Bab 108: Tea Party Part 1

December 29, 20XX (Saturday)

Zhao Manor & Sheng Garden Roof Top Restaurant

On a later time of the morning, warmth filled the Zhao Manor's circular table with a lazy susan on the center where the Zhao's sat. Almost all of the Zhao family members had woken up late because they had spent the night either talking too much about business or chatting too long about fashion. Only Mei Li is the only person that had slept a total of eight hours.

Yang, who woke up late again, and arrived at the table wearing his pajamas. Like usual, he forcefully dragged Yue's chair, placed an empty chair in between the two best friends while grinning at his little sister when he sat on the chair that he had pulled. Yue pulled the skin on her left eye down and stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

Mother Zhao sighed heavily at her childish children's behaviors; one a thirty-one-year-old and another a twenty-six-year-old. Why can't they behave like Mei Li?

Yang looked at Mei Li, his eyes roaming from her head to toe. He raised His left eyebrow and asked, "Why are you dressed up?"

Mei Li, already used to these events, glanced at his disheveled hair before tucking strands of her unruly hair and said with a shrug, "I don't know, Mother Zhao told me to dress up..."

"Where are you going?" Yang turned to his mother and asked while your right hand started to play with the ends of Mei Li's hair. His eyes shifted briefly towards the burned skin on the back of her neck. His brows furrowed in his worry; it hadn't fully clot as he expected it. She might not have been applying the salve on her back generously.

Suddenly, a realization hit him like a wayward baseball on the face. Mei Li must have been applying the salve herself and couldn't reach every place on her back. She was also a person who hated to ask for help, and Yang had not told his sister, Yue, about Mei Li's burns. He decided to talk to Mei Li about this, later.

"We are going to your grandfather's Sheng Garden Restaurant. You are coming with us so you should hurry up and get dressed." Mother Zhao's answer interrupted Yang's thoughts.

"Why?" Yang asked, taking his hands away from Mei Li's hair. Yang was amazed that Mei Li did not react to his hands doing anything to her hair, anymore. She's used to his tactile touches now.

"We are having tea with the Hao Family." Father Zhao said, surprising Yang and Yue causing them almost to spit out the food inside their mouths. Mei Li remained unfazed and eating calmly.

"Why? Didn't that stupid slut and that traitor come back to Beijing? Don't wanna!" Yue pouted while Yang remained silent.

Zhao Yang had not expected to meet his former girlfriend and former friend this early on their return. He had remembered that they had arrived in Beijing the last eighth of December, but he had not planned that they were shameless enough to show their faces to him. They haven't learned anything from their time abroad, it seems.

Yang looked to Mei Li and whispered in her ears, "Master-Wife, your bullied husband is going to be bullied later by his former friend and insignificant other. You should help your bullied husband as his Master-wife."

Mei Li glared at him, poked his right side two times causing Yang to jump and tried to capture her wrist two times. She wielded his weakness like the sharpest sword.

Mother Zhao had pacified Yue, and the rest of the Zhao family members merrily watched Mei Li bullying Yang. The painter had timed Yang to finish his food for fifteen minutes and had also used the timer on her phone, setting it for ten minutes for Yang to dress. After nine minutes and twenty seconds or so, Yang stumped towards the living room where the rest of his family and Mei Li were waiting for him. In his left hand holding a plastic hair comb. His disheveled hair is still full of bed hairs flying up to the sky.

He handed Mei Li the comb and sat on the floor between her legs while pointing to his hair like a child. Mother Zhao rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh, is her son still sane?

Mei Li combed Yang's hair hastily and patted the stubborn little hairs that stood up to defy gravity. She was gentle with his hair causing Yang's eyes to grow heavy. He lacked sleep because of his unfinished work and feeling her soft fingers on his hair felt soothing.

Of course, Yang was not allowed to sleep. Mother Zhao and Father Zhao has pulled Yang and Mei Li to their car and pushed the two into the back seat while Mother Zhao is in the passenger seat, and Father Zhao drives. Yue drove herself, following the vehicle that had the Zhao grandparents and their Aunt and Uncle.

Arriving on the Zhao'a private parking lot, Yang got off first and offered a hand to help Mei Li out.

"Why are we here, again?" Mei Li asked Mother Zhao for the nth time while trying to pry Yang's hand on hers. She shouldn't have accepted his offered hand of help because she's always taken advantage of by him.

"To eat," Mother Zhao deadpanned at Mei Li and at the same time Yue said, "To kill two people."

Yang grinned at Yue and offering his other hand to high five her. Yue gleefully smacked her brother's hand with a loud smack causing the Zhao grandparents to snicker while Mother Zhao leans into Father Zhao, helpless at her children. Maybe she shouldn't have accepted this tea party, but Mother Zhao had allowed this for Mei Li and Yang; mostly for her son. She needed Yang to be sure he had moved on from Ye Lan and also for Mei Li to see that he did so they will avoid misunderstandings in the future.

"Why am I going with you guys?" Mei Li tilted her head to the fight before asking.

"You're an honorary Zhao!" Yue fumed and replied with a full pout. Mei Li was her sister in everything but blood! If she is a Zhao, then Mei Li should be too!

Yang snorted and teased the painter, "What do you mean by that my Master-Wife? Aren't I the bullied husband?"

Mei Li's head whipped towards his direction so fast as her small hands smacked his right arm and then glaring at him with a scowl on her face. Yang merely pinched both her cheeks and kissed her forehead. Mei Li struggled out of his grasp and poked Yang's sides with both her pointer fingers as retaliation. When the CEO had let go of her soft cheeks, the painter run towards Mother Zhao's team for protection. Yue rolled her eyes. Mei Li should have hidden behind Aunt Qinyang because her mother was more than willing to feed Mei Li to her older brother.

All eyes of the Zhao family members popped out off their sockets in surprised. Yang had progressed so much in just two months. That kiss was impressive, primarily when it was the stubborn Mei Li that he was courting.

Mother Zhao's eyes larger than anybody else's. Maybe they didn't need her interference, but since they're here, let them make some chaos then. She wouldn't mind bringing that Hao's second wife down in the mud and she'd gladly kill her too- with words, of course.