Chapter 9. That day, after lunch, when they parted ways...

When they parted ways after lunch that day, You Chang took out a dark red gift box and gave it to Li Li.

"As soon as my mother heard that I had been promoted, she came to S City to see me," You Chang said happily. "These are Yunnan ham mooncakes that she specially brought from her hometown. Take them back and try them."

"Thank you so much," she said sincerely.

——

After completing the formalities for becoming a full-time employee after a three-month internship, I was able to seamlessly transition into the National Day holiday.

This year, National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival fall on the same day, and we'll be having a banquet at home tonight.

Li Li got up early without sleeping in, because the mooncakes Tan Yi sent from Hong Kong had arrived.

Even though he couldn't return to S City, it didn't stop Li Li from trying to improve his image at home.

In the kitchen, she cut off a small piece of each of the various flavors of mooncakes—custard, matcha, and pistachio—and arranged them on a beautiful plate. Together with the Yunnan ham mooncakes that You Chang had given her, she presented them to Wang Minjun and Wen Xi.

Seeing that the kitten was filial and well-behaved, they all obliged to try some and praised it as delicious.

Li Li smiled broadly and said, "I also think it's delicious. My friend really put a lot of thought into it."

Li Zhoudu, who was watching the news on TV in his pajamas, picked up a mooncake from the table, examined it for a while, and asked with a sneer, "A friend gave you this. Which friend would have so much free time to give you so many mooncakes? They must have too much money to burn."

Li Li sometimes felt that Li Zhoudu was too perceptive and annoying.

If Li Pusheng were still alive, and her grandfather doted on her so much, with him making the decisions, there might be a way to resolve the situation between her and Tan Yi.

However, with her parents stationed abroad for extended periods, her grandmother in poor health, and Wenxi being her aunt and unable to interfere in Li Li's private affairs, only Li Zhoudu was truly in a position to wield power.

She was furious inside. She snatched the mooncake from Li Zhoudu's hand and said angrily, "Eat it or don't, it's up to you!"

She picked out an extra piece for her grandmother: "Have a little bit of this too, it's low in oil and sugar."

Li Zhoudu nonchalantly wiped his hands with a wet wipe, then leaned back on the sofa and changed the channel with the remote control.

Around 11 a.m., a guest arrived at the house. The van drove directly to the backyard, and a dark-skinned young man got out of the driver's seat.

The visitor was Wang Zhuokang, Grandma's grand-nephew, whom Li Li had vaguely heard of when she paid homage to her ancestors in Jixi.

He just disembarked at the port in S City last week, and this time he made a special trip to deliver gifts for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Opening the trunk revealed over thirty baskets of fresh crabs, which were said to have been caught fresh from the lake early that morning and were still alive.

Wenxi said, both amused and exasperated, "You guys are really thoughtful. How can our family possibly finish eating just a few hundred crabs?"

Wang Zhuokang said with a smile, "The food isn't expensive, but it's prepared for your large number of customers. It's only once a year, so it's not a loss to eat something fresh."

Wenxi had been slightly annoyed by her cousin-in-law's request for her to temporarily arrange for Wang Zhuokang to disembark, and had a bad impression of him. However, after seeing him in person, she found him to be less young and impetuous than she had imagined.

He made a point of explaining that when he first boarded the ship, he had some conflicts with the second mate when he was young and naive, but they quickly made up after spending so much time together.

His mother was unaware of the situation and caused trouble for Wenxi; he hoped she could forgive her.

Wenxi said understandingly, "She's just worried and confused. We're family, so let's not be so formal."

Wang Zhuokang was asked to stay for lunch.

Steamed crabs were added to the table at noon; the crab meat was delicate and firm, and the crab roe was sweet.

Wang Zhuokang was a flexible and adaptable person. He vividly talked about his novel experiences on the ship and the different customs and traditions of various places, which made his grandmother very happy.

Li Zhoudu ate a crab, washed his hands, and returned, saying, "These crabs are good. I'll have someone take two baskets to Xie Zongfang later."

Wenxi patted Li Li's hand: "By the way, brother is so thoughtful. Our little kitten should start giving gifts to the leaders too."

Li Li didn't care about these social interactions.

She was feeling a bit down, so after finishing her meal, she left early and made a video call to her parents to wish them a happy holiday.

Li Li turned on the camera and showed them the mountain of crabs piled up in the kitchen.

Several women were washing and preparing the food together in the kitchen, as it would be used for a family dinner party that evening.

I prepared some more sauce and put it on the table, saying that I would marinate it with Shaoxing wine and put it in the refrigerator later, so that we could eat drunken crab tomorrow.

Ling Wei always worries that Li Li will be lonely during holidays, so she tells her that crabs are good, but she shouldn't eat too many. Little kitten, be good, we'll be back for the Spring Festival holiday.

"This year?" Li Li's eyes lit up.

“Yes, not many months left,” Ling Wei said gently.

This news was like a shot of adrenaline injected into the heart.

Li Li hung up the phone and watched the dark crabs moving around actively in the bamboo crab basket, the whole room filled with the dense sound of them blowing bubbles.

She squatted down, looked at it for a while, and pointed to one of the baskets, saying, "Please save this for me; I'm going to give it as a gift later."

"Is one basket enough?" the aunt asked.

"That's enough, I can't lift any more," Li Li said.

Li Li deliberately timed it perfectly, driving out at 5 PM with a basket of crabs and mooncakes.

She went straight to the Tan family's house, saw that the lights were already on inside, and then honked the horn in front of the door.

In contrast to the bustling and prosperous atmosphere at the Li family's residence, the Tan family's home appears unusually deserted at this moment.

She grew up in this house with Tan Yi and had never felt the house so quiet before.

She handed the mooncakes and crabs to her aunt and was invited inside to sit down and have some tea.

She looked around. Although the furnishings in the room hadn't changed much and everything was spotless, Li Li felt that everything seemed strangely unfamiliar.

This is all Tan Su's fault.

She took a sip of tea and asked, "Didn't Grandpa Tan come back for the holiday?"

The other party's reply was exactly the same as always: "Yes, Ms. Li."

Li Li thought to herself that she hadn't seen Tan Huiming for more than four years.

His health was already poor back then, and it's unlikely he'll be any better now.

She couldn't hide her frustration, but still tried to cheer herself up and said, "If Grandpa Tan comes back, please remember to tell him that it was Little Cat who brought the crabs."

"You can eat these crabs yourselves. They're all very good."

Just as she said these words, Tan Su returned from outside.

He got out of the car and frowned when he saw the extra sports car in the yard. He went inside and saw Li Li sitting on the sofa.

He asked, "What are you doing here?"

Li Li stood up and said politely, "I've come to give you a festival gift, Brother Tan Su."

She gave herself a good reason: "Thank you for accommodating my job change, but I haven't had a chance to formally thank you."

Tan Su loosened his tie, went upstairs to change his clothes without saying a word, then stopped and stood on the stairs to ask her, "Have you had dinner yet?"

Li Li shook her head.

Tan Su said, "Then finish eating before you leave."

Li Li didn't really want to go home for dinner either.

There are always a lot of people coming, and she doesn't like being asked all sorts of questions by strangers: what she does for a living, whether she has a boyfriend, whether she misses her parents, and so on.

After thinking for a moment, she replied to Li Zhoudu under the pretext of having dinner with a friend.

Several tens of minutes later, Tan Su came downstairs; the food was almost ready.

The crabs are steamed for 20 minutes until cooked through. The crab meat and roe are removed from the shells and can be easily eaten with a spoon without washing your hands.

Li Li glanced at Tan Su's expression and asked, "Not bad, right?"

Tan Su said, "Hmm."

There was never anything particularly special between them.

But on this very special festival of reunion, they ate a meal together alone.

The Tan family's chef has never changed, and the dishes still taste the same. From childhood to adulthood, Li Li has probably eaten there more times than Tan Su.

Li Li took two bites and then fell silent.

Tan Su looked up and suddenly saw her across from him with tears in her eyes.

Tan Su: ...

Li Li wiped away her tears like a child and said, "I lost my composure, Brother Tan Su. I miss my family even more during festivals, and I was just thinking about my grandfather."

Li Pusheng had been gone for a long time, and Tan Su couldn't tell if her tears were real or fake. He didn't know how to comfort a girl, so he simply said, "Please accept my condolences."

Li Li sniffed, her eyes red, and asked, "How is Grandpa Tan now?"

Tan Su did not answer her question directly: "Thank you for your concern."

Li Li persisted in pressing the issue: "Grandpa Tan is an elder, and I haven't seen him for many years. Can I go and see him?"

Tan Su did not answer this time.

The atmosphere inside the room became very cold. After dinner, the aunt brought out mooncakes as dessert, but Tan Su didn't like them being too sweet, so he didn't take any.

As he stood up, he gave Li Li the order to leave: "Go home as soon as you finish eating."

When Li Li drove back, the moon was already full. She thought angrily: Didn't you invite me to stay for dinner? What kind of person is it to kick me out after I finished eating? How awful!

She had a voice call with Tan Yi, ranting about how strange and unapproachable Tan Su was in private.

Tan Yi was also at a friend's gathering. It was noisy at first, but it soon quieted down as he went out of the cabin.

The Victoria Harbour, where the two festivals overlapped, was bustling with people, and yachts sailed in the bay. Tan Yi stood on the deck, the night wind blowing, with the already dark sky above him and the neon-lit skyscrapers lining both banks.

“He’s always been like that,” Tan Yi comforted him. “You’ve had a tough time, Cat.”

"Actually, it's not so bad. I managed to avoid having a meal at home."

Li Li muttered to herself, then remembered the important matter and asked with great interest, "My parents are coming back for Chinese New Year this year, Tan Yi. How about I arrange for everyone to meet and have a meal together?"

Tan Yi paused for a moment, then forced a smile: "Wait a minute, Cat."

"Once I'm able to go back, let's visit them together, okay?"

Li Li couldn't hide her disappointment: "...Oh."

The phone call ended, and as darkness fell, the 8 PM hour chime sounded, and a spectacular display of fireworks lit up the dark canvas of the dome.

People who were playing cards and drinking in the cabin came out, and scantily clad girls crowded around the ship's side, taking up space and shouting and taking pictures with their phones.

Dai Zhe brought him drinks, having overheard most of their conversation. He asked, "Brio, is he afraid of marriage and doesn't want to meet your girlfriend's parents?"

This remark amused Tan Yi, who laughed so hard his hands trembled and he almost spilled the wine in his glass.

He looked at the fireworks display, his smile exceptionally bright: "My girlfriend is a princess, so what am I now?"

"The illegitimate child's illegitimate child, a pimp, a good-for-nothing who was kicked out of his home. How can I face her parents? Tell me."

A note from the author:

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[Milk Tea] Time is all fictional.