"why are you here?"
you've always been best friends with xiao, ever since elementary. although, he oddly became popular in high school even though he rarely speaks. you couldn't deny he was fairly attractive, and all the girls fell for him.
though...
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"say, what's your favorite food?"
"...eh? food?" you look at xiao, confused as to why he asked that kind of question.
"...yes. food." he repeats, as you bring a hand up to your mouth, thinking about what your favorite food is.
"well, i think (favorite food) is pretty tasty..." you reply, recalling an image in your head.
"ah, alright then." he says, looking down at the ground as the two of you began to walk home from school.
"how about you, xiao?"
"huh? what my favorite food is?"
"yes." you beam at him happily. he sees your face as his eyes slowly widen a little bit, before looking at the grass nearby the sidewalk.
"i...am fond of almond tofu."
"hm, is that so?"
"yes." he replies, with a tint of pink on his cheeks.
"haha, out of all the foods, hmm..?"
"...shut up. after all, we've spent most of our childhood together and you still don't know what my favorite food is?"
"sh-shush! it was a genuine question—though i'm sorry if i hurt your feelings.." you blush, embarrassed.
"that's fine. i was just joking." he replies, rubbing the back of his neck.
"hey, isn't tomorrow your birthday?" you ask him, eyes wide open in curiosity.
"oh, yes. i'd forgotten about that..."
"your own birthday?! c'mon, xiao.." you sigh, as you bring a palm to your forehead.
"sorry. i'll try to remember from now on." he jokingly says, as you nod your head in sarcasm.
"do you want anything for your birthday?" you question, looking at him for a response.
your eyes meet briefly before he turns away in embarrassment.
"no, not really."
"nothing?! are you being serious, xiao?"
...
there was a short pause before his next reply.
"i just want...to spend time with you tomorrow. just being with you...would make me content." he answers.
you suddenly blush red.
"o-oh...alright then...?" you respond, covering your face with your hands to hide your confusion.
you didn't expect him to reply with such an up-front answer, but you weren't complaining. he usually never says stuff like this though...
not before long, both of you had reached the street that your houses were on. you waved goodbye before walking very quickly to your home, slamming the door immediately and taking a moment to breathe.
"calm down...he probably didn't mean something that serious!"
"xiao!! happy birthday!!" you excitedly cheer, as you embrace him in a big hug.
he had just opened his front door after you kept mindlessly ringing the doorbell, and now you were hugging him.
"he-hey, why are you hugging me?" he asked, less of an angry tone and more of a shocked tone.
"...um, because it's your birthday, silly!" you replied, lacking an excuse for instantly hugging him.
"that's not a very strong reason..."
"so? just let me hug you for once when it's a special day for you!"
"...fine." he reluctantly complied, though he wasn't exactly complaining about it.
you finally let go of him as you show him the bag in your hand.
"here ya go! my present to you." you cheekily grin, as he slowly takes the bag from you.
"but, i said i didn't need anything for my birthday." he stops before revealing the contents of the bag.
"doesn't stop me from giving something to you! hurry, look inside!" you say, pushing him inside the house as you gently close and lock the door.
he stares at you for the longest time, probably because of confusion, but mainly because of, well, who knows? it's xiao, after all.
afterwards, he sighs before looking in the bag and taking out what was inside. and what stood before you now in his hand was a plate covered with the delicious dish; almond tofu.
"see? isn't it a great gift?"
"is this why you asked me for my favorite food?"
"well, no...but it's a great gift, right?" you ask once again, begging the question.
he looks at you once again, with a slight bit of disappointment in his face. you look back at him scared. did he not like his present? you weren't really the best present-chooser...
however, the disappointment quickly faded from his face. his stare broke into a laugh, but only for a short amount of time. his cheeks turned pink as he looked back into your eyes.
he suddenly then put the plate on the counter next to the both of you, as he walked towards you and slowly embraced you, in a way to show that he was truly grateful for his gift.
feeling his touch startled you at first, but then you felt your arms return the embrace, as if some kind of magic was forcing them to do so.
"y/n, thank you for the gift. i'll make sure to eat all of it today." he smiled, as you laughed at what he had said.
"i'll make sure you do."
"of course you will, you idiot."
"hey, didn't you just say you were grateful for my present?!"
"yes, but i am."
"gosh...you're such a dummy."
...
"happy birthday, xiao." you warmly smile, closing your eyes.
—————————————————————————————-
"open up, xiao. i told you i'd make sure you'd eat all of this, right?"
"true.." he sighs before taking another bite from the spoon you had been feeding him with.
...
"mm...it's not bad, though." he replies, still chewing.
you were staring at him by this point; first, because of how cute he looked, and second, because of how his face reacted whenever he took a bite from the tofu.
"....why are you staring at me?" he asked, as you could see him slightly blush from embarrassment.
super sorry for the REALLY late update, procrastinating again 😭😭
hopefully my xiao brainrot will come back and my brain will properly function so i can come up with more chapter ideas for this book!!!
for the people reading this book, thank you so much for your patience 😓❤️❤️❤️
