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◎ "Happy birthday, Xu Xingluo."◎

Strictly speaking, these photos taken by Song Siyao probably cannot be called "ugly photos".

Although she can't be called ugly, it is entirely supported by her looks. The composition and angle are not very good, and there is no highlight at all.

With Xu Xingluo's outstanding performance as an example, Xu Yingxi was very disappointed.

What’s even more infuriating is that, probably because of the backlight, one of the photos actually gave her two nasolabial folds out of thin air, even though they were clearly not there to the naked eye.

Xu Yingxi put the phone back on the small table in the middle of the boat in a bad mood and let Song Siyao take it back himself.

Song Siyao was silent for two seconds.

"I can try again," he said.

Xu Yingxi decisively refused: "No need."

Photography skills are not something that can be improved rapidly in a short period of time.

If Song Siyao continues filming, he will probably just end up with a few more useless films.

Xu Xingluo realized that his good intentions had led to bad results, and he felt regretful.

If I had known this, I wouldn’t have suggested that Dad take a photo of Mom!

But who would have thought that his father's photography skills were so poor?

Xu Xingluo felt that the image of his father in his mind as a man of great powers, wisdom and bravery had a slight flaw.

Thinking of this, Xu Xingluo suddenly felt a little subtle happiness in his heart.

It turns out that his father is not as good as him in some aspects!

"Hello," came Xu Yingxi's voice. "Xu Xingluo, are you laughing?"

Xu Xingluo woke up from his own little world and hurriedly denied: "No, I didn't laugh!"

Xu Yingxi: “…”

She pointed at the corner of the boy's mouth and said, "Yours, just now, it rose at least two millimeters."

Xu Xingluo was shocked: "No...no?"

"Absolutely." Xu Yingxi said, "My vision is 5.2."

Xu Xingluo was speechless.

Xu Yingxi leaned closer: "So why are you laughing?"

Xu Xingluo's heart skipped a beat as his mother stared at him so closely. He subconsciously told the truth, "I... I just didn't expect my dad's photography skills to be so bad."

Xu Yingxi blinked.

The next moment, she laughed.

Xu Yingxi leaned back and looked up at Song Siyao: "Senior Brother Song, did you hear that? The photos you took are so ugly that even your own son laughs at you."

Xu Xingluo wanted to defend himself. He felt that what he did could not be called ridicule.

However, after seeing his father's expression, he shut up again.

His father...didn't seem unhappy at all. On the contrary, he looked a little gentler than usual.

Song Siyao looked somewhat helpless: "My photography skills are not very good."

Xu Yingxi: "It's not bad, it's very bad. Even a super beautiful woman like me can be made ugly by you."

Song Siyao: “Yeah.”

Xu Yingxi: "Remember to delete those photos, otherwise it will damage my image as the school beauty."

Song Siyao: “…”

Xu Yingxi was shocked to find that the man didn't respond immediately: "Song Siyao, what's that expression on your face? You don't want to delete it, do you?"

She was just about to forgive his photography skills, but he actually did this to her?

Xu Xingluo didn't dare to interrupt and silently lit a candle for his father in his heart.

What the mother hates most nowadays is someone destroying her reputation as the school beauty, and his father has walked into the trap.

Otherwise, his mother wouldn't even call him "Senior Brother Song" and would just call his father by his full name.

Song Siyao finally spoke: "No, I will delete it now."

Xu Yingxi snorted: "That's more like it."

Since he seemed to be a decent person, she didn't supervise him to delete it.

The two-hour boating time is almost up.

Several people worked together to row the boat back to the dock.

After taking off her life jacket, Xu Yingxi stretched her limbs.

There's still some time before dinner.

Xu Yingxi pointed in the direction of the amusement area and said, "Shall we go over there and take a look?"

Neither father nor son had any objection.

The three of them took a walk and came to an area not far away where they played mini-games.

There is a row of stalls with all kinds of games.

The most popular areas are the toddler swimming pool and the children's fishing pond, especially the one for fishing small plastic fish, which is surrounded by a circle of children.

Xu Yingxi curiously took a closer look and discovered that the child was holding a magnetic fishing toy. If a certain number of plastic fish were caught, they could exchange them for real goldfish.

Xu Xingluo watched from the side and pursed his lips.

His mother seemed quite interested in the little goldfish and stopped there to watch for a long time.

Xu Xingluo looked at the people fishing around the pond. Most of them looked like they were still in kindergarten, and the oldest was probably only six or seven years old.

He was a sixteen-year-old "big kid" and seemed a little out of place.

Xu Xingluo suddenly felt conflicted.

Go fishing, it's a bit embarrassing, but his mother seems to like the little fish very much.

Just when he was in a dilemma, someone patted him on the back: "What's wrong? You want to play this?"

Xu Xingluo reflexively denied: "No——"

After realizing what was happening, he changed his tone: "But it's not like we can't play..."

Xu Yingxi: "You want to raise goldfish?"

Xu Xingluo was stunned: "Ah? No..."

Xu Yingxi: "Then why are you playing this?"

Xu Xingluo: “…”

Xu Yingxi suddenly understood: "Do you think I want to raise it?"

Xu Xingluo didn't answer immediately, but his unnatural look betrayed his true thoughts.

Xu Yingxi laughed out loud: "No, I'm not interested in raising fish."

After a pause, she remembered something.

"But your aunt raised a few when she was in fifth or sixth grade. She carefully cared for them for two weeks according to the instructions, but they all died. That incident was a huge blow to your aunt, because from childhood to adulthood, anything she put her heart into, she had rarely failed. That was a rare Waterloo."

"For a long time afterwards, your aunt would get angry whenever anyone in the family mentioned those goldfish. From then on, no one in our family kept fish anymore."

Xu Xingluo listened with great interest. Neither his mother nor his aunt had ever told him this story before.

Xu Yingxi turned around and glanced at Song Siyao who was standing behind them.

The man's expression was gentle, but he just stood there without saying a word, as if they were isolating him.

Xu Yingxi was so kind that she took the initiative to ask, "Senior Brother Song, have you ever had a pet before?"

Song Siyao was slightly startled, then replied, "No."

Xu Yingxi had just asked casually, but only then did she remember that from the gossip she had heard from Senior Sister Wei, Song Siyao seemed to have been changing schools and cities since he was a child.

In this case, the possibility of having a pet is very small indeed.

Just as I was thinking about it, a cold and low voice came to my ears: "Junior sister, how about you?"

Xu Yingxi came back to her senses: "Besides the fish my sister raised, we also had a cat in the past. We started raising it when I was about eight years old."

Song Siyao: "What's your name?"

Xu Yingxi glanced at Xu Xingluo and remembered that when they first met, the boy tried to use the cat's name to prove that he was really her son.

Xu Xingluo thought this meant he was asked to answer, so he actively responded, "Socrates!"

Xu Yingxi laughed: "Yes."

"Socrates is a stray cat. My mom picked it up from out there," she said with a smile. "My mom had always been against keeping these cats because she hated their hair loss. But she saw the kitten curled up next to the trash can and felt really sorry for it, so she picked it up."

"After I brought the cat home, my mother asked my sister and me to name it."

Seeing her pause, Song Siyao asked gently, "And then?"

Although Xu Xingluo didn't ask, he was listening to the story attentively.

Xu Yingxi: "I wanted to name the cat Yuanbao because its fur is yellow, like a gold ingot. My sister disagreed and insisted on naming it Socrates. We argued about this for several days, neither of us willing to give in. Finally, my dad intervened and said we should play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever won would get the final say."

Xu Xingluo was fascinated by what she was saying. When she suddenly stopped, he couldn't help but ask, "And then, who won?"

Xu Yingxi laughed: "What do you think?"

Xu Xingluo reacted and scratched his head embarrassedly: "Yeah."

His mother had never told him these things. It turned out that such interesting things happened to his mother and aunt when they were young.

He only knew that Socrates died when his mother was in high school, and that his mother had never kept a pet since then.

After thinking for a while, Xu Xingluo asked, "Would you like to have a pet again in the future?"

Xu Yingxi thought for a moment: "Maybe?"

She quite likes cats and dogs, but she has to go to graduate school after graduating from college, so she definitely won't be able to raise one in the short term, so she hasn't thought about this issue carefully.

Hearing this, Xu Xingluo said solemnly, "Then if we get another pet in the future, whether it's a kitten or a puppy, we'll call it Yuanbao!"

Xu Yingxi raised her eyebrows: "Don't you want to name it yourself?"

Xu Xingluo: "I think Yuanbao sounds great!"

As if to confirm his statement, the boy asked his father again: "Right?"

Song Siyao's eyes moved slightly: "Yeah."

Xu Yingxi: “…”

Forget about Xu Xingluo, why did he also say "hmm"?

It's as if they are really a family.

Xu Yingxi turned to look at Song Siyao, wanting him to stop joining the kids in making trouble.

Then she froze.

I don’t know if it’s because the sun is setting, but the man’s usually cold expression now looks extra gentle.

Song Siyao: "What's wrong?"

Xu Yingxi: "...Nothing."

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but somehow they stayed put.

Xu Yingxi brushed her hair, tucked the loose strands behind her ears, and took the first step: "We haven't even started yet, let's talk about it after we actually raise the baby. Let's go and look somewhere else."

A few steps further, there is a balloon-inflating stall.

Seeing the three people passing by, the boss enthusiastically solicited customers: "Would you like to try it? It's almost time to close the stall, so I'll give you a discount, 20 shots for 15 yuan!"

In the past, when Xu Xingluo went to places like amusement parks, he liked to play this.

When he heard about the discount, he couldn't even walk.

Xu Yingxi saw it and said, "If you want to go, go."

Xu Xingluo no longer hesitated: "Okay!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Siyao had already stepped forward to negotiate with the boss: "Can I pay with my mobile phone?"

The boss said cheerfully: "Of course, Alipay and WeChat are both fine!"

Xu Yingxi watched Song Siyao take out his cell phone and thought that it was a pretty good experience to hang out with this person.

There is always someone to help pay.

Xu Xingluo couldn't wait any longer and started practicing with his toy gun.

Maybe it was because it was a rare opportunity for him to come out and play, but Xu Yingxi felt that Xu Xingluo seemed to be more free-spirited than usual today, or more like a teenage boy.

The boss explained the rules to Xu Xingluo. There were a total of twenty shots. If you hit all of them, you could choose any prize from the audience. For other prizes, you could choose from first, second, third and commemorative prizes based on the number of shots hit.

The rules for hitting balloons are all similar. Xu Xingluo listened to them hastily and started to aim in a proper manner.

It looked like the boy had played it before and had good skills, as he hit the target with his first shot.

Xu Yingxi said "Wow" out of courtesy, and then saw Xu Xingluo's posture became even more exaggerated.

She couldn't help laughing, thinking that this boy was really easy to coax.

Xu Xingluo aimed every shot meticulously, as if he was determined to win the highest-level prize.

Each shot takes a bit long.

Xu Yingxi looked at it for a while and gently touched the arm of the person next to her.

Song Siyao's eyebrows moved slightly, and it took him a second to understand what she meant.

He leaned down slightly.

Xu Yingxi whispered, "Can you play this?"

Song Siyao: "Yeah, I've played it a few times with my friends before."

Xu Yingxi almost blurted out: Will you still play with your friends?

Fortunately I held back.

After all, he is the child's father, so he shouldn't speak too harshly.

Xu Yingxi looked at Xu Xingluo who was shooting a gun, and decided to speak the rest of the words in a low voice.

Due to the height difference between them, even though Song Siyao had lowered his head to accommodate her, it was still difficult for her to whisper to him.

Xu Yingxi stood on tiptoe: "Why don't you try it later, then you can compete with Xu Xingluo."

The warm breath sprayed on his ear, and Song Siyao's breathing paused slightly.

Xu Yingxi waited for two seconds and urged him: "Speak."

Song Siyao: “…Okay.”

Xu Yingxi: "But today is his birthday...you know."

Song Siyao: “Yeah.”

Seeing that he agreed, Xu Yingxi took half a step back and kept some distance from him.

She is such a good mother with good intentions!

Xu Yingxi thought with satisfaction.

Xu Xingluo fired twenty bullets and hit the target nineteen times in total. He was only one step away from the special prize and won the first prize.

Xu Yingxi patted the boy's shoulder and said, "Senior Song said he can play this, too. Why don't you let him try it and see who's better, him or you?"

Xu Xingluo's annoyance was written all over his face.

He wanted to get the best special prize and give it to his mother.

The grand prize was the largest stuffed toy rabbit in the entire venue, while the first prize suddenly became much smaller and less impressive.

Hearing Xu Yingxi say this, Xu Xingluo was surprised at first, but then his expression turned cloudy and brightened: "Okay!"

He'd never even seen his dad play it, let alone compete!

Song Siyao paid another fifteen dollars and picked up the gun.

Xu Yingxi and Xu Xingluo watched from the side.

I have to say, the man looks pretty handsome when shooting.

Xu Yingxi is not an expert in this area, nor does she know what posture is the most professional. She just feels that Song Siyao's movements seem to be more stylish than Xu Xingluo's.

To be specific, she couldn't say where.

Is this the difference between being in your twenties and your teens?

Like Xu Xingluo, Song Siyao's first few bullets also hit the target.

Xu Yingxi was not surprised. Considering Song Siyao's personality, since he said he could play this, his skills must be pretty good.

But the more Xu Yingxi looked back, the more she felt something was wrong.

Does this person still remember that he promised her to let her go?

Seeing that all the bullets in front had hit, with only the last few left, Xu Yingxi began to wonder if this man had been so engrossed in the fun that he had forgotten everything she had said.

Xu Yingxi wanted to remind Song Siyao and even considered the possibility of pretending to accidentally scare him.

But she also felt that it was too obvious. If Xu Xingluo could see that she did it on purpose, it might hurt the boy's self-esteem.

Xu Yingxi glanced at Xu Xingluo.

The boy's lips were pressed into a straight line, and he looked even more nervous than his father.

There is only one shot left out of the twenty.

With Xu Xingluo's unconscious cry, the game ended——

The last bullet missed, and the final result was 19 out of 20 hits.

The same results as Xu Xingluo.

Song Siyao put down his gun and said calmly, "What a pity."

Xu Yingxi: “…”

My friend, your acting skills are really bad.

And we agreed to let the game go, so why did it end up in a draw?

Xu Xingluo seemed very happy: "Senior Song and I both got hit by nineteen bullets!"

He and his dad actually tied, which shows that his and his dad's levels are comparable, and they have a good understanding of each other!

Moreover, his father missed the target on the last shot, which was even more regrettable than his own round. This made Xu Xingluo's previous frustration due to the mistake disappear.

"Sister," Xu Xingluo asked, "Do you want to play a game?"

Xu Yingxi: "No need."

She had played this with her roommates before and didn't find it particularly interesting.

And to be honest, she didn't really like any of the prizes hanging on the hooks. She only suggested that Xu Xingluo play with them because she saw that he liked them.

Xu Xingluo: "That means you can choose two first prizes in total. Which one do you want? Or if you want the special prize, I can try again!"

Xu Yingxi glanced at the prizes and said, "I don't need the special prize. I don't really like that rabbit."

The quality looks average, and it's so big that it's troublesome to carry it back.

Xu Yingxi picked two first prizes and asked the boss to help take them off the hooks.

She was carrying a small bag today, which could not hold two prizes, so she asked Song Siyao, who was carrying a backpack, to keep it for her temporarily.

"It's getting dark," Xu Yingxi said. "Want to find a place to have dinner?"

Xu Xingluo: "Okay!"

Xu Yingxi glanced at the excited boy.

Why does it seem like he's so happy all of a sudden?

Looking at the person next to him, he seemed to be in a good mood as well.

Forget it, she doesn’t understand men’s minds.

…

Xu Yingxi chose a nearby stir-fry restaurant and the three of them walked there together.

On the surface, it was a temporary choice, but in fact, Xu Yingxi had decided on it beforehand.

She contacted the cake shop and restaurant in advance and asked the deliveryman to deliver the birthday cake to the restaurant.

Since we are creating a surprise, we might as well do the whole thing. We have gifts and cake.

Considering that they would have other dishes, Xu Yingxi only ordered a smaller cake.

Arriving at the restaurant, the three of them sat down at a booth.

Song Siyao said that he can eat anything and has no particular taste preference.

Xu Yingxi secretly complained in her heart that this man was really boring and asked Xu Xingluo to order.

The boy mentioned several dishes, all of which she liked.

The last time they had a barbecue, Xu Yingxi discovered that the dishes Xu Xingluo ordered were all her favorites.

This time she asked directly: "Did you specially choose the dishes I like?"

Xu Xingluo was slightly stunned and nodded.

He remembers everything his mother likes to eat.

Xu Yingxi: "Order a few that you like."

After all, today is his birthday.

Xu Xingluo: “Oh…”

The boy's expression looked a little confused.

Xu Yingxi: "What?"

Xu Xingluo: "It's a bit difficult to choose. I don't think there's anything on the menu that I don't like..."

Xu Yingxi: “…”

"Forget it." She decided, "Let's just stick with what we just said."

The time waiting for the food to be served was a bit boring, so Xu Yingxi flipped through the photo album and chose a photo that best restored her beauty among the photos taken by Xu Xingluo for her.

I simply edited the picture, added filters, cropped it, and posted it on WeChat Moments.

During this rare short holiday, many people on WeChat Moments are posting their travel photos.

If her original travel plan hadn't been ruined, she would probably be one of them now.

Xu Yingxi scrolled down and clicked a lot of likes. She felt like she had painlessly traveled around the country.

After browsing their phones for a while, the dishes they ordered were served one after another.

Xu Xingluo was probably hungry after playing for most of the day, so he started eating the food in big mouthfuls as soon as it came.

In comparison, Song Siyao's movements were much more elegant, and he was always unhurried no matter which dish he picked up.

Xu Yingxi sighed inwardly, wondering who Xu Xingluo took his eating habits from.

She told herself: It's a good thing for a boy of this age to enjoy eating, so he can grow taller.

Although 1.8 meters is tall enough, it would be better if he could be as tall as his father.

Seeing that the dishes on the table were almost finished, Xu Yingxi felt it was time to move on to the next step.

While Xu Xingluo was drinking soup with his head down, she gave Song Siyao a wink.

Song Siyao put down his chopsticks.

Xu Yingxi: "Xu Xingluo."

The boy raised his head and wiped his mouth with a tissue: "Hmm?"

Xu Yingxi: "I want to take a look at those two stuffed toys. Can you help me get them?"

Xu Xingluo was stunned for a moment, then agreed: "Okay!"

Although he was a little surprised why his mother suddenly wanted to see that, it was not a big deal, so he did it immediately.

The prize was placed in Song Siyao's bag. Xu Xingluo walked over, opened his father's backpack, and took out the two small dolls one by one.

Xu Yingxi: "Please help me check if there is anything else in the bag."

Xu Xingluo looked at the two dolls in his hands in confusion: Aren’t these just two prizes?

But since his mother had spoken, he put the doll down temporarily and looked at his father.

Song Siyao's expression was calm, and he showed no reaction to his behavior.

Xu Xingluo thought that his father would listen to his mother, so he continued to take it without worry.

His hand found a box and he took it out.

After seeing clearly what it was, Xu Xingluo stopped.

It's a smart phone, brand new, and the plastic packaging is still intact.

I had a vague premonition in my heart, but I didn't dare to believe it was true.

Until Xu Yingxi's smiling voice came: "There is one more."

Xu Xingluo's mind was confused, but he followed his mother's instructions and took out another thing from his bag.

It was also a brand new plastic-sealed package, this time containing a pair of headphones.

Xu Yingxi: "We just picked it out yesterday. Take a look and see if you like it. If there's anything that doesn't suit your taste, it's not too late to tell us now. You can go to the mall and exchange it for a new one tomorrow."

Xu Xingluo: “…”

The boy stared blankly at the thing in his hand for a long time without moving or uttering a single word.

Xu Yingxi and Song Siyao looked at each other.

What's going on? Could it be that this child hasn't figured it out and hasn't understood what she means?

After thinking about it, Xu Yingxi coughed lightly and decided to speak more bluntly.

"Happy birthday, Xu Xingluo."