Chapter 155: Birthday Preparation

Andrew had just given her a task: keep Scarlett occupied for an hour. Under no circumstances could she let Scarlett leave now.

Otherwise, her fried chicken would be gone.

It had to be said that Catherine was quite the actress. Her expression of agony was incredibly realistic, without the slightest hint of exaggeration or fakery.

She looked as though her stomach genuinely hurt, her face filled with discomfort and distress.

However, she failed to notice that the way Scarlett looked at her had subtly changed.

This performance might have fooled most people, but it couldn’t escape Scarlett’s eyes.

This girl is still pretending. She’s clearly fine and has been playing on her phone under the covers this whole time. How could her stomach still hurt?

No wonder Andrew, that little troublemaker, is so smooth-tongued all the time.

Scarlett thought to herself before turning her attention toward the kitchen.

From a distance, she watched Andrew take out a glass bowl, crack an egg into it, and pour in some milk. Then he added something else that Scarlett couldn’t quite identify.

Even a fool could tell that he wasn’t preparing any herbal medicine.

After watching him for a while, Scarlett turned her attention back to Catherine, who had once again hidden herself beneath the blankets.

What are these two up to? Why are they hiding things from me again?

Scarlett was extremely curious, but she didn’t ask anything and simply pretended that she knew nothing.

Normally, Andrew would have already run over to spend time with her, telling her not to worry about Catherine anymore.

But this time, Andrew was unusually serious and secretive. He wasn’t even coming over to cling to her.

There had to be something going on.

Scarlett was also certain that it had something to do with her. Otherwise, Andrew wouldn’t have been so focused.

Since they didn’t want to tell her, she decided it was better to pretend she knew nothing.

...

For two consecutive days, Andrew spent his mornings going to Sweety’s shop to learn how to make ice cream cones. Whenever he returned, he also brought back herbal medicine for Catherine to drink.

In the afternoons, he secretly continued preparing everything step by step in the kitchen.

He even managed to make a finished product and taste it once. The flavor was surprisingly good, but the appearance left much to be desired.

As for Catherine, she remained in bed, constantly pretending to be in pain and discomfort. She only got out of bed to stretch her limbs after Scarlett and Andrew had gone to sleep each night.

Every night, she would complain,

"Damn it! After making such a huge sacrifice, is asking my little brother to make me some fried chicken really too much?"

Once everything was nearly ready, Andrew realized that only the final hurdle remained.

He still had to figure out how to arrange the surprise for Scarlett’s birthday.

It was important to remember that her birthday was also New Year’s Eve. Scarlett had no particular reason to go out that day, which left Andrew very little time to prepare everything properly.

Just as Andrew was worrying about how to solve this problem, Scarlett’s aunt, Luo Han, called from afar to offer some unexpected assistance.

Early on New Year’s Eve morning, after receiving a call from Luo Han, Scarlett changed into her outdoor clothes and prepared to leave.

"Teacher, where are you going?"

Andrew was still eating breakfast when he noticed Scarlett getting ready to leave. He looked at her in confusion.

"Luo Han asked me to go to the Brooklyn City Customs Office. She has something there. Since it’s New Year’s and no one is handling shipments, she asked me to find a new courier company to send it over."

"Oh... Then, Teacher, be careful on your way."

Andrew watched Scarlett leave, secretly thinking,

Could my aunt be some kind of prophet? I was just wondering how to get Scarlett out of the house, and help arrived immediately.

After marveling at his luck for a few seconds, Andrew quickly returned to reality.

Scarlett wouldn’t be gone for long. She would probably be back before noon at the latest.

That meant his time was extremely limited.

Andrew stuffed the rest of his steamed bun into his mouth, rushed to Catherine’s bedroom, and began frantically knocking on the door.

"Wake up! Wake up! Stop sleeping!"

"Oh my God!!!"

Catherine opened the door looking completely disheveled. Having been abruptly woken up, she was furious and wanted nothing more than to tear Andrew apart.

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what time it is? Are you going to let people sleep or not?"

"Stop sleeping! Scarlett had an errand to run and went out. Hurry up and get up. I need your help!"

"I’m not helping. I want to sleep!"

Catherine huffed and turned around, intending to go back to bed.

Andrew immediately spoke in a cold tone.

"Then don’t expect any fried chicken for New Year’s."

"Hey! Didn’t you promise me? I made such a huge sacrifice, and now you’re going to take it back just because you don’t feel like giving it to me?"

"So what? Either get up and help me, or forget about the fried chicken."

Seeing Andrew’s shameless expression, Catherine wished she could kick him to death.

I’m so angry! I’ve never seen anyone this shameless!

I should’ve beaten this brat up more when we were kids!

Catherine was furious, but there was nothing she could do.

She had already made so many sacrifices. It would be even more tragic if she ended up getting nothing in return.

Finally, she reluctantly gave in.

"Fine, fine."

She quickly changed into her cotton pajamas and followed Andrew into the kitchen.

Andrew took out the large container of ice cream he had prepared and frozen earlier.

He then pulled the cake base he had secretly baked the previous night out of the oven.

Seeing this, Catherine couldn’t help exclaiming in surprise.

"Holy crap! Little Brother, you actually know how to bake a cake!"

"It’s just flour, eggs, and water. What’s so difficult about that?"

Catherine immediately looked at him with displeasure.

"Then why didn’t you ever make me any desserts or snacks when I asked you to before?"

"I was lazy. Wasn’t I allowed to be?"

"You!!!"

Catherine nearly exploded again.

But before her anger could build up, Andrew interrupted her.

"Stop wasting time being angry. Hurry up and help."

"Oh."

Andrew used a spatula to spread the prepared creamy ice cream evenly over the cake base.

Once he finished, he turned around and handed a small carving knife to Catherine.

"Carve some patterns on it. I’m not good at this. Everything I carve ends up looking terrible."

Andrew had tried carving several designs over the past few days, but none of them had turned out well, so he had no choice but to ask Catherine for help.

Since she frequently handled surgical instruments at school, carving the design wasn’t difficult for her.

"Hmm?"

Catherine responded absentmindedly.

Andrew turned around and immediately saw her taking spoonful after spoonful of ice cream and secretly eating it.

"Hey! Stop eating! Come over here and carve the pattern!"

"Wait until I finish this bite."

Catherine swallowed a large mouthful of ice cream before reluctantly walking over and taking the carving knife.

Andrew glanced at the small amount of ice cream remaining in the container, his mouth twitching in annoyance.

"Didn’t you say a few days ago that you weren’t going to eat cold things anymore?"

"Oh, but I’m drinking the herbal medicine you gave me! It’s a little bitter, but it really works."

"Alright, stop fooling around and get to work. I’m going to buy some birthday candles."

Andrew headed toward the door.

"Oh."

Catherine answered absentmindedly.

It wasn’t until after Andrew had left that she realized she hadn’t asked him what pattern she was supposed to carve.

Just as she was about to call him and ask, Catherine suddenly remembered the intimate photos she had secretly taken of Andrew and Scarlett in the living room a few days earlier.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"Aha! I’ll carve this!"

Before she started carving, Catherine scooped up another spoonful of ice cream.

"One more bite first."

When Andrew returned, Catherine was already sitting on the sofa, eating the remaining ice cream by herself.

"Did you finish carving?"

"Mm, it’s in the freezer. Go look for yourself."

Andrew immediately opened the freezer compartment and indeed saw the birthday cake that had been meticulously carved.

The surrounding patterns and designs were extremely delicate. In the center, two cartoon figurines had been carved out of a large block of ice cream that had been shaved down.

"Hey! It’s carved quite nicely."

"Of course! You have to see who carved it!"

After being praised, Catherine said proudly.

But as Andrew looked at it, the posture of the two cartoon figurines sitting on the sofa and embracing each other seemed strangely familiar.

"Hiss~ How did you think of carving them in this pose?"

Andrew turned to ask Catherine.

Upon hearing this, Catherine immediately flashed a mischievous smile and raised her eyebrows at Andrew.

"Because I secretly saw it last time."

"Nani!!!"

As she spoke, Catherine even took out her phone and displayed the photo of Andrew and Scarlett hugging and kissing on the sofa.

"Damn it!!!"

Andrew was instantly shocked, his pupils contracting before he rushed over, trying to snatch Catherine’s phone.

"You secretly took pictures!"

Catherine quickly moved her hand, dodging Andrew’s grasp.

"So what?"

"Give it to me!"

To prevent Andrew from grabbing it, Catherine stuffed the phone inside her clothes.

Now Andrew was helpless, so anxious that he almost stomped his foot.

"You deserve to die! At least send me a copy of the photo."

"It’s not impossible to give it to you, but what are you willing to pay?"

"Whatever you want to eat during the New Year period. This should be enough, right?"

"Mm."

Catherine nodded in satisfaction.

"Don’t go back on your word!"

"Fine, I won’t go back on my word."

Only then did Andrew get the photo.

However, before he could carefully appreciate and examine it, he received a call from Scarlett.