Imperfect Desires

Only after they were done eating did Nora bring out the stuff for the next game she had planned. She put the baby photos of everyone on the table and made Xiu and Darren guess who was who.

Xiu pulled out two pictures from the pile instantly as she excitedly said, "I know these two." She pointed at the picture with the baby who had grey eyes and grinned, "That's my Baobei. I can never forget these eyes." Then she pointed at the other picture and looked over at Jackie, "And this is our Jackson Jing. How can I not recognize him? He grew up before my eyes."

"Grew up before your eyes?" repeated Clara. "More like he grew up in your arms."

Xiu smiled sheepishly while a few brothers around her felt sour when they heard that. Adding on the fact that she actually picked out Jackie's picture first, every single brother had a complicated feeling.

Xiu was happily oblivious to it all as she rummaged through the rest of the photos. Darren also picked one picture and put it beside his mother's face, "This one is Mama's picture."

Francesca smiled at him, "Anyone can see that. Besides you, only I have that eye color around here."

Darren grinned at her. Then Xiu took another two photos and placed them side by side with a complicated look in her eyes. 

"Got stuck, little lass?" inquired Xin Zimen.

Xiu looked at him and answered, "I can tell that these pictures are of Ah-Xin and Father. But I can't seem to tell who is who." She really couldn't tell them apart. In their childhood, their faces held an even more striking resemblance than they did now. They really seemed like they were made from the same mold. Xiu was really confused.

And for this sole reason, it took her a while before she concluded, "The one with a smile on his face is Ah-Xin and the one with the serious expression is Father."

Both Xin Zemin and Xin Zimen were surprised when she got it wrong. After all, if one judged from how they acted now, they would definitely mix them up. Since now, it was Xin Zimen who always had a serious look on his face and it was Xin Zemin who liked to smile gently. But it was the other way around when they were young.

Since Xin Zemin had the responsibility of being the eldest son of the Xin family, he was always serious. Meanwhile, Xin Zimen was a little carefree when he was young. He only knew how to smile while admiring his elder brother.

Xin Zemin pinched Xiu's cheek saying, "It seems my daughter is quite smart."

Xiu gave them a proud look. No matter how similar they looked, she'd still be able to tell them apart. Just like this, Darren and Xiu guessed everyone's baby pictures but when it came to the last one, Xiu was left staring at it for a long time. She couldn't recognize it at all. 

"Who is this?" she finally voiced out and noticed how everyone was giving her some odd looks now. The baby girl in the photo was about 2 or 3 years old. She really couldn't tell who she was.

Darren knocked on her head lightly before saying, "Sweets, that's you."

Xiu's mouth opened wide as she continued to stare at the picture. Oh, please! Just because she accepted the fact that she was Destiny and Xiu both, she couldn't really recognize Destiny's childhood pictures just because she occupied this body. Besides, who would even remember what they looked like when they were 3? Unless they had some childhood pictures.

But Xiu had none of Destiny's photos. Neither from her childhood nor from the later years. It was as if Destiny didn't want to leave a mark of herself behind. All the more reason, Xiu didn't expect to see this photo here.

"I can't believe you didn't even recognize yourself," said Ying while shaking her head at Xiu.

Xiu wasn't even embarrassed as she asked, "I thought I had no childhood photos, where did this come from?"

"Cali found it," replied Nora.

Xiu looked over at Cali who nodded her head, "I found it at home. This was the only picture there but it's still better than nothing."

Xiu held the photo tightly as she asked, "Can I have it?"

Cali shrugged her shoulders, "Of course, you can. It's yours anyway."

"Thanks!" said Xiu softly as she looked at the photo again. This was the only photo of Destiny. She wanted to keep it safe. This was the only photo where not only the body of Destiny was present but even the soul seen through those eyes was also Destiny's. It was really a precious photo to her.

"Shall we open gifts now?" suggested Cali.

Xiu put the photo safely by her side and nodded her head, "Let's do it." With sparkling eyes, Xiu opened the gifts. Looking at the knitted sweater in her hands, she looked at Clara.

"Don't look at me like that. I knit it myself."

Jackie spoke on behalf of his mother as well, "Yes, mom even used all her break time in office to knit this sweater."

Xiu hugged it as she smiled at Clara who was avoiding her gaze. It was so unlike something Clara would do after all. She was a capable lawyer. Knitting really didn't go well with her image but she still did it for her.

"Thank you, Clara mom!" 

Clara smiled at Xiu and got up to kiss her temple, "Do you like it?"

"It's so cute, how can I not like it?" Then Xiu opened the others' gifts. Just like Clara, even Zhao Huan had knitted a hat for the baby.

But when it came to Francesca, she raised her arms saying, "For sweetheart, I can't knit. So, I just brought these shoes for my grandson."

Xiu chuckled at her since that was something Francesca would do. There were all kinds of gifts, bath essentials, cleansing wipes, foam shampoos for the babies, gentle cleansing gels. Everything was for the baby. And quite practical as well. But there were things for her as well. For instance, those body firming gel bottles, stretch marks cream, maternity pajamas to stay cozy, and even compression socks.

Xiu was amused by the wide range of gifts before her. Then she looked at the voucher that read, 'Lifetime free access to diapers!' She glared at Dylan who raised his brows in question, "That's a practical gift. You'll thank me later for that. Do you even know how expensive diapers are?"

"Oh, it seems you've quite some experience in the field of diapers. How long did you wear them?" retorted Xiu.

Dylan huffed at her, "You'll understand the value of my gift once the baby is born."

Xiu stopped bothering him and looked at Xiao Li and Ah-Si, "How come I didn't see a gift from Li bro and my little lamb?"

"The gift is not done yet," answered Xiao Li.

"Oh, what is it that it's taking so long?" questioned Xiu.

"Your brothers are making a crib for the baby with their own hands," answered Xin Zimen for her. "Of course, they are not done yet."

Xiu gaped at the two of them in surprise. She felt so touched when she heard that she forgot what else to say. She moved her eyes towards Han Bohai and smiled at him, "Thank you Xiao Bobo for the recipe book for the baby's meals and all those storybooks. Also, thank you for arranging a pre-baby date night for me and my husband."

Han Bohai smiled at her in return, "You're welcome!"

"Stop feeling so proud and stop sending those candles," Darren added.

"Why? Aren't the candles helping in relaxing her nerves?" questioned Han Bohai.

Darren rolled his eyes at him, "Yes, they are really helpful. But we are not planning on opening a shop. Stop sending bundles every other day."

Han Bohai pouted at him but still nodded his head in agreement.

Seeing how the sun was setting, Nora stood up and signaled the other, trying to be discreet while doing it. And slowly, everyone left the hall. Even Darren made an excuse to leave. Only Xiu was left with both her father sitting beside her.

"Ah-Xin, Father, what is everyone up to?"

"How would we know what young people are up to?" replied Xin Zemin.

"Yes, we have no idea," agreed Xin Zimen.

"Try something better than that to deceive me," said Xiu as she looked around thoughtfully.

She knew everyone not only left the hall, but they also left this house. But where did they go? What exactly was this surprise that had them running around like this? She had to be lying if she said, she wasn't curious to know what they had planned. 

Suddenly, Xin Zimen's phone vibrated, and reading the text, he stood up saying, "Little lass, would you like to accompany us somewhere?"

Xiu looked at the arms they both offered to her and without hesitation, she looped her arms around theirs. "Let's go!"