592. The Candle【9/20】
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At noon, Chen Yao groggily rolled out of bed.
He surveyed his bedroom, didn’t spot Lin Nan, shrugged it off, and yawned his way into consciousness.
After a quick wash-up, he found himself staring blankly at the corner of the room where the birdcage sat.
How on earth am I supposed to make this thing?
Since it’s a gift for Lin Nan, it can’t be a total disaster—gotta make it fancy, preferably something that resembles the most expensive birdcages online.
After a moment of silence, he decided to spend the day online researching tutorials.
Standing up and stretching like a cat, Chen Yao rubbed his flat belly and pushed open his bedroom door. But surprise! There, sitting on the couch, was the class teacher.
Wait a minute—didn’t you say last night you weren’t coming to Lin Nan’s birthday?
Talk about actions not matching words!
The teacher sat there awkwardly, hands on her thighs, sitting straight as a ruler, occasionally chatting with Lin Nan, who was munching on sunflower seeds, but soon noticed the disheveled, half-asleep Chen Yao.
“Is this kid really getting up so late now?” The teacher clearly disapproved, but since she was at someone else’s house, she only dared to murmur to Lin Nan, “Back in high school, he used to stay up all night and was full of energy. Now look at him…”
Full of energy? Where’s the energy?
Lin Nan bit her tongue to avoid saying what came to mind but managed to explain for Chen Yao, “He was up late playing games last night, so sleeping in is normal.”
“And who was supposed to help you feed the parrot?” Chen Yao rubbed his tired eyes, yawned again, then asked the teacher, “So, old teacher, since you’re here, did you bring a gift for Lin Nan?”
“Old teacher bringing gifts? Nah, just my presence is a present,” Lin Nan immediately chimed in to help, shaking her head, “Besides, he didn’t have time to prepare anything.”
The teacher looked bemusedly satisfied, “Yesterday I said Lin Nan wouldn’t chat well, and look at her today!”
“Money would do just fine.”
“???” The teacher blinked, utterly baffled as she looked at Lin Nan.
Lin Nan couldn’t hold back anymore and burst out laughing, prompting the teacher to realize she was joking.
Chen Yao chuckled helplessly, wandered into the dining room, and his eyes lit up at the sight of a feast laid out on the table. He quickly turned around and shouted into the kitchen, “Mom, just a week until my birthday too!”
Aunt was still busy in the kitchen; upon hearing Chen Yao’s proclamation, she peered into the dining room, her brow furrowing. “Got it.”
This treatment seems a bit unfair, doesn’t it?
Chen Yao paused—am I not your own child?
“What? You’ve had a birthday every year since you were born!” Aunt lowered her head, lifting the lid on a pot filled with stir-fried crabs with rice noodles.
Typically, coastal folks prefer to cook seafood in a way that preserves its original flavor, like steaming or salting. But ordinary mud crabs have a lot of meat yet don’t really taste that fresh, not even when steamed.
White butter crabs from Guangdong are definitely not on the menu.
It is Lin Nan’s birthday, and maybe two butter crabs would be appropriate.
Aunt furrowed her brow; she was making home-cooked dishes. Cooking something like butter crabs that Lin Nan hadn’t tried would be nice, but she hadn’t thought of it before.
She lifted her head again, only to find Chen Yao sneaking a piece of braised rib off the table.
“Chen Yao!”
Startled, Chen Yao quickly stuffed the rib in his mouth, blinking innocently. “Huh?”
“You can’t eat before Nan Nan’s birthday!”
Really? Is it that serious?
If it were the New Year, if you were hungry, you could eat ahead of time!
At that moment, Lin Nan walked in with the teacher, rubbing her tummy and glancing over at Aunt. “I’m hungry.”
The long-life noodles in the morning didn’t amount to much, and those noodles do tend to leave one feeling a bit peckish.
The fierce Aunt, who moments ago could have given anyone cold chills, instantly transformed into a warm ray of sunshine. “Then go ahead and eat! Chen Yao, grab drinks from the fridge. I’ll finish cooking in about half an hour.”
“Come eat too, Aunt? We’ll finish the leftovers after we eat?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve managed everything. With this many dishes, do you think I’m at risk of going hungry?”
Seeing Aunt’s persistence, Lin Nan finally plopped down beside Chen Yao, while Chen Yao couldn’t wait. He dashed to the fridge, grabbed a large bottle of cola in one hand, and with the other, quickly snatched up a piece of meat with his chopsticks.
He must have slept in too late—he suspected he woke up out of hunger.
The teacher sat down next to Lin Nan, obviously feeling a bit uncomfortable. She must not often eat with students’ parents and felt rather stiff, picking at her food rather delicately.
“Old teacher, cola?”
“No drinks for me,” the teacher waved her hand in refusal, then teasingly said to Lin Nan, “Your birthday seems to be quite the gala—it’s almost like a national banquet!”
“That’s because Lin Nan hasn’t had a birthday before; I’m accounting for the eighteen years she missed,” Aunt said as she brought over a freshly made crab stir-fry to the table, smiling politely at the teacher.
The teacher had seen Chen Yao’s family a dozen times during parent-teacher meetings, so they weren’t complete strangers, but it had been years since they’d last met and most of those times were when Chen Yao was in trouble. The teacher had been busy complaining about Chen Yao ditching classes, being late, and all sorts of mischief.
Now, meeting again was awkward.
Aunt was exceedingly gracious, flashing a smile, then returned to the kitchen to continue her work.
After some half-hour of eating, Aunt finally brought a few bowls of dishes to the dining room, along with Lin Nan’s cake from the fridge.
Lin Nan paused mid-bite, her curiosity piqued by the cake.
Although she knew it was an ice cream cake, she hadn’t seen the design yet.
As the cake’s outer packaging was removed, there it stood—layers of fruit piled high around it, topped with a cute little snake made of cream, and a chocolate plaque that read “Happy Birthday Lin Nan!”
To be honest, if you looked at it from the outside, this cake didn’t stand out from any regular birthday cake.
Chen Yao was pretty tired of this kind of cake design, anyway.
But for Lin Nan? It was all brand new.
Her big eyes fixated on the chocolate on top of the cake. She lifted her head and sweetly thanked Aunt, “Thanks for the cake, Aunt!”
“No need to be polite,” Aunt beamed as she counted out nineteen colorful candles and stuck them on the cake, lighting them with a lighter.
The teacher got up and pulled the curtains in the dining room, closing the door that connected the kitchen to the living room.
The room instantly dimmed to a warm amber glow, with only flickering candlelight reflecting on everyone’s faces.
“Ready to blow out the candles?” Chen Yao half-supported his chin, squinting at Lin Nan, who was still just staring at the cake, utterly unresponsive.
“Blow them all out at once, then make a wish,” Aunt urged. “But don’t say it out loud, or it won’t come true.”
The teacher stood quietly beside them, saying nothing.
Yet Lin Nan continued staring at the cake, seemingly lost in thought.
After a long silence, she glanced around at the three of them, nodded slightly, and said softly:
“Thank you.”
It seemed she had never felt an atmosphere like this before.
The people around her were extraordinarily important—the future mother-in-law, bringing warmth to her family; the future husband, offering emotional comfort; and the teacher, who had once provided her with endless kindness.
But today, the two people who mattered most to a child were absent.
Her nose prickled as she fought back tears, whether moved by Aunt’s lavish preparations or regretting that her parents weren’t there.
Leaning down, she blew hard at the candles, and as the flames flickered and died, a few remained, but Chen Yao promptly blew again, snuffing them all out.
At the same time, Lin Nan closed her eyes and silently wished:
“I hope my friends and elders will all be happy.”
