Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 1357: Chen Huixi Side Story (Conclusion)

Chen Jun watched as they did not sit down, but instead gathered around the tea table and lounged on the sofa, heads down, engrossed in their phones, clearly in a private group chat with a bunch of spirits. He glanced at the children’s watch on his wrist and said calmly, "Coke."

"Ice Coke."

Chen Huixi stood up, "I’ll go and tell the server."

Just as Chen Huixi got up and was about to walk out, Chen Yingjun called out to her.

Chen Yingjun was sitting by the tea table, holding a small box, and waved at Chen Huixi with a big grin, "Huixi, come, look what Uncle has prepared for your birthday gift."

Chen Huixi ran over, curious, and took the box, opening it.

Inside the box was a beautiful golden hairpin, adorned with emeralds and rubies.

The hairpin wasn’t heavy, with exquisite craftsmanship. The design of the flowers, embellished with pearl-studded gold bead tassels, didn’t look like something you’d find at a typical jewelry store—it seemed custom-made and clearly prepared long in advance.

"Wow," Chen Huixi exclaimed.

"You like it, huh? Your mom’s been going on about it since last year, saying fifteen is your coming of age and it’s important to go all out. I thought long and hard about what to give for the coming of age. Checked online, found that a hairpin is fitting, specially prepared for you, Huixi. How about it, your uncle’s gift this year is definitely the most thoughtful." Chen Yingjun said smugly.

Chen Huixi’s grandmother glanced at Chen Yingjun with mild annoyance, "Huixi only has you as an uncle, so you must prepare thoughtfully. Look at you showing off, we agreed to give it after the meal but you couldn’t hold back."

Her grandmother rolled her eyes while pulling out a small box from her handbag and handed it to Huixi.

Inside, there was a jade plaque.

"Huixi, this is a special ’Safety Plaque’ your grandmother chose for you, blessed by a master. It ensures health, academic progress, and family happiness. Your grandma knows you young people don’t believe in these things now, but this one is good—every kid in our family has one, and you’re grown now, you should have one too."

Chen Huixi happily took out the jade plaque, removed the zodiac gold pendant that Chen Huihong had given her last year from her neck, and put on the jade plaque, saying sweetly, "Thank you, Grandma!"

Grandma smiled widely, "My Huixi is really a good child."

Chen Yingjun was a bit jealous, "Huixi, why aren’t you wearing Uncle’s hairpin."

"Dad, Huixi’s hair is neatly styled today, where’s room for a hairpin?" Chen Yingjun’s daughter couldn’t help but tease, pulling out the gift she’d prepared for a long time, "Here, Huixi, look at the clothes Sister bought for you!"

Chen Huixi’s classmates and friends sitting at the dining table saw others starting to give gifts, thinking it was the time for birthday gifts, and lined up to give their prepared presents.

Just the gift-giving took seven or eight minutes.

After receiving a string of gifts, with her gold pendant replaced by a jade accessory, the golden hairpin awkwardly slipped into her hair, new dolls hanging from her backpack, a new beautiful bracelet on her hand, with the clips for her bangs replaced with new crystal floral clips, she returned to her seat, only then realizing she was supposed to help Luo Jun order Coke.

"Oh dear, Junjun, I forgot to order your Coke, I’ll go get it now!" Huixi jumped up again.

Facing the rare use of Junjun as a nickname, Luo Jun merely rolled his eyes internally and, with a grumpy expression, pulled out the birthday gift he’d prepared for Huixi from his pocket.

A small box.

Huixi hadn’t expected Luo Jun to also prepare a birthday gift for her. He was just a kid, and in previous years, when Huixi celebrated her birthday, Luo Jun didn’t give gifts, just came for the meal.

Huixi had already received many small boxes today, and Luo Jun’s was the smallest. She didn’t think much of it, assuming it was a trinket from a shop near school or a regular boutique, happily took it, opened it, and found inside a very toy-like, small, semi-circular, milk-white comb.

Curious, Huixi picked it up and found it was quite heavy.

"Is this made of stone?" Huixi asked.

"More or less," Luo Jun said casually, "Combs are given for the coming of age, they didn’t prepare, so I bought one."

"Wow, Chen Jun you actually knew about this. Is it a decoration or a comb?"

"It can be a decoration."

Hearing this, Huixi simply stuck the comb into her hair. Anyway, there was already enough stuff in her hair—one more wouldn’t matter.

It could be said, after receiving all those gifts, Huixi’s original careful styling was gone. Fortunately, not everyone gave jewelry and adornments, or Huixi would look like a Christmas tree now.

With everything going on, Huixi completely forgot about the Coke.

Luo Jun didn’t remind her, simply scanning Huixi’s ensemble with his eyes, with neither despise nor approval, then shifted his gaze away, continuing to sit with a face of disinterest, waiting for the meal to start.

Huixi knew she should sit down—she was the birthday celebrant today. If she ran around it would draw everyone’s attention and disrupt their conversations.

But Huixi was restless because she knew there was still an important person who hadn’t arrived yet.

"Chen Jun, have you seen Master Qin?" Huixi asked.

Nowadays, Master Qin’s nickname, Qin Huai, is well-known in Yunzhong District—from eighty-year-olds to three-year-olds, all call him Master Qin.