Jean's emotional feelings made his kiss much fiercer and domineering than usual. The sound of their lips crushing against one another seemed to echo in the silent kitchen.
Everyone who saw the romantic moment reacted differently. Some hurriedly looked away, while others covered their faces with their hands.
"Really brutal ..." Tom muttered as he peeked at the couple kissing through his fingers.
When Jean finally let Lilia go, the woman's face had turned red as a tomato. Her tightly clenched fists repeatedly hit Jean's shoulder, as if telling him not to do this again in front of everyone. Apart from Jean's friends, Rachel and Vivi were also here. The two of them looked at Lilia with their mouths open and their faces red. She felt so embarrassed that they all saw Jean's passionate kiss.
And yet, Jean barely felt Lilia's punch. The man leaned his forehead against Lilia's as he took a deep breath to calm himself down. After Jean's heartbeat started to slow down, he grabbed Lilia's wrist and studied her palm closely.
Jean felt relieved when he saw that Lilia's white and smooth hands didn't show any wounds. He was worried that his wife might injure herself while cooking. There seemed to be a bit of oil splash, but it would heal soon without a trace.
At that time, Lilia pulled both of her hands and brought Jean's big hand on her cheek. The woman smiled sweetly as she said, "Happy birthday, dear."
Jean did not think that such simple words could make his heart beat racing again. He was really happy that he could marry this woman.
"... Yeah." Jean shortly replied to hide his embarrassment. He shifted his gaze to the dining table which was filled with various kinds of dishes, "Did you cook everything yourself?" Jean deliberately changed the subject.
Lilia shook her head, her soft cheek rubbing against Jean's hand, "No, I only made a few dishes. Sister Mei helped me make the rest."
To be precise, Lilia deliberately made all of Jean's favorite dishes and left the rest to Sister Mei. She wanted him to try the dishes she cooked herself.
"Ehem!"
Suddenly, a small cough sounded. Chris stared at the couple with annoyance. Lilia hurriedly let go of Jean's hand and looked away with a flushed face. But Jean on the other hand didn't even glance at his friend. He remained as if he and Lilia were alone in the room.
"Are you done?" Chris asked, glancing at the dishes on the dining table. He wanted the two of them to stop making out in front of everyone so they could eat right away. All those mouthwatering dishes would get cold if they kept stalling like this!
Lilia cleared her throat and put a big smile back on, "Have a seat, everyone. Let's start dinner!" She invited them while pulling Jean towards the dining table.
After everyone took their seats, Lilia went to the kitchen. She returned with a plate of thick noodles in a thick broth decorated with reddish quail eggs. Lilia put the dish in front of Jean while smiling proudly.
"These are longevity noodles! I heard that people in China always eat this dish on their birthdays. They say eating these noodles can make you live a long life!" Lilia explained, "I wanted you to live long, so I cooked this too!"
Jean stared at the dish in front of him without saying a word. He knew about the Chinese tradition of eating longevity noodles at birthday parties. The smell of the noodles was strong and seductive, but Jean didn't move to take the chopsticks.
For Jean, his birthday was the day he hated the most. If it weren't for his friends' tradition of celebrating birthdays, Jean wouldn't want to celebrate his own birthday. He preferred to immerse himself in his work late into the night, just so that he wouldn't have to remember that damned day.
After all, it was the day he lost almost everything.
But the pleasant surprises from Lilia this night slowly gave a new color to Jean's birthday. He again felt that his birthday was something to be happy about and worth celebrating. As long as that woman was by his side, Jean wouldn't mind doing this every year. Without Lilia knowing it, that woman had driven away the darkness that clung to Jean's heart for years.
Jean finally picked up the chopsticks and started eating the noodles.
"... This is delicious." Jean said in a flat voice.
Others would misunderstand and think that the man was just saying it out of courtesy, but those words brought a wide smile to Lilia's face. She knew that Jean didn't like small talk and would only say what was on his mind.
"I'm glad you like it!" Lilia answered cheerfully as she returned to her seat.
The dinner was quiet and harmonious. The only exception was the cold war atmosphere between Tom and Vivi. The two people continued to glare at each other without anyone relenting. They were a living example of the adage 'like dogs and cats'.
Fortunately, they managed to get through the dinner without much fighting. After dinner, Jean took Lilia upstairs while Chris and the others relaxed in the living room.
The teapot filled with royal tea had turned cold, but Tom still poured himself the tea. He continued to drink the tea until he finished more than half of the teapot himself.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Rachel was busy calming Vivi, who was still filled with anger. As soon as Vivi saw Tom's figure earlier, she immediately thought of her broken cellphone. That damn man was the source of all her troubles!
The more Vivi thought about Tom, the angrier she became. She had decided she would rather hide in the kitchen than sit in the same room as Tom any longer!
Tom put the cup of tea he was drinking on the table. He took turns looking at Chris and Alex, then asked, "Why didn't you invite Sasha here tonight?"
The question had been on his mind ever since he first stepped into this house, but Tom had deliberately held back from asking. From the conversation in the group chat earlier, he felt that Chris and Lilia didn't invite Sasha tonight on purpose.
Hearing that question, Alex turned his head and paused from playing with the tea utensils. He raised her eyebrows as he exchanged glances with Chris. Alex then asked, "Why? Are you disappointed that Sasha wasn't invited tonight?"
Even though Tom had been chasing Sasha for years, he didn't give up. But Sasha herself was just as stubborn as Tom. She would never turn to Tom even if the man married her.
Sasha admired an arrogant and elegant man like Jean. If Tom really wanted to win Sasha's heart, it would be better if he stopped wearing his favorite floral pattern and started acting more elegant. With Tom's current attitude, it was impossible for Sasha to glance at him, let alone fall in love with him.
Tom almost choked on Alex's words. He coughed for a long time before finally exploding, "Yeah right, I'm disappointed! Can't I ask something that simple?!"
From across his seat, Chris took a deep smoke on his cigarette as if trying to gather his patience. Then he pointed the cigarette in his hand towards his friend, "Tom, answer my one question first before I answer yours."
"What?" Asked Tom with a confused expression.
Chris puffed out his cigarette and gave Alex a meaningful gaze, who immediately got the point. Chris then said, "What do you think the relationship between Jean and Lilia is now?"
Tom looked at Chris in surprise, but he still replied, "Of course husband and wife!"
"Damn right!" Chris narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin up high, "And you know that Sasha likes Jean, right? Don't play dumb with me."
Tom was suddenly speechless.
Alex laughed at his easy-to-understand reaction, "You're too innocent, Tom, though I guess that's also one of your strengths. Do you think Jean wouldn't notice Sasha's feelings for him?"
Tom still didn't say anything.
Chris went back to biting the end of his cigarette, "Do you think inviting Sasha here is a good idea? With their troubled relationship like that?"
The man glared at Tom.
"Tom, I'll give you advice as your best friend. If you really like Sasha, then you seriously should go after her! Otherwise, you better just give up! You spoil Sasha so much that you pretend you don't know that she intentionally caused trouble for Lilia!" Chris stressed further.
The man's words were so on target that the smile on Tom's face faded. He looked back at Chris with a frown, "Sasha would never do something like that! She's not that kind of woman!" He exclaimed.
Alex and Chris both sighed. It looked like their best friend had fallen so deep and couldn't be saved!
"Doesn't matter what Sasha is capable of, we didn't invite her here on purpose to prevent trouble.. Got it?" Alex said, his patience was running low.
Read latest chapters at f(r)eewebnov𝒆l Only