Chapter 161: Liu family dinner at Natsukashi
Nana was dumbstruck.
“What?”
Liu Hai said, “Yes! Isn’t that what you are offering?”
Nana was going to say that she won’t mind sending them lunch and dinner sometimes. They care about her so much, so does she. How can she see them skipping their meals?
Jing got super excited. “Really, sister Nana? It has been quite a while since we had your home-cooked meal. Yum, yum!”
“No, I mean-“
Liu Hai turned sad. “Oh? So you didn’t mean that? I see…it’s alright; we won’t come.” His bright eyes dimmed, and Jing’s happy demeanor toned down. Both were heavily sulking.
“No, no!” she frantically said. “You are always welcome at Natsukashi.”
They blossomed in happiness once again.
“Great! I know how much you love us. How can you bear to reject?” Liu Hai flashed a wide grin.
Oh Lord, will Liu Jinhai also come?
Nana awkwardly smiled. “S-sure. But *cough* I don’t think Liu Jinhai can come. He is so busy, after all.”
Jing snorted. “Bah! Nothing is more important than dinner at your place. You know how much he loves you-“
Nana shot him a look of shock. Liu Hai signaled him to salvage the situation quickly.
“Youu…r, your food. That’s right. Your food! He will happily adjust his schedule.”
She and Liu Hai both felt relieved.
Not only Sister Nana and bro will get to meet each other, but I will also get to see my Yukito!, he excitedly thought.
Liu Hai said, “By the way, I heard that you have started working here again. Good, good. Everyone is pleased. I hope you are not having any trouble. You can immediately come to me for any problem.”
Can I complain to you about your own son?, She sourly thought.
She hid her bitterness and smiled. “No, everybody is treating me very nicely.” Your son more than necessary, she silently added.
“Alright, child. We will meet you tonight. Come, Jing, let’s go!”
“Uncle!” she called out, remembering something. “Are you…sure about tonight? Mrs. Liu Huian and Elder Liu won’t like it…”
Liu Hai patted her head. “You don’t worry about them, okay? I will handle it. You focus on making the most sumptuous meal for all of us!”
Jing also nodded furiously.
She sighed and nodded back.
—
Liu villa.
“Chunhua! Chunhua!” Liu Hai eagerly called his wife.
“Hai? What happened? Why are you so excited?” Liu Chunhua looked at him in confusion.
“Good news. We are going to have dinner with our sons tonight!”
She was ecstatic. “Really, Hai!? Oh, I’m so happy! After so much time…it already feels like months to me. I can’t wait to see them. A family dinner after so long…”
“Yup, yup. So, get ready by seven.”
She nodded.
“Mom, Dad. I heard you talking just now.”, Huian came, all excited. “We are going to have dinner with Jinhai? I cannot believe this is happening.”
She was overjoyed.
I will finally meet Jinhai! And then we will solve all our misunderstandings and get back together!
But, Liu Hai cruelly burst her bubble of hopes. “Not you.”
“Huh?”
“It’s only me and Chunhua, and Jinhai and Jing.”
Grandma Liu frowned. “How can this be? It’s a family dinner. We should all be there.”
He said indifferently. “Jinhai has clearly said that he won’t join if you both are there too. No further arguments. So, please don’t ruin our dinner plan. I had a hard time convincing him.”
Huian felt heartbroken.
Why? Why do you hate me so much?
“You…”, Grandma Liu gritted her teeth. “How long will he behave like this!?”
Liu Hai smiled, “As long as Huian will. Simple.” He looked at her. “Right, Huian? If you can be stubborn, then so can he.”
Huian felt embarrassed and ran away from there with tears in her eyes. Grandma Liu followed her, shooting a glare at her son. Liu Hai just shrugged it off.
—
The same evening at Natsukashi.
The restaurant was filled with the hustle and bustle of the customers. At precisely seven-thirty, the Liu family made their grand entrance.
Liu Chunhua was stunned. She whispered, “Hai, why did you bring us here? This is Nana’s restaurant!”
“Yeah, so?”
Jinhai and Jing heard her but chose to ignore it.
“What do you mean by ‘Yeah, so?’!? How can we come here after what happened? It will be so strange and awkward. Nana is a good girl, but she and us…have nothing to do with each other now.”
“Oh come on, Chunhua. Don’t be so stiff. We are here as her customers. This is professional. Why should we give up on her food because of what happened between them?” he expressed his blatant dismissal.
“You…How can you not understand my point? You will be encouraging whatever they may or may not have between them. They had already done…that. What if they start to have feelings for each other?”
Ah, …it’s too late for that, my dear wife, he thought.
“You are overthinking.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You…sometimes I feel you are hiding something from me. How can you take this so lightly?”
“Oh, here comes Nana.” He saw her coming towards them. “Now, forget about your worries and just enjoy the dinner, okay?”
“This talk is not over.”, she warned.
“Yeah, yeah, got it.” He internally sweated hard.
“Ah, Nana. You are here, child.”
Nana smiled and bowed. “Uncle and Aunt Liu, Liu Jing, and…Liu Jinhai.”
He secretly winked at her.
You!
She contained her fury and bowed. “Welcome to Natsukashi.”
“Thank you so much, dear.”
Jinhai came forward, holding a bouquet of beautiful flowers.
He smiled. “For you. Please accept this small token of thanks on behalf of Liu family.”