This chapter (and the four next after this) is sponsored by Butter on ko-fi! However, the next three will be posted within… two hours. Hopefully. I'm sorry for the uber late uploads TT~TT my introverted ass cannot handle full-on socializing banquet after the late-minute conference my lecturer asked me to attend….
Also, thank god it wasn't only me who went all teary-eyed when reading chapter 35 hehe
The sound of the rain outside was a bit loud, as did the joyful hustle of Anran's birthday celebration in the hall not far away. But even in such a cacophony, Xu Enzhen still heard that soft call.
"Mom…?"
The call was hesitant. Soft. Unsure. And… longing.
Her body tensed almost instantly, her eyes widened in disbelief. Tears fell on Jian Xingsui's shoulders – she could hardly control her emotions, so she stepped back a little, trying to subdue her heart. She looked at Jian Xingsui with blurry vision. In her trembling voice, she asked, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
Jian Xingsui was also a little surprised after murmuring that word.
Why would he say such a thing?
This was clearly Shen Xingchen's mother, he wasn't confused about that.
Was it really because he longed for his family so much in his heart, so he couldn't restrain himself after being treated gently…?
He was so ashamed and annoyed at himself. He didn't want to offend Madam Shen1She's married to the Shen family, so she is sometimes referred to by this title instead., so the youth had no choice but to bow his head embarrassedly, trying his best to lie, "I'm… I didn't say anything, maybe… uh… did you hear me wrong?"
Xu Enzhen herself was confused. Was she really misheard that longing, soft call?
Did she hear it wrong? She missed her youngest child so much, to the point of having hallucinations? This youth might have some similarities to her second son, but that… didn't justify using him as a substitute for her youngest son, right?
Xu Enzhen sighed inwardly. She was still a little bit lost and sad. She heard Jian Xingsui say softly, "However, Auntie, thank you very much for coming to celebrate my birthday with me today."
Jian Xingsui's voice was hoarse and stilted, as if the words were stuck in his throat. Still, he continued, "I, I am very happy."
After finished speaking, he lowered his head, not wanting Xu Enzhen to see his reddened eyes. He didn't want anyone to see his pathetic state.
But Xu Enzhen's heart was still soft and she held Jian Xingsui's hand. In a very gentle tone, she said, "You don't need to thank me, nor thank my son. A birthday celebration is a must for us, you're not making trouble or anything like that. If you don't dislike it, I will come to celebrate your birthday every year in the future, okay? And… and, you can still treat Xingchen as your own brother…"
Her voice was filled with maternal grace.
Soft, patient, kind.
After Jian Xingsui heard this sentence, the last line of defense in his heart seemed to have shattered to pieces. He nodded lightly, and at the same time, hot drops of tears fell from his cheeks.
He's so, so happy.
He never felt this happy before.
This familial warmth he craved for two lifetimes… felt so unreal. Did the happiness actually make him delusional? This must be a dream, produced by his desires that intoxicated his entire being.
But even in his wildest dream, he never dared to imagine his friend's mother treating him this well. After all, if his adopted family of twenty years and his biological family couldn't treat him nicely… why would a stranger do it?
Seeing Jian Xingsui silently crying like that, Ning Ze and Wen Shengge, who was not far away from the cake, brought Jian Xingsui a big slice to cheer him up, "Come on, let's eat the cake!"
Shen Xingchen also walked over slowly and said, "Finally I can eat, I'm really starving to death. Let me taste it first~ Oh, Mhmmm. Fu-ge, where did you buy this cake? It's so delicious! Next time, you can buy me one for my birthday too, hehehehe."
Fu Jinxiao smiled as he said bluntly, "You ordered a birthday present in advance?"
Shen Xingchen almost nodded. But then he realized, and immediately shook his head frantically.
How could this guy be so cunning!
He actually wanted to fool this young master with a birthday cake as his present? Bah, he doesn't want that! Birthday cakes are a given! Separated from gifts!
He knew very well that the Fu family was a real wealthy family, the kind that probably descended from aristocracy from centuries back. Even if Fu Jinxiao casually fooled him with things that are worth hundred thousands yuan every time, he wouldn't easily be fooled! This young master wasn't easy to bully, even if it's by the devil Fu Jinxiao himself!
Accompanied by this noisy group of people made him forget that his birthday party was only attended by a handful of people. It might be so, but that didn't diminish the sense of cheer they brought to him. As they were sharing the birthday cake, more people gradually came over.
Tuya was the first one to come over, and the blonde beauty smiled as she said in a cheerful tone, "Wow, I just guessed that you guys are throwing some kind of party behind my back! Am I not invited? So mean~"
Jian Xingsui looked at the newcomer in surprise, "Instructor Tuya?"
Tuya handed a gift box in her hand to Jian Xingsui, "I heard from the staff that today is your birthday, I hope I wasn't late to the party."
Jian Xingsui took the gift in disbelief. He wasn't expecting to receive even more gifts, so he could only bow and said, "Thank you very much, Instructor!"
The lady smiled and patted his head gently.
She had a good impression of this polite and serious boy. Truthfully, she had a lot of complaints about the different treatment between the two birthday boys by the crew, so she came over immediately after attending Anran's party. Besides, she was actually biased towards Jian Xingsui. Not that she would show it blatantly, though.
What Jian Xingsui didn't expect was that Tuya was just the first person to come from the main party. Slowly, other trainees also came over one after another. They actually heard about this occasion because of a hearsay from the staff.
"Suisui, you didn't tell us it was also your birthday."
"Wow, who cooked these foods? These are so unpalatable…"
"Of course we're coming for your birthday."
Jian Xingsui didn't expect everyone to come. Slowly but surely, the originally sparse classroom was filled by more and more people sneaking into his party to give him birthday blessings. Some even give him gifts. Many trainees chose to attend because they were helped in some way or another during the first or second stage, as Jian Xingsui was kind enough to fine-tune their musical arrangements. Many of them remembered this kindness in their hearts, so they immediately decided to come after asking around the staff about Jian Xingsui.
After the program group finished filming Anran's birthday party, many people chose to come here in a heartbeat. It was now very lively and full of people.
As for Anran, there were quite a lot of people arriving during the filming of the show. But after the filming ended, Anran found out something was wrong, because the previously lively bustle became more quiet. He could only see a handful of people sticking around, mostly people he regarded closer than a colleague. As for everyone else, they seemed to have gathered together in another place.
Anran and his family stood at a corner, and saw a classroom across suspiciously lively, with all kinds of laughter and shouts. Because it was dinner time, the cafeteria reopened, and many trainees who didn't have enough cakes went to the cafeteria to eat together. Because of special permission from the instructors and program crew, the meal was richer than usual.
Anran pointed to the cafeteria and said, "What happened here…?"
Xiao Mi, who had just been given a small piece of cake, came out of the cafeteria. He was a staff member, so Anran dared to grab him and ask.
Xiao Mi answered, "Oh, it's Suisui's birthday. Everyone is here to celebrate him."
Anran actually guessed it, but when the staff said that, he felt a little uncomfortable. It was because the cafeteria was really too lively, and the instructor who had just left early from his birthday also was here. Originally, Anran thought the instructors just had something else to do, and he didn't guess it was to gather around the birthday boy's main seat for dinner. Even the Movie Emperor Fu was there.
The thing is, at his birthday party, several other instructors at least went to show some politeness but Fu Jinxiao didn't show up at all. Everyone thought that Actor Fu was busy with work so he didn't come, but this time, Fu Jinxiao appeared by Jian Xingsui's side. All of the trainees could see it… isn't this equivalent to slapping himself in the face?
Jian Zhi also noticed it, and he was thoughtful, "The program team held two parties?"
Xiao Mi quickly denied, "No, no, the director team didn't arrange it, it was spontaneously done by the trainees."
"…"
Anran and his family fell silent again.
Anran's birthday was celebrated by everyone, as it was arranged by the program team thanks to Jian family's sponsorship. They even made it to a special segment for the show. But Jian Xingsui's birthday party was spontaneously organized by everyone out of their own will. There's no monetary incentive, but they did it anyway.
Doesn't this sound ironic? Doesn't it seem that he is not popular compared to Jian Xingsui?
Seeing that Anran was unhappy, Mr. Jian2Anran's father. It's actually "Father Jian" but that sounds awkward… snorted coldly, "What's spontaneous? Didn't he say that he was not feeling well? In actuality, he celebrated it with such fanfare. If he was well enough for a celebration, why didn't he at least congratulate Ranran?"
Jian He actually had cruller things he wanted to say, but he was aware that he's in public. He has always been a mature entrepreneur in front of other people, so he had an image to maintain.
Xiao Mi secretly overheard this sentence and was really stunned silent by this shameless rhetoric.
If this logic was followed and applied to Anran, then why didn't Anran go to congratulate Suisui? Why did Jian Kuo have the attitude and rhetoric about Suisui and feel sorry for Anran? Did Suisui owe their family?
"…"
It's really weird.
What a bunch of brain-dead family.