Chapter 11

After dinner, Mom went to the kitchen to unpack the cake while the two sisters cleared the table.

Bai Kou let out a “hmph hmph” first, then poked Bai Yuqiao’s hand with her fingertip. “Sister, just you wait. I’ve prepared a super awesome birthday gift for you. Wait while I go inside to get it.”

Bai Yuqiao nodded with a smile and asked: 【What is it?】

“Shh.” Bai Kou raised her index finger. “It’s a secret for now. Wait until Mom and Yang Kuikui’s gifts are unwrapped, then I’ll show you mine. The surprise has to be saved for last.”

Yang Wanxi, who was wiping the corner of the table, let out a “tch.” “Sorry, but my gift this year is definitely the best of the best.”

“We’ll see about that.” Bai Kou shrugged and turned toward the inner room.

A little while later, the cake was brought to the table, and the two sisters sat down at the edge.

Yang Wanxi pointed seriously with a stern face, “Sis, lift your chin a bit higher,” while personally tying an extremely exaggerated—

blue-and-pink triangular party hat with a blue plush ball at the pointed tip onto Bai Yuqiao.

Not satisfied even after forcing the party hat on her, Yang Wanxi picked up the exaggerated red-and-black alien-like party glasses and pleaded, “Put these on too!”

The usually steady Bai Yuqiao retreated desperately, waving her hands frantically.

Seeing this scene, Bai Xiaochu chuckled, then turned to knock on her youngest daughter’s open room door.

“Bai Kou, what are you doing holed up in there? Come out quick. Your sister is about to blow out the candles.”

“I forgot my textbook at school!” Bai Kou was squatting by the bed, scribbling furiously. “Mom, stall for another three minutes! Almost done!”

“Ha, who told you not to bring your backpack home? Finally forgot something.” Bai Xiaochu laughed, turned back to the living room. “Alright, alright, Little Xi. Since Yuqiao is already cooperating with the hat, don’t torment her anymore.”

“Auntie Bai, you’re taking sides! Aren’t the glasses cute? How can you call it torment?” Yang Wanxi simply put them on herself, turning into an alien, then picked up a gold ribbon whistle and blew it with childlike innocence—”toot toot”—before asking puzzledly, “Where’s Bai Kou? Why hasn’t she come out yet?”

“Preparing a luxury gift for her sister.”

Bai Xiaochu sat down, picked up the lighter, and tested the flame—”click, click.”

A breeze from the balcony created a cross-flow of air.

The candle flames swayed gently.

“Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Yuqiao! Happy birthday to you!”

“Huu—”

Bai Yuqiao blew out the candles, cupped her hands, closed her eyes, and made a wish.

The three contestants were about to present their birthday gifts. They eyed each other warily and slowly reached behind their backs.

Bai Xiaochu said, “I’m the mom, the elder. You two go first this year.”

Bai Kou said, “The teacher taught us to yield, not to compete with elders. You’re both my elders, so I’ll go last.”

Yang Wanxi went all out. “I—I’m the guest. Guests should be the most honored here, right?”

Bai Kou said, “Yes, so honored guest, please go first?”

“?” Yang Wanxi said, “That’s not what I meant, okay?”

Amid the three’s argument, Bai Yuqiao silently made three birthday wishes of equal priority in her heart—

She hoped Mom would be healthy and happy, hoped her little sister would be healthy and happy, hoped Auntie Yang and Yang Wanxi would be healthy and happy.

When the three square gift boxes were placed on the table, everyone except Bai Yuqiao clearly froze for a moment.

Bai Xiaochu, well-traveled and knowledgeable, narrowed her eyes, touched her lips, and asked, “…You wouldn’t happen to have gotten a phone too, would you?”

Bai Kou’s eyes widened as she spread her hands. “What! You guys! You! You!” She couldn’t finish the rest for a long time.

Yang Wanxi lowered her head and covered her forehead. “From the day we couldn’t discuss gifts with each other, I knew this day would come.”

So what now?

Unwrap them.

Under three pairs of burning, expectant gazes, Bai Yuqiao’s hand first reached for the one in the middle with the pink bunny checkered pattern, but Bai Kou pressed it down.

Her eyes were resolute. “No, Sister! You still have to unwrap mine last!”

“Pfft.” Yang Wanxi laughed. “I’m really curious what treasure phone you bought.” Even as she said that, she generously pushed the box wrapped in white oiled paper printed with “happybirthday” under Bai Yuqiao’s eyes. “Then unwrap mine first, so Bai Kou can be last.”

Bai Yuqiao nodded and picked up Yang Wanxi’s gift.

She unwrapped the packaging paper by hand.

Bai Kou exclaimed, “Ah? Yang Wanxi, you got a Nokia too!”

Nokia N97—a brand-new side-sliding touchscreen full-keyboard model just released on the domestic market this year.

—This model wasn’t cheap at all!

Bai Xiaochu looked surprised. When she went on a business trip to stock up on cameras and picked a gift along the way, she had seen this one too. She remembered the internal price was over seven thousand.

Considering Bai Yuqiao would be in her senior year of high school for the next year and wouldn’t need overly complex functions yet, she had deliberated and chosen what seemed like a trendy iPhone 3GS.

She hadn’t expected Little Xi to give such an expensive gift…

Bai Xiaochu couldn’t help but recall what Yang Yingyun had told her over the years—

“Li Mengjun is a celebrity, has tons of money, always casually giving Little Xi thousands!”

“She’s warping the kid’s values!”

She wondered if Yingyun even knew her daughter had bought such an expensive gift…

While Bai Xiaochu fell into an elder’s worry on one side, Bai Kou fell into a “poor kid’s” self-abandonment on the other.

She no longer insisted on being last. With a dark cloud over her head, she gently pushed her prepared gift toward Bai Yuqiao’s hand. “Sister, then unwrap mine. It’s also a Nokia, just not as good as Yang Kuikui’s…”

Bai Yuqiao immediately raised her hand to pat her little sister’s hand in comfort, but Bai Kou didn’t notice and pulled back.

Like a melting hamster, she flopped onto the table. “Sigh, all those years saving New Year’s money from elementary school, wasted.”

She unwrapped the gift paper.

A red-and-white phone pattern appeared on the box, with two lines of blue small print below.

NOKIA, 5300.

For Yang Wanxi’s gift, Bai Yuqiao had stopped upon reaching the box.

But for this one, she didn’t stop. She continued opening the box, took out the red-and-white phone inside, and pressed the power button.

Accompanied by music, the still somewhat energetic Bai Kou stood up to stop her. “Sis—this one needs to charge for 24 hours before use, or it’ll hurt the battery.”

Bai Yuqiao nodded with a smile to show she understood, turned off the phone again, placed it on the table, and pressed it under her palm.

Finally, she unwrapped the gift from Bai Xiaochu.

One new phone, three new phone boxes lined up side by side on the table.

Four heads leaned in close.

—So… doesn’t that mean Sister got three new phones at once?

Bai Kou suddenly thought of a happy possibility.

Her eyes darted left and right, then back to the table. She first called out obediently, “Mom, Little Xi Sis.”

“Little Xi Sis?” Yang Wanxi instantly sensed something off. “Why so polite all of a sudden? Something’s fishy!”

“Oh, no way.” Bai Kou couldn’t help laughing as she thought of what she was about to say. “I just feel like, my sister is just one person. She definitely can’t use three phones at once, and she’s in senior year! Right in the key period for studying hard!”

At these words, Yang Wanxi and Bai Xiaochu immediately rolled their eyes in perfect sync.

Both leaned back, sat up straight, and exchanged a look.

Bai Xiaochu took the lead. “Little Xi, I think I’ve figured out what your Beanbean sister means.”

Yang Wanxi followed up. “Oh? What does she mean, Auntie Bai?”

Bai Kou’s face turned red at their words. She let out an “aiya,” pressed on the table, and stood up. But since she’d said it, she wouldn’t back down!

“Mom, you all have phones already, but I’m still using a PHS!”

“So many classmates in class have color screens. I can only play black-and-white Snake. Anyway, you have extras—give me one?”

Bai Xiaochu smiled, propped her left hand on her chin, and teased the kid on purpose. “Bai Kou, these three are all birthday gifts for your sister. You have the nerve to take one?”

“…” Bai Kou pursed her lips, sat back down, and muttered, “Then… can I trade for Sister’s old phone?”

She took a step back voluntarily, but even until they finished the cake, no one gave Bai Kou a definite answer.

Sigh~

Bai Kou nibbled on her cake with a fork and sighed leisurely. Sure enough, impulsive ideas often failed. PHS it was, just make do. Anyway, her own birthday was in a few months—she could upgrade then.

That evening, Bai Kou quickly forgot about the failure. She sat alone in her room drawing her beloved goddess Athena.

She had liked reading comics since she was little and also enjoyed drawing, though she’d never thought to take art classes. But pure passion seemed to work too. From watching tons of comics and drawing every day since childhood, now even just with pencil sketches, she could outline a three-dimensional goddess skeleton on paper in a few strokes.

“Knock knock knock.” Three knocks came from the door.

The pencil lines on the paper had just sketched out the goddess’s hair, face, and upper shoulder silhouette.

Bai Kou turned to see it was her sister and immediately got up to run over. “What’s up, Sister?”

Bai Yuqiao: 【Busy?】

“Nope.” Bai Kou shook her head. “Nothing to do, just drawing.” After all, playing black-and-white Snake every day got boring.

Bai Yuqiao’s eyes crinkled in a smile: 【Drawing what?】

“Athena, um, from an anime. You probably don’t know her.”

Bai Yuqiao made a hand sign for the pinyin “Z” near her lips: 【Purple?】

“Huh… what does that gesture mean again…” Bai Kou scratched her ear.

Bai Yuqiao took out her phone and typed: 【The Athena with purple hair and white dress?】

Bai Kou’s eyes widened in surprise, her mouth forming a little “o.” “You actually remember?”

【Of course. You loved her so much when you were little.】

Bai Kou let out a “hehe” laugh and asked, “So what did you come to find me for?”

Bai Yuqiao gripped her phone and gestured: 【Wait a moment.】

“Okay.” Bai Kou nodded blankly.

Then she watched Bai Yuqiao turn and walk away, heard the door to the next room “creak” open. Less than a minute later, Bai Yuqiao returned in front of her, holding a box in her arms.

The front of the box was covered, so Bai Kou couldn’t see clearly. “What’s that?”

Bai Yuqiao closed the door behind her with her other hand, tugged her wrist, and gestured—”come.”

A phone box sat under the desk lamp—the extremely familiar Nokia 5300.

Bai Yuqiao picked up a pencil and wrote two words:

【For you.】

Bai Kou said, “No way, this is the birthday gift I gave you. I don’t want it. I’ll stick with my PHS.”

Bai Yuqiao frowned, shook her head, and quickly wrote: 【I bought this for you.】

“No way.” Bai Kou crossed her arms. “Sis, I’m in middle school now. Not as easy to fool as before.”

The “before” Bai Kou mentioned was probably when she was little and often gave good food to Bai Yuqiao, then eyed it longingly after, wanting a taste. Unless Bai Yuqiao tricked her by saying, “I bought one for you too,” she wouldn’t eat it foolishly.

【Not tricking you.】 Bai Yuqiao wrote again. 【Saw you liked it before and bought it. The one you gave me is charging in my room.】

“Really?” Bai Kou was skeptical. She got up, went out to the next room, and saw that the 5300 she had given was indeed charging on the bedside table.

Her heart bloomed with joy!

When Bai Kou ran back into the room, she pounced on her sister. “Wuwuwuwu, it’s really true! Sister, I love you! I’ll be your ox and horse for life!”