A special birthday celebration

  Delayed on the road, when I returned home, the sky had gradually darkened.

  Xiao Xiao had already eaten dinner at Xiao Ming's house and as soon as he got home, he pulled his mom aside and asked if she had bought ice cream.

  "It's bought, but..." Ye Shanshan trailed off, casting a surreptitious glance at someone busy in the kitchen before lowering her voice to reply, "Your dad already knows about it. He's worried you'll start coughing again and specifically told me not to give it to you today, so you can only wait a bit longer."

  The little ghost's face was knotted in a frown, "How could I have been discovered?" He had originally thought that he would be able to lift the curse tonight, but now it seemed impossible.

  Ye Shanshan looked embarrassed and stuck out her tongue, "Uh, I couldn't find a place to buy ice cream, so I had to have him take me there. And...I didn't prepare anything to keep it cool either, that box was also given by him."

  "Others have stopped coughing today." Dryly waiting for half a day, but can't eat, the little guy is very unwilling.

  "Let's wait another day, he won't be home tomorrow during the day anyway."

  "Ah, but Dad is not at home all day, what are we going to do?"

  "Isn't there me? I can take you out to play." Ye Shanshan had already planned tomorrow's itinerary, and if Xiao Ming's body recovered well, she also wanted to invite Xiao Ming and his mother to go together.

  "Isn't that the same as when we were in G city?" For Xiaoxiao, not being able to go out and play with Mommy was even more disappointing than not getting ice cream.

  Ye Shanshan also knew that this was an unavoidable thing and could only try to comfort her, "It's different, he'll be back tonight."

  "We still have less than a week before we go back, when can Dad take out a whole day for us again?" Xiaoxiao is also like her old dad, counting the days with her fingers every day. A week's time doesn't seem short, but thinking that it will be a long time before she sees her dad again after this trip, this week's time seems especially precious to her.

  "On the fifth day of the new year, that was his birthday, he had promised us a long time ago, to spend the whole day with us." After thinking about it, only this one day, Ye Shanshan still felt very satisfied.

  Speaking of birthdays, Xiao Xiao suddenly became spirited, "Mommy, why didn't I see the gift you prepared for Daddy?"

  "I'll hide it for now and not show it to you yet." Ye Shanshan smiled with great satisfaction, this gift not only took a lot of thought, but was also handmade by her, she wouldn't take it out until the last moment.

  Mommy's face was mysterious, and she smiled, becoming more curious. "As long as Daddy doesn't know, just let me take a look first."

  Ye Shanshan remained unmoved, "Be good and wait patiently, the birthday gift must be given on the same day to have meaning."

  The little ghost's face fell, his mouth pouting high, "Mommy is so stingy, I even showed you the gift I prepared for you."

  "Uh, that's for you to show off, you took the initiative to bring it out! Ye Shanshan had a helpless face and could only think of other ways to coax her, "Don't make trouble, okay? Mom will promise you, if you like that gift, next time when you have a birthday, I'll help you make a similar one?"

  "Is the gift Mommy prepared also handmade?" This made her laugh, she didn't think of that. In her opinion, adults usually buy gifts with money and choose expensive ones, it's rare to make them by hand.

  "It's more sincere when you make it yourself, isn't it?" As soon as she thought that the mysterious gift would soon 'see the light of day', Ye Shanshan's heart was filled with even more anticipation and longing. This gift had cost her a lot of effort and wasn't cheap either, so he definitely had to like it.

  "Alright, I won't look for now." Kids are so easy to coax, as long as you give them a little hope, they'll immediately calm down.

  For the next three days, Gu Bei Chen left early in the morning and returned home at dinner time. On the fourth day of the new year, it was even more exaggerated, he came back home, sorted out his materials, and worked until almost 11 o'clock to finish all his work.

  Fortunately, his wife and children understood him and knew that he was working hard for a better tomorrow. Not only did they not complain, but they also considerately prepared a midnight snack for him.

  This also made him look forward to his birthday tomorrow even more. In the past decade or so since he enlisted, he had spent several birthdays in the army, and at most, it was just a bowl of longevity noodles and a few eggs. But this year is different, with Shanshan and Xiaoxiao accompanying him, this birthday will definitely not be dull.

  But thinking that after this birthday, I'll be another year 'older', my heart still feels a bit melancholic. Although men age slower than women, no matter how slow it is, it can't erase the decade-long age gap. By the time Shanshan reaches his current age, he'll already be pushing 45, thinking about it now, I'm a little scared.

  Good night's sleep, the most special day has arrived as scheduled.

  On the fifth day of the new year, Gu Beichen, who had just finished several hours of overtime last night and then exercised vigorously for nearly an hour after returning to his room, was woken up by a sweet good morning kiss. "Good morning, old master."

  It was rare for her to wake up before him, especially after a tiring night.

  It's still early, and since he didn't have to rush back for a meeting today, Gu Bei Chen was too lazy to move, lounging comfortably as he gazed at that face filled with sweet smiles, "Like this?"

  Obviously, Yu Shu didn't understand the meaning of these three words. He leaned in and kissed him again before sitting up neatly, "You sleep a bit longer, I'll go cook noodles for you."

  Gu Bei Chen would not let her get up so easily, even if he didn't use his hands, he could easily make her lie back down beside him, "Master Shou Xing wants to receive birthday gifts."

  Ye Shanshan's face suddenly turned red, and she struggled slightly in his arms, "It's not the right time yet."

  "I was born just after 7 am, now is the right time!" Cough cough, Director Gu is indeed a rare talent in the world, able to come up with such twisted logic!

  "No way, if you exhaust me, who will help you cook noodles for your birthday and prepare a big birthday feast?" Ye Shanshan put on a determined expression that she would rather die than give in, struggling to get free, but could only pull the quilt between them, blocking him from continuing his mischief.

  Someone with evil intentions feigned innocence, "Is this little brain not pure again? When did I say I'd let you suffer?"

  "You..." Ye Shanshan knew she was no match for his shamelessness and only thought about how to get him to let go as soon as possible, "Then... what do you want?"

  "Sleep with me for a while longer." The words sounded normal, but... why did he want to pull her hand towards him? And everywhere they went, it was all fiery passion.

  "Hmph, it's already come to this, and yet she still dares to say her thoughts are impure!"

  Ye Shanshan's face turned red with shame and anger, she pinched the flesh around his waist, making him frown in pain. "Is this how you treat Master Shou Xing?" The little thing was quite ruthless!

  Taking advantage of his painful pause, Ye Shanshan quickly got out of bed, "Don't cheat me, Mom told me you were born at 7 o'clock in the evening, so birthday gifts can only be given at night! Lie still and don't move, I'll go cook noodles."

  It turned out that Ye Shanshan's resolute and ruthless decision was very necessary. As soon as she changed her clothes and went out, the little princess in her house woke up and ran over in her slippers, "Mommy good morning, is Daddy up?"

  Ye Shanshan pulled Xixi back, not letting her rush forward, "Not yet, let him sleep for a while longer, we'll go wash our faces and brush our teeth first." The commander's half-naked appearance was something that couldn't be let Xixi see, not to mention the big and small scars on his body would scare her, those few scratches from last night were enough to make the little devil ask questions for a long time.

  "Wait a minute." The little devil reacted quickly, wriggling free from Mom's hands in an instant and darting into the room, "Dad, happy birthday."

  "Okay." The upper body of Gu Bei Chen carefully hid under the quilt, not daring to move, and responded with a perfunctory tone.

  Unfortunately, the little devil had no intention of leaving and happily handed him a delicate card, "This is a birthday gift, I made it myself."

  "It's very nice, our Xiaoxiao is really capable and can do everything." This flattering remark was a bit too much to take in, the card hadn't even arrived yet, let alone seeing any of its contents, how could it be nice?

  "Hurry up and take a look, it's even more beautiful inside." Xiao Xiao still maintained the same action as before, seemingly determined that if her father didn't accept it, she wouldn't let go.

  "Put it on the bedside table first, and I'll take a look later, okay?" Gu Bei Chen was clearly a bit overwhelmed, his expression also becoming somewhat awkward.

  "It can be seen now, why wait?" The little demon spirit was very dissatisfied with Dad's reaction. She drew many pictures before finally coming up with this masterpiece, but Dad didn't seem too interested, which was also a blow to her.

  Ye Shanshan finally couldn't help it, wanting to laugh but not daring to, slipped in and said, "That... your dad isn't wearing a shirt, let's go out first and wait for him to change his clothes before coming back in to show him, okay?"

  "Ah, Dad, how can you be so unsanitary? You don't even wear pajamas to sleep?"

  Ye Shanshan reacted quickly and answered on behalf of the leader, "That... last night the heating was turned up a bit high, he felt hot and took it off at midnight."

  The little ghost was very sharp-eyed and soon discovered the grid-patterned pajamas that had been thrown on the ground, "Dad's sleep is really bad, he even kicked his clothes to the ground."

  Gu looked at the little bird shrinking in the doorway with an unclear expression. If he wasn't mistaken, she had helped him take off his pajamas and seemed to have thrown them on the ground carelessly as well. Shouldn't this question be answered by her instead?

  "Hehe......" Ye Shanshan's face turned red with embarrassment as she forced out a laugh, "It seems like I kicked it down, you know that too, my sleeping posture has always been bad."

  "Indeed." This made Xiao Xiao laugh, and she deeply understood. Mommy had more than once kicked her sleeping doll to the ground, a habitual offender.

  Poor Xiao Xiao was thus deceived and obediently followed Mommy to wash her face and brush her teeth.

  The mother and daughter finished washing up and walked out of the bathroom, just as Gu Shou changed into new clothes. Although he received a very special birthday gift, his expression was still somewhat awkward.

  Being blocked by my daughter on the bed in the morning of birthday is not a wonderful experience, I'd better remember it for a long time. No matter how hot it is, I must wear pajamas to sleep!

  Gu Bei Chen had his first taste of his wife's handmade noodles since birth, and it was clear that his mother had given her special instructions beforehand. The ingredients added to the noodles were all his favorites. With a bowl of delicious noodles in his belly, he would have good appetite for the rest of the year.

  It turns out that quite a few people know that Gu Bei Chen is celebrating his birthday today. No sooner had he finished breakfast than two groups of people came to offer their congratulations. The Zou Jing family even specially prepared gifts, although they weren't expensive things, but were carefully prepared nonetheless.

  "Why don't... you all come over for dinner tonight, the more people celebrating a birthday the merrier." The activities of these two days were basically done together by both families, and Xiao Xiao and Xiao Ming also got along well, so inviting them over for dinner was a natural thing to do.

  "Sister-in-law doesn't know yet, the army canteen has a tradition of celebrating birthdays together. Apart from Director Gu, I have two new recruits under me who also have their birthday today. Why don't you all go together for lunch and celebrate together? It would be more lively!" Zhou Jing said this, indirectly declining the kindness of Director's wife. For the young couple, it was their first birthday celebration after marriage, and outsiders seemed out of place."

  "Is that so?" Ye Shanshan hastily turned around and asked her husband.

  Gu Beichen didn't give a definite answer, "If you're not afraid of noise, I can take you and Xiao Xiao together."

  "Hehe, I think I'll go." This kind of thing, a clever little devil like him would definitely not miss.

  "Then let's go together." Ye Shanshan also thought it was no big deal, she too hoped that her husband would receive more blessings on his birthday, after all the most important dinner was still at home, and they wouldn't be stingy with the birthday boy.

  "Mommy, let's wear that outfit from last time again." The little imp reacted quickly and even considered the 'costume equipment' issue.

  Gu Beichen stood out firmly in opposition, "There is no heating in the cafeteria, wearing too little will freeze."

  "It's okay, just wear another thick sweater outside." Xiao Xiao had already made up her mind and couldn't listen to advice. She said as she pulled Xiao Ming back into the room to show him her little military uniform.

  It can be imagined that after Zou Xiaoming returns home, he will definitely ask his mother to get a set for herself as well.

  The canteen of the troops is much larger than what Ye Shanshan had imagined, with dining tables arranged neatly and a fixed number of people at each table. A casual glance can tell how many people are seated here.

  Ye Shanshan was having lunch with over 200 people for the first time, and she was extremely excited and curious. Whoever greeted her would receive a smiling response.

  However, the birthday star's face didn't look very good today. This group of 'forgetting righteousness at the sight of beauty' rascals only greeted the leader's wife and not one of them wished him a happy birthday!

  It wasn't until Zou Jing stepped forward and called out that everyone's souls were finally summoned back.

  About two hundred people stood up in unison and gave a formal salute, shouting in unison, "Happy birthday to the Chief of Staff!"

  The director's face finally eased a bit, and there were two more birthday stars on the scene. Sharing the same birthday was a rare coincidence, so he also had to make a gesture: "Li Jian, Deng Hui, happy birthday to you both as well."

  The two new recruits who had just sat down had to stand up again and salute the commander-in-chief, "Thank you, Chief of Staff!"

  Ye Shanshan, who had been following behind Gu Beichen, walked up with a smile and handed each of the other two birthday boys a box of chocolates. "Happy birthday, a small token of my heart, I hope you like it."

  "Thank you, Madam!"

  Due to excessive excitement, the two new recruits' response this time was not neat at all, and one of them even saluted with their left hand, lol.

  These two new recruits were really lucky, not only did they receive a gift from the commander's wife, but also got special dishes and cake-eating opportunities because they shared the same birthday as the chief of staff.

  For them, being unable to reunite with family during Chinese New Year is a big deal, but at least they can celebrate a special birthday.

  A simple lunch, warm and full of festive atmosphere, is a good preheating for Gu Bei Chen's birthday celebration. What he really looks forward to is the family celebration tonight, as well as the mysterious gift carefully prepared by his wife.

  But it's just past one o'clock in the afternoon now, and there is still a while before dark, so I have to find something to pass this time.

  Gu Beichen was deep in thought with his head down when a familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him, "Isn't today your birthday? Why are you wandering around outside with your family?"

  Ye Shanshan didn't recognize the voice, and instinctively turned around. Not far away, a high-ranking officer with two bars and four stars on his shoulder was standing upright. Beside him stood a fresh and lovely young girl of sixteen or seventeen years old. Just as she was about to ask who this great leader was, Gu Beichen gave a polite greeting that provided the answer: "Commander Xu."

  Oh, it's the big boss of the Seventh Division who has returned.

  Ye Shanshan busily pulled Xiao Xiao forward to greet them, "Hello."

  "Dad, you go ahead and take care of things, I've found someone to play with."

  Playmate? Ye Shanshan's heart skipped a beat, and she thought to herself: Is she talking about me or Xiaoxiao?

  "My name is Xu Ting. Big sister, little sister, would you like to play with me?"

  "Stop messing around!" Mr. Xu hastily stepped forward and pulled his daughter over, "Today is General Gu's birthday, they're celebrating as a family."

  Gu Beichen was in an awkward position and didn't know how to react, so he could only use his eyes to seek his wife's opinion.

  Ye Shanshan smiled and nodded in understanding, then stepped forward with a big smile and said, "No problem, the more the merrier. If you have something to attend to, we can take Miss Xu with us."

  Xu family's little girl didn't take herself as an outsider at all, and on their first meeting, she boldly took the beautiful sister's hand, "Call me Miss Xu for more times, just call me Tingting, won't you two sisters introduce yourselves?"

  As soon as he heard the three words "sisters", Gu Bei Chen's face instantly turned black, "You got it wrong, they are not sisters, she is my wife, and the smaller one is my daughter."

  "Really?!" The little girl from the Xu family was shocked and took two steps back, her hands covering her face, her eyes wide with an expression of utter disbelief. "How on earth did such a big baby come out?"

  "Uh... she's not mine."

  With this explanation, everything is normal. Xuting also doesn't plan to continue to dwell on this topic, "Dad, look at this sister, she's only a few years older than me and she's already married, why won't you let me have a boyfriend?"

  Xu Shizhang's face turned cold and he scolded in a blunt tone, "What are you comparing? You're not even seventeen yet!"

  Xu Jia Xiao Niang also refused to show weakness, "Which law stipulates that girls under the age of 17 cannot have a boyfriend?"

  Although this road is rarely traveled, occasionally there will still be passersby, and two high-ranking military officers are already enough to attract attention, and they happen to be discussing such an explosive topic, it's hard for the passing pedestrians not to stop and watch.

  Gu Bei Chen hastily intervened, "This isn't a place for conversation, let's talk about it when we get back." Although he was extremely reluctant to bring the little devil from the Xu family home, he was even more unwilling to be surrounded by onlookers.

  "Are you sure you want to take her with you?" From the route that Master Xu was taking, it seemed like he was heading back to the troop's office. This time, he probably wouldn't be able to accompany him.

  "Don't worry, go ahead with your business, I'll be good." Xuting urged her old dad to hurry up with a look of impatience.

  Gu Bei Chen still had a cold face and didn't speak, so Ye Shan Shan could only continue to force herself forward, "It's nothing, I'll help you keep an eye on her."

  Silly girl, but she's not afraid of getting herself into trouble at all.

  His own daughter was making a big fuss, and Xu Jinchuan knew it best. He still wanted to ask for Xiao Gu's opinion, "Beichen, what do you think?"

  "You go ahead and get busy, Tingting just arrived, it's good that Xanthe and Xiao are accompanying her." After saying this, Gu Bei Chen couldn't help but mentally scold himself, the feeling of speaking insincerely was really unbearable.

  The couple didn't mind, and Xu Jinchuan couldn't decline anymore. "Then I'll trouble you." After saying that, he wanted to pull his daughter aside to instruct her on a few things, but she was too anxious and interrupted him.

  "Got it, I promise not to cause you trouble!"

  Xu Jinchuan had nothing more to say and quickly turned around and left.

  Old Dad hasn't gone far, and Xu Jiaxiaoyu can't wait to sigh, "My ears are finally quiet."

  "I don't want to be nagged, why follow me?" Gu Bei Chen said indifferently.

  "Because staying at home would be even more miserable!"

  That's right, the old lady from Master Xu's family isn't someone to be trifled with. Once she starts nagging, ordinary people can't withstand it.

  After walking nearly two hundred meters, Xiaoxiao, who had been silently smiling all along, finally spoke up, "Dad, Mom, aren't we going out to play?"

  "It's fine to go out and have fun too, I don't care." Cough cough, this little girl really doesn't consider herself an outsider.

  "The weather is gloomy, the wind is strong, it looks like it's going to rain, let's just stay home instead." The weather and all that are just excuses, the real reason is - with this mouthy and reckless girl together, who still has the mood to have fun.

  Smiling without reason to refute, however, don't expect her to give this noisy sister a good face.

  Xu Jia Xiao Ni was still enthusiastic, "If the mountain won't come to me, can't I go to the mountain?" "Little sister, why do you seem not too welcoming to me?"

  "My name is Xiao Xiao." Usually well-behaved and polite, little Gu Si Tian rarely showed her temper in front of strangers, and replied indifferently.

  Finally got a response from little sister, Xu Ting of course to continue the momentum, "What a cute name, is it your little mommy who helped you get it?"

  "Daddy picked me up, Mommy wasn't even there when I was born." Little kids all love to hear nice words, and Xiao Xiao is no exception. After being casually praised a couple of times, her attitude immediately changed and she started talking more.

  "How could I have forgotten this?" Xǔ Tíng slapped her forehead loudly, and while the three members of the Gu family were still trying to process what was happening, she threw out another bombshell: "And... where did your birth mother go?"

  Gu Bei Chen's face turned into a pot bottom color again, and he even had the urge to pack up this little girl and throw her back at Master Xu!