Chapter 23: Dinner with the Male Lead
Mother Qin decided to cook a seafood dinner. There was steamed mitten crab, drunken prawn, homemade fish ball soup, and braised abalone with sea cucumber and vegetables. Su Ning looked at the delicious dishes and belatedly realized she forgot to tell Mother Qin about Lin JinYan's mysophobia. 'Well. It should be okay right? Assistant Mu is here so he can help peel the shells for Lin JinYan.' Su Ning thought.
Lin JinYan was warmly welcomed by Mother Qin to the dining table. It was their 2nd encounter and the latter was more comfortable in treating the former as a friend of Su Ning's as opposed to an esteemed young master from a prominent family. Overall, dinner was filled with a friendly atmosphere. As expected, Assistant Mu began to peel the shrimp skin for Lin JinYan to eat though Su Ning could see that he was very eager to partake in the meal himself.
Feeling a bit of pity for the assistant, Su Ning also began to crack open a whole crab for Lin JinYan. Her movements were quite adept and did not appear as though it came from a 12 year old. Needless to say, Lin JinYan was very impressed watching Su Ning. When she handed him a cleanly de-shelled claw with her gloved hand, the same warmth that filled his chest began to spread again. Su Ning didn't stop until she had cleaned the inedible bits of the crab body and broken them in half before handing both over to her friend. Then she leaned over to whisper apologetically, "Lin JinYan, sorry I didn't let my mom know your condition. I wish I told her to prepare dishes that are easier to eat."
Lin JinYan began to take a bite of the fresh and tender crab meat prepared by his friend and thought that this is one of the best meals he has ever eaten. Assistant Mu had a hard time controlling his face as he gave some peeled shrimps to the young master. 'Did I just see correctly? Young Master Lin ate the food someone else handled.' "Lin JinYan, the shrimp taste good if you dip it in vinegar. Oh let Auntie Lin scoop you some soup too. I forgot that earlier." "Ma~ I want more vinegar as well. Please." "Okay, Mom will get NingNing some." Lin JinYan observed this pleasant family exchange and thought if he could have this with Su Ning in the future, how wonderful that future would be.
The rest of the dinner was filled with banal but inexplicably sweet conversations. Afterwards, Su Ning convinced Lin JinYan to play a few rounds of The Fox in the Forest. 'Lin JinYan shouldnt be like Gu YuChen at board games, right? Gu YuChen was a complete monster.' However, the result was expectedly the same...Lin JinYan won. Su Ning looked at the cards in her hands and turned to face Lin JinYan with an aggrieved look. "Lin. Jin. Yan. You...how could you be good at this too?" The youth did not know whether to laugh or cry. Su Ning was clearly looking at him with eyes full of blame but at this moment he just felt that she is particularly cute. "Uhm.. That my memory is just a bit above average." Lin JinYan explained anxiously. "You already have perfect pitch! You can play several instruments and you have an excellent voice. Your memory is good too?! Don't tell me you are top of your class as well?!" Su Ning blurted. 'Wah! I cannot believe I got beaten by another 13 year old in board games! My 29 year old heart cannot help but feel offended now.' she wailed internally.
"Ah.. well..Not always. I would place 2nd sometimes." Lin JinYan laughed apologetically. "Sometimes… you would place 2nd…" Su Ning mumbled feeling her soul dissipate. 'Sigh. Life is unfair. C'est la vie.' Suddenly, Lin JinYan grabbed Su Ning's hands tightly and said with seriousness, "Su Ning, you know. I, I think your voice is beautiful. When I first heard you singing, I thought an angel had fallen from heaven."
In a bewildered voice Su Ning tried to clarify the situation. "Lin JinYan…thank you for liking my voice. I'm only kidding. I'm happy you are so amazing. Haha I am just being a bit childish about wanting to win in board games." Truthfully, she felt abashed by Lin JinYan's compliments but she can feel the sincerity of his words. It was unlike the words Lin JinYan normally spews with his gentle facade. Su Ning patted Lin JinYan's hand as she tried to appease the boy's sudden earnestness, "Okay?" Realizing that Su Ning was not truly agitated, Lin JinYan finally smiled and answered, "Okay."