Heartwarming(?) Dinner

In the peaceful car drive, Ming Na expertly prepared tea with the tea set in the car. A pleasant aroma spread through the car's interior as Ming Na set a porcelain teacup in front of her.

Sui Ya lifted it up with her fingers and took a sip. The tea was at just the right temperature and had a delicately sweet aftertaste. Sui Ya herself had always preferred to drink bitter tea leaves but considering the tea had already been brewed, Sui Ya slowly finished off the pale green tea in her cup before setting it down.

"Ming Na."

Ming Na looked up timidly, "Pardon?"

"The tea, chose a more bitter brew next time. "

Ming Na looked confused for a moment but Sui Ya had already turned her attention back to her book.

Ming Na clearly remembered that Big Miss always liked to drink sweet tea. Big Miss had a sweet tooth and like to eat confectionaries but didn't like to exercise. Big Miss was very careful in maintaining a strict diet for her figure, but she would always drink sweet tea every day.

Although Ming Na was surprised by Sui Ya's sudden change in taste, it was only momentary. In her mind, as long as Sui Ya was happy and she was getting paid, then everything was fine. If Big Miss liked sweet tea than she will make the tea sweet and if she liked bitter tea, she'll make the tea bitter.

"Yes, Miss." Ming Na cleared away the finished cup and asked, "Do you wish for another cup Miss?"

Sui Ya told her that she was fine without right now.

When they finally arrived in the popular area of the city, the chauffeur found an empty space on the side of the road and parked. Ming Na got off first and opened the door for Sui Ya. Stepping off the car, Sui Ya extended her arms and stretched for a bit.

There were a lot of things that she missed in the modern world when she was stuck in ancient times but now that she was actually back, she felt a little lost. She couldn't think of precisely what she wanted to do so for her first trip after transmigrating back into modern society, she headed to the largest and busiest mall in the city.

Since she can't decide, then she'll just do a bit of everything.

Since it was the weekend, the mall was packed with people. Sui Ya unhurriedly walked among the crowd, looking through shop windows as she went. When she found a shop that interested her, she would go in there and spend money.

Sui Ya bought clothes, ate food, and played in the arcade that was located on the top floor. When her legs began to ache from walking, Sui Ya finally decided to call it a day.

The car that had taken them into the city earlier today was parked in the mall's basement. Sui Ya got into the car while Ming Na stored the various shopping bags into the car trunk. After she finished, she also got on. The chauffeur started the car and slowly drove out of the parking lot.

By the time the car arrived back at the estate, it was already dusk.

Sui Yu told Ming Na to bring the bags to her room before heading into the house.

The entrance of the house was kept well lit like every other part of the house but it was quiet with no one to be seen. Sui Ya walked up the stairs and down the hall until she came in front of a door.

She knocked twice.

"Dad?"

Sui TaoBing was in his study working on some documents. When he heard the knock on the door, he was about to ask who it was before hearing his daughter's voice. He placed down his pen and stood up. Walking across the room, he opened the door and saw Sui Ya standing behind it.

Sui TaoBing smiled, "Did you have fun today?"

"En, I had lots of fun today." Sui Ya tugged Sui TaoBing's sleeve playfully and said in a childish tone, "Dad, have you eaten yet? Come downstairs and have dinner with me, the food doesn't taste as good if I eat by myself."

The original may not get along with many people but her father was someone that she could wholeheartedly rely on. In front of her father, she is never too old to act cute and in Sui TaoBing's eyes, she will always be a child that needs protection. Sui TaoBing rather liked it when his daughter sticks to him, it made his heart warm with tender parental love.

His eyes were gentle when he looked at Sui Ya. He nodded his head and said, "Alright."

"Dad's the best!" There was a bright smile on Sui Ya's face. "Then I'll go wash up and change my clothes. See you later Dad."

Sui TaoBing watched as Sui Ya walked away. He closed the study door and returned to his desk to finish preparing some materials that he needed for a meeting tomorrow. When he was about done, he pushed the unfinished documents to the side of the table, planning to do them later. Seeing the half an hour had already passed, he placed down his pen and headed downstairs.

✢

When Sui Yang came home, he was met with this harmonious scene.

His dad and his sister were sitting together at the dining table, eating dinner with each other. His sister talked in a low voice but was very lively as she talked about trivial matters. His father didn't talk as much but would always make sure to listen attentively and answer at the end of each sentence. The house was always cold and lifeless when he returned to it but at this very moment, the atmosphere of the dining room was extremely warm, making him feel even more like an outsider as he stood outside by the door.

Sui Yang was the first to notice Sui Yang's presence. She lifted her head and smiled at him.

"Brother, have you eaten yet? Why don't you come join us, I'll have the cook bring out another serving."

When Sui Ya spoke, Sui TaoBing turned around and saw his son standing by the door.

When Sui Yang heard Sui Ya's offer, his first reaction before anything else was rejection and disgust. Since he was a child, he would always feel an inexplicable sense of discomfort whenever Sui Ya did or say something. As he grew older, this feeling only grew stronger, the seed planted as a child had already taken root as a tree, forming a shadow in his heart. If Sui Ya tried to get close to him, he would feel repulsed. If Sui Ya tried to talk to him, his throat would tighten up with the desire to say mocking words. To be honest with himself, even simply looking at her face made him endlessly mad.

He hated that even though he was better than her in every aspect, his father will only favor her.

Sui Yang clenched his fist as frustration welled up in his heart. He can only work harder to prove his worth. One day he will become a figure with enough power so he will never be ignored or belittled again!

Once again ascertaining his goal, Sui Yang felt a lot calmer. Although his emotion was turbulent, his face betrayed nothing, remaining cold and apathetic the entire time.

He said, "I haven't eaten yet so I'll join."

After saying this, Sui Yang pulled out a chair and sat down. He chose to sit in the middle, right between Sui Ya and Sui TaoBing who sat on the left and right ends of the table respectively.

When food was served in front of him, Sui Yang picked up his cutlery and began to cut his meat. He had no intention to talk and only focused on eating.

The atmosphere immediately became more awkward than before but Sui Ya didn't mind. Her brother Sui Yang ah, he was probably angry just looking at her. Humans were weird creatures. If they like someone then no matter what the other does, it will be perfect and right. However, if they hate someone, even if you treat them sincerely they will think you're repulsive.

Sui Yang's dislike towards her is something that had accumulated over many years. It's hard to change his attitude towards her with just a day or two.

Earlier this morning, before she had transmigrated over, there was already a conflict between Sui Yang and the original.

As a child, the original admired older brother figures from the cartoons she watched. The kind and the gentle ideal of an older brother in her mind would always dote on her and help her when he's in trouble, tantamount to princes in fairy tales. When the original first heard that she also had an older brother, she quickly ran around the whole house to find him. At that time, that original was just a toddler who was still teething. The family mansion was extremely big, half the day had gone by before she found who she was looking for.

Sui Yang at that time was seven. The original found him studying in one of the libraries.

The original's first impression of Sui Yang was extremely good. Sunlight poured through from the room's french window, illuminating the features of the handsome little boy. The original was delighted to have found her big brother and ran towards him with her little legs. She had intended to hug onto his leg but before she could do that, Sui Yang had already noticed her and moved away.

The original advanced towards Sui Yang again and again but failed each time. Feeling frustrated, she summoned a burst of strength and managed to finally grab onto his arm. But before she could even celebrate her victory, her body was already flying backward.

Falling on her back the original looked at her big brother who had pushed her onto the floor. She saw that her big brother looked mad but there were also tears in his eyes. She didn't know why he was crying when she was the one who fell but when such a look was directed at the young her, it made her cry uncontrollably.

"Wuwu…"

Seeing her cry made Sui Yang realize he may have overreacted. His anger diminished and he immediately felt sorry for pushing her. Just as he was about to help up, Sui TaoBing came into the room. When he saw his three-year-old daughter sitting on the floor crying so hard that she was hiccuping. He swooped her into his embrace and soothed her with low whispers. His heart ached to see her cry so miserably.

Sui TaoBing didn't ask for what happened, he simply coaxed the original who was crying in his arms and walked out of the room. But before he left, he gave Sui Yang a gaze that still stuck with him to this day.

Sui Yang knew he was being blamed.

From their very first meeting, they have already started off from the wrong foot. Sui Yang wanted nothing to do with the original but the original wanted to get closer to him. One tried various methods to distance himself but the latter would exhaust all ideas to pester after him all day, like a ghost that refuses to leave.

Eventually, Sui Yang developed his cold mask and the original could only use her poison tongue. From there on, their relationship only worsened, leading to an irrevocable end.

This morning before Sui Ya had transmigrated over, the original was having her typical argument with Sui Yang.

At this point, the relationship between her and Sui Yang was still redeemable. Sui Yang hated her and felt wronged by Sui TaoBing but he wouldn't turn a blind eye if something serious happened to them. Sui Yang's cold attitude towards his entire family's demise later on in the story was because several of the original's actions had completely and thoroughly crossed his bottom line.

The story told the fate of the characters but it wasn't condemning. An event can be impactful enough to change a person's entire life but to others, the same event may just be an insignificant dot in their life. The world is wide and it changes every day. The book only captures a small fragment of it while the character's life extended far beyond what was written in the papers.

Sui Ya placed the last piece of steak into her mouth. Done eating, she excused herself from the table and headed back to her room to ponder on a big problem.

This body was really too delicate! Sui Ya was uncomfortable letting it remain this way.

She was rich! She was pretty! And she was as weak as a duck sitting in a pot!