Chapter 704

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed. Jane had just woken up and instinctively raised her tiny hand to rub her sleepy eyes. But before her fingers could reach her face, she vaguely noticed a row of shadowy figures standing by her bed. Startled, she bolted upright in an instant, curling into a small ball against the headboard while fumbling under her pillow. Her tiny fingers closed around her trusty old brick phone, ready to defend herself if needed. She was fully prepared to act, but when she focused her gaze, she realized the figures lining her bedroom were none other than her brothers, cousins, sisters, Helen, Mateo, her grandparents, uncles, and aunts! Jane blinked her big, drowsy eyes still misty from sleep in confusion. She was just about to ask what was going on when— "Happy birthday, Little Jane!" The deafening chorus of voices rang in her ears. For a moment, she froze, then suddenly understood why everyone had been acting so mysteriously lately. A lump formed in her throat, as if stuffed with cotton. So this was their secret they had all been planning a birthday surprise for her, while she had completely forgotten about her own birthday. In her past life, she hadn’t known her real birthday at first. But the orphanage director—whom they affectionately called "Mama"—would celebrate her own birthday as a shared day for all the children who didn’t know theirs. Later, she had eventually discovered her true birth date. But by then, she had already left the orphanage. No one celebrated it with her, and even after returning to this life, she hadn’t remembered she even had a birthday. Tears shimmered in her bright, round eyes as she stood up and stretched out her short little arms toward John. Her small, sweet voice came out slightly hoarse as she murmured, "Big brother... hug~~" John’s expression softened as he reached out and gathered her into his arms. "Mwah~~" Jane planted a sweet kiss on his cheek. Then she threw herself into her Brother Samuel's arms, planting a kiss on his cheek before moving on to the next sibling... After making her rounds and distributing affection equally, Jane finally realized that with so many people around, giving each one a kiss was actually quite exhausting. Just then, her sister suddenly produced a string of eerie white beads from behind and draped it around Jane's neck, following it up with an enthusiastic peck on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Jane! May you live a hundred years!" Jane's eye twitched slightly, and her neck stiffened a little. Not only was her sister wishing her a long life when she was only turning five, but the rabbit bone necklace now hanging around her neck identical to the one that John wore—was just... "Ta-da!" Mina, noticing the slight stiffness in Jane's expression, added sound effects as she pulled out a beautiful glass bottle tied with a ribbon from behind. Inside the bottle were countless sparkling origami stars. "Jane, this bottle contains 999 stars I folded for you by hand. Each one has a message from me written inside but you can't open them yet. You'll have to wait until you're older. Touched?" At that moment, all Jane could think about was the rabbit bone necklace around her neck. At least John's bone necklace was made entirely of ribs, which, after being polished and shaped by their sister, didn’t look too much like real bones. But hers? Her sister had gone the extra mile and used a skull as the pendant! Just... Jane stiffened, her small head frozen in place as she blurted out reflexively, "I'm not touched!" "Huh?" Mina stared at her in confusion. Realizing her mistake, Jane quickly nodded repeatedly. "I mean, I'm touched! So touched!" Mina broke into a satisfied smile. "Jane, I'm touched too. This was my first time folding these little things you have no idea how much of a hassle it was!" "I've decided that for future family birthdays, I'll just stick to giving necklaces. Forget about origami stars and such those things are way too tricky for my clumsy fingers to handle." Mina's declaration left the others exchanging bewildered glances. Each of them silently wanted to tell her, *Honestly, necklaces aren’t necessary either!* Jordan bent down and gently pinched Jane’s nose before handing her a small box. "Jane, this is your Brother Jordan’s gift for you. Go on, open it." With eager excitement, Jane lifted the lid—only to find a single stone inside, one that bore a faint resemblance to a heart shape. She blinked hard, half-expecting the rock to reveal some hidden brilliance, convinced she must be missing its true value. "Jordan, you’ve really outdone yourself in cheapness," Lucas cut in before she could inspect it further, his tone dripping with disdain. "Jane’s first birthday since coming home, and *this* is what you give her? A random rock? Have you no shame?" Jordan shot Lucas a sidelong glare. "What would an emotionless robot like you know? This is called *romance*." He turned back to Jane, his voice softening. "Don’t let its simplicity fool you. I scoured the entire film studio to find the most heart-shaped stone out there." Jane: *…* "Thank you, Brother Jordan," she said sweetly, forcing a bright smile. "It’s… unique! Kind of like the goose feather brother Kyle gave Eldest Brother—equally… thoughtful." "Stop trying to dress up your stinginess as romance, Jordan," Lucas scoffed. "You’re embarrassing the very concept of it." Jordan gritted his teeth. "Oh yeah, Lucas? Then what 'grand' gift did 'you' prepare for Jane? Let’s see it!" Just as the two brothers teetered on the edge of another squabble, Jane braced herself to intervene until Mateo stepped forward with a smile. "Jane, I didn’t bring a gift," he said smoothly. "But I *do* have a surprise for you." "Happy birthday, Jane!" A voice both familiar and unfamiliar reached Jane's ears. She turned toward the doorway, her large eyes just moments ago blurred with unshed tears now spilled crystalline droplets down her cheeks. There stood Mother Director, just as Jane remembered her: dressed in a simple gray cotton coat, her temples lightly streaked with silver, her face glowing with that same warm, gentle smile. Jane sniffled, her emotions bubbling over as she hastily wiped her damp cheeks with her sleeve. Her tiny feet pattered across the floor as she rushed forward. "Mother Director, I missed you so much!" Mother Director knelt and gathered her into a hug, softly patting her back. "I missed you too, sweetheart." Pressed against Mother Director’s chest, breathing in her familiar comforting scent, Jane felt her nose sting with fresh tears. After returning, she had thought about visiting Mother Director countless times but in her past life, before the transmigration, Mother Director had died because of her. She believed that staying far away was the best way to keep Mother Director safe this time. So even though she had returned to the orphanage, she couldn’t bring herself to face her. Instead, she left only a brief letter before slipping away. Later, John had sent someone to handle the paperwork at the orphanage and informed Mother Director of her whereabouts. She also knew he had funded renovations and donated generously even covering all the orphanage’s current expenses through the Wallace Family Charity Foundation. Knowing Mother Director and the other children were living better lives now had given her peace. Yet she never expected Mateo to bring Mother Director here… on her birthday.