## 579. The Gift
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Chen Yao was in a panic.
Not too long ago, he had been thinking about Lin Nan’s birthday, but now, it was almost the big day, and he hadn’t prepared a single gift.
While Lin Nan probably wouldn’t throw a tantrum or hang herself like some girls would if she didn’t receive a gift, he still felt a pang of guilt for not having anything to give her.
This dinner gathering wasn’t at the usual restaurant behind the school; instead, the group planned to hit up Wanda Plaza for some shopping and potentially dig up a suitable restaurant. If time permitted, Chen Yao hoped to sneakily buy Lin Nan a gift while they were out.
After returning to his rental apartment, Lin Nan excitedly showed off her new pet to Tu Junhui and Xiong Da like a little girl.
Lemon was growing fast; within just a week, its feathers seemed nearly complete, except for a scraggly tuft on its neck that revealed a pinkish crop.
It already hinted at the silhouette of a nearly adult parrot.
But after a few days, this bird had lost its appetite. Lin Nan suspected it was rejecting milk, so she placed some millet sprouts and nourishing pellets in its warming box to attempt weaning Lemon.
“It looks downright ugly, even uglier than Xiong Da!” Tu Junhui scrutinized the bird perched on Lin Nan’s finger, wearing a disgusted expression. “Why on earth would you want a bird? Doesn’t it just poop everywhere?”
This yellow-and-white parakeet was notorious for its baldness, but once it matured, the surrounding feathers would cover that bald head. Unless you poked at it, you wouldn’t even notice.
“It does NOT smell!” Lin Nan shot him a glare and proudly brought the parrot to Xiong Da.
After a moment of silence, he reluctantly said, “It looks nice.”
Since Lemon primarily lived on milk powder, its feathers often ended up sticky and dirty, which definitely wouldn’t qualify as cute.
But such a small parrot couldn’t take a bath yet, so Lin Nan could only try to wipe it down with paper towels—though she could never get it completely clean.
After giving Lemon a couple of bites of milk, the parrot lost interest and, sounding like a dying pig, scuttled back to its warming box, curiously nibbling everything inside.
Lin Nan felt reassured, closed the warming box, and said, “Let’s go to Wanda.”
They ordered a couple of rides, and before long, they arrived at the bustling Wanda Plaza.
The crowd was thicker, with hardly anyone wearing masks; it was like the pandemic was just a bad dream from the past.
Tomorrow, they would all return home to their respective families. Tu Junhui was already contemplating travel plans for the summer vacation, while Xiong Da remained silent, and Chen Yao was scanning for a suitable gift for Lin Nan.
Lin Nan was a little worried about Lemon being alone at home. The parrot had been eating less over the past few days and looked thinner than when it first arrived. Unfortunately, this city didn’t have any exotic pet hospitals—most only treated cats and dogs.
Lost in thought, her gaze drifted to a pet boutique.
“That’s a pet store for cats and dogs,” Chen Yao explained.
“No, I’m eyeing that backpack.” Lin Nan’s eyes were glued to a cat-shaped pack on display, through the glass door. “If we tweak it a bit and add a perch inside, wouldn’t it work as a parrot carrier?”
Chen Yao’s eyes lit up like a kid at a candy store. “Then I’ll buy it and modify it for you! Once it’s ready, it’ll be your birthday gift. How about that?”
Right now, Lin Nan was fully invested in Lemon, so buying parrot supplies felt like a perfect gift idea.
Sure enough, Lin Nan nodded excitedly.
However, just changing a backpack for a gift still felt a bit lacking.
Chen Yao pressed on, “How about we buy some acrylic boards when we head back and make Lemon a transparent birdcage?”
“Acrylic birdcage?” Lin Nan bobbed her head enthusiastically. “Sure!”
She had already scouted several birdcages online, but the spacious, stylish ones were ridiculously expensive, with acrylic ones costing over a thousand yuan.
Meanwhile, Tu Junhui wore a disgusted expression. “Why raise such an ugly bird when you could have a cat? Why bother making it a cage?”
“Mind your business!” Lin Nan snapped back without missing a beat.
Sure, Lemon looked a bit rough around the edges now, but once it grew up and its feathers flourished, it would be cute.
Even if it stayed ugly, it would just be adorably ugly.
This pet boutique focused on grooming cats and dogs while offering cute toys and supplies. Although it had nothing to do with parrots, a cat carrier was beside the point.
After buying a cute Poké Ball-themed cat carrier, Chen Yao started thinking about where to find a branch to stick inside as a perch for the parrot.
With the bag on her back, Lin Nan felt increasingly jubilant.
For some reason, buying any pet supplies after getting a pet brought a unique joy to the “poop scooping officer.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll make the perch for you, and once it’s ready, we can just pop Lemon in there!”
Lin Nan’s eyes crinkled into crescent moons, bobbing her head joyfully as she stepped out of the store, only to see Tu Junhui and Xiong Da whispering while gazing in one direction.
Curious, she leaned closer and peered out, spotting Pan Maoxin’s father holding hands with Xiao Hui, sauntering through the mall.
A young woman in her twenties with a man in his forties looked almost like father and daughter.
What a coincidence, right?
Though, it wasn’t that shocking, as Wanda was the busiest mall in the area after all.
She cautiously glanced at Xiong Da, who showed little emotion on his face, while Tu Junhui was seething, clearly annoyed.
“If that girl knew Xiong Da was a rich second generation, she’d be all over him again!” Tu Junhui huffed.
Xiong Da shrugged. “Eh, it’s a good thing. At least I see her for who she really is now.”
After two weeks, it appeared he had moved on, his gaze toward his ex-girlfriend now akin to that of a casual passerby.
“Exactly! If she saw that Xiong Da has thousands of acres of land, a mine out back, and even a pet tiger, she’d be regretting her life choices!” Lin Nan chimed in, winking at Xiong Da.
“I’m just a broke dude,” Xiong Da muttered, ignoring Lin Nan, but Tu Junhui joined in, puffing up Xiong Da’s background until they turned him into royalty from Dubai.
It was a curious trend among Lin Nan’s dorm mates to pretend they were poor and tease each other about their family’s riches.
After another round of shopping in the mall, the group settled on a Japanese restaurant.
Though Lin Nan wasn’t particularly keen on Japanese cuisine, since both Xiong Da and Tu Junhui had agreed, she decided to just go with the flow.
What had started as a summer farewell party was transforming into Lin Nan’s birthday bash. As soon as they found a place to sit, the most mischievous of the bunch, Tu Junhui, pulled out several cartoon character hair clips he had bought recently and handed them to Lin Nan.
“Look, I got you a birthday gift! Just ten bucks!” These were something he had casually picked up while shopping with Chen Yao for the cat bag.
With a face full of disdain, Lin Nan took the hair clips, then turned expectantly to Xiong Da.
With all his money, surely he wouldn’t gift her something so cheap?
After a moment of contemplation, he replied, “How about I get you a wooden perch for your parakeet?”
“Eh? How did you know I bought a parrot?”
Xiong Da handed Lin Nan his phone. “You pick one online, but don’t mess up the shipping address.”
