Eating With My Father
"Have you thought about what to eat?" Li Yizheng interrupted Gu Shihui's thoughts.
Gu Shihui began to worry again:
[ Even daily meals are a problem. I'm always worrying about what to eat every day. ]
[ Sigh, if only I didn't have to worry about what to eat every day. ]
Li Yizheng silently took Gu Shihui's words to heart.
"Hey, let's go eat spicy hot pot. I haven't eaten it for a long time, so I'm craving it." Gu Shihui said.
Li Yizheng could tell that she was craving it. Otherwise, her eyes wouldn't have lit up at the mention of a spicy hot pot.
Li Yizheng didn't have much requirements for what to eat, except that he couldn't eat spicy food.
Hence, he nodded. "Let's go. Which eating house do you want to eat at? I'll send you home after we are done."
As Li Yizheng spoke, he took Gu Shihui's backpack from her.
Gu Shihui felt relaxed the moment he took it away. Her grade 12 teacher had an endless amount of homework and papers to hand out every day.
Li Yizheng carried his backpack on his back and Gu Shihui's backpack in front.
Gu Shihui followed Li Yizheng with a smile. "Thank you, deskmate."
Li Yizheng didn't say anything.
"Let's go and eat spicy hot pot!" Gu Shihui said excitedly.
The two of them found a roadside stall and ordered two portions of spicy hot pot. Then, they sat at the table outside and started eating.
Gu Shihui ate with satisfaction. Li Yizheng had the same expression before and after eating.
"What do you think? Do you think it's good?" Gu Shihui asked Li Yizheng while blinking her beautiful big eyes.
Li Yizheng couldn't bear to dampen Gu Shiyu's enthusiasm.
So he nodded and said, "It's quite good."
Gu Shihui was very happy. "See, I told you. Spicy hot soup is the best thing in the world."
"Let's go." She reached out to grab her bag.
Before she could touch it, her bag was intercepted.
Gu Shihui didn't even need to look up to know it was Li Yizheng.
Sure enough, Gu Shihui stood up and looked over. Li Yizheng carried her bag to his front again.
Li Yizheng patted Gu Shihui's bag and said, "Let's go. It's time to send you home."
Gu Shihui intended to be polite with him. "The schoolbag is so heavy. Why don't I carry it?"
Gu Shihui looked at Li Yizheng with a sincere expression.
[ Haha, if I tell my hubby like this, he definitely won't let me take the schoolbag. But at least I'm being polite. ]
[ Hahaha, I'm simply too smart. ]
Just as Gu Shihui was still immersed in her affirmation.
Li Yizheng heard her thoughts long ago, so he didn't go with the flow.
He took the schoolbag off his body and handed it to Gu Shihui. "Here, take it yourself."
"Haha, then Thank You..."Gu Shihui said half of her sentence with a smile, but she realized something was wrong.
[ The plot shouldn't have developed like this. ]
[ Shouldn't he have said that it was fine and that he could just take it? ]
Li Yizheng handed her bag a few more times. It seemed like he was saying, "Don't you want it? Here you go.".
Gu Shihui laughed bitterly. "Ha, Haha, that... that..."
Just when she was still struggling with how to save face and get Li Yizheng to help her take the bag, Li Yizheng walked up to her.
After talking to her till he had a headache, he put her schoolbag back on his back.
"Hurry up and go," Li Yizheng said sternly in front of her.
Gu Shihui reacted quickly and said, "Orh, I'm coming, I'm coming."
So she hurriedly followed Li Yizheng's footsteps and didn't stand on ceremony anymore.
After sending Gu Shihui home safely, Li Yizheng also went home.
When he opened his house door, he saw the lights in the room were on. He knew that his father must have come back.
So he put his keys aside, sat at the entrance to change his shoes, and shouted into the house, "Dad, I'm back."
"Aye." Mr Li replied.
From the sound, he should be cooking in the kitchen.
So Li Yizheng changed into his slippers, put his shoes aside, and walked to the kitchen.
Sure enough, Mr Li was busy in the kitchen.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Mr Li didn't turn his head or stop his actions. He said, "Wait a little longer. The rice will be ready soon. I'll cook the last dish, and then we'll eat."
"Okay," Li Yizheng replied.
"Hurry up and go out. The kitchen smells bad." Mr Li took the opportunity to look at Li Yizheng while holding the plate.
Li Yizheng didn't answer. He just said, "I'll help you carry the dishes and get the bowls."
"Okay. This way, we can eat earlier." Mr Li said as he scooped the dishes out of the pot.
Li Yizheng pretended to be casual and asked, "Why isn't mom finished with her work? It's been so many days, and she still hasn't come back?"
Mr Li's who was holding the dishes halted for a moment and resumed to normal shortly. "The company is indeed a little busy. If this doesn't work, I'll call her tomorrow and ask her to come back. There's always time for a meal."
"No need. Let her be busy with her work," Li Yizheng said calmly.
But when Mr Li heard Li Yizheng say no, he was relieved. He thought to himself, "Fortunately, my son said no need. Otherwise, I really don't know how to call her back for a meal."
"Now all my contacts should have been blocked, right?" Mr Li sighed heavily in his heart.
Li Yizheng considered his father's series of performances. Then, he didn't say anything and went out with his bowl.
Although he had already eaten with Gu Shihui outside, he didn't want his father's efforts to go to waste. He also didn't want his father to sit alone at the dining table and eat by himself without anyone to talk to.
"Dad, eat more." Li Yizheng picked up a piece of fish and put it into his father's bowl.
"Son, you should eat more too. By the way, how have you been in school recently?" Mr Li asked with concern.
Li Yizheng thought for a moment and said, "I did well in the mock exam last time. I should be the second in the class."
Needless to say, the first was Gu Shihui of course.
Mr Li was even happier when he heard that. "You are indeed my son. You have improved so much. Tell me, what reward do you want?"
"There's nothing I want. You just have to take care of yourself," Li Yizheng replied.
Mr Li had never asked about Li Yizheng's studies before, he only asked about his daily life.
However, when he heard that Li Yizheng was second in the class, he was still very happy. Therefore, he happily poured a glass of wine to drink.
Li Yizheng could tell that his father was happy today. Otherwise, he wouldn't have drunk.
"Dad, don't drink too much. Don't get too drunk." Li Yizheng looked at his father who was about to pour a second glass after drinking one glass.
Mr Li thought for a moment and put down the wine. "That's true. Then I won't drink today."
He picked up two chopsticks for Li Yizheng. "Eat more, son."
"Okay, I got it, Dad." So the two of them ate.
Li Yizheng did not eat any lesser, after all, he thought his father's home-cooked food is better than outside food.