The Mid-Autumn Festival in 2018 is on September 24th, which happens to be Lin Zhixia’s birthday.
Lin Zhixia keenly realized that Jiang Yubai had arranged a birthday surprise for her.
On the evening of September 23, Lin Zhixia pretended to know nothing and lay quietly on the bed.
The heavy curtains blocked the moonlight tonight. There was no light in the bedroom. Jiang Yubai hugged Lin Zhixia tightly in the dark. He asked her in a whisper, "Are you asleep?"
Lin Zhixia said shamelessly: "Falling asleep."
She heard Jiang Yubai's low laugh, and that laugh made her feel particularly happy. She felt for Jiang Yubai's profile and quietly leaned over to kiss him. He grabbed her fingers and kissed them from the base of her fingers to the palm of her hand. Her breathing gradually became faster, and she couldn't help asking, "Will there be guests at our house tomorrow morning?"
"You don't have to get up early." Jiang Yubai said cryptically.
Lin Zhixia hooked her arm around his neck and said, "Look at the watch. It's already 11:30 pm."
There was no wall clock or luminous watch in the bedroom. Jiang Yubai kissed her cheek and asked her, "How do you know what time it is?"
"I guessed it." Lin Zhixia revealed.
Jiang Yubai turned on his phone in disbelief, and the screen showed the current time was 11:31 pm.
Lin Zhixia doesn't like staying up late, and Jiang Yubai can't do that. He put down his phone silently and patted Lin Zhixia on the back: "You guessed it right, it's time to go to bed."
Lin Zhixia yawned: "Good night."
"Goodnight babe," he responded.
Lin Zhixia also added: "Baby."
She slept until eight o'clock the next morning. When Lin Zhixia woke up, Jiang Yubai was changing clothes in front of her. She knew that Jiang Yubai was changing clothes on purpose for her to see. She couldn't help but sit up straight and carefully look at his whole body as if she were observing a work of art.
Countless related memories appeared in her mind, and Lin Zhixia fell into the soft quilt. She rolled around on the bed wrapped in the quilt until Jiang Yubai came over and held her down.
Jiang Yubai skillfully peeled her out of the quilt.
But she said, "Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, I want to stay in bed."
"How long do you plan to stay?" Jiang Yubai reminded her, "We have a party at home at noon and some guests are coming."
Lin Zhixia nodded: "I guess you invited my parents and brother, as well as your uncle and aunt. You want to organize a family gathering, but your parents are abroad for business and probably won't be back in September this year."
Jiang Yubai wanted to say "No, you guessed wrong", but every word Lin Zhixia said was true. He sat down on the bed, and Lin Zhixia put her chin on his shoulder, and the warm breath blew behind his ears, inducing a vague throbbing feeling.
"Baby." Lin Zhixia called him again.
She seemed to have learned this word just last night, and she practiced it repeatedly in Jiang Yubai's ear this morning.
"Xia Xia." He called her by her nickname.
"What?" Lin Zhixia asked back.
Jiang Yubai stood up without warning, and Lin Zhixia looked up at him.
He turned around and threw her down on the bed like a tiger descending from a mountain. She had no time to react and could only grab the pillow and press it against his chest, trying to push him away. The two of them laughed and played for half an hour, and suddenly Lin Zhixia's cell phone rang.
The caller is Lin Zeqiu.
Lin Zhixia greeted him: "Brother, good morning."
Lin Zeqiu said directly: "Today is Mid-Autumn Festival, and mom and dad miss you very much. Mom went to the vegetable market and bought two kilograms of shrimps. I made a pot of shrimp dumplings for you. The dumplings will not taste good if they are cold. Mom and dad want to go to your house now and give you dumplings, okay?"
Lin Zhixia asked back: "Come now?"
Lin Zeqiu answered the question irrelevantly: "Have you had breakfast?"
Lin Zhixia told the truth: "Not yet."
Lin Zeqiu asked doubtfully: "You haven't gotten up yet, have you?"
Lin Zhixia jumped out of bed immediately: "How is that possible? I woke up a long time ago."
Lin Zeqiu put the blame on Jiang Yubai: "There's no breakfast at Jiang Yubai's house?"
Lin Zhixia turned on the hands-free function, and Jiang Yubai heard their conversation clearly. Jiang Yubai sneered in his heart, but said gently on the surface: "Your brother grew up with you, and he seems to know your taste better than me."
Lin Zeqiu paused for a moment. It had been a long time since he had tasted this fresh, elegant, and pretentious scent of high-quality green tea.
But Lin Zhixia just fell for it.
She whispered to Jiang Yubai: "You are the one who knows me best."
In order to welcome her parents, Lin Zhixia rushed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. She picked a dress from the cloakroom and tidied her appearance in front of the mirror. Then, she took Jiang Yubai's hand and went downstairs with him.
Lin Zhixia's happy mood deeply touched Jiang Yubai. He smiled when he saw his father-in-law and mother-in-law, and reached out to help his father-in-law carry things. His father-in-law asked him: "Xiao Jiang, are you busy with work recently?"
"Not bad," Jiang Yubai said, "I have a lot of free time these two days because of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday."
My father-in-law said, "It's good to take some time off. Rest more. You and Xia Xia are still young. You should sleep more and eat more. In a few years, when you become parents, Xia Xia's mother and I can help you take care of the children without interfering with your normal work."
After hearing this conversation, Lin Zeqiu's arms became a little stiff.
Lin Zeqiu always felt that he was still very young and he was not ready to be an uncle. In particular, in his impression, giving birth was a very painful thing, and Lin Zhixia had a very low tolerance for pain - when she was two or three years old, she would cry for several days if she accidentally fell while walking, and the whole family would take turns to comfort her.
Lin Zeqiu showed a worried expression.
Jiang Yubai also evaded the question, saying, "Let's talk about it in a few years. We are not ready yet."
He avoided the topic of children and talked to his father-in-law about the courses at the senior university. Both his father-in-law and his mother-in-law had signed up for several training courses at the senior university in the community - his father-in-law liked history and traditional culture. He signed up for a tea art class and often listened to storytelling and practiced Tai Chi.
"I have recently collected a few ancient books," Jiang Yubai said generously, "I'll give them to you."
The father-in-law was about to agree, but then he changed his mind and quickly refused: "That thing is very expensive, right? Keep it, keep it, don't give it to me."
Jiang Yubai changed his words: "Then come with me to the study later and take a look. If you like it, I will lend it to you and return it to me after you finish reading it."
My father-in-law immediately responded, "Okay, okay."
Jiang Yubai thought of Lin Zhixia’s catchphrase “Okay, okay”. They are indeed a family. He couldn’t help but smile.
Even though Lin Zeqiu had been to Jiang Yubai's house several times, he would still be stunned for a few seconds when he entered the door.
He stood at the door, looking up at the high ceiling, and Lin Zhixia ran past him and followed closely behind her mother: "Mom, the shrimp dumplings you make are the most delicious."
Lin Zhixia is mature, calm and decisive in front of outsiders, but when in front of her mother, she is almost the same as when she was a child - in the eyes of their parents, some children may never grow up.
Mom took Lin Zhixia to the kitchen. She carried the thermos bucket and said as she walked, "Mom was just about to discuss this with you. Mom is not working now, so I have a lot of free time. Your school is so close, I will go to school every day to bring you lunch at noon..."
Lin Zhixia certainly didn't want her mother to work so hard. She said, "No, the food in the teacher's cafeteria is very good. Our school hired a chef from a five-star hotel."
She hugged her mother's arm and said, "Lin Zeqiu and I are completely independent now. You and Dad can start to enjoy life. I'll sign you up for a tour group. Where do you want to go?"
"Hey, how about Sichuan?" Mom said, "Your dad wants to go to Sichuan to eat hot pot. Sichuan snacks are very famous."
Lin Zhixia agreed: "Okay, okay."
While Lin Zhixia was chatting with her mother in the kitchen, her father followed Jiang Yubai to the study.
For the first time, my father told his son-in-law about his life experience: "I am the fourth child in my family. My family is a poor peasant. We have nothing but two mud houses and a kitchen in the yard. Xiao Jiang, have you ever seen a mud bed like that?"
He gestured with his hands: "When the quilt was lifted, there was a kang. There was no table at home, so I lay on the kang to write and read. I borrowed books from educated youth in the countryside. The books had both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. During my years in middle school, I only did well in Chinese and history. I didn't get more than 10 points on the math test paper. 100 points."
Jiang Yubai's grades in all subjects in middle school have always been above 90 points. He dared not imagine what kind of talent his and Lin Zhixia's daughter would have.
The father-in-law was still reminiscing about the good old days. Jiang Yubai opened the bookcase, took out a few antique books with old bindings, and handed them to his father-in-law.
My father-in-law sighed and said, "Back then, in the countryside, the educated youth had books like this. Books like this are no longer available on the market."
He held the book and read it carefully.
Jiang Yubai said hello to his father-in-law and left the study. He came to the restaurant and saw Lin Zhixia and Lin Zeqiu eating shrimp dumplings. Jiang Yubai's nanny also squeezed a glass of fresh strawberry juice for Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia ate two dumplings in a row and drank strawberry juice happily. She saw Jiang Yubai and asked him, "What are we having for lunch?"
"Seafood barbecue," Jiang Yubai said, "After returning from Hainan, you always mentioned seafood barbecue."
Lin Zhixia put down her chopsticks.
Jiang Yubai sat next to her: "There is also a strawberry cake."
Lin Zhixia slapped the table: "It's perfect."
"What would you like to drink? Do you have any wine at home?" Lin Zeqiu suddenly interrupted.
Jiang Yubai said calmly, "I have red wine, white wine, and beer at home. Which one do you like?"
Lin Zeqiu and Lin Zhixia, a pair of siblings, have one thing in common - they both have a low alcohol tolerance and never admit that they are not good drinkers.
Lin Zeqiu wiped his mouth and boasted: "Let's have some white wine, red is also fine, let's see how much you can drink."
Lin Zhixia was a little confused: "Lin Zeqiu, are you a good drinker?"
Lin Zeqiu asked her: "Why do you call me by my full name?"
"It's just a casual remark," Lin Zhixia said, "Don't you often call me by my full name?"
Lin Zeqiu was speechless.
After a few seconds, he said, "After all, I am your biological brother from the same father and mother."
Lin Zhixia repeated his words verbatim: "After all, I am your biological sister from the same father and mother."
In fact, since Lin Zhixia moved to Jiang Yubai's house, she and Lin Zeqiu have had fewer opportunities to meet.
Lin Zeqiu missed the days when he and his sister quarreled. However, he and Lin Zhixia were both adults in their twenties, so even if they had a dispute, it would be just a few words at most, not like when they were children, yelling and arguing.
Lin Zeqiu sighed.
Lin Zhixia was concerned about him: "Are you worried?"
"No." Lin Zeqiu looked aside.
Jiang Yubai opened the wine cabinet and was selecting wine. Lin Zeqiu looked at Jiang Yubai's back and asked in a low voice, "How has Jiang Yubai treated you after marriage?"
"Very good," Lin Zhixia replied quietly, "You can't imagine how good he is."
Lin Zeqiu was satisfied and added: "When you are not at home, my parents urge me to find a girlfriend every day."
"Have you found it?" Lin Zhixia asked.
Lin Zeqiu shook his head slightly.
Lin Zhixia boldly introduced: "Do you remember Deng Shasha? After the wedding, she came to me every day to ask about you. I told her all your shortcomings, but she didn't mind at all."
Lin Zhixia clearly remembers that many years ago, when she was studying in Beijing, Deng Shasha had met Lin Zeqiu. At that time, Deng Shasha disliked Lin Zeqiu for being long-winded. But now, Deng Shasha said: "Being long-winded is not a shortcoming, it is a good talker! It shows that your brother has a lot of knowledge, which is great! Your brother is both good inside and out, and he is really a top-notch handsome guy!"
"Deng Shasha admires you very much." Lin Zhixia said honestly.
Lin Zeqiu refused outright: "She's not my type."
Lin Zhixia got to the bottom of it and asked, "What type do you like?"
Lin Zeqiu leaned back in his chair: "I don't know. I don't have a favorite girl."
Lin Zhixia held her chin with one hand. She stared at Lin Zeqiu without blinking. Lin Zeqiu's hair stood on end and he said angrily, "Didn't you understand? I like women, but I haven't met the right one. That's what I mean."
As the two were talking, a fluffy ragdoll cat came running over from a distance. The cat leaped and landed on Lin Zhixia's lap. Lin Zhixia stroked the cat's fur and introduced it, "This is my cat, Strawberry. Strawberry was shy when she was little, but now that she's grown up, she's not afraid of anyone."
When Lin Zeqiu heard his sister say "my cat", he thought to himself: My sister has grown up, her home and my home are no longer the same home.
Strawberry turned over on Lin Zhixia's legs, revealing her soft belly. Lin Zhixia gently stroked the cat's belly, while Lin Zeqiu squatted aside, studying the structure of the dining table. He accidentally opened a secret compartment, and the wooden box that popped out almost hit his face.
He took a breath.
Jiang Yubai walked to the dining table holding two bottles of red wine. He put the bottles on the table and said, "There are a few decks of playing cards in the box."
"My mom loves playing cards," Lin Zeqiu said, "I'll call my parents over, and let's play a few games together as a family of five."
Jiang Yubai was surprised that Lin Zeqiu would say "we are a family of five". But Lin Zeqiu didn't pay attention to his wording. He put his playing cards in his pocket and followed Jiang Yubai to meet his parents in the study.
In order to make the game more interesting, Lin Zhixia took out a handful of Go pieces from the Go basket. She used the pieces as chips and distributed them evenly to all the players.
After each round of poker, the winner can take the loser's chips.
The dealer in the first round was Jiang Yubai. He seldom played cards and his card skills were very poor, but fortunately his father-in-law and elder brother-in-law were worse than him, so he got a good result of third place in this round - the first place was his mother-in-law, but he was not sure whether Lin Zhixia had given up.
His eyes met Lin Zhixia's.
Lin Zhixia smiled at him.
She smiles sweetly and beautifully.
The ragdoll cat named Strawberry was still lying on Lin Zhixia's lap. She was distracted by playing cards, playing with the cat with her left hand, following Jiang Yubai with her eyes, and talking to her mother at the same time. Even so, she still caused a dimensionality reduction attack on other players.
After seven rounds of games, the chess pieces around Lin Zhixia piled up into a small mountain, and Jiang Yubai and Lin Zeqiu both lost everything.
Jiang Yubai only has one chess piece left, but Lin Zeqiu still has two - they realized belatedly that Lin Zhixia was embarrassed to take away her parents' bargaining chips, but could be ruthless to her brother and husband without any regard for their old friendship.
Jiang Yubai originally wanted to play around, but he suddenly became serious. He began to count the cards and speculate on the strategies of his father-in-law, mother-in-law, and Lin Zeqiu.
Influenced by Jiang Yubai, Lin Zeqiu was also ready to give it a try. The atmosphere at the entire card table suddenly became tense and serious. Their family of five seemed to have suddenly arrived at a Macau casino, and each chess piece turned into a real chip.
Lin Zhixia was ready for battle.
She stopped teasing the cat.
She put the strawberries on the ground.
Strawberry meowed.
Lin Zhixia turned a deaf ear to it.
Strawberry rubbed her leg, and she said, "Be good, Strawberry, and when I finish this game, I will open a can of cat food for you."
Strawberry jumped to Jiang Yubai's feet and stretched out his claws to hold Jiang Yubai's trouser legs. Jiang Yubai didn't even glance down. He was counting cards meticulously when the doorbell rang loudly.
Jiang Yubai opened a visual interface in the study, and his uncle and aunt appeared on the LCD screen: "Xiao Jiang! Uncle and aunt are here!"
Jiang Yubai and Lin Zhixia immediately went out to greet them.
My uncle and aunt just came back from Singapore. My uncle was carrying a lot of gifts, and my aunt was holding her one-year-old daughter. The little girl was delicate and fair-skinned, with a chubby face, and looked like a rice dumpling.
Lin Zhixia took her from her aunt's arms, and she kissed Lin Zhixia on the face. Lin Zhixia was overjoyed and said, "So cute."
Lin Zhixia prepared a nursery for her aunt. She led her uncle and aunt to the guest room, while Jiang Yubai stood in the corridor and asked his mother-in-law intentionally or unintentionally: "Was it like this when Xia Xia was a child?"
Speaking of her precious daughter, the mother-in-law smiled and said, "Xia Xia, when she was a child..."
Lin Zeqiu replied: "It's terrifying."
The father-in-law said seriously, "Lin Zeqiu, what did you say about your sister?"
Lin Zeqiu asked back: "Isn't it scary to read a thesis at the age of five?"
He educated Jiang Yubai earnestly: "I'm telling you this so that you can be mentally prepared. The child you and Lin Zhixia have may be even worse than when Lin Zhixia was a child. Do you understand?"
"Well," Jiang Yubai understood what he meant, "If you really want that, it's okay. I will form a suitable tutoring team for the child."
Lin Zeqiu and Jiang Yubai formed a united front: "My parents used to take Lin Zhixia to the provincial library..."
Jiang Yubai commented: "Talent cannot be wasted."
Lin Zeqiu nodded repeatedly.
At noon that day, Lin Zhixia's family gathering was held on the garden terrace on the top floor.
Because today is Lin Zhixia's birthday, her relatives prepared gifts for her.
She happily accepted all the gifts and then made a wish: "My birthday wish is that all of you can be safe, healthy and happy."
After saying that, she blew out the candle.
Jiang Yubai handed her a knife, and she carefully cut the strawberry cake and distributed it to everyone. The flames under the grill were burning, and her uncle opened a glass of champagne.
Jiang Yubai raised his glass slightly, and everyone's glasses formed a circle. Jiang Yubai smiled and said, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival."
He and Lin Zhixia toasted separately: "Happy birthday."
White clouds floated in the vast blue sky. Lin Zhixia smelled the aroma of strawberries, champagne, and barbecue. Mom and Dad were talking and laughing, and Jiang Yubai and his brother were getting along well. Auntie raised her camera, and everyone present was in the photo. Uncle smiled and said, "A family photo for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
"I'm really happy." Lin Zhixia said in a low voice.
She sat next to Jiang Yubai, so only Jiang Yubai could hear her words. He picked up a grilled lobster for Lin Zhixia and said frankly, "You'll be happier if you fill your stomach."
Lin Zhixia laughed.
She took a sip of the juice. As the sweet juice moistened her throat, she recalled the wish she made when she was seven years old - she hoped that she could make a friend in school who could understand and support her.
Today, the wish has come true.
She turned to Jiang Yubai and said, "Thank you."
Jiang Yubai thought she was thanking him for picking up the lobster for her. He smiled and replied, "You're welcome."
The author has something to say: Woo woo woo Xia Xia baby!
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In order to alleviate the sour-sweet feeling of the previous chapters, the last three chapters are all very sweet! I will post them after the revision!