boy seemed to have forgotten the special day that was coming soon…

“I’m really… happy to have such a silly son!”

“My good son, cry all you want. All the unhappiness you are feeling now will be taken over by immense joy in a few days! Cry all you want, little man…”

Xiaoguo covered her mouth while giggling. Afraid that Zhuang Zhuang would hear her, she quickly went to Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling’s room.

The two of them were discussing something when they heard a knock on the door. They stopped their discussion and shushed each other.

“Are you asleep?”

When they heard that it was Sister Xiaoguo, they immediately loosened up.

“No, we are not sleeping yet…”

Very soon, the door was opened from the outside. When Xiaoguo entered the room, she couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Seeing the confused expressions on their faces, she stopped laughing and explained, “Zhuang Zhuang seemed to have forgotten about his birthday. He was just saying that we don’t love him anymore and that we didn’t prepare any gifts for him.”

Yu Ling exclaimed in disbelief. “No way, aren’t children usually very sensitive about their own birthdays? I remember when I was younger, I would get excited for days before my birthday every year.”

“That’s right. We were just discussing what gift to give him.”

Xiao Zhu thought for a moment and asked softly, “Sister Xiaoguo, will our Brother-in-law make it back on time?”

“I think so.” Xiaoguo smiled and nodded. “He mentioned in the letter that he should be able to rush back on the actual day.”

“So what should we do? Do we need to buy some firecrackers?”

Yu Ling had never held a party before, so she was a little curious.

Xiaoguo smiled and said, “No need for that… Just a simple meal with friends is good enough.”

“But we have to hide all our plans from Zhuang Zhuang. I’ll go to Mrs Yang’s house tomorrow and inform her. No matter how much Zhuang Zhuang reminds us and asks about it, we have to pretend that we are unaware of his birthday. When the day comes, we’ll give him a big surprise. How about that?”

The more Xiaoguo thought about it, the more excited she became. She could barely suppress her joy at the thought of Zhuang Zhuang’s reaction on the actual day.

“That’s great! It’s a surprise party? It’s so fun…”

If not for the fact that Yu Ling was afraid of waking Zhuang Zhuang up, she would have clapped her hands and cheered. She didn’t know that birthdays could be celebrated like this. It was so fun.

“Sister Xiaoguo, what are you going to give Zhuang Zhuang?”

Xiao Zhu was also feeling very happy, but thinking about the birthday gift was giving her a headache. Coincidentally, she had no idea what to get for Zhuang Zhuang, so she was hoping to pick up some ideas from Xiaoguo.

When Xiaoguo heard this, she almost blurted out that she had no idea yet. But when she saw the strange expressions on their faces, realization dawned upon her. She narrowed her eyes and looked at them in amusement. “Are they trying to trick me? No way.”

Xiao Zhu blinked a few times to lubricate her eyes which were feeling dry. “Hehe… I’m just curious…”

“Yes, yes, yes. We are curious and also looking for inspiration…” Yu Ling quickly added.

Afraid that Xiaoguo wouldn’t believe them, the two of them quickly blinked to show their innocence.

Xiaoguo retracted her gaze suspiciously and said slowly, “Then what gifts did you prepare?”

She was hoping to get some inspiration from them too.

“Ah… I’m a little sleepy. We’re going to bed, right?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right!” Xiao Zhu reacted extremely quickly and yawned. “Look, your tears are coming out. You should get to sleep soon…”

“…”

Yu Ling took a gulp as she glanced at the unfazed Xiaoguo.

“Okay… we have no idea what to give him yet…”

Yu Ling lowered her head first. Xiao Zhu followed suit and looked at Xiaoguo pitifully. The two of them had no money or anything to their name. The only thing they knew was making undergarments and purses.

The two of them had thought of making clothes for Zhuang Zhuang, but their skills were not up to par. At best, they could only make a belt.

Xiaoguo nodded, looking like she understood.

She knew it. The girls had no ideas, just like her…

It was all her fault for providing Zhuang Zhuang with too many things. The little guy didn’t seem to lack anything at all. He had no lack of items like pens, paper, ink, clothes, and shoes. Many of those items in his possession were new and unused. Jiang Danhe had also given him jade pendants and bracelets in the past. However, the little guy felt that those accessories were meant for girls, so he never wore them. Food and drinks were not lacking in his life too.

Hence, she really didn’t know what to give Zhuang Zhuang.

“Maybe I should buy him a few big pork knuckles?”

—-

As Zhuang Zhuang’s birthday approached, Xiaoguo still had no idea what to get for him. However, the two little girls seemed to have thought of something, and were getting busy behind Xiaoguo’s back.

Xiaoguo was becoming more and more anxious. It looked like she was the only one who still had no ideas.

However, life still has to go on. As soon as Zhuang Zhuang recovered, she sent him back to Mr. Kong’s house.

The little guy seemed quite unhappy. Or rather, he acts normal, but in private, he always sighs and complains to himself.

Xiaoguo noticed this and was secretly amused.

Although the boy seemed rather pitiful, for the sake of the surprise that was about to come, Zhuang Zhuang had to suffer a little first.

The little boy carried his small school bag and reluctantly got out of the donkey cart. After taking two steps, he stopped and turned around to look at Xiaoguo.

It seemed like there were many things that he wanted to say, but he didn’t know how to start. He could only look at Xiao Guo with hopeful eyes, hoping that she would hug him tightly like she did before.

Xiaoguo instinctively moved her feet, but then she retracted them forcefully. Everyone had worked hard for so long to keep the secret. She couldn’t ruin the efforts of everyone.

Moreover, Jiang Danhe should be on his way, rushing to get home. She must not ruin his surprise plans.

She turned her head stiffly to avoid looking at Zhuang Zhuang. Raising her hand, she waved at him nonchalantly. “Go in. Mother is leaving now…”

“Mother… in a few days it’ll be…”

“Oh, I know. It’ll be a sunny day in two days. Mother will wash all the clothes. Don’t worry.”

With that, Xiaoguo quickly got into the donkey cart and drove off. She was afraid that if she stayed there any longer, her heart would soften and she would end up telling him everything.

As Zhuang Zhuang watched the donkey cart leave, the joy in his eyes slowly disappeared. He took a few steps forward in disappointment and looked at the empty street.

“No, it’s my birthday in a few days…”

Madam Kong’s heart ached for him. She couldn’t bear to see him continue standing there by himself. She walked right over and brought him into the house.

Zhuang Zhuang followed closely behind her, looking slightly dazed. Halfway through, he glanced at her and muttered something under his breath.

Madam Kong thought that she was hearing things because of her age, so she didn’t take it to heart.

Little did she know that this action almost made Zhuang Zhuang do something reckless.

That evening, it suddenly began to snow heavily. After finishing his evening studies, Zhuang Zhuang returned to his room.

He stood in the room and looked around. Then, he calmly opened the window and let the cold wind in.

Dressed only in a thin shirt, Zhuang Zhuang stood by the window and stared blankly into the distance.

Madam Kong was worried about the little guy, so she went to his room with a lighted candle.

Unexpectedly, she saw this scene as soon as she arrived. Feeling shocked, she quickly went forward to close the windows.

When the room became warm again, Zhuang Zhuang came back to his senses and looked at Madam Kong, who was closing the window. He was wearing a confused look on his face.

“Madam?”

“Sigh, why are the windows open? You’ve just recovered from your cold. You must not fall sick again. Otherwise, your mother is going to be so worried.”

Madam Kong said with concern as she closed the windows for him.