Chapitre 13: The Date (4)
The sun shone through the window and Jun Yang scratched the spot on his face where the slant of sunlight fell on. He stretched lazily in bed and after catching a few more moments in bed, he got down from bed and yawned.
He went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. With the toothbrush still in his mouth, the young man had a feeling that he had forgotten something. He combed his mind trying to pinpoint what it was but the detail was just slightly out of his grasp. 'Since I can't remember it, it's probably something that is not that important…' Jun Yang thought to himself.
Jun Yang went downstairs to the dining room where his parents were already seated. His father naturally took the seat at the front of the table. Jun Yang often received comments from his relatives that he got his good looks from his father. He would thank them for the compliments politely but he also believed they were merely saying that to get into his good books.
Jun Yang adored his father but not because of his appearance, there was a presence about his father that impressed Jun Yang greatly. It was like the aura of an emperor, one that could make others follow his command without any question.
Jun Yang was constantly made comparison to his father because he was the only son of Jun family and he was the expected heir to the family business. He knew currently, he fell short of his father's expectation but Jun Yang did not feel demotivated by it. He used this as a fuel to propel him forward, to make him work hard, so that he could prove to his father that he was able to take up his mantle.
If Jun Yang's father was the fierceness of the sun, then his mother would be the serenity of the moon. She was the paragon of female dignity and grace. Since he was born, Jun Yang had no memory of his mother caught in an awkward situation.
Instead of saying she was able to handle awkward situations with grace and expertise, it was more like Jun Yang's mother was such a planner, especially with things related to personal relationship, that she would never allow herself to be caught in situations that would be confrontational or disagreeable to her.
In a way, Jun Yang's mother reminded him of Pei Ling. They were both products from the same system of education and culture.
Jun Yang's father was reading the newspaper and breakfast was being served when Jun Yang walked into the dining room. Jun Yang's mother sat on her husband's right side while Jun Yang took the seat on his left. Jun Yang noticed his mother had been observing the maid.
While the maid was arranging the table setting, Mrs. Jun suddenly cleared her throat. The maid shuddered imperceptibly and quickly adjusted the spoon that had strayed one centimetre away from the place where it was supposed to be.
After the necessary correction had been made, Mrs. Jun nodded wordlessly. Jun Yang could see the maid sigh silently in relief before continuing to serve breakfast. When she was done and did not hear any audible complaint from the mistress of the house, she quickly moved on to serve the next occupant at the table, which was Jun Yang who had just arrived.
After the maid finished her job, Jun Yang turned to tell her, "thank you." The maid nodded swiftly as a response before disappearing into the background. When Jun Yang turned back to the table, he noticed the barely discernible trace of dissatisfaction on his mother's face.
Jun Yang was suddenly reminded of the speech that Pei Ling gave at Mist Café where Feng Qi worked. She said something along the line of recognizing the difference between the help and the owner.
Mrs. Jun would never be so uncouth to point that out loud but Jun Yang believed she shared the same belief as Pei Ling.
Due to this train of thought, Jun Yang was suddenly reminded of the name, Feng Qi. 'Wait… Feng Qi, Feng Qi… I have a feeling that I'm forgetting something really important related to Feng Qi…'
Jun Yang's thought was interrupted when his mother asked, "Jun Yang, how's school?"
Jun Yang tossed out the usual answer, "School's going well. Everything is going fine."
Mrs. Jun nodded and added, "How about your schoolmates?"
"Schoolmates?" Jun Yang was rather confused. His mother rarely showed such interest in his life unless it was related to the family business. "The school exam just ended so I suppose most are taking the opportunity to relax for a few days before throwing themselves back into school."
"Taking a break is good. Why don't you also go and do something relaxing with a friend this afternoon? It is the weekend after all. How about the daughter of Pei family? Aren't you two close friends? I have not seen her around the house lately. You should ask her to go out with you and perhaps you can bring her over later at night. Your father and I miss that wonderful girl," Mrs. Jun suggested.
If Jun Yang's mind was in it, he would have been suspicious of his mother's sudden match-making tendency, however, the young man's mind was elsewhere because when his mother brought up his plan for the afternoon, it finally hit Jun Yang that he was supposed to go on a date with Feng Qi.
Jun Yang jumped up from his seat, surprising both his father and mother. Mr. Jun put the copy of newspaper away and looked at his son. Mrs. Jun was about to ask Jun Yang what had gotten into him when the young man deserted the dining table and rushed back to his bedroom, leaving behind a, "Father and mother, I just remembered I have something very important to do this afternoon. I will talk to you later."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone