...
At around 3 pm, back at Xiao Lei's apartment,
Xiao Zhihao knocked on his mother's door and asked loudly, "Mum, are you ready?"
He was wearing a light blue shirt with a pair of dark blue pants with white thin strips on them. On his hand, he was holding a jacket with the same design as the dark blue pants.
He wanted to arrive at Du Mansion early so that he could spend some time with the rest of the kids before the party started. Apparently, the twins got a couple of new games, and they were waiting for him to play together.
When the door was opened, Xiao Zhihao blinked and said, "That's what you're wearing?"
Xiao Lei looked down at her clothes. She wore a light blue blouse with raised collars and a pair of white jeans. "What's wrong?" Xiao Lei asked with a worried tone. "Han Ye said that it's a casual party..."
She felt that she was dressed a bit more than casual since she even threw on a pair of hoop earrings and put on makeup.
"I was about to ask you if I'm overdressed..." Xiao Lei mumbled as she looked at her son. They were going to a party at Du Mansion, and she felt that even a casual family and friends only party at the Du Mansion would be quite big. She did not want to disrespect the Du Family by attending the party while dressed in t-shirt and jeans, even if Han Ye said she could, so she put on a little more effort into it.
Besides, since it was her birthday, she decided to wear something that made her feel better. Even if no once knew, even if no one could remember it, she did.
"No... Not overdressed..." Xiao Zhihao said as he scratched the back of his head uncertainly. He then smiled and added, "You look beautiful, Mum."
He then took out a small, wrapped gift box that he kept hidden under the jacket, and with a bright smile, he handed it to his mother. "Happy birthday, Mum!"
Xiao Lei gasped when he greeted her, and after a split second, she reached out and pulled him over before hugging him tightly. She had completely ignored the gift. Xiao Lei was just happy that at least there was someone who could remember her birthday.
Then again, her son had always been someone who cared a lot about others, so she should have known that he would never forget about her birthday.
"Thank you, Zhihao... At least someone remembers..." Xiao Lei muttered as she hugged him tightly.
"Of course I would remember, Mum," Xiao Zhihao said. "By the way, can you let go of me? You're wrinkling up my shirt..."
Xiao Lei chuckled and released her son before helping him to straighten his shirt. She then took the gift from him and asked, "What's this?"
"Why don't you take a look?" Xiao Zhihao grinned as he said so. His voice was a little excited, as if he really wanted to see his mother's reaction when she saw the gift he got her.
With a curious smile, Xiao Lei opened the gift box, and inside it was a necklace. She took out the necklace and handed the empty gift box to Xiao Zhihao. "What's this?" she asked, as she looked at the pendant on the necklace. "It's beautiful..."
The necklace had an arrowhead pendant carved from a ruby, and a head of a lion was carved at the top of the arrow.
"I don't know what to get you," Xiao Zhihao said as he took the necklace from his mother and signaled her to bend down a little. As he put the necklace around her neck, he explained, "I wanted to get you something special, since this year has been quite... weird. When I saw this necklace, I thought that it would suit you. An arrowhead reminded me of a warrior, and the lion reminded me of a bravery. And both of them reminded me of you, Mum. Strong and beautiful."
Click!
Once the necklace was secured, Xiao Lei stood up and turned around to face her son, who then continued, "And I think that they suit you, Mum. You're brave, like a warrior. You escaped from your evil family, and I know that all these years, in order to keep me safe, you restrained from going after them."
He looked up at her and added with a smile, "But I'm safe now... I have you, Tian Le, Mr. Shenlong, and Mr. Luo... and Han Ye. We are no longer alone, so you don't have to worry about me that much. Whatever reservation you've got, forget about it. Go and take back what's yours. Money and fame aside, go and tell the world how did your parents... my grandparents... Tell the world the truth behind their deaths."
Xiao Lei looked at her son, feeling extremely touched by his words, and tears were threatening to well up in her eyes. At that moment, even though she was looking at her son, what she saw was an image of her husband.
When Xiao Zhihao saw his mother pout, he immediately said in a panic, "Don't cry, Mum. I didn't buy you this so that you would cry! Please don't cry!"
He wondered if he should just tell Xiao Lei about the surprise party that Han Ye was planning for her at the Du Mansion so that she would stop crying.
Fortunately for him, he did not have to resort to ending the surprise.
"Give me a sec..." Xiao Lei chuckled and glanced up as she tried to keep herself from crying. After a while, she looked down at her son and raised her hand. She wanted to caress his head, but seeing that he had styled his hair, she decided to take pity on him and patted his shoulders again. "I'm not crying... I'm just touched... Zhihao, your dad will be so proud of you... Did I tell you how much you resemble him?"
Xiao Zhihao smiled. "He always said that I resemble you more... He will be proud of you too, Mum. Dad will always be proud of you."
...
They were in the car when Xiao Lei recalled something.
"Zhihao, Han Ye said that you're supposed to run some errands for him. Have you done those?"
Xiao Zhihao nodded. "Yeah... Don't worry about it. I'm pretty responsible."
His "errands" were basically making sure that Xiao Lei did not leave the house too early or too late, and that he had to inform Han Ye on their ETA.
"Good... If Han Ye gives you anything that's too difficult, let me know. I'll chew his ear off," Xiao Lei said with a stern voice. No one was allowed to bully her son, not even her boyfriend.
....