Guest For Dinner Part 1

Li Feng wakes up in the morning and rubs his sore neck, What the fuck?!? The clothes he is wearing are wrinkled and stained with..EWWW!  He sits up too fast and he winces from the sensation that his brain is rattling in his skull. He touches the bandage on his forehead. Right..I got wasted after that arrogant bastard ruined my reputation as the best player in the game.

   He smacks his dry lips then reaches for a water bottle on the coffee table and a packet of medicine. Who? His face turns bright red recalling last night when he returned to his brother’s villa. Song Sara… 

   Holding his head in his hands he doesn’t know how he will face his brother’s friend. Suddenly he hears a sweet voice, “Tang Feng. How are you feeling? I made you some mild lean meat porridge. Why don’t you go bathe then come down to eat.”

   He sheepishly looks up at Sara, “I’m really sorry about last night. I was upset with my cousin and drank too much.”

   Sara smiles revealing her cute dimples, “Don’t worry about it. We have all had those days. But alcohol really doesn’t help matters.” She gently brushes the strands of black hair covering his injury off of his forehead. She softly asks, ”Does it hurt? Maybe you should go to the hospital. I am going for a check up and we could go together after breakfast.”

   Li Feng has a guilty look on his face and his boyish voice is tinged with worry, “Are you sick? What is wrong? Did you get hurt helping me to the couch?”

  “No..no. I just have been tired lately and want to get supplements.” I don’t want him to know about my pregnancy.

   Li Shaoting comes into the living room and waves his hand, “Bro, Damn.. you stink! Go take a bath!”

   Li Feng jumps up, “I will go with you after breakfast.” He runs up the stairs to his room and Li Shaoting looks out the floor to ceiling window at the snow falling. It is snowing heavily, he knits his eyebrows together , “ You shouldn’t you go out in this weather. It is freezing and supposed to snow all day. Where are you going?”

   “I  am going to the hospital, I need to find a doctor to have a checkup. I want to make sure the baby is doing well. Your brother should be examined and I thought he could accompany me.”

    “He is fine. I will go with you.”

    “But..your brother should be seen by a doctor.”

    “It was a small cut and the swelling has gone down.”

    “Why don’t we all go?”

     “…”

     Li Feng comes down the stairs, “Brother, I need to talk to you about something.”

    Sara interjects, “Can you talk after we eat? Breakfast is ready and you should get something in your stomach.”

   After the nutritious and filling breakfast Li Feng has a satisfied expression. He finishes a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and sighs, “Song Sara thank you! The food was delicious and my stomach feels much better after eating.”

   Sara picks up the empty bowls, “Haha you remind me of my best friend. After a night of drinking she would be starving and quickly gobble up the porridge I made.”

   Li Shaoting stops Sara from cleaning the table, “Leave everything the cook will clean up.”

  “I don’t want to leave a mess. I don’t mind.”

   A very short old woman in  a simple dark blue dress walks into the dining room, “I will clean.” She has a pleasant demeanor and remarks, “You saved me the trouble of cooking for these two picky eaters.”

   Sara raises a delicate eyebrow as she walks into the kitchen. Picky? There isn’t a scrap of food left on the table.

    Li Shaoting playfully hugs the plump woman then straightens out her apron, teasing, “Mrs. Mao, don’t be jealous. Your food is delicious too.”

   The old woman smiles and swats his arm as Sara returns to the dining room. “I have never seen you lick the plate before.”

   Li Shaoting blushes and looks over at Sara, “Haha she is kidding..I didn’t.”

   Sara picks up a napkin and dabs the corner of his mouth as she laughs, “Of course a refined man with impeccable manners such as you wouldn’t do such a thing.”

   Li Shaoting ruffles her hair, “It is your fault for making my favorite Spicy Egg and Scallion Crepes.”

   Li Feng chuckles at their flirtatious behavior, “You two say you aren’t dating… but I don’t believe it.”

  They both have a stunned expression and reply in unison, “Not dating.”

  Mrs. Mao shakes her head as she clears the table. She is a sweet girl it would be nice if she and the Young Master were dating.

 Sara says, “I am going to change my clothes, the appointment is at eleven o’clock.”

 Li Feng follows Sara towards the staircase, “Okay. I will come with you.”

 “Me too.”

 Li Feng knows his brother hates hospitals and has a complicated expression, “You are going with us?”

  “Yeah.”

   Li Feng suddenly remembers Li Tian is coming for dinner. He stops him from stepping up the stairs, “Bro, I need to talk to you about something.”

  “What?”

  Li Feng waits until Sara reaches the top of the stairs and pulls him into the living room. He says, “First, don’t get angry, I can’t take a punch right now.”

  “…”

  “ I saw Cousin Tian last night at Han Chao’s villa. The evil bastard is coming to dinner tonight.”

   Li Shaoting has a suspicious look on his handsome face. “Did you have something to do with his decision? Just yesterday Cousin Tian made it clear that he wasn’t coming to my house.”

    Li Feng steps back, “Well…”

    Li Shaoting’s beautiful Peach Blossom eyes narrow dangerously as he steps forward closing the distance between them, “Spit it out!”

    Li Feng explains how he innocently was showing the photos to Fan Mi, leaving out the part about betting with Li Tian that he could beat him playing ‘Legends Of The Jianghu’. After he finishes the altered description of the evening, he taps his finger on his chin. “I really don’t get it myself. Although the chicken wings were delicious and the cakes were tasty… I was shocked he would be interested… enough that he wants the same menu when he comes to dinner.”

  The idea that his stiff cousin would want to eat a common food like chicken wings is incomprehensible to Li Shaoting, “Why the hell…that’s all he said, I want the same dishes?”

  “Yup.”

   “Well, whatever… Mrs. Mao can prepare an identical menu.”

  “Umm..Shaoting…” He steps back further, “Cousin Tian wants the food prepared by the same cook…he made that clear.”

  Li Shaoting refuses, “Is he insane? Why?  No, absolutely not. I can’t ask the little girl to cook again just because the arrogant bastard wants to taste her food…she will be tired after going to the hospital for a checkup. She can’t be on her feet cooking. No..Song Sara can’t make dinner.” 

   Sara walks down the stairs and overhears the last part of the conversation, “Tang Wu, I can cook dinner. It would be my pleasure, I appreciate staying with you and I truly enjoy cooking. I can think of a menu then stop at the grocery store after my appointment.”

  “No. You should rest after your appointment. Mrs. Mao can cook.” Hmmph..Cousin Tian didn’t taste the food how would he know the food wasn’t prepared by the same person.

   “I can rest then cook. I don’t like feeling useless…enjoying your hospitality without giving something in return. So please allow me. It will be fun…your kitchen is amazing and I like experimenting with different dishes.”

   Li Shaoting can see Sara sincerely wants to repay his kindness and hesitates then says, “Umm…well my cousin saw the photos that Feng took last night of dinner and wants the same menu.”

   ????

   Li Feng has an awkward smile, “I was showing the photos to my friend, Fan Mi and he happened to see them.  The evil man scared the shit out of me…sneaking up and looking over my shoulder. It was a little strange because he doesn’t like sweets but said he wanted to taste that cake.”

   “The Vanilla Cream Sponge Cake?”

  “Yeah, that one, he pointed to the cake in the photo.”

  Sara laughs, “Not that he could tell from a photo but that cake is light and not very sweet. I created the recipe using agave syrup instead of sugar so my old boss’ blood sugar level wouldn’t elevate.” She chuckles think about how excited Zhou Mo would be when she brought him a few small cakes. “My old Boss had health issues but couldn’t resist sweets.”

She smiles brightly dazzling the two brothers, “Okay well I will recreate the same dishes..that is easy enough.” She looks at her watch, “Are you guys ready to go?”

  Li  Feng nods and Li Shaoting grabs up the phone on the coffee table and puts it in his trouser pocket, “Ready. I will drive.”