Chapter 349
In the past, he thought cake was quite delicious, but eating it alone made him lose his appetite after just two bites.
But it was different now.
Even though it wasn't exactly his birthday, it felt even better than his birthday.
Zhou Zehan changed into the new clothes Si Nian had bought for him. As soon as he went downstairs, he started showing off to Jiang Jiu, "Look, these are the new clothes my mom bought me. There's even a Karting Cat on them."
Jiang Jiu's face was full of envy. He carefully reached out to touch the Karting Cat and said, "I want clothes with a kitty on them too."
Zhou Zehan loved this outfit. Normally, he couldn't bear to wear it because his mom said she bought it for his birthday. It was a festive red, so he had specially saved it for today.
He had been looking forward to his birthday for a whole month.
Seeing how much he treasured it, Jiang Jiu liked it even more.
He wished he could immediately go home and ask his grandmother to buy him the exact same one.
"Second Brother, can I try it on? If it looks good on me, I want to buy one for my birthday too."
"Sure!" Zhou Zehan was very generous with him and immediately took off the clothes, handing them over for him to wear.
Jiang Jiu stood in the yard and tried them on. However, he had a small frame. Although Zhou Zehan was thin, he had a larger frame. Even though they were the same age, Zhou Zehan was now half a head taller than him.
The clothes were extremely oversized on Jiang Jiu.
They didn't fit well at all.
But he still loved them.
When Si Nian finally returned with the baking molds and it was time to make the cake, the two boys immediately followed closely behind her.
Jiang Jiu said he wanted to make a cake with his own hands as a birthday gift for Zhou Zehan.
It was because Zhou Zehan had previously made him an egg pancake.
He was very touched and had always kept that in mind.
Aside from these things, Si Nian had also bought a lot of snacks, treats, and fruits.
They were meant to entertain the two boys' friends.
However, right now, only Jiang Jiu had arrived.
Zhou Zedong also led his little sister downstairs.
He had once again tied his sister's hair into two little pigtails pointing up at the sky.
But since her hair had grown longer, it looked a bit comical.
The little girl didn't know about vanity yet, so she didn't mind it at all.
Si Nian went to bake the cake base first. She had bought the cream and other toppings ready-made, along with some chocolates that children loved.
The cake base was very simple to make; it only required low-gluten flour and eggs.
They just didn't have an oven at home, but a large iron wok could do the job too.
Si Nian succeeded on her first try.
Now, they were just waiting for the little friends to come over and decorate the cake.
Zhou Zehan and Jiang Jiu couldn't wait any longer. The two boys ran to the door and paced back and forth.
Their faces clearly read: Why aren't they here yet?
However, Grandma Jiang and Grandpa Jiang came over quickly, bringing a toy car for both him and Zhou Zedong.
Zhou Zehan was extremely happy.
This was the first time he had ever received a birthday gift.
When he called them Grandpa and Grandma, his little mouth was as sweet as honey.
He amused the two elders so much that they burst into laughter.
Soon, a group of children arrived hand in hand, chattering away like a flock of little sparrows.
"Second Brother!"
"Second Brother, happy birthday~"
"Wow, Second Brother, your family is so rich! Such a big house! Wow, is this your Da Huang? It's huge, even bigger than a tiger."
Four or five little kids clamored around Zhou Zehan, looking everywhere and gasping in constant admiration.
Zhou Zehan was so proud his nose pointed up to the sky: "Yes, this is my Da Huang, and here are my Dabai and Xiaobai. Come over here, these are the fish I keep... On the second floor is my room. Yes, my brother and I share a room because my brother is afraid of ghosts, but I'm not. The third floor is my study room; I read and do my homework here every day."
Second Child took the little friends on a tour of his house.
The group of children also took out their gifts for him. Some gave pens, some gave notebooks, and some gave marbles.
Second Child received an armful of gifts, smiling so widely he couldn't close his mouth.
Si Nian walked out of the kitchen and watched the group of little munchkins marveling at the house with envious expressions. Then she looked at Second Child's smug little appearance and couldn't help but want to laugh: "Alright, Xiaohan, take your classmates to sit down. We can decorate the cake in a bit."
Only then did Zhou Zehan rein in his excitement, hurriedly pulling everyone to the sofa to chat.
The entire living room was buzzing with chatter.
Zhou Zedong took a glance and then withdrew his gaze.
He checked the time and frowned slightly.
Why weren't Brother Chen and the others here yet?
Had he mentioned it too early, and they all forgot about it?
Just as he walked outside, he saw Brother Chen and the other two standing at the door, blocking two shivering figures.
Zhou Zedong swept a glance over them; it was Li Youcai and Chu Xianger.
He frowned, "What are you doing?"
Brother Chen said: "Dongzi, good thing you're here. We just got here and saw these two guys acting sneaky at your door, looking like they were going to steal something, so we stopped them immediately."
Hearing this, Li Youcai and Chu Xianger's faces turned green.
Chu Xianger hurriedly explained: "No, Classmate Zhou, I just heard from Youcai that today is your birthday, and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank your brother for helping us last time."
Li Youcai gulped, not understanding how Zhou Zedong could know these people who obviously looked like hooligans.
Brother Chen and the others were also dumbfounded when they heard this.
"Huh?"
"Today is your birthday?"
Zhou Zedong nodded somewhat unnaturally, "Yes, come on in."
Seeing the surprise on their faces, he added, "My mom asked me to invite you over."
After saying that, he frowned and looked at Li Youcai and Chu Xianger.
He had never had a good impression of Class Four, let alone Li Youcai.
Even though he had already ruthlessly retaliated for what happened before.
He still didn't want any contact with these two.
He also couldn't understand why people who had always hated him would suddenly show up at his door on their own initiative.
"Xiaodong, are your friends here?" Just as he was about to send them away, he heard Si Nian's voice behind him.
Zhou Zedong withdrew his gaze: "Mom, this is Brother Chen, Fatty, and the others."
Si Nian smiled and nodded, looking at the children.
Facing Si Nian, Brother Chen and the other two felt a bit at a loss for what to do.
They were usually the most hated kids in the area, akin to rats crossing the street, yelled at and scolded by everyone.
Because of fighting over territory, they frequently got into brawls.
They knew very well that kids like them were the least liked.
Right now, they were very worried that Zhou Zedong's mother would despise them.
Moreover, they hadn't even brought gifts.
Si Nian said: "Xiaochen, Xiaopang, don't be shy. Hurry inside and play. You can help Xiaodong make the cake later."
No one had ever invited them into their home so warmly.
Brother Chen blanked out for a moment, then snapped back to reality. He hurriedly waved his hands, but seeing how grimy and black his hands were, he pulled them back. Uncomfortable and stiff, he said, "No, it's fine. We just came to take a look, we'll leave now."
None of them brought gifts, how could they have the nerve to enter someone's house?
No matter how ignorant they were about social etiquette, they knew they should bring gifts for someone's birthday.
Zhou Zedong frowned and didn't speak.
Although he felt it shouldn't be like this, he wasn't good at asking people to stay.
It was Si Nian who smiled and said: "It's not easy coming all the way here. Come inside and have a seat. Xiaodong, entertain them for a bit."
After saying that, Si Nian glanced at Li Youcai and Chu Xianger.
She knew these were her son's classmates from Class Four.
But her son's experience in Class Four wasn't exactly good, and he had even been targeted.
Li Youcai was Li Fengxian's grandson, so he had probably participated in it too.
She did not have a good impression of the Li family.
Seeing the child appear here at this moment, she was actually quite surprised.
"You two little ones, are you here for Xiaodong?" Si Nian asked out of politeness.
Li Youcai and Chu Xianger exchanged a glance and nodded.
Chu Xianger offered the gift box she was holding and said, "Auntie, this is an apology gift for Classmate Zhou, and we also want to wish him a happy birthday."
Beside her, Li Youcai looked a bit awkward, but he still brought out the present from behind his back. "This, this is a calligraphy copybook I got for him. I was ignorant before and ruined his copybook, and, and I bullied him. I'm sorry..."
Before he could even finish his sentence, the prideful Li Youcai's face flushed bright red.
Si Nian froze for a moment, recalling that her son did indeed have a copybook that was ruined not too long ago.
She had sensed something was wrong at the time because her son always cherished his belongings. How could he have gotten it so dirty?
So it turned out to be the doing of the child standing right in front of her.
Si Nian frowned, her smile fading a bit.
Even though the boy had admitted his mistake, to Si Nian, that kind of bullying behavior was still unforgivable.
She did not accept their gifts. Instead, she looked at Zhou Zedong. "Xiaodong, do you accept their apology?"
Zhou Zedong also had not expected Li Youcai to come over and apologize.
He was slightly surprised.
His gaze fell on the copybook in Li Youcai's hands. He had seen this edition before; it was very expensive.
Even more expensive than the one his mother had bought for him.
Although he disliked Li Youcai, it was not to the point of hatred.
After all, compared to himself, Li Youcai had suffered a much worse fate later on.
For a moment, Zhou Zedong could not even muster up any resentment, though his attitude remained aloof. "It's in the past. You don't need to apologize."
Zhou Zedong continued, "Because I deliberately made you lose face at the competition and purposely stole your points. If we are talking about going too far, I was worse than you."
Although everyone could have guessed it, his direct admission still took the group by surprise.
"So now neither of us owes the other anything, and I don't want your copybook either."
With that said, Zhou Zedong walked back inside.
Although they had buried the hatchet, it did not mean he would accept their gifts and hang out with them.
The two children stood awkwardly for a moment before turning to leave as well.
Si Nian brought out some molds to make a cake for the kids.
The entire Zhou household was bustling and lively.
Next door, Fang Bowen, who had been working on his homework problems, heard the laughter of the children. He glanced back and, seeing that Fang Hui was not around, hurriedly got up and ran to the window. Hiding behind the curtains, he peeked out from the second-floor study to look at the house next door.