Chapter 13: A sudden suggestion
Mother Chen and Chen Jianyu were stunned.
âWhat? You are the chef?â
Nana smiled awkwardly, âYes..â
âOh, dear! So you are the chef!â She gave a big clap, âFirst, we were surprised to know that you are the owner, and now you have yet again amazed us.â
âSurprised to know that I am the owner? Have we met somewhere before?â Nana asked in confusion.
âOh, that! We saw you playing with a child outside of where we were sitting. When you came to help He Xiaoli, we got surprised to see that such a young girl like you is the owner, and now we came to know you are the chef too!â She said excitedly. âNot only are you such a kind girl but also such a great cook!â
Nana felt shy. âThank you, Mam. I am glad you liked the food.â
âLiked? I loved it!â she exclaimed.
Assistant Yao did such an excellent job of finding this place. I will surely reward him for this!
Somewhere Assistant Yao sneezed. Is someone talking about me?
Mother Chen realized something. âAish! Look, we have been talking so much for a while, but we havenât even introduced ourselves.â She slapped her forehead.
âI am Chen Liling. And this is my son, Chen Jianyu.â
Nana smiled and said, âNice to meet you, Mrs. Chen and Mr. Chen Jianyu. My name is Nana, and the twin boys standing over there are my brothers, Yukito and Yukira.â
âOh, are you Japanese?â
âYes, Mrs. Chen.â
âThat is such a nice name. And you speak Mandarin so well. Also, donât call me Mrs. Chen. Call me, Aunt. Mrs. Chen sounds too distant.â She said sulkily.
âO-okay..â
âThatâs like a good girl.â Mother Chen got happy.
An idea suddenly struck her.
âBy any chance..are you single dear?â she dropped the bomb.
Nana froze.
He Xiaoli wanted to puke three liters of blood.
Over there, the twins lost their balance. When did this suddenly turn in to a marriage proposal? Did they miss something?
âS-sorry?â
âMom!â
Both said simultaneouslyâone in a nervously low pitched voice and the other crossing the maximum volume decibel.
Mother Chen did not want to waste this chance. Who knows when they meet again, she might already be in a relationship. She is such a polite and talented girl. It wouldnât be a surprise.
So it may be abrupt, but she didnât want to let go of such a good girl for Jianyu. And perhaps they might even develop feelings for each other. So she struck while the iron was hot.
She glared at Jianyu. You should thank me. Where will you get such a nice girl? Hmph!
âWhat? Did I say something wrong?â asked Mother Chen, âand Iâm not talking to you.â
She faced Nana and said, âSee, my son is also single. And I think you two can be a great match for each other. So why donât you try dating?â
âMom-â
âI will talk to you later.â She ignored him.
He gave up.
Nana was dumbfounded. Aunt Chen, on what basis are you suggesting this? We have just met for the first time! How did you like me so much?
Wait..is this the reason why you insisted me call you Aunt Chen? Had you already been planning all along?
âUm..â Nana hesitated.
âOh, donât worry, dear. You donât have to give me an answer immediately. But can you please think about it?â
Nana didnât know what to say anymore. She could only agree. She also seemed to be a nice lady, so it will look bad, just directly rejecting her without giving it a proper thought.
âS-sure..â
âThatâs great!â She clapped. She then looked at the time and said, â Oh dear, itâs already so late. We should leave. And yes, Jianyu will come to meet you to know the answer. But you donât have to feel pressurized okay? I just think that it would be nice if you both give this a chance.â
Mother Chen said like it wonât bother her, but Nana could practically see her sparkling eyes, which hinted that it wouldnât be that easy to say no.
She nudged Jianyu. âAlright, its time for us to leave. Come on, letâs go, Jianyu. Bye, Nana.â
Jianyu gave an awkward smile to her and left with his mother.
As soon as they left, the twins came running and started firing questions.
âWhat did just happen?â
âA sudden proposal?â
âIs this really the first time you met them?â
âAre you going to leave us, Nee-chan? But we are not ready for it!â They became super emotional.
He Xiaoli also cried, âMam, I had just started to crush on you, but you already got a proposal. Donât I stand any chance?â
The twins were again dumbfounded. When did Xiaoli start to have feelings for Nee-chan? Are they really in the same scene?
âYou- You stay away from our Nee-chan!â
âShut up!â She didnât back out.
One could see imaginary little crows flying over Nanaâs head.
âStop, stop! It was just a suggestion. Why are you all behaving like Iâm gone already!â
âBut-â
âAlright, letâs talk about it tomorrow, okay? Iâm exhausted.â
They reluctantly dropped the topic.
Haish! What a day. Too many things had happened. I will just think about it tomorrow, Nana thought.