Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
In the dead silence of one late night, a figure cautiously tip-toed across the Liu villa. The coast was clear and everybody was sound asleep, perfect to execute the devious plans. An evil laughter whispered in the corridor, but it was quickly held back lest anybody would catch the trace of it.
The figure entered the gold mine-like place they had been dreaming of for a long time. Drool formed on the lips, thinking of all the treasures hidden inside this magical mine.
But the figure froze as they heard a soft hustle in the air. The sensitive senses quickly caught the disturbance the followed.
Somebody is here.
Whether to fight or flight was the question. The presence of the figure at such late night all alone would raise eyebrows.
Damn it! Should I abort the plan?
In the end, they thought it was better safe than sorry and quietly turned back to return. But a small whisper echoed.
"Is that you, Leina?"
Leina stood rooted, her hands straight as if she was a soldier in position. She bit her lower lip, thinking that she was dead. But the familiarity of the voice began to calm her pounding heartbeats.
I know that voice…
She made a turn and took slow steps towards the figure seated on the floor in a conspicuous manner. A bowl filled with a spicy and zesty ramen on it rested like the most treasured king on the culprit's belly.
"Ai!"
Leina heaved a big sigh of relief and slowly kneeled down too. "Thank God it's you. I thought somebody caught me. By the way…" her brow twitched, "That's some pose."
Ai, now nine months pregnant, was very comfortably sitting on the floor behind one of the utensils tables and hiding her presence. She kept the bowl on her big, round belly as if it was another mini table. She was enjoying a delectable and fatty pork piece coated with the spicy broth.
"And you are eating ramen."
Ai let out a cough. "Ssh. Speak very quietly. The walls have ears too. It will be a mess if Jun catches me."
Leina burst into tears, holding her just protruding belly of five months and joining Ai in the tragedy. "I am no different! Jian has completely cut off my access to ice-cream! And I want to eat ice-cream so badly! What kind of a husband denies the request of his pregnant wife?"
Ai gravely nodded. "Jun has been the same. For some reason, I believe that he has become harsher to me instead of being the lovable and doting boyfriend he always was. How marriage changes men…"
She cleared her throat. "But I took matters into my own hands. I am an independent woman who can make her own decisions, definitely a decision to eat ramen whenever she wants."
Leina furiously nodded, sharing the camaraderie.
Ai giggled and pointed at the fridge. "I have stored some ice-cream stash at the very back."
"You are a life-saver Ai!" She kissed her cheek and hopped towards the fridge.
But as she opened the door, the light from the freezer shone upon a person sticking his back on the fridge just beside it. Leina sharply gasped, but the figure quickly covered her mouth with his hand to stop the alarm from raising.
"It's me! It's me! It's me! Your handsome and favorite Grandpa!"
Even Ai was left stunned by the sudden appearance of Liu Hai.
He wasn't there when I came in! Since when has he been hiding in there?
After getting the most terrible jumpscare, Leina felt her heartbeats going back to normal. "It's you…What are you doing here, Grandpa?" She urgently whispered. "You scared me!"
"More importantly," Ai chimed in, "Grandpa, did you see me eating ramen?"
Leina was speechless. "Didn't you just give yourself away?"
"Not really. It's a trick question. He cannot see the bowl on my belly. I might be eating something healthy too."
"Yeah, you won't have to hide from Jun and sneak your way in the kitchen like a thief if you were eating something healthy."
"..."
Liu Hai waved his hand. "Rest assured, my beautiful granddaughter-in-laws! Your secret is safe with me!" He furiously and proudly patted his chest.
He grabbed the stashed ice-cream from behind the freezer and handed it to Leina. "Here's your reward for marrying my idiot grandson, hohoho~"
He sat beside Ai, drooling at the sight of the ramen.
"Let's share, Grandpa!" She beamed. "I won't share it with Jun since he is being petty these days."
"Yes, let's share the ice-cream too!" Leina chirped.
Liu Hai wiped his reddened and moist eyes. "Such filial granddaughters I have."
Ai asked as he dove his chopsticks in the bowl. "When did you come here, Grandpa?"
"Ssshh," he munched on the juicy piece of meat, his heart entering a state of eternal bliss and euphoria. "Just ten minutes before you came in. Chunhua had made the dumplings tonight and it had been a long while since I had them! But she only restricted me to two dumplings," he grumbled with complaint. "So I came to steal some," he grinned.
Taking a bite of the strawberry ice-cream with its sweetness exploding in her mouth with satisfaction, Leina asked, "How will you explain the disappearance of the dumplings?"
Liu Hai snorted. "Why do I have to explain? Nian will since he stole them. Isn't it obvious that I will pin the crime on him?"
"How dare you stupid Grandpa!!"
A figure jumped out of a closet that stored glass kitchenware.
Nian furiously glared at Liu Hai, crawling on his hands and knees. He tried to straighten his position but his arched back by being hidden in the closet for too long obstructed this motion.
Fuck!
The arched back didn't reduce the intensity of his outrage by even a percent. "You stupid, old man! Do you even have a heart for you to selfishly accuse your adorable grandson of your shady crimes!? Fear the justice a little!"
The trio stared at him, dumbfounded.
Since when has Nian been here!?
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