The middle school syllabus wasn’t that taxing. Tong Jia's section five had just gotten promoted to the school’s number two; the school hadn’t given the students too much homework, so the class monitor ran to her office excitedly and told Tong Jia that this Friday was Song Chi's birthday. Song Chi had invited the whole class to their home, which also doubled as a farewell party for Sun Yuchen.
"Teacher, Song Chi asked me to invite you. He was too embarrassed to come himself." The enthusiastic monitor was a little boy who was diligent and responsible. His shirt was also always very neat. Tong Jia liked him very much. When he said this, she was startled for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. Song Chi still felt embarrassed?
However, in her heart, she was very happy, because this meant that she had really blended in with students. Otherwise, a teacher like her wouldn’t have been invited to this party. Tong Jia liked her job as a teacher very much now. Even if there were some unruly students, they were still kind-hearted. And when she was with the students, she always felt that her heart became younger.
“All right.” Tong Jia nodded with a smile. “I’ll go, so help me thank Song Chi?”
The little class monitor's white face turned red. He hesitated for a moment and looked up at Tong Jia. Like a gentleman, he asked: "Teacher, can I pick you up then?”
Xu Chenyi, the monitor of the class, had been taught to respect all women from an early age. He liked Teacher Tong very much. She was beautiful, gentle, approachable, and really liked them. He thought he couldn't let the teacher go to Song Chi's house alone, right? As a gentleman, it was natural to take initiative to pick up the beautiful lady for the banquet.
Tong Jia appreciated his move. She nodded solemnly and replied, "I'll be troubling you then.”
When Xu Chenyi returned to the classroom, his face was still very serious. He stood on the podium and his classmates looked at him nervously. Song Chi saw Xu Chenyi's expression and had a bad feeling in his heart. He stood up from his chair, his thin lips pursed, and asked, "Teacher Tong doesn't want to go?"
He gnashed his teeth and spoke again. "I'll invite her again.”
"Students…” Xu Chenyi's face was grief-stricken.
“Teacher Tong, she…agreed! Ha-ha-ha-ha!”
The class was silent for a while, then everyone began to scold Xu Chenyi.
"Class president, today, you will manage the garbage!!”
"Xu Chenyi, you scared me to death! Just wait until school is over!!”
After class, Song Chi brought out a small notebook and went to every classmate to ask about their favorite food. Tong Jia naturally noticed this and was very pleased. Song Chi used to be too silent, but now he was really good. And from his actions, Tong Jia could see that Song Chi was actually a very observant person. She began to look forward to Friday night.
She told the story to Teacher Zhang, who was lying in bed. When she heard this, she deliberately said with a straight face, "I've been teaching them for almost two years, but no one invited me to a birthday party. Little Tong, you are much better than me.”
Tong Jia was flustered when she heard this. But when she saw that Teacher Zhang's eyes were full of smiles, she realized then and said with a smile: "No, the monitor told me that if it was convenient for you to move now, they would come to invite you in person.”
Teacher Zhang looked at Tong Jia kindly and with satisfaction. She patted the back of Tong Jia's hand. "When I first saw you, I knew that you would be a good teacher in the future. Little Tong, you are a teacher and a friend of the students. Teachers are very important in children's lives. Therefore, no matter how bad the students' grades are, they should be encouraged and treated equally. This is the teachers’ most important ideology.”
Tong Jia solemnly nodded. She knew the meaning of Teacher Zhang's words more than anyone. It was her initial intention. She wanted to be a good teacher.
But before that, Tong Jia had to do one very important thing, and that was to choose a gift for Song Chi.
Tong Jia recalled what her younger brother had liked when he was as young as Song Chi. He liked games, models and so on. However, as a teacher, it seemed inappropriate to give these gifts. In the end, Tong Jia bought some famous foreign classics books, wrote encouraging words on the title page, and wrapped them up as gifts.
Friday arrived quickly. Song Chi and his several friends passed notes and were very excited for today. This was the first time he had personally arranged his birthday party, and no annoying people would be present. All of the attendees were his classmates, which made Song Chi very happy.
Song Yancheng was also concerned about this matter, so he listened to the housekeeper. Every day, Song Chi would give him a list and ask him to buy the ingredients listed above. He also asked the housekeeper to sort out several guest rooms because he had several good friends who could stay overnight. The housekeeper was very pleased to tell Song Yancheng that this was the first time he had seen Song Chi really act like a normal teenage boy.
Song Chi had lost his parents when he was very young. Although he had a good home, in his memory, it seemed that no other relatives cared about him except the housekeeper and nanny. As a result, Song Chi had been much more mature compared to his peers since childhood.
Song Yancheng, of course, analyzed what he wanted to say most from these words said by the housekeeper. And that was, he hoped that he could pay more attention to his only brother during his busy schedule.
On Friday afternoon, Secretary Sun Xi knocked on the door and saw that Song Yancheng had just turned off the computer and gotten up. She paused for a moment and walked up to him. She lowered her head slightly and said, "President Song, there is a dinner tonight..."
Song Yancheng waved his hand, "Push it off. I have a very important matter tonight.”
It didn’t matter whether the housekeeper said it or not because Song Yancheng would go back. After all, Song Chi was his younger brother, and this younger brother of his was going to celebrate his birthday. He had to celebrate it with him.
Song Yancheng raised his hand and looked at the time. He found that it was still early, so he didn't let the driver drive back to Song Residence but went to a nearby shopping mall. He didn't know what gift to buy for Song Chi and could only loiter around. When he walked into a store, he stopped. There was a bottle-style lamp in the window, and the transparent glass was dotted with round pearls, which looked fantastic.
He entered the shop as if being pulled by something. The shop assistant greeted him politely, looked along Song Yancheng’s line of sight, and introduced: "This is the only lamp in the store, which was also this year’s most popular fairy tale design. The lighting is also very soft.”
"Wrap it up for me." Song Yancheng gave the card to the clerk but still looked at the lamp intently. In fact, he didn't know why he bought it but always felt as if someone would like it.
This was certainly not for Song Chi. Song Yancheng smiled at the paper bag and continued to wander around to choose gifts for his younger brother.
Tong Jia got off work early on Friday. She had taken a fancy to a lamp when she had gone shopping with Ye Jiayi a few days ago. However, despite the crystal lamp’s beautiful appearance which poked at her girl's heart, the price… made her feel a little daunted. Today, she had just gotten paid and thought that she had to take the crystal lamp home.
She was such a person. If she wanted something, she had to buy it, otherwise she would always be thinking about it.
Who would have known that when she had just walked to the door of the store, she would have seen that the crystal lamp in the window had disappeared?
"The crystal lamp has just been bought by a gentleman." said the clerk with a smile.
Tong Jia let out an 'ah', her face a bit disappointed.
She was just a liiiiittle late!!