Chen Xiao's Birthday

The sun shone brightly into a spacious living room, where two kids could be seen scribbling on their notebooks. On the far right of the room, Susu was humming and slicing up fruits for Anna and her little brother, Chen Xiao. While she was fully concentrated on placing fruits on an empty platter, her kids were sneaking glances at each other, secretly.

Chen Xiao slipped a note across the table when Susu had her back towards them. Reading the note, Anna nodded with an instantly curved smile. Both of them turned their heads towards the kitchen and slowly, swapped the notebooks in their hands.

Anna was in fifth grade and her brother was in third grade. Although they were at a young age, they've won recognition in their grades for their intelligence in specific subjects. Anna had won a golden metal for her scientific creation on the last science fair project. She represented the school and entered a national contest, obtaining second place.

The prize she received was a huge contribution towards the science resources the school could now use, for laboratories and further studies. As for Chen Xiao, he was widely popular in school for his talented art.

Currently, the sibling pair were facing an extremely difficult problem; their homework! Though Anna was a genius when it comes to science, her art skills were worse than a kindergartener's family portrait. Meanwhile, Chen Xiao was the complete opposite of her. He was excellent in art, but terrible at science.

Just now, Chen Xiao asked her if she wanted to trade homework. This was not the first time they've assisted each other in homework assignments. They knew each other's skills and handwriting, making it easier to trick the teacher's eyes.

Smiling, they scribbled on each other's notebooks as if they comprehended the instructions before reading it. Within fifteen minutes, they completed their assignments through team effort. When Susu brought fruits and snacks to them, she saw how quick they worked.

She took a look at their homework with a frozen smile on her face. Sighing, she placed the notebooks down and tapped her fingers on the paper surface."You two did it again, didn't you?"

Blinking innocently, the sibling pair looked at her with no guilt. She crossed her arms and stared at them. "You know, we've had this talk before. You two shouldn't trade homework once you come across a difficult one. Assignments are meant to improve your skills in particular areas. If you don't practice, you'll never get better at it."

Anna smiled. "Mom, we do improve when we trade our works. We've gotten better in teamwork. Who told us to inherit only one parent's genes? Chen Xiao got your artistic skills. I have dad's scientific skill. We're helping each other out. I'm decent at drawing things related to science and not other things."

"Well, then you can master other things by drawing it more. I mean, how hard is it to draw a chair?" Susu moved the notebook closer to Anna, hoping she would attempt to draw a chair.

Staring at the empty page in front of her, Anna picked up the pencil and scribbled. Seconds later, three pencil strokes formed a stick chair. Raising her left brow at the stick chair on the page, Susu laughed. "Anna, all you have to do is add some details to it. Here, like this.."

She took the pencil out of Anna's hand and scribbled on top of the sketch she drew. Another minute passed and the stick sketch from earlier was gone - replaced by a detailed chair. Looking at the chair that was vividly recognizable, Anna smiled. "Thanks, mom. I'm done with the last part of my assignment!"

Suddenly, Susu felt outsmarted by her daughter. Rubbing her forehead, she reviewed Chen Xiao's answers and closed the book. "Let's wait for your father to come home and check it. Science is out of my knowledge."

Under the table, the siblings gave each other a fist bump and low-key high-five for their successful plan. Later that night, Chen Mu came home with bags of groceries in his arms. After settling everything on the kitchen counter, he walked over to give his kids a peck on the forehead.

Susu took this opportunity to have him double check the answers. "Oh! My boy is getting better at science! These are all correct. Daddy is so proud of you!!"Chen Mu praised his son followed by giving rubs to his back.

"Your daughter did it." Susu nodded as she pointed at Anna, who was quietly reading her science textbook. Anna looked up from her book with a cheery smile, one that melted Chen Mu's heart.

"Oh!!! My beautiful angel helped her little brother with his science homework!! How adorable could you two get? Geez, did you explain the answers to him afterward?" He pulled both his children into his arms for a tight hug as they giggled sillily.

"No. I was waiting for daddy to do it. Daddy explains it simpler!" Anna laughed as she reciprocated the hug.

Susu facepalmed when she saw the already expected outcome happen in front of her. Shrugging, she said. "Oh, wells. Before that, we need to do something more important!"

Chen Mu stood up from the furry carpet and followed her to the kitchen. When everything was all set up, Chen Mu dimmed the lights and started singing the happy birthday song. Anna and Chen Mu clapped as the trio sang the birthday song to Chen Xiao.

Susu placed the chocolate lava cake on the table and urged Chen Xiao to make a wish. He was shocked by the cake's appearance because he forgot his own birthday. Folding his hands together, he wished for Anna to stop scooping her carrots into his dishes.

He blew out the candles and clapped cheerfully. "Happy eighth birthday, Chen Xiao!!! Did you think we would forget about your birthday?"

Scratching the back of his head, he let out an embarrassed laugh. "I forgot..."

"Pffft!! Birthday boy gets cake in his face!" Anna said as she dipped her finger on the side of the cake and wiped whip cream on his nose.

"Big sis!!! Not fair!!!" He stood up, dipped his finger on a random spot on the cake and chased after her around the living room. Chen Mu and Susu let out a helpless sigh as the two of them chased after another.

Susu said, "His presents could wait. Hahaha, let them have some fun."

Chen Mu nodded, "So, what do you think about a third child? We have Anna taking after me. Chen Xiao takes after you. Shall we have another one to see if we'll be as lucky to conceive one with both our talents?"

"Hahahaha, two is a handful already. Nice try, though." She winked at her husband as she leaned into his embrace. The couple chuckled as they watched their kids skip happily around the room.