And we now focus on Liu Shang's birthday!
Chapter 9: Birthday Lion
By the next day, Liu Shang was already up and as he headed downstairs, he scratched his butt and lets out a big yawn, just ready to start the day and as he got there...
"Happy birthday, Liu Shang!"
That fully awakened the teenage lion as he sees his adopted family surprise him and he lets out a smile and a laugh, fully being appreciative of that and he said, "Wow...you guys. This is so cool that you remember my birthday."
"Who wouldn't remember your birthday, Liu?" asked the wolf mother, smiling.
Taji smiled at him and came over to give Liu a high five and he asked, "How does it feel turning 15?"
"I don't know. It hasn't really hit me yet because it's so early. But I'm pretty sure it's really awesome." Liu answered.
"Well...we whipped up a good breakfast for your birthday; all of your favorites. Spicy tuna rolls, rice with milk, red chicken, dumplings and noodles and of course...your all time favorite; blueberry pancakes. Triple stacked, of course." the mother said, showing it to Liu.
Liu's mouth was starting to drool with all of his favorite breakfast items right in front of him and he said, "Oh...my gosh. Now this is a good morning breakfast I can savor!"
"Enjoy yourself, Liu." the mother added.
Liu immediately sat down and chowed down on some breakfast and as he ate them, his appetite couldn't get much more happier than that and Taji chuckled at this and said, "You must be really hungry."
"Dude, come on. You're talking about my favorite breakfast foods here. Why else wouldn't I be?" asked Liu.
"Good point. Hey, Liu...any plans tonight?" asked Taji.
Liu started thinking about what kinds of special things he got planned for tonight and he said, "Not quite sure. I'll head onto the gathering temple for a party."
"Oh, really? Well, so will we." Taji added.
"Aw, cool! Looks like we'll have a lot of fun together." Liu agreed.
Soon after that, Taji left the kitchen and went back with his family and he said to them in a hushed tone, "So...are we all going to the huge temple tonight?"
"Of course we are." Taji's father replied, with a whisper.
Taji chuckled at this and he looked at Liu and then looks back with his parents and said, "Liu is gonna be so surprised when we got what's planned for him."
Later that day
Liu thought it was best to take a little walk around the village and he noticed a couple of residents saying happy birthday to him and he was quick to be gracious and thankful about it and though it's been a year since he won the kung-fu tournament, Liu felt like he won something else too; having an entire Valley make him feel like he's part of a family.
While he was walking, he heard someone calling out for help when he saw someone's hat flying out of nowhere and Liu was quick to respond and he leaps up in the air and caught it just in time.
"Oh...over here!"
Liu looks up and he sees the person coming in to retrieve the hat and before he knew it, he sees this female black panther with silver eyes and she said, "Oh, thank you so much. I thought I would lose this thing forever."
Liu gives it back to her and he replied, "Aw, it was nothing."
"I think my hat and I don't seem to get along very well." the panther replied.
"Why so?" asked Liu.
"I don't know. I think it's a little too big for my head." the panther added.
Liu chuckled softly at that and he stated, "Maybe you should try another one. That way, you'll keep up with it."
The panther giggled at Liu's answer and she said, "You're funny."
Soon after, the panther walks with Liu around the forest and she asked the lion, "What are you doing here though?"
"Just talking a little walk and trying to come to terms about being 15." Liu answered.
"You're 15?" asked the panther.
"Yep. Today's my 15th birthday, by the way." Liu informed.
That really amazed the panther and she said to him, "Oh, well happy birthday...um..."
Soon, Liu realized that they were never formally introduced to each other and he said, "I'm Liu Shang. But you can just call me Liu."
"Liu Shang...the name sounds kinda cute for a lion. I'm Sapphire."
"Sapphire...that's a very beautiful name for a panther." Liu added.
Sapphire blushed in response to that and she said to him, "You from around here?"
"Yeah, I've been living in Shanghai Secluded Valley for a year now and it's really awesome living here." Liu added.
"With your parents?" asked Sapphire.
Liu sighed at that question and he looked at Sapphire and said, "Actually, me and my parents haven't really been on good terms lately. See, I left home so I can pursue an interest in kung-fu, signed up for a kung-fu tournament last year, participated, won the entire thing and my life changed completely. It really got to a point where I said to myself, 'this is where I'm meant to be'. I lived here ever since."
"Wow...you never went back?" asked Sapphire.
"Nah...because I already know that my parents would reject me if I came home, knowing that I went against their wishes not to participate. But...I couldn't pass up that opportunity at the time." Liu stated.
Sapphire was surprised that even though Liu left behind his parents to pursue something he's deeply passionate for and she's already admiring him and said, "I could never do that with my parents. But if it was something I would want to do, even if they're not that supportive, I probably would've followed my heart and done the same thing."
"Yeah, it's not an easy thing, but you just gotta follow your gut instinct." Liu answered.
Sapphire agreed with that and she said, "Well...I guess I'll take that to consideration. I gotta get going, but thanks again for getting my hat."
"You're welcome. Maybe we'll meet again?" asked Liu.
"Of course. I'd love to drop by on your birthday today." Sapphire said, with a smile.
Liu chuckled softly and he said, "No problem."
Looks like Liu's made himself a friend. Possibly. Stick around for more!
