Translator: 549690339
âWho is this cook? Theyâre hilarious.â Lily Tang finished off the fish in just a few bites.
âMaybe theyâre not showing their true skills. Do you want to try this?â Xiao Qian pointed to the tomato scrambled eggs, but Lily Tang shook her head, putting down her chopsticks.
Although she had only a few bites, it profoundly shocked Tang Daye.
This was the most she had eaten in half a year, and with such peculiar food!n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âI never tire of these dishes, especially the tomato scrambled eggs. When I was a child, if my father won a card game, heâd make it for me to eat. He subsequently did countless terrible things and divorced my mom. I considered him dead, but I could never rid myself of my fondness for this dish. Itâs not exactly delicious, but I crave it, as if I could relive those old feelings.-Nostalgia.â
She hadnât cured Lily Tang. She just used the ânostalgiaâ card to get Lily to eat a few bites.
For Lily, the chive dumplings and fried fish were nostalgic, a story of their own.
âNostalgia?â Lily asked incredulously.
Xiao Qian nodded, and poured her a cup of tea. This tea was quite specialâ hawthorn malt infusion, brewed with raw hawthorn and roasted malt, it could help increase gastric protease in people with anorexia who have long stopped eating.
Lily just had those few bites. For the average person, it wouldnât even count as half a meal, but given her physique, it was considered overeating. If she didnât drink some of this type of beverage, she could easily become uncomfortable.
Tang Daye watched his daughterâs condition closely, fearing she would be like before â eating and then vomiting.
Not only was Lily Tong particularly picky about her food and frequently starved herself, she would often vomit after eating. They consulted both Chinese and Western doctors, but nothing worked.
As he anxiously awaited for his daughter to get up and go to the bathroom, however, he only saw Xiao Qian and Lily Tang engrossed in playing with the Nine Linked Rings.
Xiao Qian distracted her, and although her stomach was still a bit uncomfortable, she no longer felt nauseous.
Seeing his daughter so happy today, Tang Daye let his guard down and started chatting with Yu Mingli. The conversation eventually turned to business matters.
Hearing the two tycoons over there start discussing business, Xiao Qian immediately looked up at Lily Tangâs expression.
Just as she suspected, the girl who was chuckling just moments ago had a shadow pass over her face as they started talking about these matters.
Xiao Qian abruptly placed the Nine Linked Rings on the table, and smiled in protest at her Eldest Brother.
âEldest Brother, stop talking about such boring stuff. Iâm here to make friends today. Both of you are too vulgar, donât talk about money, thereâs more to life than it, isnât family more important?â
Yu Mingli was a very smart man. As soon as Xiao Qian said this, he immediately understood and grinned, calling over a waiter.
âTake away the wine and bring us the best tea.â He turned to Director Tang, âBrother Tang, letâs not talk business tonight. Let the two youngsters befriend each other. Instead of getting drunk, letâs drink tea.â
This move was very much to Tang Dayeâs liking. It seemed that Yu Mingli really wasnât here for the moneyâeven if he was, he did it so well that it wasnât discernible.
Lily Tang relaxed her brows that were tightly knotted just a moment ago, revealing a faint smile to Xiao Qian. From a glance at her eyes, Xiao Qian understood that the girl was now delighted.
âCome on, do it like this, fingers like thisâ¦â Xiao Qian started explaining earnestly.
âYour master is so talented to teach an apprentice like you,â Lily Tang praised.
Heat rushed to Xiao Qianâs face as her mind drifted back to the time in her past life when Yu Minglang would âpunishâ her if she was slow, in a ratherâ¦adult way.
Indeed, he was more conservative in his past life, but deep down, he was still cheeky, only expressing it subtly.
âYou have a weird expressionâ¦â Lily Tang asked curiously. She was a keen observer as she seldom interacted with outsiders due to her introverted nature, but subtle changes in otherâs expressions were always noted.
âI was just thinking of my master.â
âWhat kind of person is he, can I meet him?â
âSure, but heâs quite busy with work, so he doesnât have much free time. When heâs free, we can all hang out together.â
âPromise me, you canât lie to me. I donât like those who beat about the bush.â
âAbsolutely.â
As Yu Mingli was chatting with Director Tang, he was all ears, paying attention to how things were progressing on Xiao Qianâs side. When he heard this particular exchange, he could hardly keep his excitement in check â his future sister-in-law was really competent.
âShuixian, do you know why I make such a strange face when I think of him?â Xiao Qian saw that the timing was right, and started guiding the conversation in the right direction.
âHmm? Why?â Lily Tang asked, trying to solve the Nine Linked Rings as instructed by Xiao Qian.
âBecause heâs different now than he was a few years ago. When he was younger, he was a real rascal, his thought process was completely different from everyone elseâs, he was always scheming to play pranks on me. Of course, he thought he was being especially good to me when he was joking around, that was just his way of expressing his feelings. But ten years later, he matured, spoke to me less, and we barely spent any time together. At one point, I particularly despised his grown-up version.â
Lilyâs hand paused, she murmured, âIt would be so nice if people never grew up. After growing up, he feels like a completely different person, as if the nice him never existed.â
Xiao Qian nodded, âI thought the same thing before. I felt that the mature him didnât love me enough.â
Lily Tang nodded, thatâs exactly how she felt, such resonance!
But what Lily Tang was thinking of was her father, while Xiao Qian thought of her lover.
âI donât think like that anymore,â Xiao Qian said seriously.
Both of them had been speaking softly, so the two adults didnât catch the conversation clearly until Lily Tang suddenly raised her voice.
âWhy?â
There was a barely noticeable urgency in her voice.
She wanted to know Xiao Qianâs answer very much.
But Xiao Qian was a master in the art of suspense, very much like storytelling artists. Right at the critical moment, the story would be left on a cliffhanger, asking the audience to join again for the next part.
âIâm kind of tired today, maybe Iâm catching a cold and not feeling too well. How about this, Iâll give you my phone number, you can think about this problem yourself, and when youâve figured it out, call me and we can continue to discuss about the Nine Linked Rings. Eldest Brother, Iâm not feeling too well, is it ok if I leave first?â
âDirector Tang, you see my younger siblingâ¦sorry about that,â Yu Mingli immediately got up with great tact.
Director Tang gave Yu Mingli a handshake, talked a bit more, and that was the end of the event.
As they were exiting, Lily Tang walked ahead. Xiao Qian gave Yu Mingli a signal, and he immediately left first. Lily Tang got into the car first, and as Tang Daye was about to follow, Xiao Qian called out to him.
âDirector Tang, thereâs something Iâm feeling hesitant about saying.â
âMiss Chen, no need to be polite, feel free to say it,â Tang Daye was on guard. He hadnât brought up any business matters all night. Could it be Xiao Qian planned to confront him on it here?
âMoney is good, but family is priceless. Try to spend more time with Shuixian. Accompanying family can alleviate the symptoms of her anorexia nervosa, making subsequent treatment easier..â