It's August again, and Shi Xin's birthday is coming soon. The two had planned to spend it together seriously, and Mingqiao had even bought a gift. However, the Education Bureau suddenly issued a notice that all teachers who had worked for less than three years would go to schools in poor mountainous areas for a month of social practice. Mingqiao happened to be stuck at the three-year mark, so he was unlucky enough to be included.
The two of them spent a lot of time and effort preparing for this birthday, Mingqiao really didn't want to miss it, but he had to complete the task assigned by his superiors. Mingqiao was worried at home, and he didn't know how to talk to Shi Xin.
Just then, Shi Xin called and said, "Mingqiao, it's going to rain outside. I probably won't go back for lunch. I'll just order takeout from the kitchen."
Mingqiao looked at the howling wind and the tiny raindrops outside the window, then glanced at the food that was almost prepared. Finally, he found a take-away box, packed the food, and drove to the TV station.
The rain started to get heavy halfway through the journey. Mingqiao's eyes hurt from the frequent flashing of the windshield wipers in front of his eyes. He was in a depressed mood and drove a little faster. When he parked downstairs of the TV station, it was only half an hour since Shi Xin's call.
Mingqiao called him back: "Come downstairs, I'm at the west gate of the TV station."
"You came here specially to bring me food?" Shi Xin's voice was full of excitement. Ming Qiao had already heard the sound of him pushing the chair away: "I'll be right there. Wait for me two minutes."
It was less than two minutes from the time Shi Xin hung up the phone to the time he got into Mingqiao's car. Shi Xin didn't even have an umbrella, and the short distance he ran out of the building was enough to get him wet.
"I was holding my phone and trying to order takeout when you called." Shi Xin panted, smiling brightly. He took the lunch box from Mingqiao and started to eat.
Mingqiao took out a dry towel and slowly wiped his hair and clothes.
After Mingqiao hesitated several times, Shi Xin put down the empty lunch box and hugged him sideways: "What's wrong?"
"I want to tell you something."
"Okay, go ahead. I'm listening."
"I'm afraid I won't be able to celebrate your birthday with you." Mingqiao leaned his head on Shi Xin's shoulder, his eyelids drooping. "I have a teaching activity and will be away for a month."
"I thought it was nothing." Shi Xin breathed a sigh of relief. He always thought of Mingqiao being framed, and was afraid it would happen again. Now, as long as Mingqiao didn't get into any bad things, Shi Xin thought everything would be fine, so he didn't care about anything else.
"Can't you refuse?" Shi Xin asked, "Do you want to go?"
"I can't postpone it. Postponing it will affect the evaluation of my future job title." Ming Qiao sighed, "Actually, I wanted to go. I have no objection. It's just that I missed your birthday. I think it's a pity."
Shi Xin nodded thoughtfully: "You can go if you want. I can make it up to you on your birthday when you come back. It's okay."
Mingqiao felt extremely guilty, but there was nothing he could do. He touched Shi Xin's head and said, "Then I'll come back and make it up to you."
In the second week of Mingqiao's teaching, the birthday present he gave to Shi Xinding arrived: an astronomical telescope.
Once before, he happened to see Shi Xin reading an astronomy book with great concentration, so he chatted with him. Shi Xin said that he liked to look at the stars since he was a child, so Mingqiao found a professional organization and ordered one.
The two were on a video call. Shi Xin was sitting on the floor of his balcony unpacking boxes, while Ming Qiao was sitting at his desk correcting homework.
Shi Xin was very careful in his movements. Every time he took a part out of the box, he would exclaim "Wow" in amazement. Then, after all the parts were taken out and ready, he would take the tools and start to assemble them carefully.
Mingqiao waited for him to finish installing it.
It was obvious that Shi Xin liked this gift very much. He stroked the astronomical telescope inch by inch with his fingers, treating it carefully as if it were a treasure.
"Okay." Shi Xin tightened the last screw, put down the tools, and couldn't wait to look up at the sky through the telescope.
The weather is very good today, with clear skies. Although it is not the fifteenth day of the lunar month and the moon is not full, it is bright enough.
But after a while Mingqiao saw some lonely expression on Shi Xin's face.
"What's wrong?"
"I miss you." Shi Xin said a little aggrievedly: "Tomorrow is my birthday, but you are not by my side."
Ming Qiao felt a pang of pain in his heart when he heard what he said, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only coax her: "What other gift do you want, dear?"
"I want you."
Mingqiao listened to Shi Xin's sweet words for half an hour before hanging up. Shi Xin never sent him a message after hanging up the video. Mingqiao waited until midnight and sent Shi Xin a happy birthday message. Then he waited for a while. Seeing that Shi Xin had no intention of replying to the message, he could only go to sleep first.
But the next day, when Mingqiao opened his eyes, he saw a dark figure squatting next to his single bed. That hairy head could only be Shi Xin.
"You're awake."
"Why are you here?"
"Our TV station has arranged for me to be a resident reporter a long time ago, but I have been keeping it a secret from you." Shi Xin seemed unusually proud when he said this. He looked up like a big dog waiting for his master's praise: "Surprised?"
"Surprise." Mingqiao smiled and made way for half of the bed for him to lie down on. In fact, Mingqiao knew from the dark circles under Shixin's eyes that he must have driven here overnight. The resident reporter was just a lie made up by this little bastard. It was obviously his birthday, but Mingqiao was the one who received the gift.
Shi Xin lay on the bed and hugged Mingqiao tightly. The chill of early autumn was dispelled by Mingqiao's warm quilt: "Mingqiao, I miss you so much."
"Happy birthday." Mingqiao kissed Shi Xin on the forehead. "I don't have classes today, and I don't have anything else to do. I'll be with you in the afternoon after I finish my shift in the office."
"No classes?" Shi Xin asked.
"Yeah." Mingqiao nodded.
"Can we do it now?" Shi Xin looked at Ming Qiao expectantly.
It was still past five in the morning, and doing it once wouldn't delay him from clocking in at the office at eight o'clock, so Mingqiao whispered in Shi Xin's ear, "Call me brother and I'll let you do it."
"Brother." Shi Xin kissed Mingqiao's lips and called him vaguely over and over again.
Mingqiao couldn't stand his nagging anymore and could only give in reluctantly.
Maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for half a month, or maybe it was because Shi Xin was happy about his birthday, he did it for a long time, and finally Mingqiao's stomach hurt so much that they stopped.
Shi Xin still refused to let him go, and Ming Qiao maliciously blocked his way with something before going to the office.
So Mingqiao spent the whole day in the office with a red face, and when students came to the office and saw him, they thought he was sick. The simple children picked a lot of beautiful wild flowers, tied them into a bundle, and gave them to Mingqiao, wishing him a speedy recovery.
When Mingqiao returned to the single dormitory, he angrily threw the flowers on Shixin. Shixin smiled and pulled Mingqiao to do it again, and stuffed the flowers into him as well.
As a result, Shi Xin asked him seriously, "Teacher Ming, did I do my homework well? Can I get a red flower?"
Mingqiao was both angry and amused. He pinched Shi Xin's face and planted a small red flower on his neck.
After dinner in the evening, Shi Xin took Ming Qiao to a small hill at the entrance of the village.
There are vast plains everywhere, and there is nothing obstructing your view wherever you look.
Shi Xin looked up at the moon.
Today's moon is so round and bright that it makes the dark surroundings appear white.
Mingqiao looked at Shi Xin's profile quietly and asked, "Don't you like the telescope?"
Shi Xin shifted his gaze from the moon in the sky to Ming Qiao's face and answered him: "The moonlight is meaningful only when it shines on the person you like. If you are not around, I will not like anything I see."
——End of the full text——
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