Mahjong!

Mister Su picked up a tile from the wall and examined the fourteen tiles in front of him before discarding the tile with two bamboo. The other three people looked at the tile but nobody spoke up.

Nie Chang really wanted to sigh. He could use this tile but … how would he dare to pick it up and win points when the game had just begun? His little darling wanted him to make the third place. He couldn't take the lead now.

With Mister Su's move done, Nie Chang was the next to pick a new tile. He winced. How unlucky could he get? It actually was a tile with two bamboo again! Now he had a Pong on hand but … He couldn't just announce it, could he? He took a peek at Su Yan who was happily smiling back at him, obviously in a very good mood now that he was playing a game he was that 'good' at.

Nie Chang suppressed a sigh. Ah, call him weak but he didn't have the heart to disappoint his little darling. He just ignored the tile for now and discarded the eight coins instead. He could use the other one later to secure his third place.

Next to him his little darling straightened up. "I'll take the discard! Pong, pong, pong!" The tile was snatched away before anybody else had the time to lay claim to the tile.

Madam Su nodded happily while Mister Su gave a wry smile. Ah, look at this! It had already begun again.

Nie Chang also smiled. "You were right. You're really good at this. We haven't even played a complete hand and you're already in the lead."

"Mn!" Su Yan nodded and displayed his meld. He had actually managed to get the seven, eight, and nine of the coins suit.

In a way, he really seemed to be good at the game. Nie Chang couldn't help but wonder what Su Yan's chances at winning would be if his opponents weren't considerate. Well, he'd probably never find out.

Su Yan proceeded to discard one tile of his own and turned to look at his mother. His mood was excellent already. Even though he hadn't been too happy when his father called, he didn't regret coming to his parents' house anymore. His father hadn't seemed too thrilled to see Nie Chang but he hadn't done anything out of line either and now they were even having fun together.

Su Yan actually ignored his mother's move and looked over at his father, giving him a smile. Today was the first time in a few years that he felt like his father wasn't all that bad.

Both Su Yan and Mister Su completely missed Madam Su's discard and had to be reminded by their respective spouses. Su Yan hurriedly took a look but he couldn't use the tile so he just waved Nie Chang's concerns away.

Mister Su heard his wife remind him but it didn't really register. He still looked at Su Yan blankly. Had he seen wrong? His son … His darling son had just smiled at him? He hadn't done that in a few years. At least never like that. Not so … happily.

He spent the rest of the round in a daze, not seizing a single discard even though there would have been two he could have used. In fact, even without careful planning to let his son win he discarded a tile he would have needed and he didn't notice even when the second round started.

His thoughts were a jumbled mess. Was his son really so happy because of his relationship? Had it always been he who made Su Yan unhappy? His son moving out and rarely calling home or visiting … Had all of this been his fault? Was it because he was a bad father?

While Mister Su felt an identity crisis coming on Su Yan happily scored one point after another. Nie Chang was actually the second to score points but Madam Su soon caught up and the four of them actually fell into the positions Su Yan had wanted. And that even without too much deliberate manipulation if one ignored the trouble at the beginning of the game.

Unfortunately, the winds changed in the last round of the game. Su Yan's luck seemed to have dried up while the others drew one useful tile after the other. All three of them had cold sweat on their faces while they madly calculated the points. Even disregarding the tiles they had on hand, if they factored in the fourth tiles of their kongs and the bonus tiles they had put aside, their points were only a bit behind Su Yan's. Every tile could now cause a misstep that would cost Su Yan his first place.

He too could see that things weren't looking good for him. He hurriedly reached over and clutched Nie Chang's sleeve. "Ah Chang, if I can't win, then you have to win, do you hear? We're still a team, after all! I don't want to lose!"

Nie Chang cleared his throat. "What are you saying? You're certainly going to win!" He said so but he couldn't help stare at the tile he had just drawn from the wall. Shit. With this tile, he actually had another pong. No, not just that. He had a winning hand! This was going mahjong.

He peeked at Su Yan and gulped. He couldn't do this to him. Su Yan had been this close to winning if he took that from now, wouldn't he be extremely disappointed?

Just when Nie Chang was found himself in a predicament a tile was placed on his leg. He blinked. Next to him sat Mister Su. It couldn't be … He peeked over and saw Su Yan's father look away with emphasis. It was obvious that he was the one who had placed the tile there.

"What are you waiting for?" Su Yan looked at his boyfriend in worry.

"Uh, wait. I … I'm considering which tile to … discard."

He caught Madam Su bending her index finger in a conspicuous manner. Uh … His darling needed a nine? He looked at his own tiles and indeed. There was a nine of the bamboo suit there. Could it be that one?

He stealthily picked up the tile lying on his leg and discarded the nine. Before he had the time to exchange his tile with the one from Mister Su his little darling already screamed and jumped at him.

"Mahjong!"