บท 33: Paranoid
~ The Golden Lotus
They put their hands together in a brief prayer, then began to help themselves to the food using their chopsticks to put food onto their plates.
Li Xiu leaned over to Liling and peered at her plate with a playful smile. " Ooo, you're trying the dumplings, good choice, they're to die for," she said, her hands poised to pick one up.
Liling smiled back, "What's your favourite?"
"Honestly, It's hard to choose," Li Xiu replied, dipping a dumpling into a small dish of soy sauce. "But the pork and chive ones are legendary"
Mrs Li nodded in agreement, her plate already filled with a variety of dishes. "She's right, they never disappointed."
Liling picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks and took a bite. She savoured the rich flavour of the filling bursting on her tongue.
"Mm," she hummed after swallowing. "You weren't kidding, these are incredible."
Li Xiu beamed, clearly pleased. "I knew you'd love them. Just wait until you try the fish"
As they continued eating, the conversation flowed easily, Liling enjoying the warm atmosphere and ease she could feel when with them.
They talked about everything from fashion to travel, the latest movies and actors. Li Xiu the social butterfly filled them in on stories from her boutique, describing the egoccentric customers who came to Laperla while frequently bursting into laughter.
"And then," Li Xiu said, her eyes sparkling with laughter, "This woman comes in and asks why her dress wasn't made from genuine phoenix feathers. Seriously? I had to explain to her that phoenixes don't exist"
Liling and Mrs Li burst into laughter, the image of Li Xiu trying to maintain her composure in the face of such an outrageous request was too funny to remain straight-faced.
"That certainly must have been quite the conversation", Mrs Li laughed.
"Oh, it was," Li Xiu said with an eye roll. "Rich people", she scoffed as if she wasn't one herself.
Mrs Li turned to Liling and seeing that she was nearly done with the food on her plate, she added more on, saying, "Ah Liling eat, eat more. We can't have you losing weight"
"Urgh Mom leave her alone, she'll eat more if she wants to"
"I don't remember calling your name young woman, after all, you wouldn't listen to me if I told you to eat more, the same way you won't listen to me to get married"
Li Xiu groaned slowly sliding down her chair. "Leave me alone Mom"
Liling smiled watching their bickering and admiring their close relationship. She couldn't help but wonder if she could have had this type of relationship with her mother.
"Tch, back to what I was saying before getting interrupted", she huffed turning back to Liling, "Liling, I'm so happy you're part of our family now," she said gently, reaching across the table to place her hand over Liling's. "Li Hao is lucky to have found someone like you."
"I'm the lucky one, you've all been so welcoming"
Mrs Li's smile deepened, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes as she continued, "I'm grateful you gave him a reason to smile again"
"What do you mean?"
"After my eldest son died three years ago, he changed. He was always good at hiding his feelings, but we could see the difference, he was hurting."
"Eldest son?" Liling's face was the picture of confusion, since when did Li Hao have an older brother?
Li Xiu easily understood Liling. "Did Hao not tell you?"
Liling shook her head slowly. All she was hearing was new to her. Li Hao had never once mentioned the existence of an older brother, let alone his brother's death. And hurting? The mere idea of it didn't fit with Li Hao's personality, she physically couldn't imagine him sad.
"Tch, of course, he didn't" Mrs Li scoffed annoyed, she was already used to her son's behaviour. He had always preferred to pretend like his problems didn't exist.
The table fell silent, the weight of Mrs Li's words settling over them, Liling could feel her heart tighten in her chest at the shocking revelation, but she didn't know how to feel. Annoyed that he hadn't told her about this, or sympathetic because he still lost his brother.
Li Xiu who was not a fan of the weighty silence, tried to lighten things up with more stories and jokes, but even that couldn't alleviate the solemn mood in the atmosphere.
Their dinner soon drew to an end and they paid, then stepped out into the cool evening air, the city lights twinkling around them.
As they walked back to Li Xiu's car parked a short distance away from the restaurant, Liling could feel the hair on her arms begin to stand. Her senses piqued as her eyes darted around. Someone was watching them.
She paused for a moment, looking around and trying to pinpoint the source of her unease. However, she could see no one, no lingering figures and no unusual movements. It put her on edge. She knew she wasn't just being paranoid, her senses had never failed her before, so why couldn't she find anyone?
"Liling?" Li Xiu's concerned voice pulled her away from her racing thoughts. She turned to see Li Xiu and Mrs Li standing by the car. "Is everything okay?"
Liling forced a smile. "Yeah, sorry, I thought I saw someone familiar". She said as she continued walking to reach the car. Sliding into the back seat beside Mrs Li, she still couldn't suppress her nerves, so she subtly continued to study the environment through the window, her body tensing in case of danger.
Only when Li Xiu had pulled away from the curb did the feeling of being watched begin to fade, till it was just a memory, a shadow that she couldn't quite grasp.
They dropped her off and said their goodbyes, and then she walked into the villa, quietly assimilating everything that had happened that day.
She walked up to Little Bun's room and tiptoed inside to not wake him. She kissed him goodnight on his forehead and tiptoed out to her room.
She quickly showered, changed and lay on her bed, her fatigue slowly overwhelming her, moments later, she could feel herself falling into a deep, dreamless slumber.
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