New Year's Eve. The one night the younger kids were allowed to stay up way passed their bedtimes. The family of seven were supposed to be at home, passing the time as a family until the New Year and live firework display on TV, but instead, they were at Yao's work.
"Who works on New Year's Eve?" Arthur asked, disappointed that his spouse couldn't stay home with everyone else.
"Chefs who cook for people who eat out for special New Year's Eve dinners or something," Yao answered, getting ready for work. "And it's not all day. My shift ends at 9 and I'll be home by 9:30 aru."
"You'll still be gone for hours, Yao."
"If I could stay home, I would, Arthur," Yao sincerely said to his spouse, giving him a quick kiss before continuing to gather some things. "And if I could bring you all to work with me, I would, too."
"Why don't you?" a third voice asked. Yao and Arthur turned, seeing Xiang standing outside their bedroom door. He was just passing by. "You did it all the time with me before."
"There's six people now, Xiang," Yao answered, zipping up his backpack with his uniform. He preferred changing at work than driving in uniform.
"Well it is New Year's Eve," Xiang said, leaning against the door frame. "I've seen staff family members there before on New Year's Day and Eve."
Arthur and Yao turned to each other. The smaller of the two sighed. "I'll make a call."
And there they were, looking around the high class restaurant Yao worked at as the Chinese man was in the kitchen. Arthur couldn't believe all the extravagant things Yao was exposed to. The restaurant, the hotel his friend owned, even the house was pretty big.
"See, even Ulrich is here," Xiang pointed out, gaining Arthur's attention.
"Who?" Arthur asked. He hadn't formally met Ulrich or Mr. Edelstein before.
"Our neighbors and the boy I babysit," Xiang explained, pointing to the pianist on the platform and the white haired boy sitting beside him.
"Ulrich!" Dylan softly called as to not disturb the guests. "Ulrich!"
"He's not gonna hear you, Dylan," Wendy whispered to him, but was proven wrong when the Germanic boy turned around.
Dylan smirked at his sister before turning back to his friend, waving.
Ulrich waved back for a moment before turning back to his father. He seemed to have asked something because Mr. Edelstein nodded. Ulrich then left his father's side, trotting over to them. "Good evening, everyone," Ulrich said as he greeted everyone. "You all look nice tonight."
Arthur's thick brows rose at Ulrich's behavior, surprise. The boy was so well mannered at such a young age.
Xiang wasn't at all surprised. "You look really nice, too, Ulrich."
"Thank you," the boy said. Since the restaurant was so upscale, they all had to dress at their best.
"Your dad brought you to work, too, huh?" Dylan asked, receiving a nod from Ulrich. The two boys conversed back and forth, or more like Dylan spoke and Ulrich contently listened attentively. His younger siblings already learned not to bother with them.
"Hello there," a large Turkish man came up to them.
"H-hello," Arthur greeted back, a little intimidated by the man's stature.
"You must be Yao's family," the man said, holding out his hand, shaking Arthur's rather strongly. "I'm Sadik Adnan. I'm the head chef and restaurant owner here at his very fine establishment," Sadik introduced himself to Arthur. He then turned to Xiang. "Xiang!" he called out, pulling the teen into a tight hug, even picking him up with ease. "You've gotten so big!"
"It's good to see you again, too, Sir," Xiang managed to say with being tightly hugged.
"What did I say about calling me 'Sir'?" Sadik asked, putting Xiang down.
"Sorry. Uncle Sadik."
"How many uncles do you have?" Peter asked Xiang, amazed.
"Who are these little one's?" Sadik asked, crouching down to the kids' height.
"They're my stepsiblings," Xiang answered, introducing everyone. Wendy and Steven hid behind him, shy and a bit intimidated.
"I have a son I bet is around your ages," Sadik said, making conversation with the little ones. "He's 9. How about you four?" he asked the Kirkland kids. He had met Ulrich on multiple occasions before, so he knew him pretty well.
"I'm 8, Steven's 7, and Wendy and Peter are 6," Dylan answered for himself and his siblings.
Sadik chuckled. "Really close." He then noticed Wendy softly humming the song Ulrich's father was playing on the piano from behind Xiang. "Do you like this song, Wendy?"
Wendy tensed up when getting caught, hiding more. She still nodded her head yes.
"Do you like music and singing?"
The Australian girl nodded again.
"Do you want to go up there and sing?"
Wendy's eyes widened at the question.
"Oh, no, I don't think that's a great idea," Arthur cut in. This was a high rated restaurant. A young girl singing for the guest wouldn't really match the atmosphere.
"Nonsense!" Sadik exclaimed, standing back up. "You know, many of my staff's children stood on that stage at least one, that is if they wanted to and had their parent's permission."
"Really?" Arthur asked, both shocked and curious. He looked around the room a bit.
"Listen," Sadik started, putting his arm around the Englishman. He knew what Arthur was worried about. He wasn't the first who shared the same concern. "Do you know why my restaurant is one of the best? Not just because of the food, the atmosphere, and entertainment, but because of the confidence to do something different, unique, and fun! And between you and me, I don't mind if my restaurant isn't five stars or anything. I just want a grand place where people can enjoy their time, meal, and entertainment!"
Arthur nodded. Sadik was a strange man in his mind, but he was also a very good one.
"So," Sadik started, turning back to the kids. "What do you say?"
"It's pretty fun," Ulrich told his friends. He played piano with his father once in a while.
"Okay," Wendy answered first, followed by Dylan and Peter. Steven was terrified, not wanting to go on stage with people watching him.
Ulrich lead the three of them up to the small stage. Mr. Edelstein was finishing up his piece when the kids reached him, Ulrich whispering something to his father. The boy told him of the little plan. The Austrian man smiled, nodding his head before standing and walking off the stage. Ulrich took over at the piano with the three Kirkland kids around him.
"It seems like it's their turn to be on stage," Mr. Edelstein said as he approached Xiang and the others. "Sadik, Xiang," he greeted the two before turning to Arthur. "You must be Xiang's stepfather, Arthur. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." The Austrian man held his hand out. "I'm Roderich Edelstein, Ulrich's father.
Arthur shook Roderich's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, too. You play very well."
"Thank you," Roderich responded before turning to Xiang for a moment. "Are you going up there?"
"God, no," Xiang answered.
Roderich laughed. "For as long as I can remember, Xiang's been refusing to go on stage," he explained to Arthur. "But as a child, he would sit on a clear counter in the kitchen as he waited for his father and hum to himself."
"Oi!" Xiang hissed, flushed with embarrassment.
"I remember those days," Sadik joined in on teasing the teen. "Everyone would try not to be as loud to hear his innocent little songs."
"So you do sing," Steven said up to Xiang with bright eyes.
Xiang turned down to his stepbrother with a blank look. "Humming and singing are different." Steven only smiled at him.
"Why don't you go up there, Steven?" Arthur suggested. "Your brothers and sister look like they're having a good time."
Steven turned to where his siblings were. They were singing a well known song with Ulrich on the piano. A handful of the customers watched, enjoying their singing and cuteness. "No..." the boy mumbled, looking down at his feet.
Arthur smiled softly, ruffling the boy's hair. He understood Steven was shy, but as a father, he still wanted him to branch out of his comfort zone and experience new things. "Alright, but if you change your mind, don't hesitate to say, okay?" Steven nodded his head as an answer.
Steven and Xiang sat side by side at an empty spare table as the adults chatted by the back wall. The two were battling together with their Pokémon games, Xiang being sure to use weaker Pokémon closer to Steven's level.
"You know," Xiang started as he sent out another Pokémon. "It's not all that bad up there. No one's gonna make fun of you or anything."
"Mmm..." Steven hummed, head still down in his 3DS.
"Yeah..." Xiang mumbled, looking over at Steven. He then turned back to the stage when noticing his three other stepsiblings were finishing up. "Your siblings are almost done," he told Steven.
"I-if I went up there, too, would you go?" Steven timidly asked his stepbrother, looking up at him with innocent eyes.
Xiang sighed. "If you really want to," he answered, patting the younger boy's head.
"Okay!" Steven perked up, placing his game on the table before trotting to the stage.
After registering what just happened, Xiang's jaw dropped a bit at what his stepbrother just did to him. He had just been so badly played, and by Steven out of everybody. The teen watched Steven whispering to his stepsiblings before all four turned to him with matching smiles and waving hands. Xiang only frowned, shaking his head. The kids giggled.
"What'd you say to get Steven up there?" Arthur cheerfully asked as he went over to Xiang, sitting down in one of the empty seats.
"I rather not say..." Xiang grumbled, Arthur raising a brow at him.
As the kids were finishing up, Roderich headed back up, his 'break' over. As he stepped onto the platform, the five of them whispered something to him. Xiang could perfectly guess what was said with the Austrian man looking up at him and smiling.
Xiang groaned, standing and heading up.
"Are you‒" Arthur started to ask but Xiang cut him off.
"Yep..." he begrudgingly growled.
As the teenage boy passed his stepsiblings plus Ulrich when they were heading back, he heard them all giggling. "And after I got you four those games," Xiang grumbled under his breath to him. The kids only scurried off, still snickering.
"What will it be, Xiang?" Roderich asked with a smug smile.
"I don't know any songs that would be acceptable in a place like this," Xiang answered, cautious now.
Roderich pursed his lips in thought, coming up with a song. "I know one you'd know. Don't you worry. Perfect for the New Year, too."
"Alright..." Xiang mumbled, looking around. There were a lot more people than he thought there were. He cursed inwardly. The teen nearly cursed aloud when hearing the song Roderich started playing.
Xiang's head shot back to the pianist. "I don't know the words," he hissed, now panicked. It's not like they could stop all of a sudden after just starting.
Roderich made a face. "But you played this at my house on the piano. You had to practice for your school's choir?"
"Doesn't mean I know the words!" Xiang shouted in a whisper. The choir teacher asked him to fill in for her piano playing when she had a cast. He didn't even know where it was from, who sung or wrote it. "I never actually sung‒"
Xiang had cut himself off to shoot back to the mic within a second with the start of the song. His eyes were on the ground, refusing to look up. He was glad he could control his expressions well, but a very light blush still burned on his cheeks.
"Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes~ five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear~ Five hundred twenty-five thousand Six hundred minutes~ How do you measure-measure a year~"
Very hesitantly, Xiang looked back up, noticing there were more people watching him than he hoped for. A lot more. It seemed like the song was very well-known too when he noticed some people mouthing the lyrics. He then shifted his eyes to the others, regretting it a second later.
"In daylights- in sunsets- in midnight- in cups of coffee~ In inches- in miles- in laughter- in strife~ Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes~ How do you measure a year in the life~"
Apparently, Sadik had called Yao out, the Chinese man smiling a toothy smile as he watched his son. Arthur was smiling cheerful himself. His stepsiblings were excitedly hopping in their seats, finally able to really hear him singing. Xiang was so relieved when the song ended. He ignored the light applauding as he rushed off the platform.
Before anyone could say anything, Xiang instantly pointed to his second oldest younger stepsibling. "Steven tricked me."
Steven went rigid, terrified he was going to be in trouble.
"Xiang," Yao started. "You sing so well aru. You don't have to worry about having been up there or anything."
Xiang sighed, Arthur ruffling his hair with a proud smile.
After Yao's shift ended, and random strangers complimenting the standoffish teen, the family went home to watch the fireworks go off at many different locations on TV. As the bright lights flashed across the screen, the younger four started stating their New Year's resolution. Dylan wanted to get better at the sports he played, Steven wanted to be more outgoing, Wendy wanted to prove to everyone she could be both girlish and tomboyish, and Peter just wanted the next year to be filled with even more fun. By the end of the fireworks display, the New Year beginning, all four of the kids were out cold, deeply asleep. Arthur, Yao, and Xiang all carried the kids up to their rooms.
"So, what's your resolution aru?" Yao asked as Xiang was coming out of Dylan's room.
"Ba, you know I don't find a point to those," Xiang answered. "Resolutions only last for the first week."
"Oh come on," Arthur joined in, coming out of the twins' room. "Even if it was for a week, what would you want to improve about yourself?"
"I think I'm perfectly fine the way I am," Xiang sarcastically said. His parents gave him a look, making him crack a smile. "Alright. I'll take Steven's and be more outgoing."
"Fine," Yao said, ruffling his son's head. "And add smile more, too."
Xiang stuck his tongue out childishly before heading to his room. "Night."
Lying in bed, Xiang couldn't help but think about how crazy the end of the year was. Him, singing, in front of people. He sighed, turning in his bed. At least that was behind him, left in the last year. Sadly, the world loved proving him wrong. A few days later, he received a Skype message from an okay friend.
Singing-Kimchi: did u see this!?
Xiang rose a brow at the link. He clicked on it, sending him to friend's Facebook page. His eyes widened. Someone had apparently recorded him at the restaurant.
hk-firecrackers: where did u find this?!
Singing-Kimchi: i may be in korea, but im still friends with ppl over there. someone had it on their wall and i shared it! XD
Xiang dropped his head on his desk. Great start to the New Year.
Song by I think the musical Rents? Not exactly sure cuz I just like the beginning of this song. I'M STILL LATE! AND REALLY HATE SCHOOL! But this is the last 'special' chapter kinda thing for a while, so no more big deadline, but back to boring chapters. Jk! (about boring part right?)