He Drove Through the Snow at Midnight Just to Find My Birthday

Ning Shixue hadn’t wanted to be widowed before.

But right now, he felt being widowed wasn’t impossible.
He could even do the deed himself.

The problem was, he was completely wrapped up in Xie Zhaozhou’s down jacket.
Held too tightly.
He couldn’t even raise his hands.
He thought about stepping on Xie Zhaozhou’s foot, but hesitated for a moment.

Xie Zhaozhou’s shoes were probably very expensive too.
He estimated he couldn’t afford to pay for them.

While Ning Shixue was still struggling with this, Xie Zhaozhou met his eyes and hugged him even tighter.
His chin rested on top of Ning Shixue’s head.
Like a gentle wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Completely letting him hit him if he wanted.

Ning Shixue’s face was red, his ears hot.
Finally, he couldn’t help it.
Out of spite, he kicked Xie Zhaozhou hard in the leg.
Then he snatched the meal container from Xie Zhaozhou’s hand and turned to eat.

Xie Zhaozhou reached out but couldn’t grab him.

Ning Shixue lowered his head and ate.
After a few bites, he noticed Xie Zhaozhou was still standing at the door.
He pressed his lips against the chopsticks.
In the end, he couldn’t help asking,
“Second Brother, why aren’t you coming to eat?”

Xie Zhaozhou’s posture was lazy as he leaned against the nearby cabinet.
His narrow, dark eyes curved, but his tone was very plaintive.
“My leg is hurt. Teacher Xiao Ning needs to come help me.”

Ning Shixue: “…”

He didn’t want to believe Xie Zhaozhou’s nonsense.
But sometimes, he really couldn’t control his strength.

Could he have actually kicked him hard enough to hurt?

Ning Shixue pressed his lips together, stood up, and walked over.
Then he was immediately pulled into Xie Zhaozhou’s arms by the waist.

“…Let me go,”
Ning Shixue struggled for a moment.
His pale skin flushed red as he looked up, glaring at him.

Xie Zhaozhou couldn’t help it.
Risking getting hit, he kissed the tip of Ning Shixue’s reddened ear.

He had grown up in the Xie family, but he had never met anyone as soft-hearted as Ning Shixue.
Soft-hearted enough that even if he tricked him ten thousand times, he would probably still fall for it.

Xie Zhaozhou lowered his eyes.
His gaze was deep and dark, full of emotions Ning Shixue couldn’t understand.

His arms tightened slightly.

Ning Shixue raised his hand and rubbed his ear.
But instead, his ear only got redder, like white jade stained with rouge.
He held back, pushed Xie Zhaozhou away, and didn’t speak to him again for the rest of the meal.

The production team was still in a panic.
Ji Qing had abused a child.
They definitely had to terminate their contract with him.
Ning Shixue was injured, and they didn’t dare let him continue filming while hurt.

This show would probably have to pause filming.
The director didn’t even dare imagine how serious the losses would be.

Ning Shixue stayed in the hospital for another night.
He was discharged the next day after completing the examinations.
Xie Zhaozhou drove him to Grandpa Mu’s house.

In the early morning, the director had the official Weibo post a notice about the show’s suspension.
Then they posted an apology letter.

As for when it would resume, it was currently undecided.
At the very least, they had to wait until Ning Shixue was fully recovered.
And they also had to find new guests.

Xie Yaoyao was grumbling.
He hadn’t slept much all night.
Ji Xiao hadn’t slept either.
Everyone was keeping them company.

“Do you want to play with these Ultraman cards?”
He Lin picked them up and waved them in front of the kids.
“Want uncle to play with you?”

Xie Yaoyao’s tears splashed onto his soft, white cheeks.
He cried while playing.
He looked both pitiful and funny.

Wuwuwu, why was it like this?
Big Daddy and the baby weren’t here.

The director couldn’t handle wronged look in his eyes.
His conscience pricked, he quickly left the area.

Xie Yaoyao raised his chubby little hand and wiped his tears.
He decided that this bad uncle must be the little black pig in disguise.

He thought Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King was too adorable.
So he wanted to take him away to be someone else’s child.

When would the baby come to save him?

He Lin’s father was also beside them, playing with Ji Xiao.
Ji Xiao was still well-behaved.
He didn’t cry or make a fuss.
Mu Na gave him a doll, and he lowered his head, putting little clothes on it.

They kept at it until late into the night.
Only then did the two little ones get too sleepy to hold on and finally fall asleep.

When Xie Yaoyao opened his eyes, he saw the baby.
He wasn’t even fully awake yet.
He rubbed his eyes, then suddenly burst into tears.
He hugged Ning Shixue’s neck, his little face crying like a little cat.

He had never been separated from Ning Shixue for this long.

Last night, he dreamed that Ning Shixue didn’t want him anymore.
He wasn’t the Great Demon King; he was just a little kid.

Xie Yaoyao cried for quite a while.
His eyes swelled up like peaches.
He lay in Ning Shixue’s arms, sobbing and murmuring.

Ning Shixue raised an eyebrow and deliberately said in surprise,
“You missed me this much?”

Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King didn’t even refute.

His little face was full of grievance.
He missed the baby so much.
But the baby didn’t seem to miss him at all.
It must be that the monster outside had said bad things about him to the baby.

This show had suddenly stopped filming.
No one knew if it would continue recording in the future.
It might be very hard to see each other again.

Having filmed together for so many days, the guests suddenly felt a bit reluctant to part.
If the adults felt this way, even more so for the little ones.

He Miao had also cried.

“How about we leave tomorrow instead,”
Tang He’an suggested.
“Let’s have another meal together tonight.”

The guests all agreed.

Grandpa Mu and Grandma Mu also wanted them to stay one more night.
Elderly people liked children.
They had been lively for a few days, and now everyone was leaving at once.
It would suddenly feel quiet and lonely.

In the afternoon, the guests went separately to buy ingredients and also to get farewell gifts.

Tang He’an and Yan Ting went out together.
He Lin’s father was too old for this, so he stayed back with the kids, resting.

Ning Shixue was still recovering from his illness.
He rested with the kids.

Around evening, Tang He’an and Yan Ting drove back.
But Xie Zhaozhou still hadn’t returned.

Ning Shixue had been lying in the hospital for so long that he rare wanted to go out.
The snow had stopped, and it wasn’t very cold outside.
He took Xie Yaoyao for a walk on this street.

Passing by a small supermarket, they could smell the oden from outside.
Since dinner was still a few hours away, Ning Shixue couldn’t help asking Xie Yaoyao,
“Kid, are you hungry?”

Xie Yaoyao was almost drooling.
But his fair, tender face was quite serious as he refused Ning Shixue.
“Not allowed. Big Daddy said, can’t let baby eat random things outside.”

Ning Shixue: “…”

Ning Shixue was not very convinced.

Before he could argue it out with Xie Yaoyao, a mother and daughter came by.
The little girl tugged hard at her mother’s hand, clamoring,
“I want to eat oden. I want to eat.”

“No,”
the mother refused decisively.
“We’re eating dinner at home tonight.”

The little girl whined,
“Mommy liar. You said that today’s my birthday, I can eat whatever I want.”

The mother’s face showed a moment of hesitation.

Ning Shixue and Xie Yaoyao stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Then he grabbed Xie Yaoyao’s chubby little hand and also crouched down.
His eyes were red-rimmed too as he said,
“It’s my birthday today. I want to eat.”

The little girl: “…”

The little girl didn’t even want to cry anymore.
She turned her head and stared at them.

Huh? Huh?

Xie Yaoyao’s dark eyes instantly widened.
The baby was having a birthday, and he didn’t know.

The mother still hadn’t relented.
But Xie Yaoyao was already pulling Ning Shixue towards the supermarket.
He also felt that on your birthday, you should eat whatever you want.

“We go,”
Xie Yaoyao said with a wave of his little hand.

Taking the baby to buy good food!

But Xie Yaoyao’s little face showed some worry.
He hadn’t bought a birthday gift for the baby yet.

Ning Shixue shamelessly said,
“What gift? It’s such a bother. Just treat me to oden, that’s fine.”

The great antagonist Xie Yaoyao was completely unaware he’d been tricked.

Ning Shixue wasn’t too greedy either.
He still wanted to eat dinner that night.
He only ordered three sticks of oden.

Xie Yaoyao raised his children’s smartwatch to pay.
With a *beep*, ten yuan of his fortune was deducted.

His soft little hand held onto Ning Shixue as he didn’t forget to introduce him to the sales姐姐.
“This, is my baby. Baby’s having a birthday. We’re here to eat good food.”

Actually, as soon as they came in, the sales lady had recognized them.

Ning Shixue was quite popular now.

She grinned from ear to ear as she looked down and asked Xie Yaoyao,
“You and the baby are this close?”

“Yes oh,”
Xie Yaoyao said excitedly, kicking his little feet up.
His milky voice rang out,
“Me and baby are best friends in the whole world!”

Ning Shixue: “…”

Help, what kind of social terrorist was this?

Ning Shixue almost wanted to leave this planet on the spot.
When they finally finished eating, the sky was completely dark.
He and Xie Yaoyao walked back hand in hand, swinging their clasped hands back and forth.

“Xie Xingxing,”
Ning Shixue squeezed his little hand and couldn’t help asking,
“Besides your mom and dad, and your Big Daddy… and your grandma and grandpa… from now on, can you like me the most?”

Otherwise, he would have to divorce the great antagonist.

Xie Yaoyao’s eyes were blank.
He already liked the baby the most.
Because his mom and dad were the only ones, Big Daddy was the only one, and the baby was also his only baby.

Xie Yaoyao pounced over and hugged him, rubbing his chubby little face hard against his leg.
“Okay oh.”

When they got back, Xie Zhaozhou and He Lin had also just returned.
They had brought gifts for Mu Na’s family.

He Lin’s father and the others had also finished cooking dinner.
After eating, the guests finally left together and went to the hotel.

The program team finally acted like decent people.
Tonight, they arranged rooms for the guests in the same hotel.

Ning Shixue went to take a shower.
Xie Yaoyao secretly ran to find Xie Zhaozhou.
He was like a little sieve, telling him everything.
He hugged Xie Zhaozhou’s leg and whispered,
“Big Daddy, Big Daddy. Baby today, had a birthday oh.”

“…What?”
Xie Zhaozhou was stunned for a moment.

“I took baby to eat food,”
Xie Yaoyao said, raising his children’s smartwatch.
His billion was now only ten yuan left.

He had originally given the billion to the little black pig monster.
But the little black pig monster hadn’t taken his money and had left the baby.

This little black pig, he was oddly kind.

Xie Zhaozhou didn’t actually know when Ning Shixue’s birthday was.
Besides the illegitimate son, Ning Shixue was the only child of the Ning family.
The Ning family had cared about him before.

They held a birthday party for him every year.
He remembered it should be at the end of the year.

Xie Zhaozhou was almost certain of the suspicion in his heart.
But he couldn’t dwell on that now.

When Ning Shixue came out of the shower, he saw Xie Zhaozhou was already dressed again.
He had even put Xie Yaoyao’s little down jacket on him.
Xie Yaoyao was bewildered, bundled up into a soft little ball.

“Borrow him for a bit,”
Xie Zhaozhou said, picking up Xie Yaoyao.
“We’ll be right back.”

Ning Shixue: “…”

Ning Shixue was completely confused.
Whose kid was this, anyway?

Xie Yaoyao was carried out.
He asked blankly,
“Big Daddy, where we going?”

Xie Zhaozhou took him to a cake shop.
But it was already 9:30 at night.
There was no time to order a custom cake.
There weren’t many ready-made ones left either.
They could only barely pick one.

“Which one do you think he’ll like?”
Xie Zhaozhou put Xie Yaoyao down and asked him.

So it was to buy a birthday cake for the baby.
Xie Yaoyao instantly got excited.
He trotted on his short legs and, without hesitation, headed for a pink little pig cake.
“This one!”

Xie Zhaozhou: “…”

Xie Zhaozhou had no doubt that if he bought this, he would receive divorce papers tonight.

“No. Pick another one,”
Xie Zhaozhou said.

Xie Yaoyao pouted.
The baby was clearly a little pig.
This little pig was even soft and chubby.

But Big Daddy didn’t agree.
He crouched on the ground, propped his chubby face in his hands, and struggled for a long time.
Then he pointed at a galaxy cake.

The cake was dark blue, with a cherry filling.
The surface was sprinkled with a lot of icing sugar, and the piping was also beautiful.

At first glance, it looked like a starry sky.

Xie Zhaozhou had the clerk pack it up and went to pay.

But there was no time to buy a gift.
They could only bring the cake back first.

Ning Shixue was still lying on the bed, playing games.
His expression was even blanker than Xie Yaoyao’s.
He had no idea what they were doing.

Until Xie Yaoyao came to find him.

Xie Yaoyao the Great Demon King had been tasked with taking the baby to the living room.
He tried hard to raise his little hand to cover Ning Shixue’s eyes.
But his short little legs flailed on the ground, and he couldn’t reach.
In the end, he could only take Ning Shixue’s hand and lead him there.

Xie Yaoyao couldn’t help sighing.
When would he grow as tall as Ultraman Zero?

It had started snowing again that night.
The lights in the living room were all turned off.
There was only the snowlight outside and the candles in front of them lit up.

“Baby, happy birthday!”
Xie Yaoyao fluttered around like a little butterfly, weaving between Ning Shixue’s legs.

Ning Shixue: “…”

Help.

Actually, Ning Shixue was a bit awkward.
He had just said it casually.
He didn’t know when his own birthday was.
He only knew it was winter.
And he had almost never celebrated a birthday.

He didn’t know how to face this.

But luckily, Xie Zhaozhou wasn’t the type to overly sentimentalize things.
He had turned off the lights just because he thought this way the candles would sparkle brightly.
And Ning Shixue would probably like that.

They soon sat down to eat the cake.

Halfway through eating, Xie Yaoyao’s little head started nodding with sleep.
He tilted over and fell asleep on Ning Shixue’s lap.

Only then did Xie Zhaozhou ask him, very directly,
“What birthday gift do you want?”

If he waited for Ning Shixue to speak up on his own, he would wait forever.
It was faster to just ask directly.

Ning Shixue looked up.
The candlelight reflected in his eyes, flickering on and off.
Just when Xie Zhaozhou thought he wouldn’t answer, he finally spoke, with pleading eyes.
“I want a cookie tin.”

Ning Shixue gestured with his hands, about the size of a palm.
The outside of the tin was a very beautiful marble maze.

After saying this, he lowered his head and continued eating the cake.
He couldn’t help biting the fork, feeling a bit embarrassed.
He didn’t even know where to buy such a thing.
Besides, asking Xie Zhaozhou to buy it wasn’t appropriate either.

It sounded like something for a child.

Xie Zhaozhou had actually seen one before.
But that was back in high school.
They occasionally had such things in the school convenience store.

Xie Zhaozhou didn’t speak.
Ning Shixue didn’t say anything either.

After a moment, Ning Shixue said awkwardly,
“Teacher Xie, just pretend I was…”

He had originally wanted to say just pretend I was joking.
But Xie Zhaozhou had already picked up his car keys and said, looking down,
“Want to go out and look for it?”

Xie Zhaozhou didn’t wait for him to refuse again.
He pulled him up and put his down jacket on him.

Ning Shixue didn’t even have time to resist.

Xie Yaoyao was again taken to He Lin’s place.
He Lin was already numb.
Ji Xiao was also there with him.

Oh well, he was just destined to be a babysitter.

It was already almost eleven at night.
Many shops were closed.
Xie Zhaozhou took him to the few supermarkets still lit along the road, searching one by one.
But they couldn’t find it.

The snow on the roads was very deep, making it hard to drive.
They had been searching for over an hour now.
Ning Shixue hadn’t tied up his hair.
His dark, disheveled hair hung down on his pale neck.
The tips of his ears were slightly red.

He had never realized before that he could be this troublesome.

Ning Shixue finally couldn’t help tugging at Xie Zhaozhou’s clothes.
“Forget it, Second Brother. I don’t really want it that much.”

But saying that sounded even more troublesome.
Not wanting it that much, yet making someone drive around late at night.

Ning Shixue’s toes curled with embarrassment.

Xie Zhaozhou parked the car outside a 24-hour supermarket.
Then he took his hand and got out.
The店员 was drowsy with sleep.
Glancing at the customers, she ignored them again.

“Which one do you like?”
Xie Zhaozhou asked.
“Or do you want all of them?”

There were many cookie tins on the shelves.
Ning Shixue hesitated for a second, then picked a dark blue one.

Xie Zhaozhou also went to buy tools like pliers and some very thin plastic sheets.

The store originally had a dining area with a few small tables and chairs.
Now, late at night, no one was eating there.
The店员 let them stay.

Ning Shixue, holding Xie Zhaozhou’s down jacket and his own scarf, sat obediently on a small stool nearby waiting.

He hadn’t expected Xie Zhaozhou to know how to do this.

But the materials at hand were limited, making it very difficult.
When he finally finished making the marble maze, Xie Zhaozhou opened the cookie tin, hollowed out a few lines, and put a few small lights inside.

To prevent the marble from falling in, he separated it with a thin, transparent plastic layer.

Then he fixed the switch to the bottom of the tin.

The little cookies inside had already been devoured by Ning Shixue.
He had saved a few for Xie Yaoyao and the others.

When the backlight came on, the marble maze instantly looked sparkling.
It reflected in Ning Shixue’s beautiful eyes.
His eyes seemed to hold tiny, scattered stars.

“Is this okay?”
Xie Zhaozhou handed it to him.

Ning Shixue took it.
He lowered his head and played with it for a while.
The maze Xie Zhaozhou made was quite difficult.
He shifted it through a few angles before finally making the little marble fall through.

Ning Shixue had once had such a cookie tin too.

He had been abandoned on a snowy day.
He was frostbitten back then.
His health wasn’t good as a child.
He couldn’t win fights, and in the orphanage, he couldn’t compete for toys either.

When he was five or six, on his birthday, the boy who slept in the bunk above him grabbed him by the hair and beat him up.

That night, hiding under the covers, he cried.
After wiping his tears for a while, he decided to sneak out and get a toy.

He would just play with it for one night and then put it back.
Surely no one would notice.

He tiptoed out and stole a beautiful little cookie tin.
Afraid of being discovered, he didn’t dare go back to the dormitory.
He just curled up on the broken sofa in the orphanage corridor and slept.

The little cookie tin was held in his arms.

He had originally planned to play with it all night.
But he was too tired and unknowingly fell asleep.

He even had a dream.
He dreamed he was a little sea otter.

When he was little, he wanted most to be a sea otter.
Because sea otters have a pouch.
He wanted a pouch too.
Then he could put all his most precious things inside.
His things would be his, and no one could take them away.

He also dreamed that he hid the cookie tin in his pouch.
But actually, he had placed it on his belly.

Then he turned over in his sleep.
The cookie tin fell to the floor.
The marble maze cracked.
The little marble rolled under the sofa.

The noise was loud.
He was instantly scared awake.
The headmistress also heard the noise and immediately came over.

Ning Shixue’s eyes were red.
He thought he would definitely get beaten.
Because he had stolen something.

And in their place, getting toys was too hard.
Who would send toys to the children of criminals?

So every single one was precious.

But the headmistress didn’t hit him.
Her hair was grey and white.
She knelt on the floor searching for over half an hour before finally finding that little marble.
Then she took his hand and went to her bedroom.

She didn’t even scold him.
She just made another one.

Ning Shixue stood nearby waiting, his head lowered, his little hands behind his back.
He was extremely thin.
His clothes hung loosely on him.
When he lowered his head, you could see the protruding bones on his pale back.

The wall lamp was dim and warm yellow.
The headmistress finished making the cookie tin and placed it in his palm.

Her hands were a bit cold.
But when she pressed them on top of his head, they were warm.
Her voice was also very gentle.
“This is a birthday gift for you. Happy birthday, Ningning.”

Ning Shixue didn’t have a home.
But looking up that cold night, he couldn’t see many stars in the sky.

He still kind of wanted a home.

Ning Shixue followed Xie Zhaozhou back towards the car.
Afraid he would be cold, Xie Zhaozhou kept his arm around him.
This time, surprisingly, Ning Shixue didn’t dodge.
When they reached the car door, he suddenly reached out and hugged him.

He practically crashed into Xie Zhaozhou’s arms.
Xie Zhaozhou swayed slightly from the impact, then held him steady.

Xie Zhaozhou was stunned for a moment.
He held him tight.
The corner of his red lips curved up.
His palm pressed against the top of Ning Shixue’s head.
His tone was low and suggestive.
“What’s wrong, Teacher Xiao Ning? Suddenly throwing yourself into my arms?”

But before he could say more, looking down, he saw Ning Shixue’s eyelashes flutter.
His eyes were red-rimmed.
Hot tears splashed onto the back of his hand.

They burned his heart.