Silent and lonely world (Dark clouds before sunny weather - Book 1)

Chapter 19

Mo Xuanyu really did not know how he should react to all of this. One moment, he had been crying on the ground, waiting for his teacher's family to start behaving just like his uncle, aunt and cousin, but the next moment, A-Yuan was calling him 'A-Yu' and dragging him back downstairs. He had even dried his tears for him! He could not have done anything else but to follow this smiling and enthusiastic classmate of his.

A-Yuan only let go of his hand once they were in the kitchen where dinner was already prepared. Mo Xuanyu felt fear rising in his guts again, he should have been the one to prepare it, just like he was always asked to at home. And he had been blissfully sleeping instead of taking care of his duties. Luckily, it did not seem that his teacher, or the rest of his family for that matter, were angry with him so perhaps everything would be fine. Perhaps they would let it slide this once. He would have to make sure to take care of breakfast though, he did not want to press his luck too much.

The rest of the family now also made it into the kitchen and sat at the table. Mo Xuanyu looked at them and he saw a perfect family, one which was happy, one which took care of their children and those children could smile like that. They must have been such good boys, not like him. Nothing like him, never.

Seeing the perfect family picture in front of him, he actually felt a little bit envious. He did never have anything similar and he knew he would never have. This was something he had not allowed himself to even dream about, it would hurt too much to then awaken to the harsh reality. It was not that he had not accepted his life, he did, he knew that it was normal and only his fault that it was that way. Still, sometimes, just like right now, he could not help himself but to feel just a tiny bit lonely.

He looked around the kitchen discreetly until he spotted a suitable corner where he would not stand out and he went to take his place. Finally, there was a situation he knew what he was supposed to be doing in. He carefully positioned himself in the corner, making himself as small as possible and fully resigned to wait until his teacher's family would finish eating so he would be able to wash the dishes and clean everything up. He joined his hands behind his back and lowered his head, waiting.

The soup smelled heavenly, he would not have been able to cook something like that, he only knew a few simple dishes. Perhaps he could search for the recipe in the school's library? Do they even have cookery books at school? He could try making it for his teacher's family. For some reason, the thought that he could also cook it for his own family did not even cross his mind.

"A-Yu?"

Mo Xuanyu's train of thoughts was interrupted and he flinched when he realized that his teacher was talking to him. What did he do wrong? His stomach did not growl like yesterday so that could not have been it. Did he perhaps choose a wrong place to hide himself? But his teacher was only talking to him, he was not grabbing him and throwing him over a chair like his uncle. Mo Xuanyu was confused. Then again, perhaps if he did not react, his teacher would just forget he was there.

Or apparently not as his teacher did not give up: "A-Yu, will you join us for dinner?"

Mo Xuanyu's head shot up in surprise. Did he hear right? Had his teacher just asked him to go eat together with his family? A dinner no less. That was something completely unheard of for him, his family never allowed him to eat with them. Once again he was at a complete loss about what to do.

Then he noticed that there were five places prepared at the table and five plates of soup laid down on it. Did they actually want him to eat with them? He looked at his teacher and saw that there was no anger in his eyes, only a welcoming and encouraging smile on his lips. And Mo Xuanyu found it very hard to not listen to him, not that he wanted to go against his order in the first place, but it was one of the rare times he genuinely wanted to do something he was told to of his own will. He glanced to the others around the table, just to make sure and he only saw the same anticipation on their faces as well.

He did not even hesitate and he went to sit down on the last empty seat. He picked up the spoon just like the others and started eating gratefully, making sure he would not cause any noise and would not anger his teacher.

He was enjoying the soup very much, truth to be told, he had never tasted something this good. Not in his home and not at school. Before he knew it, his plate was empty. He wondered if he had been so hungry or if the food was just so good. He continued staring at his empty dish, regretting there was not more. He had had his lunch at school today so he was not too hungry but he still greedily wanted more of this delicacy.

This only proved that he was a bad boy. Surely good boys were not gluttons with bottomless stomachs who would want to eat someone else's food. He had already heard about a saying 'offer a finger and they will take your hand' and he thought that it was very fitting right now. His teacher wanted to be nice to him and now he was about to take advantage of his kindness. He could not believe he was so ungrateful. He felt extremely ashamed of himself, his family was right, he really was a bad boy.

His head shot up again when his teacher's husband addressed him: "Do you want more?"

What kind of question was that? Mo Xuanyu could not react in any way, he only stared at the said husband and had a hard time keeping his mouth from opening due to the shock and surprise. He would not have been able to reply even if he was allowed to. He was just too stunned at the moment.