Birthday with a Bittersweet Taste

Qin Yage felt her nose sting, her eyes aching. She rarely celebrated birthdays—only once in her memory. After that, because of that miserly stepmother, she never had another. Of course, someone as wretched as Qin An didn’t even know his own birthday. Qin Yage’s birthday was the same; they simply treated the day they were abducted by human traffickers as their birthday.

Qin An stroked Qin Yage’s silky hair and smiled. “Silly girl, if you want to cry, go ahead! But after you finish crying, you have to eat all the cake.”

Qin Yage could no longer hold back. She threw herself into Qin An’s arms and sobbed loudly. Qin An felt his clothes soak through before her cries gradually subsided.

Qin An wiped the tears from her face and patted her shoulder. “Go blow out the candles! They’ll be drowned by your tears before you know it.”

“Wait, I need to make a wish first.”

Qin Yage closed her eyes, pressed her palms together, and made a wish with heartfelt sincerity. An unknown seed was sprouting in her heart. I want to forever…

“Huff—huff—”

Qin Yage blew out all the candles in one breath, panting heavily.

“Want to sing the birthday song?” Qin An suggested.

“No, it’s cringe, especially when you sing it.”

“How can the birthday song be cringe!”

“It just is! How can anyone sing those lyrics? It’s just…” Qin Yage couldn’t find the right word, but the birthday song always gave her goosebumps. If she had to sing it, she’d rather go without candy.

“Alright, let’s eat!”

Qin An’s special cake was naturally tailored to Qin Yage’s taste. She wolfed down more than half in no time. Qin An wondered if her stomach was a bottomless pit—especially for sugar.

“Brother, aren’t you eating?” Qin Yage asked, her mouth full of cream.

“Seeing you eat like that is enough to fill me up. So you should eat more.”

He cut her another slice.

The precocious girl seemed to accidentally associate his words with something embarrassing, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

“Hmph, I’m ignoring you,” Qin Yage muttered discontentedly. Qin An initially thought she was joking and would speak first in a few minutes.

But the girl was determined to outlast him. Brother and sister shared the same stubborn temper—once they decided something, not even ten oxen, let alone a hundred or a thousand, could change their minds.

As soon as she finished eating, Qin Yage wiped her mouth and slammed her bedroom door shut with a loud bang.

Qin An was dumbfounded. Had he done something wrong? He fished in his pocket—there was still a birthday present he hadn’t given. If he barged into her room, she might not completely ignore him, but she’d give him the cold shoulder for a day or two. Kids’ tempers were the most unreasonable.

He had no choice but to clean up the dishes, take a shower, and sit on the sofa watching TV.

“Recently, multiple violent conflicts have occurred abroad. According to eyewitnesses, the target was a Chinese couple, and the wife was pregnant. Our embassy will continue to communicate with relevant parties to ensure the safety of every citizen overseas.”

Is it them? Never mind, whether it’s them or not doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve already handed that hot potato of ten billion to them.

Qin An changed channels a few times and finally stopped on the local news.

“Several wolves from the zoo have escaped into the forest park. The park is now sealed off. Tourists visiting nearby attractions please be cautious.”

“Now, a breaking news update. At 20:37 last night, Da Guang Jewelry Store was the scene of a violent robbery. One person died, seventeen were injured. The suspect is still at large in the city. Citizens, please be vigilant.”

Then the TV screen showed photos of two middle-aged men—one with a vicious bald head, the other with a long scar across his face. They looked like desperadoes.

“Boring.”

Qin An finally landed on a channel playing Japanese anime. The Japanese animation at this time was quite good—at least Qin An felt it had substance. Domestically, he had to admit, they hadn’t even set up a proper framework.

He took out a stick of Doublemint gum—a prize from a game he played with An Qi today that she lost to him.

Mint flavor. Not bad.

As he chewed, he suddenly remembered that in his past life, he liked gum too, perhaps partly influenced by his sister.

Staring at the wrapper, his thoughts wandered. He was back in France, at the central square, where a lively girl sold flowers from four directions. He bought his first bouquet from her in front of the Floating Palace; the fragrance still lingered in his memory. And the vows under the Eiffel Tower, with snow-white doves as witnesses.

She always liked to chew gum because it was the only way she could calm down.

Until she lay in his arms, her murmurs already inaudible. In her final moments, she passed the gum from her mouth to his, whispering in his ear like a soft breeze: “Weirdo, I…”

Her body had grown cold, but the gum in his mouth radiated an unusual warmth. A candy that should have been drained of sweetness instead emitted a heart-wrenching bitterness.

Qin Yage came out in her nightgown, her hair wet and tied up. She plopped onto the sofa barefoot and saw Qin An still lost in thought. Her face puffed up in an adorable pout.

Watching such childish anime, and Japanese at that—unbelievable! She leaned into Qin An’s arms with practiced ease, snatched the remote, and the TV screen flickered as she fast-forwarded through channels before stopping on a soap opera that had been playing on repeat.

At first, it seemed boring, but soon Qin Yage got into character, her expressions gradually becoming lively.

Qin An pulled his thoughts back the moment she arrived.

Again, he sighed inwardly.

Ever since Qin Yage first leaned against him to watch TV a few days ago, claiming it was more comfortable than lying on her stomach and better for her eyes, she’d become addicted. Every night, she demanded he act as her “sofa cushion.”

Qin An leaned back, catching the comforting, sweet scent of milk and baby powder that always seemed to linger on her.

“Why are you watching this again? Don’t you find it boring, little woman?”

“Hmph, it’s still better than your childish anime, big boy.”

“Give me the remote.”

“No.”

“Then I’ll have to take it by force.”

“Haha—don’t tickle me! That’s too sneaky!”

“Do you surrender?” Qin An intensified his attack.

“No, I’ll never surrender. Haha—”

Under his relentless efforts, Qin Yage finally admitted defeat.

Her face flushed, her lips parted as she panted. “Daring to snatch your sister’s things—fine, another hundred lollipops!”

“That doesn’t count.”

“No, it has to count.”

Qin Yage suddenly turned around and gave a sly smile. If it doesn’t count…

She used the same trick, repaying him in kind.

After a bout of pulling and tugging, both were drenched in sweat. In the end, Qin An still refused to admit debt because the lollipops he owed had become astronomical, even with the odd numbers rounded off. Whenever the girl got angry or embarrassed, she always demanded, “Fine, another hundred lollipops!”

Qin Yage’s nose was incredibly sensitive to sweetness—probably just a little less than a bee’s.

“What are you eating?”

“Just gum.”

“Any more?”

To Qin Yage, discovering gum was as exciting as Columbus discovering the New World.

Qin An spread his hands. “None.”

“Really?”

She looked dubiously at her brother chewing gum. She had never tasted gum before; someone told her it wasn’t very good, so she had removed it from her sugar intake list.

But now, it seemed novel and tempting. Her slightly red lips pouted as she stared at him. A bold plan formed in her mind.

“Open your mouth. I want to check if it’s really gum!”

Qin An opened his mouth with an “ah,” thinking this girl was truly obsessed with sugar. It was a good thing she hadn’t reached the age to lose her baby teeth yet; otherwise, he couldn’t let her eat so much.

Just as he was about to retract his tongue, Qin Yage leaned in and snatched the sweet gum right out of his mouth with a swift, childish movement.

The brief contact left him stunned, but she simply chewed happily, her eyes curving in satisfaction.

“It really is gum…”

So sweet. How could gum be this sweet? It defied science… Qin Yage’s thoughts wandered.

The little girl didn’t know that it wasn’t the gum that was sweet, but the warmth of having her brother by her side.