She is in the fog

"Student He Xi from Class 5 () of Senior High School, today is your seventeenth birthday. Your friends have sent you their best wishes and requested a song for you, "The Rainy Season of Seventeen". No matter how the world changes, the friendship between friends will last forever. I wish you academic progress, good health and happiness, and a happy birthday!"

He Xi was extremely shocked, and she hadn't come to her senses until the song "The Rainy Season of Seventeen" came on the radio.

At this time, Li Xingyu snapped his fingers in front of He Xi, then pushed the box on the stone table to the middle, opened it carefully, and took out a small cake from it. Then, Li Xingyu and Wen Wan clapped their hands and sang: "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

On one side was "In the rainy season when I was seventeen, we had the same expectations", and on the other side was "Happy Birthday to You". The two songs overlapped each other, but He Xi didn't think they were noisy, but just very beautiful. He Xi was very moved, and her eyes were a little sore. She couldn't even remember her birthday, but she didn't expect that they actually remembered it and gave her a big surprise.

With hazy eyes, she ate the cake bite by bite, putting a big spoonful of cream into her mouth. She didn't feel sick of it, but just felt: very sweet and delicious.

This was the most delicious food she had ever eaten and also her most memorable birthday.

When they returned to the classroom, the classmates saw He Xi and said to her, "Happy birthday!"

He Xi thanked them one by one.

In the evening, He Xi sent Mingmei and Wenwan home as usual. Fortunately, it was no longer raining, so Mingmei put the umbrella into her schoolbag.

On the way, He Xi asked curiously: "How did you know my birthday?"

Mingmei said: "Look at your information card, it shouldn't be filled out randomly, right?"

"So... the envelope that Li Bufan gave you contains the content of today's broadcast?"

Mingmei nodded: "Yes, I specifically asked the stationmaster to change the broadcast time. If I want to change the independent content, I have to ask the stationmaster or deputy stationmaster to review it. It just so happens that the stationmaster is my partner, so I just did it for me."

It turned out that Mingmei had deliberately changed the broadcast time and content in order to prepare a birthday surprise for herself. He Xi suppressed her inner ecstasy and changed the subject, asking knowingly: "Then... when is your birthday?"

Mingmei said, "June 6th."

Wen Wan sighed: "Don't mention it, my birthday is February 2th. Who is unlucky enough to celebrate my birthday once every four years?"

He Xi casually said, "Then why don't you celebrate the lunar calendar? It will only happen once a year, right?"

"Right! Why didn't I think of that!" Wen Wan suddenly realized, "He Xi, you really woke me up with your words. I have decided that from now on, I will celebrate my lunar birthday on the eleventh day of the first lunar month! You all remember this, when the time comes, I will invite you to my house for dinner, and everyone must come regardless of rain or shine!"

"By the way, speaking of treating people to dinner," Mingmei turned her head to He Xi, "last time you treated us to crabs, I was planning to invite you to my house and let grandma cook a big meal for you. But then I changed my mind and thought, since I have to repay this favor, how can I let grandma cook? So, I decided that after I have improved my cooking skills during the winter vacation and have my own specialty dishes, I will invite you to my house and I will cook for you myself."

Wen Wan's eyes lit up: "Great! I've never seen you cook before, but you have such good grades and learn things quickly. I'm sure you can cook a delicious meal just by looking at the recipe. I'm looking forward to it."

He Xi was also very much looking forward to it. Being able to eat the dishes cooked by Mingmei herself would be a blessing earned in several lifetimes.

After sending them home safely, He Xi turned around and went back to his own community. He looked from a distance and saw that the lights on his floor were still on. He couldn't help but feel very puzzled: According to the past, at this time, He Jingrui and He Jingqi should have finished washing up, turned off the lights and went to bed.

He Xi took the elevator upstairs, took out his key and opened the door, only to find that the room had become dark again.

What the hell? I clearly saw the lights on downstairs just now.

He Xi reached out to turn on the light, but the lights in the house suddenly came on. He Xi then noticed that his cousin He Huan was standing next to the switch.

He Huan winked at her: "Surprise!"

"Cousin? Why are you here?"
He Xi turned his head towards the room. It turned out that besides his cousin He Huan, there were also his uncle Sun Linlin, his aunt He Wenli, and his grandmother Sun Siqin. The three of them were sitting around a round table, looking at He Xi with a smile, and then they said in unison:
"Happy birthday, Yangyang!"
——Yangyang is He Xi’s nickname.

There was a big cake on the round table and a table full of delicious dishes.

He Xi was stunned for a moment, and could not help but stand there in a daze. Since He Yanyan passed away, He Sicheng never celebrated her birthday again. Over time, she got used to it, so she didn't care about it and even forgot her birthday. But what happened today? Two sudden surprises made her feel a little at a loss.

He Xi felt that everything in front of her seemed unreal, but He Huan at the side pushed her over and pressed her to sit on the chair.

He Huan put 17 candles on the cake, Sun Linlin took out a lighter and lit them one by one, and He Wenli quickly ran to turn off the lights.

As if they had received a signal, everyone began to sing Happy Birthday in unison.

Looking at the heartfelt smiles on the faces of her grandmother, uncle, aunt, and cousin, He Xi felt a little embarrassed. The candlelight reflected on the corners of her curved mouth, looking particularly warm.

After singing the birthday song, He Huan reminded: "Yangyang, it's time to make a wish!"

He Xi was driven by the atmosphere. Looking at the flickering candlelight in front of him, he slowly closed his eyes.

My first wish is that grandma is in good health.
My second wish is that my uncle and aunt will be successful in their careers.
My third wish is that my cousin can be admitted to the university of her choice next year.
The fourth wish is for brightness, peace and joy.

After making the wish, He Xi took a deep breath and blew out all 17 candles at once.

While He Wenli was turning on the lights, He Huan joked, "Why is it taking so long to make a wish?"

"A wish won't come true once it's spoken out loud." He Xi responded with a smile.

He Xi got the cake with the most fruits. She took a bite of the cream and it was sweet. Although she had eaten cake at school, she didn't feel sick of it. She just thought it was delicious. Sun Siqin smiled and said, "I remember when we were little, Yangyang loved watermelon the most. It's a pity that there is no watermelon cake. It's almost winter now. I went to several supermarkets to buy a big watermelon. I'll eat it later."

He Xi really loved eating watermelon when he was a child, but he hasn't eaten it for many years since He Yanyan passed away in a car accident. Thinking of his mother, He Xi couldn't help but feel sad, so he simply changed the subject: "Grandma, uncle, aunt, why are you here? Didn't they... say anything?"

Sun Siqin knew that the "they" He Xi was referring to were He Sicheng and Chen Quxin, so she deliberately raised her voice and said loudly in the direction of the master bedroom: "What can you say? The house was bought by my daughter, and she doesn't allow us to come over?"

Sun Linlin also echoed: "Some people claimed to be the primary guardians, but they can't even remember the child's birthday. I don't know where they got the nerve to tell us to get out. They know who should get out."

At this time, the door of the master bedroom was opened, and Chen Quxin pointed at Sun Linlin and said angrily: "Please keep your mouth shut!"

Sun Linlin smiled and said, "Look, only dogs that are hit will bark."

He Sicheng also came out. He stopped Chen Quxin and said softly, "Go back to your room and ignore them."

"You too." Sun Linlin continued with a smile.

The last time, the head teacher Zhong Nuo notified Sun Linlin to go to the office, he talked to him a lot.
Only then did Sun Linlin realize that He Xi often caused trouble in school, and He Sicheng never cared about He Xi. He didn't come to parent-teacher meetings, didn't come when parents were invited to meet him, and he couldn't even contact He Xi by phone.

After Sun Linlin told Sun Siqin about this, Sun Siqin was furious and regretted that she had not forcibly taken He Xi away from He Sicheng.

If the head teacher hadn't called Sun Linlin this time, Sun Siqin wouldn't have known that He Sicheng actually ignored He Xi so much.

Before coming, Sun Siqin had made up her mind to take He Xi away, while he was only in the second year of high school and there was still time, to take him home and give him the right guidance. If he stayed with He Sicheng forever, there was no guarantee that he would become a monster.

So Sun Siqin pretended to rebuke He Huan: "Xiao Huan, you are not a good person. You and Yang Yang go to the same school, and you don't try to stop her when she gets into trouble at school!"

"It's better to be a little fierce than to remain silent and be bullied." He Huan glanced at He Sicheng, the meaning was self-evident.

He Sicheng ignored him, pulled Chen Quxin into the room and closed the door heavily.

Chen Quxin sat on the bed and said with a sad face, "I've had enough! That old woman said such harsh words, why didn't you just give the bastard to her? And you can save her the tuition and living expenses for these years."

"She was so aggressive at that time, but I refused to let her have her way." He Sicheng said gritting his teeth.
Since Sun Siqin likes this little bastard so much, he just won't let her have her way and always makes her feel upset, only then will he feel relieved.

When he was dating He Yanyan, Sun Siqin didn't like him and tried to stop him many times. He secretly took note of this.
After He Yanyan died, he brought Chen Quxin back home. Sun Siqin went straight to his house and scolded him in front of the neighbors, causing him to be unable to raise his head for several months.
He became even more disgusted with Sun Siqin.

He Sicheng admitted that he really liked He Yanyan, but people always change.
After five years of marriage, He Yanyan still hasn't gotten pregnant. After a check-up, it was discovered that He Yanyan was infertile. Her family was pressing for a baby as his family had been a single-son family for three generations, and the He family's succession could not be destroyed in his hands.
Later, he met Chen Quxin, and after one time, Chen Quxin got pregnant, twins. He was so happy.

So later, when He Yanyan proposed to adopt a child, he agreed without hesitation.
In fact, He Sicheng was too lazy to raise children for others, and he didn't like He Xi at all. But since he already had his own biological child, he didn't bother to care about these things. He just coaxed He Yanyan and pretended to be a loving father on weekdays.

After He Yanyan's death, he suddenly missed her kindness again. Perhaps only the dead are the best.
There is a saying that goes: "When a man is one-third drunk, he will act until you cry." During that time, he was drunk every day and always recounted his past with He Yanyan in front of He Xi.

But his self-indulgent remembrance did not last long, and soon after he brought Chen Quxin and the illegitimate child back home in a swaggering manner.

Since He Yanyan is gone, he no longer needs to pretend to be a kind father to He Xi, and he acts cold and ruthless to the extreme.

After dinner, Sun Siqin said, "Yangyang, why don't you move to grandma's house this weekend? There's no one to cook for you here, and you only have cold soup and cold rice every day. You're growing up, you eat a lot, and you study hard, how can you bear this?"

"No need, grandma. This place is close to school and more convenient."

Sun Siqin continued, "I know that my grandmother's house is a little far away. So I asked your uncle to help me rent a house in Fangcao Garden, with two bedrooms and a living room. It's also close to the school, so you can go there every day..."

"Fangcao Garden?" He Xi quickly grasped the key words and asked curiously, "Is it the house on the street of Fangcao Lane?"

"Yes, although it's an old neighborhood with no elevator, there are only four floors in total. We rented the third floor, so it's not difficult to go upstairs. The house is open from north to south, and the balcony is very large, which is also suitable for growing some flowers and plants."

Fangcao Lane is the only way for Mingmei to go home. If we move there, it will not only be more convenient to send Mingmei home, but we can even take the same bus with her to go to school.
So, after thinking for a while, He Xi nodded: "Then I will pack up and move over this weekend."

After hearing He Xi's agreement, Sun Siqin couldn't help but smile: "That's right, I'll ask your uncle to take a leave to help you move things."

"It's better not to delay my uncle's work. I don't have much stuff. Li Xingyu and I can move it alone."

"You can't always bother Li Xingyu."

He Xi lied calmly, "It's okay. It's mainly because Li Xingyu really likes to exercise."

At the same time, Li Xingyu, who was about to go to sleep in the school dormitory, suddenly sneezed.

The stars were shining brightly, He Huan and He Xi were standing on the balcony chatting.

He Huan flipped a photo from the message history, with an expression of watching a good show on her face, "Yangyang, who is this girl? On the day of military training, you specially asked me to wait in the canteen to help her buy things. We are not ordinary, right?"

(End of this chapter)