Time dragged on as the siblings waited for their food, but they couldnât help but feel a little puzzled. Didnât the food come pretty quickly last time? The reason why they picked this place was that apart from its good food, the dishes were served in a timely manner as well. They were about to die from starvation, and that this rate, theyâll probably end up in the newspapers tomorrow.
Shen Jingchen slumped on the table weakly and said, "Whenâs the food coming? How about you tell them to serve the food quicker?"
Shen Jingbin rolled her eyes at him. "Why donât you go then?"
"Iâm so hungry I canât even move. I wouldâve chosen another restaurant if Iâd known they were going to be so slow."
"Too late for âifâs."
The siblings suddenly heard a knock on the door while they were talking and paused for a moment. Had the food arrived?
The door was pushed open with a creak, and the two of them looked towards it with stars in their eyes...
The moment he pushed open the door, Zhao Chengning got a fright from the intensity of their stares that were brimming with desire. It was his first time seeing them like this.
"You guys... what happened?" Zhao Chengning paused and asked with his hand still on the doorknob.
Realising that it wasnât their food being served, the two of them immediately deflated like balloons, with Shen Jingchen slumping limply onto the table.
"We thought the food was being served... Whyâre you here?" Shen Jingbin asked.
Zhao Chengning entered, closed the door, and took a seat beside her. "We were planning to have dinner here at first, but Boss Liu told me that heâd let you guys use our private room, so Iâm here to have a look."
"Your private room?" Shen Jingbin asked as she looked at him.
Zhao Chengning nodded. "This private room was specially prepared for my family. My Grandfather loves spicy food, so he frequents this place often."
"Hey hey hey, didnât I say this room looked a lot like the one we went to last time? Who was the one who said that furnishings across all restaurants were more or less the same? Hmph," Shen Jingchen cried out.
Shen Jingbin ignored him. "Eh, then what should we do now? Weâre taking up your spot."
Zhao Chengning smiled and looked at her. "Itâs fine, weâll eat together."
"Okay, okay. Either way, our foodâs not here yet so letâs eat together then," Shen Jingchen clamoured.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shen Jingbin noticed his use of "we" just now; that meant he wasnât by himself. "Who else with you?"
"Just my family members."
Zhao Chengning said it nonchalantly, but the two siblings had chills running down their spines when they heard what heâd said. Didnât that mean his Mother was coming as well?åæ¯çéäºä»ä»¬çæ³æ³ä¸æ ·ï¼èµµåå®ç¹äºç¹å¤´ï¼"å¯ï¼æå¦å¦ä¹è¦æ¥ã"
Almost as if heâd read their minds, Zhao Chengning nodded and said, "Mhm, my Motherâs coming as well."
Oh nooo! Was there still time for them to switch to a different restaurant?
Unfortunately, the situation proved otherwise. Those with sharper hearing could already hear the sound of footsteps and the chatter of people from outside the door.
Sure enough, a few seconds later the door opened once again.
"Ah Ning, is the food here yet? Did you tell them to get my logan..." Papa Zhao was the first to walk in, but his words were stopped short by the shock of seeing the two others present. "Little Chen and Little Jingâs here too?"
"What, Little Chen and Little Jing?" Old Master Zhao, who was trailing behind him, pushed the obstruction that was Papa Zhao away when he hard what was said. "Goodness, it really is Little Chen and Little Jing! Ah Ning, why didnât you tell us Little Chen and Little Jing were coming as well?" Old Master Zhao glared at Zhao Chengning in reproach.
Zhao Chengning was completely innocent. I just found out as well!
"Grandpa Zhao, Uncle Zhao, this isnât Ah Ningâs fault, we didnât tell him beforehand, so he was only aware of us coming now as well," Feeling that Zhao Chengning was being wrongfully accused, Shen Jingbin took the initiative to explain things.
However, her explanation seemed to insinuate something else in the eyes of Old Master Zhao and Papa Zhao.
My word, wasnât she the picture of a loving wife, rushing in to help clear the air because she was afraid of him being wronged?
Old Master Zhao smiled and said, "Weâre not blaming him, weâre not blaming him, you donât have to be so anxious about it."
Shen Jingbin was thrown for a loop. I wasnât anxious about anything; I was just explaining things.
Zhao Chengning suddenly felt like facepalming.
There was no one else apart from Old Master Zhao and Papa Zhao. Zhao Chengning looked around and asked, "Whereâs Mother and brother?" As heâd come straight from the office, Zhao Chengan was the one who drove everyone else over.
Papa Zhao sat down and said, "Your Mother got a call from Aunt Jian, saying she and Cishu were nearby. She thought that itâd be a good opportunity for us to have dinner together, so she sent your brother to pick them up."
Papa Zhao suddenly felt a little awkward after heâd said that. He shot a glance at Shen Jingbin and said, "Little Jing, youâve met Jian Cishu before, right? Sheâs Ah Ningâs little sister."
"I know, Uncle Zhao," Though Shen Jingbinâs reply was calm, she was on the verge of a mental breakdown inside.
F*ck, why are the number of people increasing! All she wanted to do was to eat! Why were there so many obstacles in her path!!!
Old Master Zhao was dissatisfied with the entire Jian family. "Weâre having a family dinner; why are they joining in? Call Zhao Chengan and have him come back."
Old Masterâs Zhao was being rash, and Papa Zhao didnât know whether to laugh or cry when he heard what Old Master Zhao said.
Dad, did you forget that the children from the Shen family are still around?
Humph, theyâre not outsiders; theyâll be a part of our family sooner or later.
But they donât know that; what if they misunderstand?
Humph! Old Master Zhao snorted like a tsundere.
Papa Zhao sighed and said, "Your Grandpaâs being difficult."
Shen Jingbin looked at Old Master Zhao, then at Papa Zhao, and then at Zhao Chengning before smiling without saying anything. Shen Jingchen, on the other hand, was already way too starved to manage a reply.
Mama Zhao, who was ânearbyâ, turned out to be really close to them. Before long, Zhao Chengan arrived with them in tow.
When Mama Zhao, who was still laughing and chatting with Jian Cishu as she pulled her in, saw the two siblings from the Shen family; her smile froze, along with the smiles of Jian Cishu and Mama Jian.
As someone of the younger generation, Shen Jingbin felt that she should take the initiative to greet them. Standing up, she said, "Hello, Aunt Zhao, Aunt Jian."