Free Web NovelChapter 282: Chapter 282: Birthday Gift
Su Li had padded the wall, so it didn’t hurt to bump into it, and the sound was muffled.
Little Tang Mo bumped his head against it again and again until his strength ran out.
His throat was raw. He got out of bed, sat down at his little desk, and poured himself a glass of water. After drinking it, he slowly calmed down.
Little Tang Mo picked up a pen, lowered his head, and began to earnestly write down his thoughts.
"Mom isn’t pitiful. There’s nothing pitiful about her. I’ll take care of my mom. I’ll make her happy. I’ll give her whatever she wants, and she can do whatever she wants. She’ll have it better than all the other moms..."
When he finished writing, Little Tang Mo pressed his ear to the wall, listening for any movement next door.
He couldn’t hear a thing. It was perfectly quiet. Su Li was probably asleep.
A smile touched Little Tang Mo’s lips. He tore the page from his notebook, held it against his chest for a moment, then ripped it to shreds and threw it in the trash.
He would keep those words in his heart.
Little Tang Mo checked the time before turning off the light and lying back down in bed.
This time, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
’If I don’t sleep well, Mom will worry.’
「The night deepened.」
Around midnight, Su Li woke up in a daze. She quietly opened Little Tang Mo’s door to check on him.
Little Tang Mo was sleeping soundly.
The next day, Su Li and Little Tang Mo’s busy lives resumed.
That day, Su Li spent an hour and managed to buy four skeins of yarn.
She got blue, black, and white.
Compared to the red, green, and blue she had bought in town before, this was a fantastic selection.
Why so many colors? Su Li wanted to knit a color-block sweater.
Any leftover yarn could be used for other clothes, or even a scarf and gloves.
After buying the yarn, Su Li went out again to get the other things she needed for the birthday present.
From that day forward, Su Li started knitting the sweater and preparing the gift.
Little Tang Mo watched Su Li bustling about, but he didn’t say a word.
Wu Sheng had been busy since his last visit, which Su Li felt was for the best. It gave her the time she needed to prepare his gift.
Time flew, and December 29th arrived in a blink.
Su Li woke up bright and early and called Wu Sheng—not on his work phone, but his personal home line.
But when the call connected, a woman’s voice answered, "Hello?"
Su Li froze for a second and pulled the receiver away from her ear to look at it. By the time she hesitantly brought it back, Wu Sheng’s voice was already on the line.
"Hello?"
Su Li blinked, wondering if she’d imagined it. "Is that Wu Sheng?"
"Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?" Wu Sheng’s voice was full of energy, having finally made it to his long-awaited birthday.
Su Li smiled. "Are you free to come over around noon?"
"Of course! And even if I weren’t, I’d make time!" Wu Sheng replied instantly.
Once they had set a time, Su Li and Little Tang Mo headed to the market.
"Today is your Uncle Wu’s birthday, so we’re going to make him a nice meal. We’ll celebrate with him at lunchtime, and then he can celebrate with his family tonight."
Luckily, it happened to be a Sunday.
Little Tang Mo nodded, but then he suddenly started pointing out all sorts of things he wanted.
He pointed at this and that, picking out all of his favorite foods.
Su Li bought everything Little Tang Mo pointed to.
"I’ll make it all for you, every last bit. Huh... a little clay pot." Su Li stopped in her tracks when she spotted a small clay pot.
"Should we buy one, Little Mo? I could use it to make you stewed tofu with minced pork, or tofu with egg."
Little Tang Mo nodded enthusiastically.
Once they got home with the groceries, they started methodically getting to work. Little Tang Mo hadn’t wanted to make a birthday meal for Wu Sheng, but seeing Su Li so busy, he couldn’t resist helping out.
Just as they finished washing and prepping the vegetables, Wu Sheng arrived.
After hanging up with Su Li, Wu Sheng had showered, shaved, and fussed over his appearance, arriving all dapper and spruced up.
"Su Li, Little Point."
"Come on in," Su Li said, still in her apron. "I haven’t even started cooking yet. Have a seat and wait."
"Are you making it for me?" Wu Sheng grinned from ear to ear and took off his jacket without a second thought.
"I can’t just sit here! Let me do the cooking!" fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
"You don’t have to. Just sit down," Su Li said, exasperated.
"I told you, my cooking is actually pretty good!" Wu Sheng insisted on showing off his skills.
With a sigh, Su Li handed him the apron. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"I need to show you my domestic, good-husband side, so you’ll fall head over heels for me," Wu Sheng murmured to Su Li as he took the apron, then marched into the kitchen, full of gusto.
Su Li was speechless.
She had planned on making him a nice spread of dishes to celebrate his birthday, but he had to go off-script and insist on cooking himself!
Su Li thought for a moment, then went to her room to put the gift in a box and add a few decorative touches.
"Little Mo, where’s the gift you got for your uncle? Come on, let’s put them together."
Su Li asked Little Tang Mo.
Wu Sheng had helped Little Tang Mo so much, so Su Li had hoped her son would prepare a birthday gift of his own.
Little Tang Mo had agreed, but he hadn’t shown Su Li what he’d made.
Little Tang Mo went to his room and came back with the gift, but he hid it behind his back so Su Li couldn’t see it.
"Alright, alright, Mommy won’t look. You can put it in and close the box yourself."
Su Li stifled a laugh and turned away.
Little Tang Mo glanced down at Su Li’s gift box, then reluctantly tossed his own gift inside and closed the lid.
Su Li placed the gift box on the coffee table, then cleared her throat to get the attention of Wu Sheng, who was having the time of his life stir-frying in the kitchen.
"Wu Sheng, come out here."
"Just a second, this dish is almost done." Wu Sheng finished plating the food before walking out.
The moment he came out, his eyes fell on the box on the coffee table.
His eyes lit up. "A present."
Su Li nodded. "Go on, open it."
’Looks like a present was the only thing that could lure him out of the kitchen.’
"Okay." Wu Sheng wiped his hands, took off the apron, and reached for the box, only to stop himself.
"Wait, let me go wash my hands."
After washing his hands, Wu Sheng came back out and finally opened the box.
"What’s this?" The first thing he picked up was the gift from Little Tang Mo.
Wu Sheng examined it for a moment, then flicked it open with a SWISH. "A folding fan?"
That’s right, it was a folding fan. It was covered in Little Tang Mo’s doodles, with the words "Happy Birthday" written on it.
The gift was handmade by Little Tang Mo, which was wonderful. It was just...
...a paper fan in the dead of winter.
Su Li shot Little Tang Mo a look and let out a faint, "Er..."
Little Tang Mo seemed to have expected this. He quickly tore a note from a pad and showed it to Su Li and Wu Sheng.
"It’ll be cool in the summer."
Wu Sheng nodded and fanned himself with it. "Nice. It works great. Makes a strong breeze. Thanks, Little Point."
’It’s just a little cold to be fanning myself right now...’
Wu Sheng reluctantly folded the fan, set it carefully aside, then crouched down and patted Little Tang Mo’s head.
He looked Little Mo straight in the eye. "Thank you for the gift, Little Mo. I really love it."
Little Tang Mo awkwardly averted his gaze.
’He knew how good Wu Sheng was to him. He was starting to like him, too, but... in the end, he’d made this gift that was part sincere, part prank. He hadn’t expected Wu Sheng to thank him so earnestly.’
"Little Mo is getting shy," Su Li said with a laugh. "You’re so clever, Little Mo."
Wu Sheng’s gaze had already darted eagerly back to the box.
He had already seen it—just as he’d hoped, a sweater!
Both carefully and eagerly, he lifted the sweater out. He shook it open and had to bite his lip hard.
’It was so damn beautiful, he was afraid he might actually shout.’
