Jialia's POV
"You and Xiaojun good now?" Yuyan asks as she sits down on the chair across from me with her lunch.
"Yeah. We made up already." I say poking into my salad before eating.
"Good. I don't have to see you sulk in class or at work anymore." Yuyan says. I laugh. "I won't be able to celebrate your birthday with you. My mom wants to go out of town this week. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Go spend time with your mom. I'll spend my birthday with Jian." I say.
"You're forgetting someone...." Yuyan smiles.
"Him? I don't think he knows when my birthday is." I say.
"Do you know his?" Yuyan asks.
"He has the same birthday as Jian." I take a bite of my salad.
"Really? Ohhh yeah! His birthday does fall on the same day." Yuyan smiles.
"What would you like for your birthday?" Lufeng says as he pops up from behind me. I jump a bit. Same with Yuyan.
"You scared me." Yuyan says.
"I'm sorry. I overheard you both talk. Happy early birthday Jialia." Lufeng says then sits in the middle chair between Yuyan and I.
"Thank you." I say.
"How are you celebrating your birthday?" Lufeng asks.
"Well.... I spend my birthday with my son." I say.
"Why don't you spend it with me too?" Lufeng smiles.
"She's spending time with her boyfriend as well. Don't forget that she's taken!" Yuyan jumps in.
"Oh! Sorry. I forgot you had a boyfriend. Anyways, can I take you to go buy a gift?" Lufeng asks.
"No. It's alright. I don't want anything for my birthday." I say.
"Please? Don't deny me. I feel sad because I don't have a gift for you. Please? Come with me? Please? Please?" Lufeng pleads.
It won't hurt to go with Lufeng to pick out a gift for my early birthday.... right? I scratch my head.
"Today?" I question.
"I'll text you." Lufeng smiles.
Kun's POV
Manager Shue has came into the dorm and is talking to us about the picture that recently went around. The picture of YangYang and Jialia. Ten and I are sitting on the couch across from her while the others went to go grab something to eat.
"Now that the picture has died down. I hope that everything can think carefully before they do their action. The company and I don't want another picture going around of any of you members again." Manager Shue says.
Right when the picture went around. The company and Manager Shue had to talk to YangYang about the picture. That time was very chaotic. We had a lot of people that wanted interviews, fans were demanding answers, everyone wanted answers of who was the girl, why was YangYang there, why did they hug, etc. Now that the answers have went out and the picture is now off the internet. It has died down a bit.
"We understand." I say.
"Oh! How's it going with Xiaojun and his little family?" Manager Shue asks.
"Xiaojun and his family are doing fine." Ten says.
"Just as long as they are careful and nothing leaks out about them. I think they will be fine. I don't want to deal with another headache." Manager Shue says.
"I'm sure they are careful enough. It's been months since they been together. I'm glad that nothing has leak either." I say in relief.
"How does his baby look like? Does it look a lot like him?" Manager Shue asks.
"We have picture if you want to see." I say then pull out my phone and show her the pictures of Jian and I. Pictures along with the other members.
Yuyan's POV
I'm the only one working at the cafe right now. I'm thankful that there isn't a lot of customers today. I don't have to deal with a lot of people.
"Yuyan." A female voice says which sounds familiar.
I look up to see Jialia's mom which shocks me. My eyes and mouth widen open.
"Aunt Lihua! Hello." I say. She startled me. Why is she here all of a sudden?
•••
I'm sitting at one of the tables with Aunt Lihua who is across from me.
"How have you been, Yuyan?" Aunt Lihua softly ask.
"I've been good. How have you been? I haven't heard from you in a long time." I say.
"I've been trying to cope with life. Uncle has recently passed away. I've been trying to find Jialia to tell her the news that her father has passed and to also reconcile with her and my grandson." Aunt Lihua says.
"Huh?! Uncle has passed away?" I exclaim with my eyes widen open.
She nods her head.
"I'm sorry for your loss." I sadly say then hold her hand which is on the table.
"Can you not tell Jialia? I want to tell Jialia myself Please tell Jialia that I need to talk to her. I know that you can help me, Yuyan. I know that you can. So please help me!" Aunt Lihua begs as tears fall from her eyes.
If I help Aunt Lihua. I can bring Jialia and her mother back. They can rekindle and build their mother daughter bond again. Jialia is going to be against me. She is definitely not going to want to see her mother If I don't help Aunt Lihua, I know I'm going to regret it.
"Okay! I'll help you." I say.
Later that day. I've closed the cafe early as planned.
"Oh! Is the cafe closing early today?" A deep male voice asks as I lock the front doors. That voice sounds familiar.
"Yeah! It's closed for the day." I say as I turn around to see Lucas, WinWin and Ten. "Oh! Hello! I didn't expect you guys to be here."
"Why wouldn't we? This is the best cafe shop in town." Ten smiles. His words are making me feel as if I'm in cloud 9.
"No need to say that." I shyly say trying not to blush. Though I'm sure I'm blushing.
"Why is the cafe closed today?" WinWin asks.
"Oh! Haven't you guys heard?" I ask.
"Why? What's going on?" Ten asks.
"I guess not then. It's Jialia's birthday today and I'm also going out of town for a couple of days. So the cafe is closed early today." I say.
"Is it gonna be open during the days that you aren't going to be here?" Lucas asks.
"Yes. Jialia is running the cafe right after she leaves class. It depends on what time she ends class though. I haven't checked on her yet." I explain.
"If it's Jialia's birthday. Does Xiaojun know?" WinWin asks.
"I'm sure he knows." I smile though I'm not confident with what I said. "Did you guys want your drinks before I leave?"
"Sure!" Ten, Lucas and WinWin says in sync with a smile.
Xiaojun's POV
"Daddy! Daddy!" Jian screams as he enters my room while I'm drying my hair with a towel on my bed.
"What is it?" I ask.
"It's mommy's birthday today!" Jian excitedly says. "It's gonna be the first time that we can spend it together as a family!"
"Huh?!" I say in shock. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I thought you knew already. Mommy knows your birthday. How could you not know hers?" Jian asks.
She knows my birthday? How does she know my birthday? Anyways, it's her birthday today. I have schedule today with the members. No matter how late, I'll plan her a surprise birthday. With the three of us... finally as a family.
Jialia's POV
Class ended. I get a phone call from Yuyan.
"Hello." I answer.
"Your birthday gift. I left it with Jian." Yuyan says.
"Thank you. You didn't have to buy me anything for my birthday." I say as I walk down the hall.
"No! Of course I have to buy something for you. I'm not gonna be here with you this time. Accept it." Yuyan sadly says.
"Okay. Drive safely and be safe. Call me when you get to your destination." I smile.
"I will. Don't worry about me. Have a fun birthday!" Yuyan happily says.
"I will. Drive safe. Remember to call me. Bye." I say.
"Bye." Yuyan says then I end the call.
I get another call as soon as I ended the call with Yuyan. It's Lufeng.
"Hello?" I answer.
"Where are you?" Lufeng asks.
"I just came out of class. Why?" I ask.
"Well, today is the day I'm going to take you to go buy your birthday gift." Lufeng says.
"Huh? Today?" I say.
"Let's go." Lufeng says the hangs up the call.
"Hello? H-hello?" I say on the phone.
"You're so slow. Hurry up." Lufeng says from behind me then grabs my arms to which I follow him.
•••
Making it to the mall. He wraps his arms around me. I try to remove them but he continues to put his arms around me.
"What would you like for your birthday?" Lufeng asks as we walk around the mall.
"It doesn't matter." I say, trying to remove his arms but can't. Why is he strong?
"Tell me and I'll buy you anything you'll like." Lufeng moves his face near mines keeping a couple inches apart.
"Can you send me back home?" I ask. I feel really uncomfortable at the moment. Because his arms are around me and he's talking too close to my face.
"Why? We're here already. Might as well let me buy you something before I can drop you off." Lufeng smiles.
I try to remove his arms but he pulls me closer to him. Is this how short girls gets taken advantage of?
Xiaojun's POV
Jian and I are in the backyard preparing our surprise for Jialia. I rushed home as soon as I could after schedule. The members thought I was going crazy when the schedule ended.
"Jian! Let's put the lights on the bushes. Then hang some on the poles." I instruct. Jian follows and I help him.
After hanging the lights and fixing them. I bring out a table from inside the house and Jian is bringing some cloths for the table. I place the table in the middle of the yard. I help Jian unfold the cloth and place it over the table. Jian rushes back inside to grab the cushions and places them down on the ground.
"Let's go sprinkle the flowers on the ground." I say.
"No! It's the tent!" Jian says.
"Oh yeah." I nod my head." I almost forgot.
We both get up and walk back inside to grab the materials for the tent. Jian and I are in the middle of putting the wooden poles together. Apparently they won't go together. Jian can't hold all 3 of them by himself. I have to tie the wooden poles together. Where are my members when I need them?
"Wassup wassup wassup!" Lucas excitedly smiles as he enters the backyard.
WinWin, Lucas, Kun, Ten and YangYang follows behind. I sigh in relief.
"Uncle's!" Jian excitedly smiles then hugs Lucas first before the rest.
"Need some help?" Kun asks before Jian could hug him. I nod my head.
"You need to move the table back, Jun." Lucas says. I nod my head again.
"Move it if you need to." I say. "Where's Hendery?"
"With Chunhua." Ten says.
"Huh?" I exclaim.
"Let's help him and we'll talk about them later. Let's go help." Kun changes the topic then pushes everyone to go help.
Lucas and Jian moves the table back so that it can fit the tent since it's too close to the pool. We're deciding to push it back a bit.
"Shouldn't we put the blanket or rug on the ground first?" Kun says.
"Right!" I say. "Lucas!"
Ordering Lucas and Jian to grab the blanket from inside so we can place it on the ground. We decide to move the wooden pole away so that we can work on it and then move it on top of the blanket. After putting the wooden poles together and placing it on top of the blanket. We put a cover the outside of the wooden poles. We put more hanging lights around the rug copying the shape of the rug. We place some pillows inside the tent.
"Your backyard is gonna shine bright." Kun says with his hands on his hips.
When we're finally done, everyone collapses down on the rug. Jian is taking his nap. He knocked out before we finished.
[ I forgot to add these pics 😔 ]
"We're done." YangYang says.
"Thank you guys." I say. "I don't know what I would of done if you guys didn't appear."
"You wouldn't have this amazing decoration if we didn't come help you." Lucas says.
"It's pretty. If I was a girl. I would definitely love this." Ten says.
"I know you would." I smile. "Stay and celebrate Jialia's birthday with us."
"Can we? I'm sure she would want to celebrate it with you and Jian." Kun says.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind. The more people. The more fun it will be." I say.
"I guess we could, right?" YangYang asks.
"I guess. We don't have anything to do anyways." Kun says.
"I have to extend the table now." I laugh.
Jialia's POV
Lufeng stops the car in front of the gate.
"Thank you." I say.
"It's your birthday. You don't have to thank me. I should thank you for being here." Lufeng smiles.
I nod my head. "I'll be going now."
"W-wait! Can I come inside?" Lufeng asks.
I hesitate. I'm sure Xiaojun is home. I don't want to have another misunderstanding. Xiaojun and I don't want people to know about our relationship.
"Not today." I say then grab my bag.
"When?" Lufeng grabs my wrists to stop me from leaving.
"I don't know. I'll let you know when I want you to." I say. He removes his hands.
I get out of the car and enter inside the gate. I walk to the front door and take off my shoes, sliding into my slippers. I make my way to my bedroom. I wonder where Jian is. Usually he'll come rushing to me when it's my birthday. I enter his room before I enter mines.
"Jian? Jian? Where are you? Jian?" I say as I look around his room. He's not in his playroom, his bedroom, his closet, or his bathroom.
I enter my bedroom to set my bag down then look in my closet and bathroom to see if he's inside.
"Jian? Jian? Where are you? Please don't play around with me. Jian? Where are you?" I panic as I exit my bedroom and scan the halls.
My heart is beating fast. What if something happened to him? Nothing bad will happen. I have to think of the positive. He could be with Xiaojun. I look in the living room, dinning room, kitchen, office, reading room. What if he's downstairs in the playroom/living room?
I rush downstairs to see that it's pitch dark. I slowly walk through the halls then into the playroom/living room. I watch for my surroundings.
"Jian? Are you down here? Jian? Jian?" I say as I walk closer to the sliding door to exit to the pool. I slide the door open. "J-"
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Jialia, happy birthday to you!" Xiaojun, Jian, Lucas, YangYang, Kun, WinWin and Ten sings from behind which makes me turn around. Xiaojun has the cake in his hands with 3 candles lighted up.
Everyone claps as soon as they finish singing. Xiaojun and Jian walks closer to me. I'm glad that I see Jian with Xiaojun. I'm very relieved. Very very relieved. But I don't know if I should me mad or happy. They planned this.
"Make a wish." Xiaojun smiles.
I close my eyes and make a wish. I wish that our lives Xiaojun, Jian and I will continue to grow together as a family through happiness. No matter the hardships. I open my eyes and blow the candles out. Everyone is cheering and clapping.
"What did you wish?" Xiaojun asks.
"It's not a wish if I tell you." I say. He sighs.
"Mommy! Happy birthday!" Jian smiles as he hands me the rose in his hands.
I squat down, grab his rose and hug him. "Thank you, my son."
"Happy birthday." Kun, Lucas, Ten, YangYang and WinWin says.
"Thank you all." I smile.
"Should we go eat?" Xiaojun asks.
•••
As everyone is eating. We chat, told stories, told jokes, told folk tales, singed and rapped. I could say that this moment is one of best moments I ever had within the last 4 years. Also one of the moments where I laughed a lot and felt comfortable with everyone.
After eating, I got the honor to cut my cake. As I finish platting the members and Jian cake, Xiaojun is the only one left that I haven't given him cake.
"Look here." Xiaojun says.
I look at him and he quickly wipes the cake cream on my nose. I hold in my breathe then let it out. I take some cream off the cake and try to wipe them on his face as well. He kept moving and didn't let me. I had to force my way to mark my territory on him. I didn't success as much, he kept marking my face with cream as well. I'm not quite satisfied with the amount of cream on his face. My face as a lot. I can feel it.
The members has left home after eating cake and talking for a bit. Xiaojun, Jian and I are sitting inside the tent they made. This place is great for star gazing. But I can barely see it. Jian is knocked out besides me. Xiaojun is laying on my lap with a pillow underneath. His eyes are closed. I comb my fingers through his hair. Very very soft. It's satisfying to comb through.
"Why is your hair so soft? It's softer than mines. Tell me the products you use to make your hair this soft." I request.
"It's in my bathroom. You can take them and use them." Xiaojun says. Still with his eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest.
"For real?!" I excitedly ask.
"I can always buy more." Xiaojun says.
We both stay quiet for a moment. I'm still combing my fingers through his hair. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it.
"If you're tired, we can go back inside and sleep." I softly say.
"No. I'm comfortable here." Xiaojun says as he opens his eyes.
"Close your eyes and go back to sleep." I say then stop combing my fingers through his hair.
"No. I'll watch the stars with you." Xiaojun says.
"Can we? We have too much light. I can't see the stars clearly." I say.
"I can be your stars if you can't see them. I'll go back to sleep so you can watch over me." Xiaojun says then closes his eyes.
"Okay. I'll watch over you then." I playfully sulk.
I gently poke his cheekbones. "How can you have better cheekbones than me?"
I gently touch his eyelids, then his lashes.
"Thank you for celebrating my birthday. I was surprised that we celebrated it like this. I like it very much. Everything was beautifully well done. Thank you, Xiaojun." I move closer to his face and say.
Xiaojun opens his eyes. "Can I kiss you?"
"Huh?" I ask. Is he sleep talking?
His hands is already behind my head. He pushes my head down pressing my lips on top of his. My eyes are widen open. He's taking my first kiss. Slowly I hear my beating. Gradually, louder and louder. I close my eyes and pray that he doesn't hear my heart beating loud.
End of chapter ✨