Birthday Surprise in Progress (Eleven): Sigrika

Lupa: Partner!

Lupa: You didn't even come to my match today!

Lupa: You watched Yaya's entire match, but you disappeared during mine! Are you treating me differently?!

Lupa: [Feeling wronged]. jpg

Xiao Ling watched as her tender little wolf bombarded her with messages in protest, and she could almost see her pouting and drooping tail on the other end of the text message.

Xiao Ling: Sorry, sorry. I had something urgent to attend to after I went to the restroom, and by the time I got back, it was already over.

Xiao Ling: I'll definitely be there to watch your match tomorrow, okay?

Lupa: Hmm... okay!

Lupa: If I see you're not there when my partner comes along, I'll grab you and give you a good beating!

Lupa: [clenched fist]. jpg

Xiao Ling: I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare! I'll definitely be there on time tomorrow!

After spending some time coaxing the little wolf to calm down, Xiao Ling glanced at the time; it was already past midnight.

Gu~

"Ah... I'm hungry..."

Xiao Ling scratched his head, shut down his computer, and prepared to go downstairs to have a nice meal.

The door clicked open from the inside, and Xiao Ling tiptoed into the hallway in her slippers.

It was already midnight, and most rooms were already dark, including his own.

To Xiao Ling's surprise, there was still one room with its light on, and it was the room that was usually the first to turn off its lights.

Xiao Ling knew perfectly well who the owner of that room was.

He walked to the door of the room with the light on and found it ajar. Through the crack, he could see someone inside writing something at a desk.

Out of politeness, he knocked lightly twice on the door.

"Am I coming in?"

"Ah, please come in!" came a sweet female voice from inside.

Xiao Ling gently pushed open the door. Sigrika was sitting at her desk, wearing an orange nightgown printed with various birds. There were ballpoint pens and paintbrushes on the desk, and she seemed to be drawing something.

Her room also matched Xiao Ling's impression of her: clean and bright. The Peroro doll she won at the festival was placed on the bedside table, and the surrounding walls were decorated with photos of birds and their companions. The bookshelves were also filled with various books, including bird encyclopedias, collections of essays, comics, and light novels.

"Senior, aren't you asleep yet at this hour?" Sigrika asked, tilting her head in confusion, her long orange hair falling onto the chair as she moved.

"I'm hungry. I'll cook some late-night snacks. Do you want some?"

"No, I've gained a little weight recently, and I want to correct my eating habits," Sigrika replied shyly.

"Good."

Xiao Ling quickly went downstairs, and not long after, Sigrika heard the clattering of pots and pans coming from the kitchen.

Sigrika sat down at her desk again and began to write and draw on a neatly cut piece of white paper.

After a while, she heard the sounds of pots and pans gradually stop, followed by a series of unhurried footsteps and the sound of people going upstairs, finally stopping at her room door.

Xiao Ling pushed the door open again and came in carrying two bowls of noodle soup. He placed one of the bowls, which had an egg on it, on Sigrika's desk.

"Eat something first, that'll give you the energy to get things done."

"I told you I didn't need it..." Sigrika blushed slightly, but in the end she obediently took the bowl of noodles and slurped them up.

"Look, you're clearly hungry," Xiao Ling said with a light laugh.

"That's because your cooking is so delicious," Sigrika retorted, her cheeks slightly flushed.

The two people slurped noodles face to face, and before long, the two large bowls were completely empty, not even a drop of soup was left.

"Speaking of which, what are you doing?" Xiao Ling pointed to the ballpoint pens and other items on the table. "I saw you weren't sleeping; you've been writing and drawing here the whole time."

"Oh, you mean this, senior?" Sigrika took a finished product from the table and handed it to Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling took the finished product and saw that it was a handwritten voucher with the words "Unconditional Sleep-in Voucher" clearly written on it. At the bottom of the voucher was a Q version of Dania fast asleep. Although it looked a bit rough, it was at least recognizable.

"The idea is good, but the drawing skills... I think there's room for improvement," Xiao Ling commented honestly.

"Ugh... I only recently learned this art form to prepare a gift for Yaya, and this is already my limit..." Sigrika lowered her head in frustration.

How many have you made so far?

"Hmm... I've only just started... I'm only on the third one!"

"Let me help," Xiao Ling said with a smile. "Finish it quickly so you can get some sleep."

"Hmm... I really didn't want to trouble you, senior, but since you've offered to help me, I'll accept it with gratitude!" Sigrika said with a sweet smile.

"Happy to serve."

The production of the vouchers is proceeding smoothly.

The two empty bowls and chopsticks were placed side by side, and Xiao Ling and Sigrika sat together shoulder to shoulder. As if by magic, more and more vouchers appeared among the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

"Your drawing skills are amazing..." Sigrika exclaimed, picking up the voucher Xiao Ling had made.

The vouchers he wrote were written in a vigorous and powerful style, with lifelike figures, and even Sigrika was quite fond of them.

"I've learned a little, the basics are still there," Xiao Ling nodded. "How many did you make?"

This is the fifth one, including this one.

"I'm working on my fourth one, it should be done soon," Xiao Ling told the other party, informing them of her progress. "By the way, why did you decide to draw something like a voucher?"

"Hmm... I found the inspiration online." Sigrika tapped her chin with the tip of her pen and continued drawing the voucher. "As for why I'm making it for a whole year, it's because that way I can let Yaya know that I'll always be by her side and always thinking of her."

"After all, my wish is to be friends with everyone for a very long time, and that certainly includes Yaya!"

"It's a nice gift, but wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate to make it only once?" Xiao Ling suggested an improvement.

"Of course it can't be a one-time use voucher." Sigrika casually grabbed a voucher marked "Spare" and handed it to Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling took the spare voucher, and after noticing anything unusual on the front, he immediately flipped it over to the back, where he saw Sigrika's message to Dania.

If you still can't fully believe you deserve all of this this year, that's okay. Try again next year.

"... Very thoughtful." Xiao Ling stroked the spare voucher, remained silent for a moment, then smiled gently with satisfaction. "She'll like it."

"Okay! Let's continue, senior, let's hurry up and finish the rest of the vouchers!" Sigrika cheered, clenching her fists.

"Good."

"Done!"

Sigrika put down her pen and looked at the thirteen vouchers neatly stacked in front of her. A small sense of accomplishment welled up from the bottom of her heart.

"I can handle the rest myself. Thank you for your help, senior." She expressed her gratitude to Xiao Ling with a bright smile.

"Okay, I'm going back to my room now. You should get some rest too."

Xiao Ling picked up the two empty bowls and chopsticks and left Sigrika's room.

After watching Xiao Ling leave, Sigrika began to finish up her gifts.

About fifteen minutes later, she carefully put all the vouchers into an envelope, labeled it with the month, sealed it with an orange sticker, and finally put the thirteen vouchers into a pretty tin box that she had prepared beforehand.

"Huh? Why is there an extra one?"

While tidying her desk, Sigrika suddenly noticed an extra handwritten voucher on it.

To make sure she hadn't made a mistake in the finishing touches, Sigrika picked up the voucher to check it.

The voucher didn't specify what type it was; it just said "voucher," but it featured a chibi version of myself.

She flipped the voucher to the back and saw the two familiar, neat lines of handwriting; her cheeks flushed more than ever before.

"Senior... if you keep going like this... I'll find it harder and harder to let go..." she murmured softly.

The back of the voucher had these two sentences written on it.

"With this voucher, you can make any request to your respected senior without being refused. It is valid indefinitely."

"But you only get one chance, don't waste it!"