Lin Zhexia had a dream that night.
She dreamed she turned into a little rabbit living in the forest. The little rabbit woke up from bed, opened the door, and found carrots growing all around the doorway.
There was even a lotus leaf umbrella in the dream, though it wasn’t raining in the forest that day.
She was very happy and put a basket on her back, preparing to pull all these carrots and take them home.
However, at that moment, an annoying dog appeared. The dog leaned against her doorway, chin slightly raised: “With your tiny strength, you can’t pull them out. Beg me, if you beg me, I’ll consider whether to help you or not.”
“…”
In the dream, Lin Zhexia rolled up her sleeves: “Who needs to beg you?”
“I’m plenty strong.”
Then, while trying to pull the carrots, she couldn’t move them and fell hard on her bottom.
Lin Zhexia woke up thinking this dream was truly absurd.
Beyond being absurd, it also felt familiar.
She thought for a while and remembered it was very similar to the bedtime story Chi Yao had told her before.
Speaking of which, what was the ending of that bedtime story?
So after waking up, the first thing she did was message Chi Yao—
Chi Yao Chi Yao—
The story about the little rabbit pulling carrots, how did it end?
Have I lost my memory? Why can’t I remember the ending
The other side was probably still sleeping and didn’t reply.
Lin Zhexia didn’t mind; today was Lin He’s birthday, and they were having a family gathering at home. The day would be busy. She put her phone aside, got up, and went to wash.
Due to yesterday’s unexpected situation, she didn’t have time to buy Lin He a birthday gift.
After much thought, she finally sat at her desk and carefully wrote a birthday card for Lin He.
To the most beautiful, my most dear mom.
Happy Birthday.
Wishing you peace, health, happiness, and joy.
PS: Beautiful Lin He, you’re a year older this year, which makes you eighteen.
On the card, she used colored pens to draw a simple cartoon, depicting herself, Wei Ping wearing glasses and a striped shirt, and Lin He in a dress with her hair up. She also drew the South Alley street sign and the old car Wei Ping drove many years ago.
This was how they looked the first day they moved to South Alley.
After preparing the card, she went to the dining room for breakfast.
Wei Ping had prepared breakfast: a bowl of rice porridge and several side dishes.
“Eat more,” Lin He habitually put food in Lin Zhexia’s bowl, “look how thin you are.”
Lin Zhexia: “This is called being slender.”
Lin He: “More like a bamboo pole.”
Lin Zhexia looked at the food placed in her bowl: “…I don’t like cucumber cubes.”
Lin He: “I know you don’t like them, I did it on purpose.”
“…”
Lin Zhexia picked up the cucumber cubes and, when Lin He wasn’t looking, slipped them into Wei Ping’s bowl.
“Shh,” she raised a finger, “eat quickly, if you eat too slowly, she’ll notice.”
Wei Ping was slightly startled, then moved quickly, immediately swallowing the cucumber cubes.
The two seemed to have become close comrades overnight.
After a while, Lin Zhexia asked in a low voice: “Is there anything you don’t like to eat? I can help you eat it too.”
Wei Ping answered quietly: “Uncle doesn’t pick and choose…”
Lin He noticed their activity and suddenly looked up.
Both immediately raised their bowls and lowered their heads to eat, pretending nothing had happened.
Lin He had put on makeup today and especially curled her hair. When she received the card, her eyes reddened, and she had to hold back tears for a long time.
On her birthday, they invited many relatives to their home for dinner.
Lin Zhexia helped in the kitchen, serving tea, offering melon seeds, and also had to play with the children the relatives brought.
During a break, she finally had time to check her phone.
Chi Yao had replied to her two hours ago.
Chi Dog: The ending is that the rabbit didn’t find any carrots
Chi Dog: On the way home, it met a wolf and got swallowed in one bite.