Chương 13: A Che

The food was quickly laid out on the table, and under the warm yellow light, the silver cutlery reflected a soft glow.

Lin Chen specifically instructed the restaurant to serve all the dishes at once, so that the family dinner would be more warm and casual. The light from the crystal chandelier fell on the white napkins, reflecting the silhouette of the family enjoying themselves.

They enjoyed their meal while chatting, bringing them closer together.

"Oh, right, Xiao Che, this is a gift I brought for you. Please accept it."

Su Wanyi took out an exquisitely crafted velvet gift box from her champagne-colored handbag, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it toward Lin Che.

Lin Che quickly stood up, took the gift with both hands, and bowed slightly, saying, "Thank you, Mom Wanyi."

He ran his fingers over the box's intricate texture, feeling the delicate touch.

"May I open it now?"

"Of course." Hearing Lin Che address her, Su Wanyi's smile lines deepened.

"Actually, I didn't know what you liked, so I just picked a phone randomly. I hope you like it."

Lin Che took the outer packaging out of the bag and discovered that the phone was the latest model of the Apple phone.

Clearly, the other party's claim of randomly picking a gift was just an excuse, not wanting the recipient to feel too burdened.

He glanced at his father without batting an eye, his eyes clearly saying, "Aren't you going to give me a return gift?", only to be met with an exaggerated eye roll in return.

"Lin Chen's dad already gave us our gifts," Su Yuqing said, tapping the table lightly with her finger.

"Mine is the same model phone, and Xiaoye's is an amusement park annual pass."

She turned to her younger sister, who was poking holes in a carrot with a silver fork.

"Right, Xiaoye?"

The little girl who was called out was poking holes in the carrot with a silver fork. Upon hearing this, she just gave a listless "hmm".

"Oh, I see. I was worried he'd forgotten about it because he's so irresponsible." Lin Che chuckled, looking somewhat embarrassed.

He glanced back and saw the other person looking down at him with their nose in the air, giving a disdainful "humph." He immediately felt somewhat helpless.

A man in his thirties still arguing with his son; he's definitely not a reliable father.

"What does Xiao Che usually like to do?" Su Wanyi pushed the roast goose, which was emitting a rich aroma, to the center of the table and asked with a smile.

"Playing basketball... and occasionally watching anime."

"I see. Ah Chen told me you studied very hard and got into the best high school in Jiangchuan City. You must have put in a lot of effort to study, right?"

"It's alright... so-so." Lin Che felt a little uneasy.

In his previous life, he focused all his energy on his studies to put his father at ease, which is why he achieved good results in both the middle school and college entrance exams. He had no time for entertainment.

He only gradually developed hobbies like playing basketball and watching anime after he went to university, and he answered that question subconsciously.

Speaking of which, when I met her in college in my previous life, she wore black-rimmed glasses, had shoulder-length hair, and didn't seem to care much about her appearance. But now, sitting across from me, she has clearly put effort into dressing herself up.

"Yuqing was quite hardworking before and got into the same high school as you, but she relaxed a lot after the summer vacation started, even though she used to study hard during the summer vacation."

"If her grades drop, you, as her older brother, have to help her out—by the way, do you like desserts?" Su Wanyi said, pushing a plate of crème brûlée over.

"Mom, that's what I reserved!" Su Yuqing cried out in despair upon seeing this, but Su Wanyi gracefully ignored her.

"That's only natural. If she encounters any difficulties in her studies, she can come to me for help. And thank you, Wanyi's mom."

Lin Che took the plate, scooped up a spoonful of the trembling pudding, avoiding the caramelized crust at the edge.

"Then I'll trouble you." Su Wanyi smiled with relief.

Lin Che turned his gaze to the side and suddenly noticed that Su Xiaoye was still sullen, sitting blankly in her child seat like a fledgling bird with its wings folded.

"What's going on..." Lin Che looked at the plate in front of her and found that it was a very ordinary children's meal, but it looked quite plentiful.

More importantly, Lin Chen must have asked the mother and her two daughters about their dietary restrictions before ordering the set meal, so there was no way that there would be any food they didn't like on the table.

"Wait, is she feeling lonely because she thinks her food is different from ours?"

Thinking of this, Lin Che smiled and tentatively asked, "Little Sister Xiaoye, why aren't you eating? Do you think it doesn't taste good?"

Su Xiaoye shook her head, glancing at Su Wanyi's plate beside her, without saying a word.

Inside was a steak drenched in sauce, while the cartoon-shaped chicken nuggets in front of her clashed with the surrounding exquisite dishes, like a jigsaw puzzle pieced together in the wrong place.

"Just as I thought." Seeing this, Lin Che immediately confirmed his conclusion.

He picked up the pasta dish that had just been served and asked with a smile, "Would you like to try this?"

Su Xiaoye paused for a moment, then smiled happily and nodded emphatically, "Mm!"

Lin Che gestured for a waiter to come over, then said in a low voice, "I'd like to serve this child some food. Could you please bring me another plate, the same kind we use?"

The waiter quickly brought over new plates, and Lin Chen watched in amazement as his son skillfully portioned the food: "Where did you learn all this? Last time I brought you to a Western restaurant, you didn't even know how to use a napkin."

Lin Che froze instantly. He couldn't very well say that he had learned this skill specifically in his previous life to entertain clients.

"I learned it from manga."

"Comics teach this? But I've never seen you read comics before." Lin Chen was even more puzzled.

"Isn't your bookshelf full of study guides and reference books?"

"... I was reading the electronic version on my phone." Lin Che felt a cold sweat break out on his back and hurriedly explained.

Lin Chen nodded: "I see. It's good to relax by reading comics occasionally. Studying requires a balance between work and rest."

"Xiao Che is so thoughtful." Su Wanyi gently stroked her daughter's little hand that was rolling up the pasta.

"She'll definitely be a good older brother in the future."

"Thank you for the compliment, Wanyi's mom. After all, it's my first time being a big brother, and I'll do my best."

Su Xiaoye suddenly picked up her sauce-covered fork: "Mom, when are we going to move in with Brother Lin Che?"

"We're moving tomorrow, what's wrong?" Su Wanyi asked softly.

"I want to live with my brother and dad as soon as possible!" The little girl waved her fork, tracing irregular arcs in the air.

"It would be so—so much fun!"

"Just one more night, you should go to bed early tonight."

While gently wiping the sauce from her youngest daughter's lips, Su Wanyi turned to Lin Che and said, "Look, Xiaoye has already become attached to you, her older brother."

"So this kid is the main course, and I'm just an extra." Lin Chen pretended to be aggrieved and bumped his son's shoulder, making everyone burst into laughter.

......

As night deepened, Su Xiaoye was fast asleep on her mother's shoulder, a sweet smile still on her little face.

Lin Chen volunteered to take the mother and daughter home, but Su Yuqing said she had something to do.

"Let me take you." Lin Che naturally followed in her footsteps.

The street under the streetlights was unusually quiet. The shadows of the two people on the ground sometimes overlapped and sometimes separated. Su Yuqing suddenly turned around, and the moonlight gilded her with a silver edge.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"Thank you for calling me 'Mom,' thank you for noticing Xiaoye." She clutched her skirt tightly.

"That man... he would never do this."

Lin Che shook his head: "This is what I should do. From now on, we're family."

"Is it something I should do..." Su Yuqing suddenly smiled and extended her hand to Lin Che.

"Then, please guide me, brother."

"Mmm." Lin Che grasped the other person's outstretched hand.

The moment their palms touched, she suddenly tightened her fingers, and Lin Che realized that her smile had changed—it was still sweet, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Speaking of which, there's something else I wanted to ask you."

"What is it? Ask away." Lin Che swallowed, suddenly realizing something was amiss.

Looking at the smile on the other person's face, he felt a chill for no apparent reason.

He tried to pull his hand back, but failed; the other person held his hand tightly and refused to let go.

"You should remember, right? Those things from your past life." Su Yuqing leaned close to Lin Che, standing on tiptoe, her warm breath brushing against his ear.

"Don't try to deny it, Ah~ Che."