25 OF GOOD THINGS AND BAD (4)

"Lights off!" a female voice sternly ordered.

It was all dark in the room.

The moment the door opened, they all shouted, "Surprise!!!" Two party-poppers worked its wonders at both sides of the door, toward the man of the hour, Chen Linyun. There was no doubt that he was surprised. He nearly jumped out of fright, and the paper bag he was carrying almost flew to the air. His heart was still beating frantically.

"Congratulations!" He received three congratulatory remarks.

"Wow, guys you're early! I just came back from grocery shopping!" Chen Linyun finally retorted after his heart calmed down a bit.

"Well, we wanted to surprise you, Teacher!" Guangxi admitted.

"Yeah, it's your celebration yet you'll do all the cooking. We'll help." Xue Jinxu joined.

"The booze is all here! I'll put it in the fridge first." Mo Wenbin suggested.

Chen Linyun was more than touched. He did not expect them to do this. He even imagined that the Xue siblings will only come as compliance with the social norm.

He had never been a social animal. He did not join parties before and all the more he had not hosted parties before. He had few friends, and Mo Wenbin had only been the consistent one.

Now, it seemed that he had three!

He was really blessed.

"Alright, I will prepare this real fast. You can play video games or anything. Just relax. It will be ready in an hour."

Xue Jinxu did not sit down in the living room. Instead, she followed him in the kitchen. When Chen Linyun abruptly turned around, he was face to face with Xue Jinxu. Their faces were only a few inches apart.

"Oh, I'm sorry I did not know that you were here." His face was starting to redden again.

'Tomato-face.' Xue Jinxu thought.

"Chef, I'm going to be your Sous Chef tonight. What's the menu?" She was helping herself wear the extra apron that Mo Wenbin lent her.

"We're going to have hotpot tonight. There's not much to prepare. You can join them in the living room. Oh, do you prefer mild or spicy?" He was referring to the hotpot.

"Both are fine. Guangxi and I are not picky eaters." She smiled at him. Oh, how he loved her smile. His face was flooded with too much gentleness. "Alright, if you insist, I'll join the others. But if you need help just call us."

"Okay."

Not long enough the dinner was ready. They huddled on the dining table and enjoyed the sumptuous meal.

Xue Jinxu got up and took something out of her bag. She handed it over to Chen Linyun. "I brought you a gift." She smiled excitedly. "Here."

'She brought me a gift.' Chen Linyun was still processing what he heard inside his head when he saw a box being handed to him. It was wrapped in a special paper.

"Open it!" They all watched him open the package.

Before dinner, Xue Jinxu stopped by a nearby mall. She thought that she should contribute something to the celebration. Mo Wenbin was already in charge of the booze, while Xue Guangxi had prepared the entertainment. Therefore, she delegated the gift-finding and giving portion, to herself.

Chen Linyun opened the box upon unwrapping the special paper. It revealed a maroon necktie with tiny white dots on it. "I picked it myself. Hope you like it! Congratulations again!" She beamed brightly.

"By the way, how many meals have we shared so far?" Xue Jinxu laid down her chopsticks and tried counting on her fingers.

Chen Linyun panicked. "Ahh- Ahh…" He was making gibberish talk. He wanted to invade the space-time paradigm with his nonsense so that Xue Jinxu will not be able to talk.

"Hasn't it been four times already? Counting also tonight?"

Chen Linyun's back was sweating hard. 'Does that mean one more meal left, then she'll probably not have meals with me or spend time with me? Possibly she will also not go into our house anymore. I was not counting at all!!'

"Well, officially let's just count the first at Four Seasons Hotel, and the second was the first time I set foot in your house. The cookies last Saturday and tonight will not count."

"So there are three more left." She was smiling. He wouldn't know how to take this smile whether out of relief that she will be done with her obligation soon.

She continued. "Actually, I have plans for the third and fourth meals. Let's have a camping and a picnic! Mo Wenbin and Guangxi could join us. It would be fun! I'm leaving the last meal for you to decide on."

"Sure! Sure thing! Whatever you say, Milady! Hehehe." He worried for nothing! It turned out that the lady was looking forward to the won meals! Sometimes she really was unpredictable. His heart melted knowing the fact that spending time with him was not entirely repulsive to her, although it was also not on the romantic level whatsoever. He will come out of the friend zone soon. But he believed that his woman was not ready for that yet.

On the sides, Guangxi was the only one confused. He asked Mo Wenbin about what the two were talking about.

Mo Wenbin enlightened him, "Your sister basically owed your teacher a meal for saving her life five years ago. He had successfully negotiated to increase it to five meals."

"They knew each other for five years already?! Or even longer? Is that why they were close? Do you also know my sister that long?" Guangxi could not believe his ears. He did not think that these people he's with had a history other than being coincidental neighbors.

"In a sense, I knew her too, from five years ago. Your sister was quite popular you know. We were from the same university. I don't think she knew us though. She also left so suddenly. That was why the meal she owed Linyun was long overdue. We weren't close, as she originally didn't know our existence."

Xue Guangxi was in a total daze. His mouth was gaping. He was ignored by his seniors. The lively dinner continued.

"I will be leaving in a couple of days. You think about the details of the camping and the picnic. It should be fun."

"Where are you going? Chen Linyun inquired.

"Shanghai. I have some business matters to attend to." She turned to Guangxi. "I'll have Butler Lee accompany you in the house."

"N-NO WAY!!!"

"And why is that?" She squinted her eyes and eyed him suspiciously.

"N-nothing! I-It's just awkward with Butler Lee around. You know Butler Lee has his own family too, he should go home to them after a long day's work." He gave his sister a side-glance.

"I cannot possibly let you alone inside that house. Although the apartment's security is topnotch, anything could happen. You are still the Second Young Master. Remember that."

She looked both at Chen Linyun and Mo Wenbin alternately. "Could you look after him for a little while?"

"Xu-Jie, I'm not a kid anymore!"

Xue Jinxu shot him a look. It was so sharp that he could not continue talking back. He bit his lower lip.

"Sure, sure! No problem!" Mo Wenbin committed while tapping Guangxi's back lightly.

"Hey, Mo Wenbin, you're not allowed to bully my brother. If I hear anything's off, I will fly back immediately and personally deal with you." She warned.

"Don't worry, Mo Wenbin is just playing around." Chen Linyun assured her.

"Thank you, both of you." She clasped her hands and placed it in front of her chest. "I really trust you, people."

"Hmph." Mo Wenbin was acting out a bit.