PANT - Chapter 77
Chapter 77
It was time for Su Xiaoxiao's first birthday since she started kindergarten.
Everyone was busy preparing for it.
Fei Yue suggested throwing a big, extravagant party, since it was a birthday of commemorative significance.
But after discussing it, Shi Ning and Su Tianxue decided it would be better to just have a small, cozy party at home.
A crowded, bustling place like that wasn't something Su Xiaoxiao would like.
Even if they had a gathering, it would just be an opportunity for the adults to socialize, not a real celebration for the child's birthday.
Shi Ning gave Su Xiaoxiao some small cards she had made by hand. “Xiaoxiao, when you go to kindergarten today, you can give these little invitation cards to the friends you want to invite.”
Su Xiaoxiao watched Shi Ning put the small cards into her schoolbag, nodding seriously without a word.
Looking at her, Shi Ning thought that Su Xiaoxiao would probably only give a card to one person today.
A mother knows her daughter best.
As soon as she got to kindergarten, Su Xiaoxiao sat in her seat, waiting for her deskmate, Li Doudou, to arrive.
When Li Doudou arrived, she was holding two big buns, one in each hand. She took a bite from one and then the other, like a little emperor bestowing his favor equally.
Seeing Su Xiaoxiao, she happily skipped over, gobbled up the buns in a flash, and then obediently wiped her hands clean with a wet wipe before rushing over to hug Su Xiaoxiao.
“Good morning, Xiaoxiao!”
When she was hugged, Su Xiaoxiao tried her best to shrink back, attempting to avoid the contact.
The moment Li Doudou saw small, dark clouds start to appear and float over Su Xiaoxiao's head, she would perceptively let go and stop clinging to her.
Li Doudou propped herself up on the small kindergarten table and stared at Su Xiaoxiao.
She had liked Su Xiaoxiao ever since they first met.
She thought Su Xiaoxiao was the cutest little girl in the entire kindergarten.
She was as exquisite as if carved from pink jade, like a little dumpling.
She was the kind of little princess that made you want to give her all the delicious things in your hands the moment you saw her.
It was just that this little princess didn't like to talk, nor did she like to make friends.
Her only hobby was pinching her own chubby cheeks whenever she had nothing to do.
In truth, Li Doudou really disliked having her little cheeks pinched.
During New Year's or other holidays, the first thing her relatives would do upon seeing her was rush over and squish her cheeks.
Her aunties and grandmas were okay; at least they smelled nice when they got close.
Some of her uncles and grandpas had stubbly beards, and it was especially unpleasant and uncomfortable when they rubbed against her.
So annoying! Were a child's little cheeks something those adults could just pinch whenever they felt like it?
But...
Xiaoxiao was different.
Li Doudou liked the way Xiaoxiao would poke her face with a deadpan, serious expression.
It was as if she was the only one in her eyes.
Li Doudou liked that.
So she didn't mind using her own chubby cheeks to attract Su Xiaoxiao's attention.
Li Doudou let Su Xiaoxiao play with her little cheeks for a while before speaking indistinctly, “Xiaoxiao, are you unhappy today?”
Su Xiaoxiao didn't make a sound. Instead, she opened her schoolbag and gestured for Li Doudou to look down.
Li Doudou glanced down and saw that Su Xiaoxiao's little schoolbag was filled with lots of cute little cards.
Li Doudou asked politely, “Can I see them?”
Su Xiaoxiao pushed her schoolbag toward Li Doudou.
Only then did Li Doudou reach in and take out a card. One look and she realized- oh, Su Xiaoxiao was having a birthday!
But shouldn't a birthday be a happy occasion?
Why did Su Xiaoxiao seem a little unhappy?
It wasn't that she was unhappy, exactly.
It was just that Li Doudou could clearly see a faint dark cloud floating over Su Xiaoxiao's head.
It wasn't very thick.
A bit like the sky right before it was about to rain.
Actually, Li Doudou had guessed correctly.
Whenever Su Xiaoxiao thought about her birthday, she felt a little unsure of what to do.
It wasn't that she hated birthdays; she just often couldn't understand why everyone celebrated on this day.
Turning a year older- wasn't that just a normal biological phenomenon?
Her moms seemed to look forward to this moment every year.
Su Xiaoxiao didn't want to disappoint her moms, but she couldn't bring herself to hand out a single one of the cards filling her schoolbag.
After thinking for a long time, Su Xiaoxiao took out one card and handed it to Li Doudou.
“For you.”
Her taciturn nature was probably inherited from Su Tianxue.
Li Doudou didn't mind. She took the card and glanced at it, captivated by the exquisite little details.
She exclaimed, “Xiaoxiao, this card is so cute!”
Su Xiaoxiao made a sound of acknowledgment. “Is it?”
Li Doudou: “...”
Su Xiaoxiao added, “My mom drew it.”
Looking at the little whale, the little sea turtle, and the little mermaid princess on the card, Li Doudou felt a warmth in her heart.
She didn't have a mother.
Li Doudou hadn't told Su Xiaoxiao this.
She held the card in her hand and said to Su Xiaoxiao very seriously, “Xiaoxiao, don't worry. On your birthday, lots of friends will definitely come to your house.”
Su Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, her little face, still full of baby fat, wrinkling along with it.
Li Doudou guaranteed, “Don't worry, it won't be the kids from kindergarten!”
Li Doudou knew that Su Xiaoxiao didn't like the impolite children at kindergarten.
With Li Doudou's assurance, Su Xiaoxiao felt much more at ease.
Li Doudou requested, “Xiaoxiao, give me all the cards. I'll help you find people to come to your birthday!”
Su Xiaoxiao nodded.
Her birthday fell on a Saturday.
When Su Xiaoxiao opened her eyes, she found that the house's decor seemed to have changed.
Well, it wasn't exactly redecorated.
To be precise, many strange things had been added.
Blue balloons, cute dolls, and some oddly shaped cards.
Shi Ning and Su Tianxue had stayed up late the previous night to put all this up after Su Xiaoxiao had fallen asleep.
Of course, they could have paid someone to do it, but Shi Ning thought it was more meaningful to do it themselves.
Anyway, all they wanted was a festive atmosphere; they weren't trying to turn the house into a palace, like something a wedding planning company would do.
The first to arrive was Fei Yue. When she saw Su Xiaoxiao, their eyes met, and the two ice cubes, one big and one small, nodded at each other with perfect understanding.
Fei Yue placed her gift on a cabinet, then squatted down and said to Su Xiaoxiao, “Happy birthday.”
Su Xiaoxiao nodded slightly. “Thank you.”
Watching their interaction, Shi Ning pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation, wanting nothing more than to drag that woman Fei Yue away from Su Xiaoxiao immediately.
She had every reason to suspect that Xiaoxiao had been infected by this stinky woman to become the way she was now!
When Su Wanxing arrived, the atmosphere was completely different.
Zhu Yu came with her, along with Fei Yue's younger sister, Fei Xuzhi. The moment the three of them appeared, the whole house became lively.
Su Wanxing came in carrying a large box. After putting it on the floor and opening it, she revealed it was full of beautiful little dresses.
Su Wanxing introduced them excitedly, “Xiaoxiao, these are the little dresses Auntie bought for you. Do you see any you like?”
Su Xiaoxiao squatted down and looked for a long time before finally picking a very dark, Spanish-style little princess dress.
Seeing this, Zhu Yu laughed. “I knew it. I said Xiaoxiao would like the one I bought.”
Fei Xuzhi scoffed.
Su Wanxing practically treated Su Xiaoxiao as her own daughter. You could say their fate was sealed the moment she was named. After all, Su Xiaoxiao's full name was Su Wanhe. If they went out, people would think Su Xiaoxiao was Su Wanxing's daughter.
The gossip media was even more ridiculous; one time, they even claimed that Su Wanxing had gotten pregnant out of wedlock, given birth to a daughter, and named her using a character from her own name.
Su Wanxing's PR company hadn't even had a chance to deal with it before Fei Yue directly suppressed the news.
Everyone present had a consensus.
They had no intention of letting Su Xiaoxiao be put on the internet at such a young age for others to discuss.
She was already a special child.
Besides, Su Xiaoxiao wouldn't like it either.
Everyone was surprised when Li Doudou knocked on the door.
Su Wanxing was the one who opened the door. The moment Li Doudou saw her, her jaw dropped.
She had seen this big sister on TV!
She never thought she actually knew Xiaoxiao!
Su Wanxing tilted her head. “And you are?”
Li Doudou quickly and smoothly introduced herself, “I'm Li Doudou! Xiaoxiao's good friend!”
To vouch for Li Doudou, Xiaoxiao nodded.
Shi Ning was a little worried. “Doudou, did you come by yourself? Where's your grandma?”
Li Doudou had always been raised by her grandmother.
Li Doudou giggled. “Grandma had something to do.”
Li Doudou gave Su Xiaoxiao a gift, then said she had something urgent to do and had to leave for a bit.
Su Xiaoxiao let out a small sound, her big eyes filled with confusion.
Then, less than ten minutes later, there was another knock on the door.
Su Wanxing opened the door to find a little girl standing there wearing a wizard's hat, a long robe, and a mask covering her face.
When she spoke, although the owner of the voice seemed to be trying hard to change her tone, anyone listening could immediately tell what was going on.
It was clearly Li Doudou, who had just left!!
Su Wanxing suppressed a laugh and said seriously, “Hello, little witch.”
Li Doudou, deeply immersed in the character she was playing, said to Su Wanxing, “Hello, I am Xiaoxiao's witch friend.”
She held out her hand and presented another gift to Su Xiaoxiao.
“This is for you.”
Su Xiaoxiao looked at the gift, then at Li Doudou in front of her, her mouth slightly agape, a little dumbfounded.
She still hadn't figured out what Li Doudou was doing.
Next, Li Doudou appeared in succession wearing Spider-Man, Donald Duck, Mickey and Minnie, and PAW Patrol costumes.
Each time she appeared, she would say, “Hello, I am Xiaoxiao's friend.”
And each time she appeared, she would give Xiaoxiao a new gift.
Every friend held one of the cards that Shi Ning had drawn by hand.
Su Xiaoxiao grabbed the little girl, who was dressed as Skye, the pilot pup from PAW Patrol, and was about to leave for another round. She called out seriously, “Li Doudou.”
Skye froze.
“Huh?”
She shook her head frantically in denial. “I'm not Li Doudou, I'm not Li Doudou.”
Su Xiaoxiao simply reached out and pulled off Skye's mascot head. Because she used too much force, she fell and landed on her bottom.
The little puppy head was clutched in her hand.
Underneath the Skye costume was Li Doudou's sweat-drenched face. She blinked pitifully and called out innocently, “Xiaoxiao.”
Su Xiaoxiao didn't get up. She just sat there on the floor, looking up at Li Doudou, and asked in confusion, “What are you doing?”
Li Doudou was tired too.
She plopped down on the floor, her chubby little face trembling. “I'm inviting other friends to your birthday.”
Su Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together.
Li Doudou looked at the top of Su Xiaoxiao's head, unable to understand why she didn't seem particularly happy even after finding out.
Her sky hadn't completely cleared up yet.
Su Xiaoxiao stared at Li Doudou and said, word by word, “Tiring.”
“Don't do this next time.”
Li Doudou nodded pitifully. “I know.”
Seeing how obedient she was, Su Xiaoxiao's sky brightened a little.
Li Doudou became happy too.
“Grrrrowl!”
Li Doudou looked down and realized her stomach, which had been starving for a while, was growling. She lowered her head shyly.
Shi Ning quickly scooped up the two little rascals. “Xiaoxiao, Doudou, you two go take a bath first. Doudou, you can change into a set of Xiaoxiao's clothes. We'll eat when you come out.”
Li Doudou fidgeted. “Is that okay?”
Shi Ning: “What's wrong?”
She's just a little kid, what could she be thinking?
Li Doudou poked her fingers together. “I'm a little too chubby, Auntie. I'm afraid I'll stretch out Xiaoxiao's clothes.”
Hearing Li Doudou's words, everyone burst out laughing.
Shi Ning ruffled Li Doudou's hair and led her toward the room.
After bathing and changing, Li Doudou came out and saw the cake, her eyes lighting up.
When the cake was served, Su Xiaoxiao quietly kept giving her own portion to Li Doudou.
Zhu Yu watched and remarked, “Xiaoxiao really knows how to take care of her friends.”
The two mothers exchanged a look, thinking to themselves that Xiaoxiao probably didn't want to eat the cake at all, which was why she gave it all to Li Doudou.
But it seemed Li Doudou really liked it!
After Li Doudou finished eating, Shi Ning drove her home.
After they got home, Su Xiaoxiao asked, “Can I have a birthday next year too?”
Shi Ning and Su Tianxue glanced at each other.
Shi Ning smiled and replied, “Of course you can.”
“Then can I have many birthdays in one year?”
Shi Ning asked, “Has Xiaoxiao started to like birthdays?”
Su Xiaoxiao nodded slightly.
She felt that with Li Doudou around, birthdays weren't so boring anymore.
When it was time for bed, Su Xiaoxiao didn't need to be lulled to sleep. She fell asleep quietly on her own while listening to a BBC documentary.
After the child was asleep, Shi Ning went with Su Tianxue to wash up, and the two chatted by the sink.
“I can't help but feel that Xiaoxiao is a bit of a little devil,” Shi Ning said. “She doesn't want to have birthdays just to torment Doudou, does she?”
Su Tianxue shot her a glare. “How can you talk about your own daughter like that?”
Shi Ning pouted and said nothing.
Su Tianxue pulled off a facial towel for Shi Ning. “But, I think it's wonderful that she met Doudou.”
“Yeah.” Shi Ning wet the towel, cupped it in her hands, and wiped her face. “To have a good friend grow up with her.”
“Our Xiaoxiao is a very lucky child,” Shi Ning said as she wrung the water from the towel.
If Su Xiaoxiao was a star in the sky, then Li Doudou was like the sun.
But she didn't follow the conventions of the universe; instead, she loved to revolve around this lonely star.
Every time.
Every time, she wanted to bring her own warmth and happiness to this star.
To grow up with her, to see the world with her.
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