Chapter 25 The Last Gathering (05)

  After dinner, due to the sweltering heat in the house, the whole family moved to the open space in front of the house and sat together. Little Jie and "Chong Chong" were from time to time teased by everyone to sing a song or dance, and finally even riddles were guessed. Laughter filled the air, the family was harmonious and joyful, with smiles on every face.

  When the sky turned dark, Chen Xiaokang suddenly took out a large cake from the house with four candles on it. His new wife Li Yuehua stood beside him, clapping her hands lightly and singing a birthday song in a sweet voice. It turned out that today was little "Chong Chong's" fourth birthday, and Chen Xiaokang and his wife had driven to the county town that afternoon to buy a cake for their niece - but they carefully hid it in the inner room without letting the kids know.

  "Oh, there's cake to eat, eating cake......" Seeing the cake being brought out, Xiaojie and "Chongchong" both started shouting and cheering loudly.

  Chen Haonan hastily ran into the house and brought out a small table, placing it in the middle of the empty space. He put the cake on the table, and Chen Xiaokang waved his hand with a smile, calling out to everyone. The whole family slowly gathered around. Chen Xiao Xian smiled and pushed her older brother, who was sitting in a wheelchair, forward a bit.

  Under the gaze of her family, "Wugong" (the little girl) closed her eyes with a serious expression, clasped her hands together and made a wish. Then she and Xiaojie blew out the candles together. No one knew what wish she had made, nor did anyone ask; everyone just smiled sweetly at her. When Uncle Chen Xiaokang cut a small piece of cake and handed it to "Wugong" on a small plate, she carefully carried it over to Chen Xiaolian and said in a childish tone: "Grandpa, this is for you. Today is my birthday, I wish you an early recovery and happiness..." This was what her mother had taught her to say.

  Chen Xiao Lian smiled and took the cake from his little niece's hand, gently patting "Worm's" head and saying: "Wugong, you're so clever, Uncle also wishes you a happy birthday!"

  Immediately, the whole family laughed, although some people still had tears in their eyes. Chen Xiaolian also nodded slightly, his eyes laughing into a thin line...

  Looking at his brother's happy appearance, Chen Xiaoxian was filled with joy, but he couldn't help feeling sad again. However, he didn't dare to let those bad emotions linger too long, and he tried his best to control himself from thinking about them. Suddenly, Chen Xiaoxian thought of something and felt that he had to tell his nephew. So, he gently patted his nephew's shoulder and then leaned in to whisper: "Haonan, come with me for a moment..."

  Chen Haonan followed his uncle to the other end of the empty lot. When his uncle stopped, he looked at him and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, did you call me over for something?"

  "Hao Nan, although today is a happy day, it's not easy for the whole family to gather together! But, but there's something I must tell you, remind you... " Chen Xiao Xian said here, and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

  "Uncle, just say what's on your mind!"

  "It's your dad's thing..."

  "My dad?" Chen Haonan's face was full of surprise.

  "Yes, you saw it when you came back today too, your father's condition is really worrying and frightening..."

  "What do you mean?" Chen Haonan sensed something was off.

  "Hao Nan, you must prepare yourself mentally!" Chen Xiao Xian's hand gently rested on his nephew's shoulder, his face filled with worry. "Yesterday when I came back, I asked a doctor friend to help take a look at your father's condition. My friend told me... said that your father's condition is not optimistic, possibly, possibly there isn't much time left... You must prepare yourself mentally!"

  When Chen Haonan heard his uncle's words, he was shocked and looked at his father from afar. Turning around, he suddenly saw tears in his uncle's eyes, and he quickly comforted him, saying: "Uncle, you must take care of yourself too... I will make good psychological preparations..."

  "That's good, that's good!" Chen Xiao Xian patted his nephew's shoulder again. At this moment, he couldn't help but shed tears, but he quickly wiped them away with his palm. Before Chen Hao Nan could speak, he hurriedly instructed, "Hao Nan, don't be too sad either. Today is a rare opportunity for our family to gather together, we should be happy instead - you should smile more and make your father happy when he sees you, understand?"

  "Got it!" Chen Haonan forced himself to hold back the pain in his heart and nodded slightly.

  "Let's go!" Chen Xiao Xian said as he pulled his nephew's hand...

  This was a family reunion, and although everyone had their own worries and pains, they were all still very happy. Chen Xiao Xian pulled his nephew back into the crowd of family members, smiled and kissed his beloved daughter, then led the singing of "Happy Birthday". Chen Hao Nan and his siblings immediately followed suit, and soon the whole family was clapping and singing along. "Chong Chong" happily jumped up and danced with her new moves, while Xiao Jie took advantage of her distraction to smear a piece of cream on her face - the whole family burst out laughing.

  The joyful laughter floated in the night sky, although it was beautiful and warm, but ultimately dissipated. What's even more tragic is that this family reunion turned out to be the last one...

  In the dead of night, the sky was again drifting with a patter of rain.