"Master Lu, Madam Lu. Dinner is ready."
Entering the room, the Lu family"s butler interrupts the lively atmosphere. The maids had informed him that the food were prepared and ready to be serve.
Old Lu nod his head and gestures to the butler that he can leave. On the other side, when Madam Lu heard the butler"s inform for dinner, her eyes lit up and she reach for Yue Ling"s hand with a smile.
"Yue Ling, I have prepared a delicious meal for you. Come, you can sit next to me."
"Mm."
Yue Ling sighs a smile and allows Madam Lu to guide her to the dining room. She is happy that Madam Lu is comfortable with her and gives her the feeling of home.
Watching both women leave the room, Lu Tian frown with a sulking expression. His mother is being too clinging with his wife. He is the son but he"s being treated like an unwanted guest. Maybe he shouldn"t have brought his wife here. If he didn"t, he would still be able to have her all to himself.
"Son, you will have to get use to this."
From the side, Old Lu chuckles his words. For some reason, he can"t help but pity his son, but he knows this feeling better than anyone. When Lu Tian was first born, his wife had shoved him to the side and forgot all about him. It was as if Lu Tian was the only one in her eyes.
However, after they had Lu Han, both he (Old Lu) and Lu Tian did not get as much attention as Lu Han did.
Thinking this, he pat his son on the shoulder before following after his wife and Yue Ling.
Good thing Lu Tian is never one to fight for attention.
Left with no choice, Lu Tian could only follow behind. He shouldn"t be childish and fight over his wife with his mother.
He also thought it was a good thing Yue Ling did not want to live in Peony Villa. If they did, he is sure his mother will never go home, even worse, she might welcome herself to live with them.
Entering the dining room, half of the long dining table is covered with different dishes. The delicious aroma filled the entire room making one drool inside at its smell.
Madam Lu"s eyes beam with joy. She had spent the entire afternoon preparing these dishes and told the maids to help finish cooking since Yue Ling and Lu Tian were here.
Just as she was about to say something, she did not expect her son to be faster.
"Yue Ling, you sit on this side."
He place a hand behind his wife"s back and pulls her away from his mother"s grasp. Pulling a chair back for her, he motions her to sit down.
So what if he had said he wouldn"t fight for attention, when it involves his wife, he does not care who it is.
Oblivious to his vinegar eating, Yue Ling thanked him and sits down as Lu Tian quickly takes the seat next to her. He thought, if his mother wants, she can sit on the left of his wife.
"…"
Left in a speechless state, Madam Lu could not believe that her own son was eating vinegar!
She scoffs inside and decided to do exactly what her son wants. There is enough room for the three of them to sit on one side of the table.
Staring at his wife and son, Old Lu sighs inside. He had just praised that his oldest son did not like to fight for attention and yet, here he is, fighting for attention.
Shaking his head, he reach an arm out to grab his wife who was just about to sit down. He smiles to her and part his lip speak.
"Dear, you sit next to me."
Without waiting for her response, he drags her over to the other side of the table. He helps Madam Lu sits on a chair while ignoring her annoyed expression. Then he took the head seat.
Yue Ling stares at the dining table and she was in for a surprise. Even her throat could not help but move at the sight of the food.
Laid out on the table was roasted duck, dumplings, Sichuan pork, sweet and sour chicken, Ma Po tofu, preserved vegetables, steamed vermicelli rolls, and fried shrimp. In front of each person was bowl of steamed rice ready to be eaten.
Seeing Yue Ling"s expression, Madam Lu smiles with satisfaction. She picks up her chopstick and grabs the leg part of the roast duck.
"Yue Ling try this one. I prepared it especially for you."
Placing it onto her plate, Madam Lu quickly reach for another dish. This time it was a piece of tofu.
"This one too. Ah, this one too! Oh and this one too. See this one? It"s healthy for you."
Piece after piece, Yue Ling stares down at her bowl and did not know whether to laugh or cry. The bowl in front her was filled above the rim that it now looked like a mountain.
Seeing that Madam Lu had no intentions of stopping, she turn to look at Lu Tian for help.
Lu Tian did not look at his wife, but he could see her pleading look from the corner of his eyes. He grabs his chopsticks and reach his hand to stop his mother.
"Mother."
Taking the piece of preserved vegetable from her chopstick, he place it in his bowl.
"You gave her a lot already. Anymore and she won"t be able to see her rice."
"…"
Madam Lu furrow her brows at her son, she thought he was being jealous but looking over at Yue Ling"s bowl, she felt embarra.s.sed. She did over do it with the food. She had placed so much that one can barely see the rice under.
She covers her mouth and chuckles. "Aiya, silly old me. Yue Ling ah, eat, eat as much as you want."
As the family of four start to eat, Old Lu and Lu Tian frequently discussed some matters about Lu Corps.
Madam Lu had mentioned that her youngest son Lu Han could not join them because he was busy with work. However, with each of her spoken words, she did not notice Yue Ling"s lost in time look.
Each time her bowl was almost empty, Madam Lu would fill it up to the rim again as she chatted away.
Yue Ling sighs inside and is thankful that she is no longer a model. With all of Madam Lu"s cooking and feeding, she is sure she will gain a few pounds.
Staring down at her bowl of food, she sees a piece of shrimp and suddenly felt a nausea feeling crawl in her. She likes to eat shrimp, but for some reason, the fried shrimp in her bowl gave her a weird feeling.
She inhales a deep breath through her nose to calm herself then picks up the shrimp with her chopstick. Although she did not feel like eating it, her mother once told her that when someone place food on your plate, it is rude not to eat it.
Of course, it wasn"t until later, she found out that it was a way to get her to eat her vegetables.
Not only that, Madam Lu has been very caring towards her, so it would be rude to not eat the meal she had prepared.
Just as she lift her chopstick and got a better smell of the fried shrimp, her head began to spin. It was a rather delicious smell at first, but now, for some reason her child did not like it as much as she does.
"What"s wrong?"
Lu Tian, who had been indulge in conversation with his father, turn to ask her. He may have looked like he wasn"t paying any attention to her, but he was. One ear listened to his father while the other listened to his wife"s movements.
He had also heard her utter a gag sound. Though it was very quiet and unnoticeable, nothing of hers escapes his ears.
Hearing their son"s sudden question, both Madam Lu and Old Lu"s attention was now on Yue Ling too. A worry look wash over them as they stare at her.
Sensing the many eyes on her, Yue Ling takes another deep breath and smiles rea.s.suring to Lu Tian.
"I"m fine."
Just as she said this, the deep breath she took gathered the smell of the shrimp into her nostril. She quickly cover her mouth as to not vomit and stood up from the chair.
"I"m sorry, please excuse me."
She did not know where the bathroom is, but she still left the room in hopes that she can find it soon.
Lu Tian quickly stood up and chase after his wife, but before he left the room, he turns back to look at his mother.
"Mother, do you have any bird"s nest soup?"
Madam Lu, who was confused and worried at the same time, looks at her son and nod her head.
"Yes, I do. I"ll go warm it up."
As the three people left the dining room in a frantic, Old Lu remained seated his seat with narrow eyes in the direction his son and Yue Ling had gone. He felt someone was rather unusual based on Yue Ling"s reaction, but he can"t seem to put it together.