Chapter 3 Part 1 Family Dinner And Hidden Touches
Just as Qi turned the corner, a hand suddenly yanked him back.
"You little brat! Where did you run off to? Do you even know? Everyone at home was nearly worried sick looking for you..."
Qi saw the person clearly and immediately lowered his head in guilt. "Auntie..." he muttered softly.
Under his aunt's firm escort, Qi obediently returned home.
The moment he entered the house, he could feel the severity of the matter. Inside, not only were his parents and grandparents waiting, but also both his aunts with their husbands. His older cousin and little cousin were exchanging secretive glances toward him.
His grandmother at once pulled Qi into her embrace when she saw him. "Qi! You nearly scared grandma to death. Where did you run off to this afternoon? Everyone in the family was searching high and low for you we almost went mad!"
"I... I..." Qi was not a child good at lying, but in such circumstances, the truth was impossible to speak.
After steadying himself, Qi uttered what was probably the biggest lie of his young life:
"I met a classmate at the hospital, and we went together to an Internet café..."
"Which classmate?" His grandfather spoke up, his voice deep, dignified. Though retired, he had once been at bureau-level rank, and the imposing authority remained.
Without thinking, Qi blurted: "Zhou Yi."
His mother, recognizing the name, quickly explained: "That's the son of Director Zhou from the Animal Husbandry Bureau."
At that, his grandfather seemed to ease. "Ah. Even so, not the best influence. Best keep your distance from him." He said no more after that.
Inside, however, Qi felt ashamed. Reserved and quiet as he was, Zhou Yi was his only true friend. He knew now that the burden of supporting this lie would fall upon his companion and that Zhou Yi's parents' fury would likely be his price to pay.
Yet, contrary to his fears, his father and mother did not reprimand him as much as expected. Instead, they merely stressed over and over not to repeat such mistakes.
His second aunt even smiled sweetly, defending him cheerfully with words like, "Children want to play, it's part of their nature an occasional mishap is fine."
Qi's gaze wandered to her lips as she spoke. Instantly, the memory surged back those very lips, and the soft tongue he had witnessed earlier that day, entwining with his father's.
Only his aunt the one who'd pulled him home was relentless, scolding him endlessly like a solitary tormentor.
Qi had always feared her fiery temperament. Watching her lips moving sharply as she berated him, he held his breath, afraid to even exhale too loudly.
At last, his mother put an end to things, calling everyone toward the dinner table.
"We rarely all gather like this come, let's eat. Little sister, your nephew knows his mistake. Let's not dwell on it. Angering yourself too much isn't good for health anyway."
"Fine, sister-in-law..." his aunt relented reluctantly.
Qi exhaled a heavy sigh of relief. But as he raised his eyes once more, he found himself staring directly into his aunt's almond-shaped eyes. They glared sharp and fierce. He quickly ducked his head again, heart oddly unsettled.
"My aunt... she's actually a beauty. I never noticed before, maybe because I was too young."
Dinner was torture.
At the lively table, adults bantered joyfully, while Qi sat slouched at the edge, silently shoveling food into his mouth.
His older cousin, Zhang Zijuan, glanced toward him with sympathetic humor. Unlike Qi, Zhang had always been outgoing, often reprimanded by his parents for running out. He was often compared unfavorably to his "studious, home-bound" cousin. Yet now Qi being chastised for once did not bring him any joy instead, genuine sympathy.
Qi responded by giving Zhang a quick wink, signaling he wasn't taking the scolding to heart.
Meanwhile, their eight-year-old cousin Kong Xiaoxi, carefree and oblivious, continued laughing without concern.
Unable to resist, Qi made a funny face at her. To his amazement, she shrieked in playful delight rather than fear, and laughed harder.
"Guess I have no authority over her at all..." Qi thought gloomily.
Distracted, his chopsticks slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. He bent down to pick them up, unnoticed amidst the chatter.
And so, only he saw it: sitting beside his grandfather, his father appeared calm and unbothered but next to him, his second aunt's hand was discreetly beneath the table, rhythmically stroking his father's thigh and groin.
Qi said nothing. Not shocked anymore. He stood again and glanced toward his father who, utterly composed, clinked glasses with grandfather, speaking eloquently as if nothing were amiss.
"Amazing... father can even act natural under Aunt's teasing. It's no wonder he thrives in politics."
Qi's disappearance had been disastrous for him. But for this seldom-reunited family, it became a chance for rare gathering.
Both uncles were businessmen, though in different industries. During this dinner, they discovered a project they might collaborate on.
Naturally, his father's presence was paramount no business in this city could thrive without political protection.
And so, Qi's misfortune served oddly as a catalyst for family harmony.
As dinner ended, his eldest aunt and uncle drove the grandparents home. Second Uncle took cousin Zhang back to boarding school, along with his aunt and Kong Xiaoxi.
But Second Aunt lingered, offering lightly to help Qi's mother with cleanup. To her departing husband, she said casually: "Brother-in-law can drive me home later."
Qi instantly understood her true motive.
But as always, he thought bitterly, "What does it matter to me?" He turned back to his room, listlessly leafing through Zizhi Tongjian.
Before long, he heard Second Aunt bidding farewell at the door. From his window, he saw his father accompanying her downstairs. The two walked closely, practically pressed together.
But then the dim kitchen window next door flickered with shifting light. There, he saw his mother, standing still, her bright eyes cold, staring fixedly at her husband and sister disappearing arm-in-arm.
His father only returned around two in the morning.
Qi had waited, expecting a fierce confrontation. That image of his mother's chilling gaze haunted him. Yet, to his astonishment, when his father came home, nothing happened.
The house was silent except for sounds of his father washing and later lying in bed. No shouting, no quarrel.
Lulled, Qi finally fell asleep.