On the open space where they roasted sweet potatoes in the afternoon.
Huo Mingze took Shen Mo Di to watch the stars.
On the large expanse of open ground, there were only a few scattered tents.
Each tent was quite a distance apart, and in front of each tent was a fire.
The flames were burning, giving a warm feeling.
There was no moon in the sky, but there were countless stars all over the sky.
Indeed, the stars in the suburbs were much brighter than those in the urban area.
They twinkled as if they could really blink.
"Are you cold?" Huo Mingze reached out and put his arm around Shen Mo Di's shoulder.
They were sitting on a picnic mat.
Whether it was the thoughtfulness of the farmhouse staff or Huo Mingze, besides the picnic mat, blankets and cushions had also been prepared. Sitting on them and covering with the blankets, it was very warm.
"Not cold," Shen Mo Di leaned on Huo Mingze's shoulder and looked up at the stars. The whole world seemed to become wider.
She asked Huo Mingze, "Aze, do you celebrate your birthday according to the lunar calendar or the Gregorian calendar?"
Huo Mingze turned his head to look at Shen Mo Di and smiled, "Are you going to celebrate my birthday for me?"
She called him "Aze". This nickname sounded a bit silly, but he liked it.
"Yeah, I'll celebrate your birthday with you," Shen Mo Di felt a bit shy.
She added in her heart: If possible, I'd like to celebrate your birthday with you every year.
"I celebrate it according to the lunar calendar, on the ninth day of the third month," Huo Mingze said.
"Okay, I'll remember it," Shen Mo Di also smiled.
Huo Mingze took the opportunity to make a request: "Besides having you accompany me on my birthday, I also want a birthday present."
"Okay."
"I want one that you prepare by yourself."
"Okay," Shen Mo Di agreed.
Huo Mingze kissed Shen Mo Di on the side of her face.
Shen Mo Di leaned into Huo Mingze's arms, half-lying down, and pointed at the stars in the sky, "They're so bright."
"Do you like them?" Huo Mingze asked.
"Yes, I do."
"We can come to watch them every quarter. We'll be able to see the stars changing positions."
"Okay."
"When Xiao Guang and Dad get better, our whole family can come together."
"Yeah," Shen Mo Di was deeply touched in her heart.
The two of them chatted about a lot of things.
Obviously, they had met through a blind date and had known each other for less than a month. But when they chatted, it was like they were old friends, chatting freely about everything, relaxed and happy.
When talking about interesting things from their childhoods, both of them couldn't help laughing.
Before they knew it, the fires in the other places had gone out. On the large open ground, there was only their tent and their fire left.
Shen Mo Di took a look at the time on her mobile phone. It was already one o'clock in the morning.
"It's so late. Shall we go back to sleep?" Shen Mo Di suggested.
It was only then that she realized that she had been lying on Huo Mingze's lap in this position all along. She quickly asked, "Is your leg numb? Let me massage it for you."
She reached out to massage Huo Mingze's thigh.
Huo Mingze's voice suddenly became hoarse, low, charming and with a hint of laughter, "I'll let you touch it when we go back to the room."
"I didn't mean..." Shen Mo Di blushed with embarrassment all over her face.
"Haha," Huo Mingze laughed heartily.
"You're really..." Shen Mo Di knew that Huo Mingze was teasing her and she felt quite helpless.
"It's one o'clock. A new day has begun. Today is the day when Xiao Guang's cochlear implant is activated. Let's set off fireworks to celebrate for him," Huo Mingze got up. His leg was actually a bit numb.
He stood for a while and then went to the side of the tent to bring over the fireworks.
"Come on, you light them," he took a burning small wooden stick from the fire and handed it to Shen Mo Di.
"Let's do it together," Shen Mo Di said.
Huo Mingze smiled and reached out to hold Shen Mo Di's hand. The two of them lit a bucket of fireworks together.
Bang!
The fireworks burst open in the sky, and suddenly the whole sky was bright and beautiful.
"Wish Xiao Guang's cochlear implant works smoothly. Wish Dad a long life," Huo Mingze said after lighting the fireworks.
"It will definitely go smoothly," Inspired by Huo Mingze, Shen Mo Di was full of confidence and hope for the future.
"Are there any small fireworks left? Do you want to set them off?" Huo Mingze asked.
"Yes," Shen Mo Di replied.
Huo Mingze immediately went to bring over a box of small fireworks. He took a handful and handed them to Shen Mo Di.
Shen Mo Di held the fireworks in both hands respectively and lit them by the fire.
She walked a little farther away from the fire. The darker the place was, the brighter the fireworks looked.
She held the small fireworks in both hands and drew beautiful arcs in the air.
This feeling was as if she had gone back to the Spring Festival when she was a child.
At that time, Dad was still in good health. Every year, Dad would buy small fireworks for her and her younger brother.
On the eve of the Spring Festival and the first day of the first lunar month, Dad would take them to set off fireworks.
Huo Mingze watched Shen Mo Di setting off the fireworks, with a gentle smile always on the corners of his lips.
It was actually quite nice to fall in love with someone else, simple and happy.
...
The next day.
They had breakfast and then went back to the hospital.
At ten o'clock, Qiu Zhan personally activated Xiao Guang's cochlear implant.
After activation, he adjusted it personally.
Then he let Xiao Guang experience the sounds from the cochlear implant.
Hearing the sounds, Xiao Guang excitedly raised his hand and made "ah ah" sounds from his mouth.
Assistant Lu immediately gestured in sign language to comfort Xiao Guang, "Xiao Guang, don't get excited. Relax. We'll get better and better at adapting to it and be able to hear more and more clearly every day."
"Thank you, thank you!" Xiao Guang kept gesturing, his eyes became moist and tears started to fall.
"Don't cry. We'll get better every day. I'll accompany you to train every day from now on. You'll be able to speak normally soon," Assistant Lu was also excited.
Next, his real task began!
The first task was to teach Xiao Guang to say "father".
After a while, Qiu Zhan said, "Okay, Xiao Guang can go and move around now. We'll adjust it a few more times later to make the cochlear implant work at its best."
"Can I teach Xiao Guang to say 'father' today?" Assistant Lu asked.
Qiu Zhan smiled with a bit of mischief on his face, "Don't let Xiao Guang call you that. Someone will beat you to death."
"Haha, I know," Assistant Lu also smiled.
He took Xiao Guang and left the tuning room.
In the ward, Huo Mingze and Shen Mo Di were accompanying Shen Weiguo.
Afraid that he would get excited, Shen Mo Di kept saying to him, "Dad, don't get excited and don't worry. Xiao Guang's previous cochlear implant surgery was very successful. Today is the activation. After activation, Xiao Guang will be able to hear sounds. After hearing the sounds, after a period of language training, Xiao Guang will be able to speak normally."
"Okay, Dad won't get excited, won't get excited," Shen Weiguo said he wouldn't get excited, but he was actually looking forward to it eagerly, wishing he could hear Xiao Guang speak and call him "father" immediately.
"Dad, in a while, Doctor Qiu will finish the adjustment and Xiao Guang will come over," Shen Mo Di held Dad's hand.
Huo Mingze also comforted him, "Dad, the effect of this cochlear implant is very good. You don't have to worry."
"I'm not worried. I'm not worried," Shen Weiguo said, but his eyes kept looking towards the door.
In the corridor, Assistant Lu gestured to Xiao Guang while opening his mouth to pronounce, "b, b, Dad..."
"p, p..." Xiao Guang tried hard to make sounds.
Although he was over one meter and seventy centimeters tall, he was struggling to make sounds like a one-year-old baby.
"Great. Yes, that's it," Assistant Lu gave Xiao Guang a thumbs-up and gestured to praise and encourage him.
Xiao Guang was inspired and his eyes were full of excitement.
"Come on, let's do it again. b, b... ba, ba, Dad..."
"pa..."
"Yes, yes, yes. Well done," Assistant Lu encouraged Xiao Guang again, "Let's go. We can go to the sickroom now."
It didn't matter if the pronunciation wasn't that standard. Just being able to make such sounds was already enough to make all those who cared about Xiao Guang excited.