Chapter 1019
“My mommy has done a lot of bad things. If Jen finds out about it…”
At the thought of that, Felix trembled involuntarily.
After some time, he heard a sound outside the room and wondered if Jennifer and the others were back. “Jen, happy birthday!” He gave her his blessing inwardly. He had heard that Jennifer’s birthday banquet today was grand and attended by many big shots.
When she left the house carlier, she wore a pink gauze dress with a small crown on her head. Resembling a little princess, she looked extra dazzling.
“With all the lights shining on her in the banquet, I’m sure she looks even prettier, wouldn’t she?” Felix mused.
In truth, he wished he could give her the gift he prepared for her on her birthday banquet, even though it was not a valuable gift.
After an unimaginable time had passed again, the door to Felix’s room was pushed open suddenly. Next, he spotted a pink silhouette walk in, holding a slice of cake in her hand.
“Thank goodness you haven’t slept yet! If you fall asleep, this cake isn’t technically a birthday cake anymore tomorrow!” Jennifer said and brought the cake in her hands up to Felix.
“Here, this is my birthday cake. I’ve left you a big slice. It’s delicious. Have a taste of it,” Jennifer exclaimed with a bright smile.
Felix stared at the slice of cake before him blankly. Finally, after some time, he accepted it from her and began taking bites of it.
The cake was extra buttery, and though it was not too sweet, it was still delicious.
Jennifer held her chin with both hands and happily watched Felix eat the cake.
“I’ve told my mommy. Next year, she says my birthday banquet will be much simpler and won’t be inviting so many people. You have to attend my party by then!” Jennifer stated.
Felix stopped eating the cake. “Next year… Can I really attend her birthday banquet next year? Or will I not get to attend all of her birthday banquets in the future?” he wondered.
“It’ll be your birthday in January, Felix. I’ll celebrate it for you on that day!” Jennifer added.
Suddenly, Felix felt the cake in his hand become heavier than before.
“My birthday? I doubt I’ll get to celebrate my birthday in this house. A child like me doesn’t deserve to celebrate my birthday in the Youngblood residence at all,” he pondered.
“I… I don’t like to celebrate my birthday.” He awkwardly came up with a random excuse. “I… I don’t like others knowing when’s my birthday either.”
“I see.” Jennifer blinked her black eyes, puzzlement seemingly overflowing from them. “Well… how about I celebrate your birthday in secret next time? That way, no one will find out about it,” she proudly said as if they shared yet another secret between them.
Felix bit his lips tightly, and after a while, he nodded in approval.
After finishing the cake in his hand, Felix as if having mustered up his courage, uttered, “I… I have a birthday gift for you, but it’s not worth much. If you don’t like it…”
“I’ll surely love the gift you prepared.” Jennifer was beaming as she reached her hands out before him, waiting for him to pass her the gift.
However, Felix grabbed Jennifer’s hand, pulled her out of the room, and came all the way to the piano room in the Youngblood residence.
The piano room was usually where he and Jennifer practiced piano.
“I’ve learned how to play a piece of music as a birthday gift for you… I hope that you’ll like it…” he explained nervously. He was too embarrassed to say how he could only give her something like this because he had no money and couldn’t afford a present.
Luckily, there was not a hint of disappointment on Jennifer’s face. Instead, she seemed to be looking
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forward to it.
Sitting on the bench, Felix, after taking a deep breath, pressed his fingers against the piano keys.
The piano piece he picked was a highly challenging one. He had only heard its recording several times in his memory. There was no one to teach him anything. All he did was play according to the music score he found online.
To play the piece perfectly and make Jennifer happy, he had secretly been practicing for a few days.
“She… She’ll like this piano piece, wouldn’t she? She loves challenging pieces like this,” he contemplated.
It was just that even though he could play all the notes perfectly, he could never grasp and replicate the emotions while playing.
That was perhaps why his tune sounded a little different from Jennifer’s, almost as if missing something.
Even so, he still tried his best to his tune more melodious in hopes that she would like the piano pieces he played. Yet, he could not seem to achieve it.
His fingers danced smoothly across the piano keys without making any mistakes.
And while he was playing the piece, his mind was full of Jennifer.
When she appeared in his room with a cake, he was undoubtedly thrilled.
When she told him she would secretly celebrate his birthday in the future, he was ecstatic. After all, that would probably be the most special birthday he would ever experience.
Nonetheless, immense fear gripped him when he thought of everything Yvette had done. He was afraid that Jennifer would hate him when she found out what kind of a person his mother was.
The melody soon came to an end, but Felix seemed as if still immersed in it. It was until a series of crisp applause rang out that he snapped back to reality.
All that he saw was Jennifer clapping her hands with delight on her face. “Wow, Felix! This piece is so hard to play, but you played so well. And it feels different from those you used to play!”
“Different?” Felix asked, puzzled.
“It feels like there’s something more. The music you played in the past feels no different from what a machine plays. It’s nice, but it’s missing something. But now, it’s not the same anymore. Anyway, I think you played it very well!” she complimented without hesitation.
He looked at her in a daze. It was the first time he had heard her praising him like this. “So, do you like it?”
“I like it, of course. How about you teach me how to play this piece next time, then we can play it together?” she said.
“Okay.” Felix was cool with it as long as Jennifer liked it.
“Felix, thank you for the gift. I’m overjoyed to hear such a beautiful song today!” Jennifer stepped
forward, hugged Felix, and gave him a kiss on his cheek to express her gratitude.
At once, Felix’s face turned bright red. He felt as if his cheeks were ablaze and burning, but at the same time, he actually enjoyed the feeling of her kissing him.
“Jen, you… Can you don’t ever hate me?” Felix murmured.
“I won’t hate you.” Jennifer sounded confident.
“Forever?”
“Of course!”
The uneasiness within him seemingly calmed down bit by bit. “As long as she doesn’t hate me, I’ll stay here forever and never go anywhere!” he ruminated.
