I S U F D (Lisa X Mingyu)

37

Once the dishes were served, silence reigned in the private room. The table was piled high with Tian Xia Restaurant's signature dishes, and Mingyu had ordered egg fried rice especially for Lisa.

"Want some fried fish?" Mingyu picked up a small, golden-brown fish and placed it on her plate.

"Thank you." Lisa spooned in a bite of egg fried rice. Although she felt that the craftsmanship of the current chef was hardly equal to the man sitting beside her, Tian Xia Restaurant had access to superior ingredients so it still tasted different from home-cooked food.

His aunt smiled, watching them, before asking Lisa: "Miss Manoban, do you cook?"

Before Lisa could open her mouth, Mingyu interrupted: "I can."

Lisa, her mouth full of rice, cocked her head at Mingyu. She had actually just been about to say that she could cook.

Mingyu's father added: "What's this, don't I do all the cooking in our family?"

Once that had been said, neither Mingyu's mother nor his aunt spoke up again.

After the meal, Mingyu's father took out a red envelope as a meeting gift for Lisa. She declined, embarrassed, but when Father Kim saw her refusal, he merely stuffed it into the Mingyu's hands. "Then take it to cook a few good dishes for others to eat."

Mingyu did not refuse. "Thank you, Dad. Do you have plans for later? Want to play mahjong?"

"Unfortunately not, I'm going fishing this afternoon."

"Then should I drive you there?"

"What driving? Your car will hardly fit all four of us. You should go have fun with Lisa, and when you next have a chance, come home for dinner. I'll be cooking."

Mingyu laughed. "I haven't tasted your craft in a long time. I'm pretty envious of Mom."

When Mother Kim heard him, she smiled. "You know you can come home to eat anytime you like! Yet when you don't come back, you blame us." Looking at her sister beside her, she said, "Shall we be off?"

"I hope I'll have a chance to eat together with you again next time," his aunt bid farewell, picking up her bag and leaving with Mingyu's parents.

Mingyu and Lisa headed to the elevator. When the doors closed, Lisa collapsed against the walls. Mingyu picked up her hand and asked, "What's wrong?"

Lisa looked up at him and said, "I can finally take a breath!"

Mingyu pulled her up with a smile, tidying her hair. "I'll take you home first to nap."

"Sounds good." Lisa felt exhausted. She hadn't slept well last night, and had been scrambling around all morning today. She might even fall asleep next to her pillow. Following Mingyu  to the parking lot, Lisa sat down in the passenger seat and looked at the person next to her. "Does your family not like me very much?"

Mingyu started the car and turned to look at her. "They just don't know you yet."

"Oh..." Lisa felt that she really wasn't that interesting. "To tell the truth, our families are really different. Your parents want to find you a..."