After dinner, everyone relocated in the courtyard to continue the party. Games were prepared, Lillie and Ethan were forced to join.
Lillie looked at the blindfolded Ethan in slight concern as she wiped his lips.
"...broccoli?" He guessed.
"Correct!" Agathe giggled at her future son-in-law"s funny expression.
They were playing "guess the baby food".
The female players would do the feeding while the males guess the flavor of the baby food.
So far, Ethan was winning, but he"s not happy in the slightest. Everything taste so disgusting.
Is this really food for babies?
"It"s real food, don"t worry." Lillie said, saying half the truth.
"Ah, ah! No cheating!" Agathe scolded her daughter.
Lillie sighed at her mother"s antics. What they"re feeding to the male players was actually the Bai family"s homemade baby food.
In conclusion, it"s all vegetables, and it doesn"t taste good.
"Next baby food please!"
Lillie eyed the dark green mush in disgust, her nose p.r.i.c.kled at the distinct smell.
Ah, bitter melon.
"Open wide, Ethan." Lillie placed a spoonful of the mushed vegetable in his mouth.
"Urgh!" Ethan swallowed in surprise, the extreme bitterness overpowered his tastebuds.
Loud coughing and barfing noises resounded as the other players almost choked. The observers pitied them, and at the same time, laugh at their misfortune.
Ethan heard a woman"s loud laughter beside him. It"s probably Veronica guffawing at her husband"s reaction.
"H-hun, this is betrayal." Veronica"s husband tearfully said, trying his best not to vomit the bitter mush.
I feel you, man.
Despite the blindfolds hindering his sight, Ethan can feel the mischievous smirk on Lillie"s lips. "Betrayal." He repeated, glaring at her behind the blindfolds.
"T-ting...how could you..." Anthony"s soul almost slipped out of his body, he even thought he saw the bridge to the afterlife. His girlfriend just dumped a large heap of the mushed bitter melon down his throat and closed his mouth!
Ming Ting laughed to her heart"s content, she never had this much fun in ages. "S-sorry, babe—pfft!" She apologized, unable to stop her laugher.
"I-I wanna divorce..." Anthony lifelessly said, covering his mouth to stop the urge to vomit.
Lillie removed Ethan"s blindfold while stealthily observing the two. Ming Ting doesn"t seem to pretend having fun, she looks like she was really enjoying her cousin brother"s company.
"Already? We aren"t even married yet, silly." Ming Ting pouted, squeezing her boyfriend"s cheeks.
"I"m kidding, I wouldn"t want you to leave me ever again." Anthony tried to be smooth to steal a kiss.
But Ming Ting saw right through his ploy and blocked his lips with the spoon.
"Nah ah, not with your bitter melon breath."
"Tsk, revenge failed."
Thankfully, it was the last flavor, and Ethan won a sweet juice to wash down the bitterness lingering in his tongue.
Ethan trapped Lillie into his arm and whispered behind her ears, "I"ll get you for this."
s.h.i.+vers ran down her spines.
Nearing the climax of the party, everyone were gathered at a clearing. It was time for the twins" gender to be revealed. The ones who knew prepared a fireworks display.
"Ready?"
Veronica held her husband in antic.i.p.ation.
"3...2..." Everyone counted down in unison.
"1!"
Bright blue flowers exploded in the dark sky.
A gasp escaped the expectant couple"s lips as tears streamed down of their faces.
"Two more boys who will carry the Bai family"s name." Bai Wuqing stated, his wrinkled face stretched along with his smile.
Eliana Clark softly laughed, the usual sternness in her face changed into a gentle smile that matched her husband.
"Congratulations, Nica, Ah Tian!" Arthur Bai hugged his only daughter and her husband.
"Does this mean I have someone to play cars with?" Luo Jiren"s eyes sparkled at the thought as he was sandwiched between his parents.
"Yes, Renren will have two baby brothers he can play with!" Veronica said as she squeezed her eldest son"s chubby cheeks.
Ethan rested Lillie"s head onto his chest as he locked his arms around her waist. Lillie closed her eyes, intaking his scent as she listened to the fireworks above them.
A familiar scene resurfaced from her memories, back when they went to j.a.pan and to the festival.
"Did you enjoyed the party?" He asked.
"I did." Lillie hummed, snuggling deeper into his warm embrace. "Especially since you"re with me to enjoy it."
Thump thump...
Ethan"s heart raced, beating as if he just ran a marathon. He felt the woman in his arm shake as soft laughters slipped from her lips.
"I can hear it..." She pressed her ear to where his heart was located. "I"m glad I can also make it beat like."
"Also?" Ethan looked down at her with a grin.
Lillie brought her hands on his tone back and shoved her face on his chest to hide redness on it.
Chuckling at another cute expression from his wife, Ethan detached his arms on her waist to place his hands on her heated cheeks.
He gently tilted her head up and drew it near to his face. Lillie closed her eyes, antic.i.p.ating his lips on hers—only to feel something soft land on her forehead.
Lillie opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion.
"I don"t think your father would appreciate it if I kiss you here." Ethan motioned his eyes at her father"s direction.
If looks could kill, Ethan would be six feet under from that frightening glare.
***
"I can"t believe how fast the time was." Veronica cried in her cousin sister"s shoulder. The party has come into end, everyone were now bidding their relatives farewell.
Luo Jiren was already sleeping on his father"s arms, cuddling the gift he received from his aunt. It"s for the best that he"s asleep, he would"ve not let Lillie go if he was awake.
"We"ll be seeing each other again. Maybe in a few months when the twins are born."
"Yeah, you"re right." Veronica sniffled, rubbing the tears off her eyes.
"By the way, how"s your judgement on brother"s girlfriend?" She whispered while sneaking a glance at subjects.
"You have nothing to worry about, your brother knows what he"s doing." She rubbed her shoulder in rea.s.surance.
"Well, if you say so." Veronica smiled. "She does seem to be serious with their relations.h.i.+p. It"s just that...her circ.u.mstances isn"t exactly making her look good."
Lillie share her thoughts. Regardless, thorough investigation will still be carried out. Ming Ting"s real intentions and the reason why her cousin brother was covering up for her are in need of answers.
Lillie a.s.sumed that Ming Ting latched onto her cousin brother so that Wei Fang would stop tormenting her family.
Beforehand, she dispatched some of her spies to watch over Wei Fang"s movements. So far, she"ve learned that he"s the reason behind the Ming family"s bankruptcy.
And just a few days after that the Ming family were labelled bankrupt, her spies reported that they saw Azure Tortoise"s people sneaking inside the Wei family"s estate.
There was no commotion, and the people who entered did not came back.
Lillie stationed her people just outside the premises, she did not made them go inside.
Seems it was a smart move, or else they would"ve end up like Azure Tortoise"s men.
Lillie is now certain that Wei Fang is someone from the Underworld. She would have to add him to the list of people that needs further inspection.
The face behind that smiling mask, the one that frightened even Azure Tortoise...might really belong to an actual devil.