176 — Drama At The Dinner Table

Steamed shrimp with garlic and ginger, Spicy chicken wings, Fried tofu with spicy sauce, Spicy dad dan noodles, Beef and broccoli stir-fry, Fried eggplant with garlic sauce, Chinese-style roast lamb, Sweet and sour fish, Crispy duck with plum sauce, Spicy sesame noodles. It was a real spread, and everyone tucked in with relish.

The atmosphere was light and relaxed, with quiet conversation. Li Chuanmo was in charge of putting food into Pei Yueran's bowl, while his family watched them with different expressions.

Pei Yueran almost pouted, but she held it in. She knew he was doing it deliberately. She had the tendency to overeat spicy foods, so he was her self-appointed manager, watching over her to prevent that. He would add a serving of spicy dish, then balance it with a non spicy dish.

In order to let him eat as well, she also served him food from time to time, putting several spicy dishes into his bowl as revenge. The hot look he directed at her as he ate them made her shudder.

The next time she picked food for him, she honestly got him vegetables.

The Li couple hid their smiles behind their chopsticks. Ah, young love was such fun.

Li Junmo kept sending teasing winks his way, which Li Chuanmo noticed but didn't comment on. It was their choice to spread dog food, and it was his choice to eat it.

The only person on the table with sour feelings was Li Lianmo. She couldn't understand why her entire family was fawning over this yet to be sister-in-law. Asides from her young bewitching looks, what else did she have?

"Big brother, won't you pick food for me as well?" She finally spoke. Li Chuanmo glanced at her for one long moment before clipping a piece of chicken and putting it in her bowl. Her eyes curved into crescents as she said "thank you" sweetly.

"So Ms. Pei— I mean future Sister-in-law, can you tell me a bit about yourself?" Not only did she change the way she addressed her, she also lowered her voice slightly to avoid sounding confrontational.

She couldn't help it, three pairs of warning eyes were currently trained on her.

Pei Yueran took her gaze off the tofu dish with spicy sauce and directed it towards this young sister-in-law to be. Although she was smiling, Pei Yueran could see that the smile didn't reach her eyes.

She could not think of what she did to incur the dislike of Chuan's sister. Just as she opened her mouth to respond, Zhang Heying cut in.

"Lian'er," She began in a pleasant tone, "do let your sister-in-law eat properly. You can ask her anything after lunch, okay?"

How could Li Lianmo say otherwise? She nodded obediently and concentrated on her food. Inwardly, she wondered why her mother was protecting the outsider so much. Was there some secret she wasn't aware of?

Despite Pei Yueran saying she didn't mind, Zhang Heying was firm, "Ran'er, enjoy your meal in peace. Lian'er is a little newscaster, she will keep asking you questions until you forget to eat, so eat first."

Pei Yueran smiled and nodded. While she ate, Zhang Heying exchanged glances with her husband. Li Lianmo was a very opinionated young lady, but this behavior of impolite hostility was not her style.

Family harmony was very important to them, and it was the first time their only daughter was acting out this way to someone they considered family.

It worried them quite a bit. In just a few glances, Li Qianye was able to persuade his wife, assuring her that he would talk to their daughter. Only then did Zhang Heying calm down.

After lunch, they sat down in the living room with cups of tea, making light conversation. Li Junmo enthusiastically asked Pei Yueran about work and her experience working with Li Chuanmo.

"It's been great actually. Chairman Li is very avant-garde, with new ideas and innovative strategies. He's also a very calm and steady leader." Pei Yueran answered seriously.

"Ooohhhh, so much praise. Are you sure it's not just because he's your future husband?" Li Junmo teased.

Pei Yueran blushed slightly while Li Chuanmo said jokingly, "What? Do you think I'm not that impressive? Why don't you come and work at the company, so that I can show you?"

"Spare me Big brother. Of course, you're the most impressive CEO in the whole world." Li Junmo added, making everyone laugh.

Somehow, that reminded Pei Yueran about the gifts she brought. She took them from the stool beside her and gave it to the twins in turn. "I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I only got you something small."

Li Junmo accepted his bag with a huge smile, while Li Lianmo muttered under her breath, 'You shouldn't have bothered then. Who asked you to do something unnecessary?'

Her inner monologue was broken by her twin's surprised exclamation, "Wow, how did you know about my hobby? I really love this! Thank you Sister-in-law."

Li Junmo's excitement wasn't fake, and Pei Yueran smiled in relief as she said, "Your brother told me about it. I'm glad you like it." She had asked a colleague to get it for her on such a short notice, so she was happy it was well received.

"I really love it. It is so thoughtful of you." Li Junmo had developed the hobby of stamp and coin collecting a few months ago, and had already amassed quite a fair amount of both. Her gift of a European stamp album with a summary of each stamp was therefore very valuable.

He was already looking forward to studying the album in order to know just how many more stamps he needed to complete his own European stamp collection.

Li Lianmo was about to tell her brother to stop making a fuss when she saw her own gift. Bringing it out of the gift bag, she fell silent.

The twins had had similar patterns of behavior growing up, so whenever one person liked something, the family knew that it was only a matter of time before the other person would like the same thing or something similar.

That was why Li Junmo's sudden love for collections was not surprising.

It was no secret that Li Lianmo loved snow globes. Growing up, snow globes were her favorite birthday gifts, both to give and receive.

She was still as obsessed, but her focus had now shifted to the sentiment and memories behind each globe.