After grading the tests, the next step was to release the results, followed by the parent-teacher meeting.
Ti Nanyi did pretty well on this exam. Ti Zhe was in such a good mood that he said he wanted to take the whole family to the beach, and he even asked Ti Xiao to invite Xiao Yao, as well as Sheng Xiao and Du Liyue.
The two elders declined, using the excuse of supervising students’ graduation projects. So basically, for all thirty days of July, Ti Xiao’s family and Xiao Yao spent almost every day at the beach.
They even celebrated the couple’s half-year anniversary at the seaside.
When they returned to Xuancheng, Ti Xiao’s formerly milky-white skin had already tanned into a healthy wheat color. His once soft belly now showed faint outlines of abs.
He was pretty proud of that, feeling confident that soon he’d be able to “step on” Xiao Yao and make a comeback.
But no matter how he thought about it, the height difference was still there. Xiao Yao could always keep him in check with one hand.
Maybe it was all the running on the beach that made Ti Xiao’s knees ache when he slept. Xiao Yao would reach out from under the covers to massage his knees, comforting him with a casual, “Maybe you’re growing taller.”
Because of that little comment, Ti Xiao started measuring his height almost every day after they got home.
On the wall hung a dinosaur-shaped height chart made from cut-out stickers he’d bought at a bookstore, with marks showing both of their heights.
Xiao Yao’s height was already above the dinosaur, manually marked at 188 cm. Ti Xiao had two marks: one at 173 cm, and a newer one at 178 cm.
The 178 cm mark was the one he’d just added.
He stood in front of the dinosaur chart, holding a marker, proudly marking his newly measured height.
“I grew!” Ti Xiao bounced up and down happily. “A full five centimeters! Rounded up, I’m six feet tall now!”
“Really?” Xiao Yao was just finishing brushing his teeth and washing his face, stepping out of the bathroom. “Let me see.”
He reached out and measured Ti Xiao’s head, then placed his hand on the dinosaur chart — still at 173 cm.
“How come you’re still 173?” Xiao Yao teased, and was immediately hit for his trouble.
Ti Xiao furiously tapped the marker on the 178 cm mark. “One-seventy-eight!”
Ti Xiao must have overestimated his height when measuring by himself since he couldn’t see properly, unintentionally raising his hand a bit higher, which made him think he’d grown.
But even as he said this, he looked a bit unsure and measured again by placing his hand on his head.
Well, that brought him back down to 175 cm.
Xiao Yao smiled and said, “Take off your shoes.”
Ti Xiao didn’t get what he was up to but obediently kicked off his slippers.
Then Xiao Yao slipped his hand under Ti Xiao’s armpits and lifted him up, setting him barefoot firmly on his own feet.
His soles felt cool.
Placing his hand on Ti Xiao’s head again, Xiao Yao said, “See? 178 cm now.”
He gave him another little lift. “Look, 180 cm.”
Then he just picked him up entirely. “Look, two meters now.”
“You’re annoying, put me down,” Ti Xiao said with mock annoyance, pushing Xiao Yao’s unshaven face away, giving orders. “I’m hungry. Go make dinner.”
After setting Ti Xiao down, Xiao Yao kissed the top of his head, then casually tore a page off the calendar beside the dinosaur chart to reveal today’s date, before happily heading off to cook.
Ti Xiao sneaked a glance at the calendar—August 14 was just around the corner.
When he went out last month, Ti Xiao kept thinking about how to make the birthday something fresh and unique, not the usual cake or whatever. And to keep up appearances, he even made a special trip out, saying he was going to send in some artwork.
That notebook had been added to quite a bit, making it thick and heavy—almost like a dictionary.
Ti Xiao weighed the notebook in his hands and slowly flipped through it.
His plan was to start drawing from the day they first met, all the way up to Xiao Yao’s birthday. The earlier pages were like little diary-style scenes, and the later ones were like a flipbook—when flipped, they turned into a continuous animation in the eyes.
The flipbook idea had come to Ti Xiao suddenly while he was out, and it took him quite a while to draw.
A hamster ball stood carefully on a Siamese cat’s paw pad, cautiously reaching out its front paws to gently hug and kiss the cat’s nose. Snow fell around them, and a tiny heart appeared where their mouths and noses touched.
Ti Xiao flipped through it again, the lively animation coming vividly to life before his eyes, making him smile involuntarily.
He even felt a little reluctant to give the notebook to Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao was in the kitchen urging him to get ready for dinner. Ti Xiao thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote a few lines on the first few pages. After capping the pen, he clenched his fist.
After preparing for so long, it had to be perfect.
——————
On the night of the 13th, Ti Xiao completely shed his usual shyness and was obedient to a fault. Whatever position Xiao Yao said, he followed without hesitation.
“Xiao Xiao, why are you so obedient today, hmm?” Xiao Yao panted, holding the person beneath him and continuing their previous movements.
“I…” Ti Xiao buried his head in Xiao Yao’s neck, his restless hands roaming over his back, mumbling, “I’ve always been obedient to you… ah…”
Both of them sweat-drenched, they had a great time, going through the entire “100 Positions for Male-Male Couples.” The book’s pages were creased, showing frequent use. Out of the 100 positions, they must have tried at least seventy or eighty.
After the passionate scenes faded, tiredness gradually set in.
The air conditioner was set to a moderate temperature, the blades swinging up and down, sending cool air with a soft whooshing sound.
Completely satisfied, Xiao Yao’s head hit the pillow and he quickly fell asleep, even snoring lightly.
Xiao Yao was out like a light, dreaming peacefully, but Ti Xiao still had a mission.
He gently moved Xiao Yao’s hand off his waist, grabbed a large T-shirt of Xiao Yao’s, put it on, rubbed his waist, and quietly got out of bed to head to the living room.
The temperature in the living room was noticeably different from the bedroom. In Xuancheng’s August, with the air conditioner off, even staying there a short while caused a light sweat.
Ti Xiao pulled out a pile of odds and ends from the study, cradled them in his arms, and started preparing the surprise for the next day in the dark.
He couldn’t turn on the lights; the room was dim. Ti Xiao tore double-sided tape and started sticking things on the walls and floor.
Sweat dripped from his temples onto the floor. He wiped his brow and glared at the bedroom’s closed door, feeling a bit rebellious—but then reminded himself it was for Xiao Yao’s surprise, so it was worth it.
He needed something like an arrow marker on the floor, but as soon as he put it down, Xiao Hulu (the pet) ran off with it.
“Don’t run! Give it back!” Ti Xiao whispered, not daring to make too much noise, afraid of waking Xiao Yao.
Xiao Hulu dashed from the living room to the study, then slipped under the desk. After grabbing his things back, Ti Xiao had no choice but to lock Xiao Hulu in his cage.
To keep Xiao Hulu from barking crazily at night, Ti Xiao put Xiao Huhu’s cage right next to him. Hearing Xiao Huhu gnawing on the cage, Xiao Hulu calmed down a lot.
At some point, outside the window, dark clouds covered the moon, and raindrops pattered sideways against the glass, making a soft ticking sound.
Ti Xiao stood on the balcony with his hands on his hips, nodding in satisfaction at his handiwork. After yawning, he quietly snuck back into the bedroom and slipped into Xiao Yao’s arms, eager to see his reaction tomorrow.
The next morning, Xiao Yao woke up and habitually glanced at Ti Xiao.
Ti Xiao had been busy late into the night and was now sound asleep, half his face buried under a thin blanket, eyelashes casting a gentle shadow.
Xiao Yao reached out, gently brushed Ti Xiao’s eyelashes with his finger, and was immediately met with a sleepy grunt of displeasure.
He smiled, tidied up the blanket over Ti Xiao, lowered the air conditioner a bit more, and left the bedroom to prepare breakfast.
After freshening up, he walked to the calendar, ready to tear off yesterday’s page. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the dinosaur height chart next to the calendar, with three exclamation points drawn next to the 178 cm mark.
As the page tore off with a “shhh” sound, Xiao Yao’s gaze immediately returned.
The page for August 14th was covered with drawings, all sorts of decorations, hamster balls and cat heads—bright and flashy.
The most eye-catching were four big characters: “Happy Birthday.”
His finger brushed over the slightly rough paper. The marker strokes, once dried, were deeply embedded, leaving a colorful patchwork of marks on the surface.
His eyes moved down to three words: “Look down.”
Xiao Yao curled the corner of his mouth, wondering what on earth Ti Xiao was up to.
By the wall, there was a box with only a sticky note inside, which read: “Follow the arrows to find your big daughter.”
Their second son was Xiao Huhu, and their big daughter was Xiao Hulu.
Xiao Yao followed the arrow signs taped on the wooden floor toward the study.
Poor little Xiao Hulu was still locked in the cage, meowing pitifully, clawing at the bars as soon as she saw Xiao Yao approach.
Xiao Huhu poked his head out from the wood shavings, still groggy from just waking up—looking somewhat like Ti Xiao waking up. Xiao Yao couldn’t help but lightly tap the twitching tip of his nose, which earned a chorus of squeaks.
Xiao Yao opened the cage door for Xiao Hulu and followed her out onto the balcony.
And then he saw it.
Countless pairs of red underwear hung from the balcony’s drying rack.
Bright red, glowing in the morning light.
Next to it was a dangling sign:
“Your birthday gift — a whole balcony full of your zodiac year’s lucky red underwear, enough to last you a year. Surprised? Shocked? Happy?”
Not surprised. Shocked. Not happy.
Xiao Yao was utterly dumbfounded.
He was supposed to get that thick, heavy notebook his Ti Xiao had hand-drawn every page of as a gift.
Could it really be that the notebook was just a commissioned piece?
That was a no-go.
Xiao Hulu buried her head in the food bowl, munching on cat food. Xiao Yao casually tore off a pair of red underwear from the clip and clenched it in his hand, already thinking about how to deal with this guy later.
His movement stirred the air, flipping the hanging sign over.
“Ahhhh, I’m so exhausted. I worked until late and still didn’t finish all the surprise steps. It’s too complicated! I’m so tired I could die. When you wake up just call me, and I’ll give you your gift… Happy birthday, love you so much.”
Between the lines was a hint of grievance—but it was so Ti Xiao’s style.
Xiao Yao laughed and cried at the same time, realizing that after all the trouble, it all came full circle back to the start.
“Xiao Xiao, time to get up,” Xiao Yao said softly.
Maybe because he was nervous, Ti Xiao broke his usual routine of needing to be called seventy or eighty times before waking. He rubbed his eyes and sat up on his own.
Still wearing the T-shirt Xiao Yao had on last night, his sleepy face looked just like little Xiao Huhu freshly waking up.
Xiao Yao reached out again and flicked his nose. “Awake now.”
“Mm-hmm,” Ti Xiao let Xiao Yao wipe his face with a damp towel. After a moment of confusion—who am I, where am I, what am I doing—he suddenly brightened. “Ah, the gift! Wait.”
The notebook was still hidden under the pillow. Compared to the first time Xiao Yao saw it back in the provincial city, it seemed even thicker now, and the cover was even flashier.
Inside was a pencil, which rolled off onto the floor with a clatter.
“For me?” Xiao Yao asked, knowing the answer but still playing dumb, then bent down and planted a kiss on him.
“Yeah.” Ti Xiao nodded, hugging the notebook tighter, refusing to let go. “I won’t give it to you now—wait until tonight.”
Xiao Yao’s birthday, just like Ti Xiao’s, was filled with all the usual cake, candles, and wishes—just the kind of sweet formality that made everything feel perfect.
The only flaw was the heavy rain pouring down again today. The neighborhood lost power, so they had to light a single scented candle at home for some light.
Aunt Zhang from upstairs came by to invite them downstairs for some fresh air, chatting, and melon-eating, but this time they politely declined. Seeing the candle flickering inside, Aunt Zhang raised an eyebrow, “The young couple’s got some real romance going on.”
The two of them, plus a cat and a hamster, gathered around the usual low table where they usually ate, sharing a cake they’d already eaten half of.
When it came time to hand over the notebook that had taken months of Ti Xiao’s effort, he found himself a little reluctant.
“Go easy on it, okay?” Ti Xiao pushed the notebook toward Xiao Yao, his eyes shining brightly. “I drew this for several months.”
The beginning showed the familiar hamster butt they’d first seen in the provincial city—the hamster on the cake, and the cat wearing a crown.
Then, a few lines of small text—
“A Love Letter to the Long-legged Siamese
Early winter day, the hamster comes out to forage.
Though no snow fell, the scent of snow lingered, crisp and stronger than any snowfall before.
From afar, the hamster glimpsed the Siamese, shaking his little tuft.
The Siamese glanced at the hamster too, wagging his smiling tail.
Later, only later, they realized—that was the scent of love.
Hamster Xiao, stay.”**
Written with gold-tinted paint that shimmered softly under the candlelight, reflecting tiny scattered spots of light.
Ti Xiao felt a little shy reading these words, grabbing Xiao Yao’s hand and urging him to flip the page faster. “Don’t look at this part. Look below.”
Understanding his beloved’s shyness, Xiao Yao smiled and turned to the next part of the story.
Chronologically, it was the beginning—their first meeting.
The hamster waited outside his own door, a little tuft standing up on his head, paws tapping the ground as he waited for his meal. Far away stood a Siamese cat, surrounded by a group of tiny ants acting as a moving company, carrying various pieces of furniture on their backs.
On the following pages were paw prints and water stains—clearly left by Xiao Yao that day.
“I didn’t want to draw those parts, so I just let them dry and used them as is,” Ti Xiao explained.
Xiao Yao flipped through the gift with one hand, holding Ti Xiao’s hand with the other and bringing it up to his lips for a kiss. “It’s okay. It’s adorable.”
Page after page told the stories they’d shared, each leaving footprints on each other’s lives—footprints neither too long nor too short.
In the drawings, Ti Xiao was a milk-tea colored hamster, Xiao Yao a Siamese cat. Xiao Yu was a slightly smaller British Shorthair, Ti Nanyi a fluffy-tailed squirrel, and of course, Xiao Huru and Xiao Huhu played themselves.
“How is it?” Ti Xiao asked proudly, eager to hear praise. “Am I good? Do you like this gift?”
“Awesome.” Xiao Yao pulled him into a hug, resting his chin on Ti Xiao’s head. “I love it. I love you especially.”
“And the gift?” Ti Xiao asked, turning back stubbornly.
“I like it too,” Xiao Yao smiled and pecked his lips gently. “But I love you more.”
In the warm yellow light, the deepest tenderness was meant only for each other.
Ti Xiao, like a kid who’d just eaten candy, smiled with satisfaction and turned his head away.
“Hey, do you know what they say on the internet?” Ti Xiao suddenly said, throwing out a confusing comment.
“What?” Xiao Yao asked, flipping the page.
Ti Xiao thought for a moment, then turned to face him, both hands resting on Xiao Yao’s shoulders. “At first, you connected to my WiFi. After that, you’ve always been mine, you know?”
Xiao Yao smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I know.”
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