533: Chapter 533 Happy Eighteenth Birthday

Lin Que's gaze crossed the old screen carved with intertwined flower patterns and fell on the two figures at the round table.

In the inner seat, Lin Que recognized the crisp dark gray jacket.

It was the clothes his father only wore when attending commendation meetings at the factory, usually folded neatly and pressed at the bottom of the wardrobe.

Today, he had specially worn that jacket, and his hair was combed meticulously.

The few strands of hair on his forehead that usually stuck up were pressed down flat with water.

His mother, Wang Xiulian, sat beside him, wearing a short, slightly curled perm and a dark red wool coat.

She sat with her hands folded on her lap, her back a bit too straight.

Her gaze swept lightly over the ink paintings on the wall and the celadon bowls and dishes on the table, looking for a moment before quickly pulling it back.

In that bit of initial restraint at being in an unfamiliar place, there was a suppressed, unhideable sense of anticipation.

Lin Que stood at the door, unable to say a word.

Over the past few days, the blades of the Beijing literary scene had been handed to him one after another; he could see where they came from and calculate where they would land.

But at this moment, seeing his parents sitting in this unfamiliar private room, he suddenly remembered the lonely candle from his previous life.

That bit of cold he had hidden for so long was finally illuminated by the warm light in front of him.

Wang Xiulian was the first to see her son at the door.

Seeing Lin Que standing there frozen, she immediately stood up, supporting herself on the edge of the table.

She walked over in a few steps, her tone still carrying that familiar vibe from their home in Jiangcheng.

"This child, what is going on?"

She reached out to pull Lin Que's arm.

"You come to Beijing for school, and now you don't even recognize your own mother?"

These words, wrapped in the local accent of Jiangcheng, fell into Lin Que's ears.

The defensiveness he had accumulated over the past few days was scattered by this single "complaint."

Lin Que's nose suddenly felt sore, and his throat felt blocked.

"Dad, Mom..."

His voice was a bit hoarse.

"Why did you come here?"

Lin Jianguo stood up from his chair, smiling with some awkwardness, rubbing his hands that had developed hard calluses from handling tools in his early years.

He raised his hand and pointed at Ye Xi, who was standing behind Lin Que with a smile.

"It's all thanks to this girl, Xiao Ye."

Lin Jianguo said.

"She called a while ago and said today is your big eighteenth birthday, and she wanted to bring us over to give you a surprise."

Lin Que's mind flashed back to the phone call from two days ago.

That day, he called home to report that he was safe, and his parents' reactions on the other end were a bit unusual.

His mother asked about everything, asking if he was eating well and sleeping soundly in Beijing, asking more detailed questions than usual.

But whenever he asked about the situation at home, the two of them would start to hesitate and dodge the question, even pushing each other to speak before hanging up.

At the time, he just thought his parents were bad with words and didn't take it to heart.

It turned out that the unusual behavior was hiding this matter today.

Ye Xi stood behind Lin Que, winked at him lightly, her eyes hiding a bit of triumph for finally succeeding.

She reached out and gave Lin Que's shoulder a light push, nudging the stunned person forward.

"Sit, sit down quickly."

Her tone was light and cheerful.

"Uncle and Auntie have been waiting for you for a while."

Lin Que followed her light push and walked to the empty seat between his parents and sat down.

Wang Xiulian sat back down, reached out to straighten her son's collar, and looked him up and down.

"You've lost weight."

She frowned.

"Your complexion isn't good either; have you been staying up late again? All the phone news these past few days has been about you, some of the things they say are very harsh, and you haven't even called home once."

Lin Jianguo added from the other side, his voice lowered.

"When your mother saw those discussions about you on her phone, she was so anxious she couldn't sleep, and even got up in the middle of the night to look through your articles."

He paused.

"I told her, our son knows what he's doing, we don't need to worry blindly."

Looking at the undisguised fatigue on his parents' faces, Lin Que suddenly realized clearly that no matter how fiercely the people outside shouted, in their eyes, he was just their son who hadn't been eating or sleeping well.

He turned his head and looked at Ye Xi, who was sitting diagonally opposite, his eyes full of unspoken questions.

Jiangcheng was thousands of kilometers away from Beijing, and his parents had never traveled that far. How exactly did Ye Xi manage to bring the two elders here quietly?

Ye Xi understood his look and picked up the teapot.

"You want to ask how I contacted Uncle and Auntie, right?"

She added half a cup of tea for Lin Jianguo and Wang Xiulian first, then spoke slowly.

"It wasn't actually that hard."

The corners of her lips curved.

"Last time I went to Tsinghua and Peking University for an exchange meeting, I added your school's Dean of Students on WeChat. Later, when I wanted to organize this birthday party for you, I asked the Dean to contact Teacher Shen. Teacher Shen called Uncle and Auntie first, and only after confirming they were willing did she pass on my contact information."

"That's right."

"Speaking of which, it was quite a funny story."

Wang Xiulian slapped her thigh and laughed out loud.

"The first time I received Xiao Ye's call, your dad thought she was a scammer. A young girl calling, saying she knows my son and wants to pick us up to Beijing to celebrate your birthday."

Lin Jianguo scratched his head embarrassedly.

"Things haven't been peaceful lately, I was afraid of adding trouble to our son."

Wang Xiulian smiled.

"We almost hung up the phone at that time."

"And then?"

Lin Que asked.

"Then this girl was smart and mentioned the Sweet Garlic."

Wang Xiulian smiled until fine wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes.

"Last time we had dinner at home, I packed a jar for her before she left. How would an outsider know this? As soon as she mentioned the Sweet Garlic, I knew it was this girl."

Listening, Lin Que turned to look at Ye Xi.

He remembered that meal in Jiangcheng.

At that time, Ye Xi came to their school for an exchange meeting, and by chance, he brought her home for a simple meal.

Before leaving, his mother had stuffed a jar of homemade Sweet Garlic into her hands.

Such an inconspicuous little thing, yet Ye Xi had kept it in her heart.

Across thousands of kilometers, she used a jar of Sweet Garlic to gently bring that home-cooked meal in Jiangcheng to today.

"You went to quite some trouble for this."

Lin Que said in a low voice.

Ye Xi spread her hands, looking like it was a matter of course.

"I already had work scheduled in Beijing a while ago."

"Thinking the timing was just right, I started preparing this bit by bit in advance. As for Uncle and Auntie, I also made several calls to confirm the time."

Wang Xiulian reached out and patted the back of Lin Que's hand resting on the table.

"You, you only report the good news and not the bad."

Her voice was filled with blame, but her eyes were full of love.

"You've suffered so many grievances outside, but you never say a word to the family. It was lucky that this girl Xiao Ye was so thoughtful; if it weren't for her, your dad and I really wouldn't have known how to come find you."

Lin Que opened his mouth but didn't reply.

He really hadn't mentioned the birthday to his family.

That year's birthday was so quiet that only the sound of the candle flame remained.

Right now, his father sat on the left, his mother on the right, and Ye Xi was smiling as she added tea for them across from him.

The steam rose in wisps, as if slowly covering up that lonely night.

"Xiao Ye even wanted to book our tickets and accommodation."

Lin Jianguo added from the side, rubbing his hands awkwardly.

"I told your mother we couldn't let her spend money. Later, we bought the tickets ourselves, and we booked the place we stayed in ourselves."

Lin Que nodded.

"But once we arrived in Beijing, this girl still couldn't rest easy."

Wang Xiulian continued.

"She was afraid that your dad and I wouldn't be able to find our way since it was our first time in Beijing, so she specifically arranged for a driver to pick us up at the airport. There was water and snacks in the car, and she even reminded us on the way not to rush and to rest for a while after arriving."

Lin Que looked at his parents' slightly tired but smiling faces, then glanced at Ye Xi, who was lowering her head to add tea for the two elders.

The heavy weight that had been in Lin Que's chest for days finally had some warmth.

It was as if someone had relit a lamp for him on his eighteenth birthday.

He sat up straight and looked seriously at Ye Xi.

"Ye Xi, thank you."

He said it very slowly and heavily.

Ye Xi looked up, met his gaze, and just returned a mischievous smile.

"Stop, you're not allowed to make the atmosphere too heavy today."

She raised her glass.

"Come on, birthday boy, happy eighteenth birthday!"

Lin Que looked at the tea swirling in the glass, then looked at his parents beside him.

This time, he didn't let this birthday slip away quietly.

He picked up his cup and clinked it gently against hers.

"Yeah, happy eighteenth birthday."