Birthday (3)
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Modlawls123
“Mm! The wish-making is done… after making your wishes in front of so many beauties, even if you don’t want your wishes to come true, they’ll still come true.”
“Hehe, come sit over here, big brother.” Tian Tian moved the chairs that Chao Ying and Chao Xi had prepared over, pulling Ling Chen to sit. She and Shadissika sat on either side of Ling Chen, looking like little angels.
“In order to wish our birthday boy Ling Chen a happy birthday, each of us have brought you a gift. I’m sure that you’re very excited and have been looking forward to this, right?”
Ling Chen opened his mouth, not sure what to say. After all, he had only ever spent his birthdays with Xuanyuan Dia Wu before. This was the first time he had experienced such a heartwarming scenario before, and he could only dumbly nod.
“Wow! Big brother’s going to get so many presents; you must be happy to death.” Tian Tian blinked with happiness and admiration.
“Of course – he looks calm now, but inside, he’s probably smiling like a blooming flower,” Li Xiao Xue said as she grinned, then turned to look at Gu Qing Han. “Aunty Gu, as our senior, you should be the one to start.”
“Wow! I wonder what Aunty Gu’s present is.” Xiao Qi sat up and looked on expectantly.
A slight trace of nervousness appeared in Gu Qing Han’s eyes as she stretched out her tightly-clenched right hand… she had kept this present gripped in her hand because she had wanted to give this to him personally since a long time ago.
After slowly opening her hand, everyone saw a small… jade pendant.
It was an extremely ordinary-looking jade pendant and was the same shape and size as an olden-day copper coin. There was a very thin red string threaded through it, and it was a snow-white colour, making it look like it was made of white jade.
“Ling Chen, this is Aunty Gu’s birthday gift for you. I hope… I hope you won’t dislike it,” Gu Qing Han slightly smiled as she said softly.
“Wow! It’s a jade pendant!”
Yun Meng Xin examined the jade pendant for a while before smiling, “It looks like it was made from an extremely pure and high-grade Hetian Jade, and it contains no impurities at all. Jade pendants are usually given for safety, and Hetian Jade was used as sacrifices in the past, so jade pendants made from Hetian Jade have the meaning of praying to the heavens for one’s blessings and safety. Aunty Gu has spent much thought on this.”
Just as Ling Chen was about stand up and reach over, he saw Li Xiao Xue’s complicated gaze looking at him as she said, “No less than expected from Meng Xin, well observed. That’s right, a jade pendant made from Hetian Jade has the meaning of praying to the heavens for one’s blessings and safety. Aunty Gu’s jade pendant’s craftsmanship and its purity are both top-notch, and it is worth entire cities. However, that’s not the main point. The main point is that this jade pendant… was personally carved by Aunty Gu.”
“Eh? Personally carved… by Aunty Gu?”
“That’s right.” Li Xiao Xue lightly nodded. “Moreover, there are 23 of these jade pendants in Aunty Gu’s home. Each of them was personally carved by Aunty Gu.”
Ling Chen: “!!!......”
“Eh? Aunty Gu had such a hobby?” Xiao Qi asked in surprise. With the Gu family’s strength and Gu Qing Han’s status in the family, how easy would it be for her to purchase such a jade? Why would she carve it herself?
“Of course not.” Li Xiao Xue shook her head. “This small jade pendant contains Aunty Gu’s purest prayers. In order for the heavens to feel her sincerity, not only did she personally carve the jade, but she also personally chose the Hetian Jade and red string and never allowed anyone else to help. After completing the jade pendants, no one else has ever touched them.”
“Has Aunty Gu been praying for someone’s safety?” Yun Meng Xin asked in a soft voice.
“Mm.” Li Xiao Xue nodded and glanced at Ling Chen as she said slowly, “Even though Aunty Gu is alone now, when she was younger, she had a son. However, a few days after her son was born, she was separated from him, and she could only see him after 10 years. Being separated from her own flesh and blood was a great torment to Aunty Gu, and she became very sickly from missing her child so much. On her sickbed, she carved her first jade pendant… it could be said that she used her life to carve it… after that, every year, when it was nearly his birthday, she would find the purest Hetian Jade and use all of her thoughts and effort to carve a jade pendant to pray to the heavens for her child’s safety… just like that, after she carved her 10th jade pendant, she heard that her child had been infected with the Isrock Disease and had gone missing. They could not find his living person or his corpse.”
“Ahh!” The girls all cried out.
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“So… so sad. No wonder Aunty Gu seemed so sad whenever I saw her.” Xiao Qi’s hands were clasped in front of her chest, her eyes filled with tears.
“It’s okay, aunty. In the future, we’ll all be your family,” Tian Tian’s eyes trembled as she comforted Gu Qing Han in a soft voice.
“Aiya, let me finish,” Li Xiao Xue said as she continued, “The story isn’t as bad as you think. After hearing that, Aunty Gu was inconsolably heartbroken, but she still carved a jade pendant every year… because that was her only way of holding on amidst her despair. I’m sure that the heavens heard Aunty Gu’s prayers, and they were moved by her earnest prayers. Her child did not die; no, he’s still living well and is doing better than anyone else, surrounded by countless beauties. Oh, and what’s coincidental is that his birthday just so happens to be September 18.”
“Eh? That’s the same birthday as big brother. What a coincidence.” Tian Tian nodded before suddenly realising something and quickly looking over at Gu Qing Han. “Ehhhhhh??”
The room suddenly fell silent as all of the girls’ expressions became quite marvellous. Some had a glazed look in their eyes, while others’ mouths fell open, realising something.
“Aunty Gu,” Xuanyuan Dia Wu somewhat uncontrollably stood up and said with a trembling voice. “Could it be that you’re… you’re…”
“How could… How could it… Wasn’t it that from his youth, he…” Yola covered her mouth with her hands, her golden eyes widening.
“Who knows.” Fey shook her head before thinking of something, a sorrowful look appearing in her eyes. She slightly smiled before looking at Ling Chen, a faint look of appreciation and admiration in her eyes.
“Is… Is this true? Aunty Gu is… big brother Ling Tian’s…”
“Shh.” Yun Meng Xin gently nudged Xiao Qi.
When Ling Chen had first seen Gu Qing Han, he had felt slight confusion in his heart. Now, Li Xiao Xue had exposed the thing that he had been escaping from this whole time, causing his heart to completely fall into chaos. Every word that Li Xiao Xue spoke tugged at Ling Chen’s heartstrings, and seeing the jade pendant in Gu Qing Han’s hand, he could almost see her weakly lying on her sick bed with tears in her eyes, ignoring everyone else as she carved out a jade pendant bit by bit. He felt a pain and warmth within his heart as he stretched out his hand, taking the jade pendant into his hand.
After being gripped in Gu Qing Han’s hand, the jade pendant was quite warm – a type of warmth that could seep into one’s heart – to the point that he felt tears forming in his eyes.
He had thought that he did not have a mother or need a mother… he had thought that they would still be strangers even if she really was his mother – that there would be no emotions between them, so there would be no need to get to know her...
But why did he think about her so many times in the past days, and why did he feel so much pain after hearing about how she had spent these years? And right now, in his heart… was it the bloodline connection that Fey said that he could never escape?
“T-Thank you, Aunty Gu.” Ling Chen gripped the jade pendant and nodded somewhat stiffly. He subconsciously looked away, not daring to meet Gu Qing Han’s gaze.
The ‘thank you’ and his avoidant gaze made Gu Qing Han feel a slight bitterness, and she forced out a smile and said gently, “You’re welcome, I hope it can bring you peace and safety forever.”
Ling Chen nodded and opened his fist, staring at the jade pendant before pulling on the red string and putting it around his neck. When the jade pendant fell onto Ling Chen’s chest, Gu Qing Han covered her mouth and lowered her head, tears flowing out of her eyes as her shoulders trembled.
The girls’ eyes all became red, and no matter how stupid they were, they could realise what was going on. Even though the situation was quite inconceivable, Ling Chen and Gu Qing Han’s reactions had given them their answers. Their gazes towards Gu Qing Han completely changed… the Gu family’s leader and Ling Chen’s mother were two completely different people in their hearts.
“So… So big brother Ling Tian’s mother was still alive and is… is…” Seeing Gu Qing Han sobbing, Su’Er’s eyes also became damp.
Even though neither party had said it clearly, for Ling Chen to respond in such a way, Li Xiao Xue was satisfied. She patted Gu Qing Han’s back and comforted her as she said with a slight smile, “Next, who should give their present… since the first person to give their present was Aunty Gu, the youngest should go next. Tian Tian, Sha Sha, it’s your turn.”
“Okay!” Tian Tian and Shadissika clearly responded before looking at each other and smiling. They got up from Ling Chen’s sides and took a few steps back.
“Big brother, this is our birthday present to you.”
“Mhmm, Ling Chen will definitely like it.”
Tian Tian and Sha Sha held hands. They were dressed in a flowery dress and a white dress and looked like a fairy and a little celestial goddess. Just the scene of them standing together was enough to make anyone feel intoxicated.
“This is the song we wrote for big brother, called ‘Lian Chen’. Here it is!” [TLN: ‘Lian Chen’ most likely means ‘loving (Ling) Chen’]