She's waiting for me there.

(PS: I sent chapters 45 and 46 in the wrong order this morning, but I’ve adjusted it now. Those of you who haven’t read it can scroll down to read it.)

A week passed quickly, and it was the night before I returned home.

The family sat together. The lights in the room were off and it was pitch black. Only the candles on the table emitted a warm light yellow.

In the candlelight, the green lemon eyes flashed with light, like a star under the bright starry sky.

"Make a wish." Qingxue said softly.

The girl clasped her hands together, looked at the three people around her, smiled, closed her eyes, and moved her lips slightly.

After a moment, the girl blew out the candle.

"Happy birthday."

"Qing Ning is a grown-up girl now. She has finally become an adult."

Qingxue turned on the light, walked over with an exquisite gift box and handed it to Qingning.

"Birthday present, do you like it?"

After opening the gift box, Qing Ning looked up at her sister, choked up, and didn't know what to say.

The girl took out the diamond-encrusted hairpin and recalled a scene from a few years ago.

At that time, Qingxue had just brought her out from the countryside and had not seen Chen Yun fooling around outside.

It was the first time for the girl to come to such a bustling city, and everything seemed new to her.

When passing by a small stall, a hairpin instantly caught the girl's attention.

It was the first time she had seen such a beautiful thing.

"Qing Ning, why don't you leave? We need to go home quickly to cook. Your brother-in-law may be back today."

Qingxue pushed the electric car tiredly, looking at the low battery display, with a bitter look on her face.

This electric scooter is already an antique. A single charge is not enough to ride for a whole day, but there is no other way. I have to budget my meals every day, so I don’t have the money to buy a new one.

"Sister, I want that." Qing Ning said, pointing at the hairpin.

Qingxue was about to agree, but after seeing the price marked on it, she fell silent.

50 yuan is enough for the two sisters' food for two days, and it is also enough to buy a fish or two pounds of meat for Chen Yun.

"Qingning, this one doesn't look good. I'll buy you a nice one tomorrow, okay?"

"I don't..." The girl looked up and saw her sister's expression. Although it was still as gentle, she saw apology and bitterness in her eyes.

"No need, sister. I don't need any hairpins with such long hair. Let me help you push the cart." The girl said sensibly.

That night, she saw Chen Yun for the first time, and it was also that night that she realized that she seemed to have gone from a dangerous place to another abyss.

"Lime, don't you like it?"

"I like it, of course I like it." Qing Ning put the hairpin on her head, and the cold girl immediately became more lively: "Sister, does it look good?"

"Good-looking, good-looking."

The two sisters' eyes were red, and they thought of the scene of that day in tacit understanding, but they also tacitly did not say it out loud.

After all, they are really happy now.

Chen Yun also came over with a box and placed it in front of Qing Ning: "Brother-in-law doesn't know what to give you. Take a look at this. Do you like it?"

"Thank you, brother-in-law."

But when the girl opened the box, she was immediately stunned and looked up at Chen Yun in a daze.

What the hell is "Five years of college entrance examination and three years of simulation"?

Is it polite of you to give this as a birthday gift?

There is actually a book of "Must-practice Questions for the College Entrance Examination" below. The word "unethical" is not enough to describe this man.

It’s better not to have this gift.

Seeing Qing Ning's stunned expression, Chen Yun laughed out loud: "I knew you would have this expression, look below."

After taking out a few books, there was an exquisite box inside.

There are two red and blue handles and a handheld game console painted on it.

"Is this a switch?" Qing Ning asked uncertainly. Although she had never played it before, she would look at it curiously every time she saw her classmates holding such a thing. Although it was far away, the various simulated images inside still attracted her attention.

However, after hearing the price of several thousand yuan and the game cartridges costing several hundred yuan each, the girl stopped paying attention to it.

"There are more than a dozen game cartridges in it, and an iPad underneath, which can be used for both study and games. If other children have it, then our Qing Ning must have it too."

Qing Ning's eyes were fixed on the contents of the box, but she didn't open it.

It's this again, our lemon, our lemon, our...

These words kept echoing in the girl's ears. Perhaps Chen Yun just said them casually as if they were a child, but Qing Ning felt different every time she heard them.

From the initial emotionlessness, it gradually turned into a warm feeling flowing through my heart.

Qing Ning thought to herself, if one day, of course I mean - if, she repeated in her heart, just if.

He has turned back into that scumbag again. Is his current life going to be over? Will he have to go back to that dark and hopeless life?

Thinking of this, the girl, whose eyes were already red, raised her head and looked at Chen Yun. Her mouth immediately became flat, and her eyes narrowed slightly, looking as if she was about to cry at any time.

Chen Yun and Qingxue were also confused. The other children were very happy to see these things, but Qingning seemed to be sad.

Perhaps the girl herself didn't know that in front of Chen Yun, she was becoming more and more like a child, and was becoming more and more adept at expressing her feelings.

Before Chen Yun could say anything, Chen Hanlin came back from the opposite door holding a big box.

"Oh, I'm so tired, this box is really heavy." The old man kept pounding his lower back.

When he saw the box in front of Qingning, he was stunned for a moment, then looked at Chen Yun with wide eyes.

"Son, didn't we agree to deliver the green lemon exercise book together? You are really my good son, but you are being cheated by your father, aren't you?" The old man pointed at Chen Yun and cursed.

"Ah? Dad, no way, there really is someone giving exercise books for birthdays, no way, no way, how could there be such a person, this is a bit immoral!"

Chen Yun opened the box and looked at the full exercise books. He laughed so hard that he fell to the ground.

You know what, the variety is quite complete, from mathematics to physics, from the first year of high school to the third year of high school, from exercise books to test papers, there is everything, enough for Qingning to work for a year.

Chen Hanlin snorted coldly: "I knew you were unreliable, luckily I was prepared."

He took out a bank card and placed it in front of Qing Ning: "Girl, I don't know what to give you. This card has no password. You can use it to buy whatever you want." The old man said proudly.

After hearing what the father and son did, the grievance on Qingning's face gradually disappeared. She had prepared a lot of words of thanks, but now they were stuck in her throat and she couldn't say them.

Maybe other children celebrate their birthdays every year, but Qingning is different. This is her first birthday in 18 years.

Looking at the gentle faces of the three people, the girl shed tears and murmured, "Thank you, thank you..."

Thank you sister for rescuing me from the fire pit, thank you Chenyun for standing up for me when I was bullied, thank you for appearing in my life.

Thank you, really thank you.

These words kept repeating in the girl's mind.

Times like this should always last, after all, this is the first time I’ve made a wish in 18 years.

Yes, definitely.

The girl looked at the candles on the cake and double-checked to see if they were really blown out.

My lemon...

I like this sentence very much.