The Heng Family (I)

(Note: Teng Heng's backstory)

"STOP RUNNING IN THE HOUSE, YOU BRATS!" a woman yelled at her two boys as she was vacuuming the living room.

Teng was chasing his brother, who had taken his cellphone and read his private messages aloud.

"Give it back!" Teng yelled, "What are you doing?"

"A message from a girl?" his brother said with wide eyes, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No," Teng quickly replied, shaking his head, "She's an old classmate. Now give me my phone and stop being so nosy!"

"Little Teng!" another female voice yelled, "Little Lang! Both of you are coming with me. We're going for ice cream. Y'all are bothering mum, so we're leaving the house for a while."

Teng was the middle child with an older sister named Xieran. Lang was his younger brother.

"Did someone say ice cream?" Lang asked, excitement in his voice.

He stopped running. Teng immediately grabbed his cellphone when he saw that his younger brother was distracted by the notion of getting ice cream on this hot day.

"Yeah," his older sister nodded, "Would you like me to bring you some ice cream, mum?"

Their mother switched off the vacuum cleaner and shook her head 'no.' Teng's mother was a black-haired woman with piercing gray eyes.

Her children took after her when it came to their eyes, but to their late father when it came to their brown coloured hair. Except for Teng who took after his father in terms of eye and hair colour. 

Teng's father had passed on when he was in his 10th grade of high school.

It was a tough time for him, especially for his older sister and mother, who had to remain strong for him and Lang. Nevertheless, as a family, they managed to get through the loss of a man who meant the world to them.

A man who was nothing but kind and loving, a gentle husband, and a supportive father.

"Nah," Mrs. Heng, their mother, said, "But I would like that cake you bought last time."

She gave her daughter a knowing wink, and Xieran smiled.

"Ah," Xieran said, nodding in understanding, "That cake."

That cake?

Yeah, there's no such thing.

"All right, mum. We'll be back soon."

They were actually planning a surprise party for Teng. He had received an email saying he got accepted to Waterfalls University to study engineering.

They wanted to celebrate this achievement, mainly because he would leave home in two weeks to begin a new phase of his life as a university student.

You're probably wondering why Xieran was not staying home and helping her mother with the party decorations and preparations.

Also, why Lang wasn't the one going with his brother to buy ice cream instead, you ask? The answer is simple.

Lang can't keep a secret.

If Xieran were to leave him with Teng, he would probably blurt out they're throwing Teng a surprise party. Someone had to keep an eye on him to not slip up and ruin the said surprise.

Why can't Lang stay home and help his mother? The answer to that is simple too. Lang is way too messy and clumsy.

He would slow down the preparations, which was not something his mother or sister wanted.

"We're off," Xieran said, opening the door and heading out.

"You kids be safe," their mother told them.

"Bye, mum!" Teng and Lang yelled in unison as they walked out the door.

When Lang shut the door, Mrs. Heng sighed and smiled.

"Finally...Now then," she mumbled, grabbing the telephone in the hallway.

She dialed her neighbour's number. After a few rings, her neighbour picked up.

"Hello?" her neighbour's voice rang through her ears.

"Hi, Miss Kang," she greeted her neighbour, "You can come now. They're gone."

Her kind neighbour had agreed to help her with the party preparations.

"Great," Miss Kang said, "I'll be there in five minutes."

Meanwhile, Xieran looked at her watch as she and her two younger brothers walked to the convenience store. It was currently 12 in the afternoon.

Her mother told her to give them an hour to prepare, so she had to keep Teng busy in the meantime. Plus, she had to ensure Lang did not slip up and accidentally reveal the surprise party.

"Let's see," Xieran said as she scanned the many flavoured ice creams, "Today, I'll pick strawberry."

She grabbed a strawberry ice cream and turned to her two brothers.

"Let me guess," she said, holding her ice cream.

"You want the toothpaste flavoured ice cream, Little Lang," she teased, pointing at Lang, who crossed his arms and frowned, "while you want chocolate ice cream, Little Teng?"

Teng nodded and stared at his brother.

"It's not toothpaste flavoured!" his little brother scowled, "It's chocolate mint! Chocolate mint!"

Xieran let out a chuckle.

"Don't care," she said, sticking her tongue out and looking a little disgusted, "It still tastes like toothpaste."

Lang scoffed, and Teng laughed as he watched his sister and brother argue. As much as Xieran found pleasure in teasing Lang, she was very fond of him and Teng and overprotective.

She loved her brothers so much that one would think she had a brother complex.

"Hi," she greeted the cashier, a young gentleman.

She placed the items on the counter. She had decided to buy some cream bread for the three of them in the process.

"H-hi," the cashier stammered, a blush creeping across his face as he thought of how beautiful the lady in front of him was.

Teng stared at the cashier in amusement.

'He likes my sister,' he thought, 'He definitely likes her.'

The cashier placed the items in a plastic bag, and Xieran gave him $5. She grabbed the plastic bag and smiled at the cashier.

"Thank you..." she paused and read his name tag, "Guanyu. Bye then!"

She turned around and walked out of the convenience store with her two brothers following close behind.

"S-she said m-my name," the cashier mumbled, feeling happy as if he was on cloud nine.

Teng's sister rummaged through the plastic bag and pulled out two ice creams.

"Here's your chocolate ice cream," she said, handing it to Teng.

She turned to Lang.

"And here's your toothpaste," she told him, holding his chocolate mint ice cream in the air.

"Cut it out!" Lang whined, grabbing his ice cream and earning a laugh from his older sister.

"Follow me, children," Xieran said in a tone that made it seem like she was speaking to elementary school kids.

"Where are we going?" Teng asked, licking his ice cream.

"The park," Xieran said as they followed close behind her.

"What about mum's cake?" Teng asked.

"Don't worry about it," Xieran shrugged, causing Teng to raise his eyebrows in confusion.

They stayed at the park for almost an hour. Meanwhile, Miss Kang and Mrs. Heng were done with the preparations and sat on the couch feeling exhausted.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Kang," Teng's mother said.

"Not a problem," Miss Kang replied, waving her hand dismissively, "You always help me out, so I wanted to return the favour. It's almost time for them to come back. Let's get ready."

Mrs. Heng nodded, and they hid on either side of the walls in the hallway. Just then, the door opened, and footsteps were heard.

"What's wrong with chocolate mint?" they heard Lang ask, "It's very delicious. Why are people so against it?"

"Argh!" Xieran exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, "Enough already with the chocolate mint story. Geez, you are so bothersome. Can't you be a quiet little brother like Teng?"

"No!" Lang immediately replied, sticking his tongue out, "He doesn't speak much since he's shy, so I have to speak a lot to make up for his shyness."

Xieran sighed and shook her head.

"That doesn't even make any sense," Teng heard her mumble.

"Why is it so qui-"

"SURPRISE!!!" Teng was cut off by his mother and Miss Kang, who jumped out of their hiding spot.

Teng stumbled back a bit and placed his hand on his heart, feeling it thump loudly and rapidly at the sudden jump scare.

"W-what?" he gawked, feeling bewildered, "What's going on?"

He looked at the living room, which was now beautifully decorated and had a banner that read, "CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING ADMITTED TO WU!" on the wall.

"It's a surprise party, silly," Xieran giggled, ruffling his brown hair and quickly hugging him.

"Yeah, bro," Lang beamed, patting his back.

Teng was stunned, and tears ran down his cheeks.

"Oh my!" his mother gasped, running to his side, "Wait! Why are you crying?"

She was flustered and began to wipe his tears.

"I'm j-just so h-happy," Teng stuttered, giving his mother a hug, "Thanks, mum. Thank you, everyone."

Everyone smiled at each other. The room began to fill with laughter as they celebrated together.

The surprise party was a success.