Chapter 286: Long-Lost Son

If a person asked Zhai Yanjun whether he agreed with Raelle's words or not, he'd definitely say he did. He did believe that she was a devil incarnate. For no other reason than the fact that he had an intuition. And soldiers like him who were trained for all sorts of dangerous situations actually had keen intuition. 

There was just something about her that made him believe that she was what she claimed to be. 

Since it was already the time for lunch, Zhai Yanjun was also invited to join them. However, the one to invite him was actually Yue and of course, Mu Chenyan had no say in this decision. Mu Chenyan's tyranny could work on anyone but Yue.

"Why didn't you dry your hair?" asked Raelle to Hyson who came down with his still a little damp hair. "Want to catch a cold?"

"I won't catch a cold," said Hyson. "I just couldn't wait." He looked up at Mu Chenyan with sparkly eyes, "Yanyan, you're the best!" He even gave her two thumbs up to show how pleased he was right now. How couldn't he be pleased? Everything on this table had been made just for him! He gave a triumphant smile to Raelle, "See? Yanyan even knows what I like."

"You listed out everything you wanted to eat after getting discharged from the hospital," said Raelle patiently and in an unhurried manner. "How could she not know what you were craving for?"

Hyson gritted his teeth and looked at Mu Chenyan, "Why did you tell her that?"

"I did not say anything," answered Mu Chenyan and she wasn't lying either. She had indeed not said a single word about it to Raelle. But then again, she didn't need to.

"As if I don't know you," responded Raelle. "I don't need to hear it from anyone to know what's cooking in that head of yours."

Hyson held his head both of his hands asking, "Is my brain sending signals to you?"

"I heard about heart signals, where did this brain signal come from?" questioned Mu Chenyan when she looked at these two having a 'conversation' in their own style. This particular style of conversation was exclusive to them. Quite unique to even Mu Chenyan who used to claim she had seen all the exotic things in the world.

"Her heart and mine can never be synced," said Hyson certainly. "And honestly speaking, it's still up for debate whether her heart is real or someone exchanged it with a mechanical one when she was kidnapped. Because all these years, I've been leaning towards the latter possibility."

Hyson earned a hit on his arm from his mother who sat beside him and said, 'Stop talking nonsense!'

"Yue, your son is an expert when it comes to talking nonsense," said Raelle. "You should get used to it by now."

"Elle, don't say that," Mu Chenyan also chimed in. "Our Fai is a cutie. Even if he doesn't make sense for 99% of the time, we still love him."

Hyson's lips twitched when he heard that, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry right now. It was quite a dilemma for him. He just shook his head and put his hands together saying, "Thanks for this sumptuous meal! I'll eat it well!"

Then he even closed his eyes for a brief moment. He appeared like he was praying in silence but Zhai Yanjun couldn't be sure about that. This meal was really a different experience for him. He was somewhat feeling the same way as Shui Xian had felt when he first had a meal with these people. It was comforting, fun, lively, and somehow very relaxing. 

Both of Zhai Yanjun's grandparents had been scholarly people who paid extra attention to etiquette and table manners. It was the same whether he had a meal with his paternal grandparents or his maternal grandparents. Even in the military, they talked about discipline. Although sometimes they had a boisterous time over meals it was never like this.

There was a homely feeling around him that he seriously lacked in his life. And that's why he found this atmosphere so different.

Yue noticed Zhai Yanjun's silence and made hand gestures that he couldn't understand. So, Mu Chenyan took the initiative to be her interpreter as always. "She is saying you don't have to pay attention to those two. Be at ease and start eating."

Zhai Yanjun nodded his head and picked up his chopsticks.

On the other hand, Hyson's momentary silence was over as he looked at Raelle and picked up his chopsticks. As he picked up fried strips of chicken he showed it to her saying, "I feel so bad for you. You don't even have a favorite food. Do you know what you're deprived of in life?"

"I know what I'm not deprived of in my life," answered Raelle.

Hyson's mind was telling him, don't ask. But he still went against his mind and asked, "What?"

"An annoying best friend," was Raelle's response with a straight face.

Hyson huffed at her and focused on eating. From time to time, Mu Chenyan would add things into Hyson's bowl. She would do the same for Raelle as well. But since Raelle wasn't picky at all, one could just put practically anything into her bowl and she'd eat it.

While everyone was eating, Yue kept adding a few dishes into Zhai Yanjun's bowl as well. And he'd silently take it with a smile and he even ate it all with relish. He was actually surprised to find that everything tasted so good. Every single thing that Yue picked out for him had a light taste that suited his palate perfectly. 

While Yue didn't think anyone was paying attention since both Hyson and Raelle would never focus anything apart from their food once they began but she was certainly wrong. Because both these best friends seemed to have their eyes everywhere as always. How could her actions not be noticed by their all-seeing eyes?

Raelle bit her chopsticks as she was thinking about something. As she always paid attention to the smallest of things, she pushed a plate of beef chili dry in front of Zhai Yanjun saying, "You should try it, this is one of the dishes Yanyan is quite proud of."

As Yue noticed it, she frowned and pushed the plate back while Zhai Yanjun said, "Actually, I don't like spicy things that much, and neither can I eat such spicy things."

"Then I apologize for not knowing better," stated Raelle. 

Zhai Yanjun was actually taken aback by her response. It felt like she had apologized twice since he came here. He had heard she was conceited but it seemed that wasn't the case here. She wouldn't mind apologizing when she felt like she did something wrong. In fact, she didn't feel any shame in apologizing either. It was surprising to him since girls from families like theirs often felt it a humiliation to apologize.

Hyson leaned his head towards Raelle and asked, "Since you always know what's on my mind, can you tell me what I am thinking?"

"Why should I? Did you break up with your brain? Or your brain also got tired of your stupidity and ran away?"

Hyson gave her a look, "No! I just want to hear about it from you."

"He looks like my mother's long-lost son," said Raelle without any hesitation. And the way she just read his mind, Hyson was left staring at her for a long while in silence.

"And this is why I say you're dangerous," was what Hyson uttered. "The way you can read my mind makes me feel flattered but also scared. I feel exposed before you."

"Is there anything new about that?"

"Not really," Hyson shook his head as well. There really was nothing new about any of it. He knew what she was capable of. She might not be a fortune teller but she certainly was a mind-reader. This was one of the reasons he was proud to have her as his best friend. It'd be hellish to stand against her. Good thing, they always stood on the same side.

"And your thinking isn't wrong either," added Raelle on her own initiative. "It does seem like Yue has a special place for this young man in her heart. The way she looks at him is exactly how she looks at you."

"Should I feel happy or sad that my mum found her long-lost son?" asked Hyson in confusion. He really didn't know how he was supposed to feel right now.

Jealous? No way! 

He was never a jealous person.

However, he was curious. Curious to know what or who this young soldier was to his mother. There was no doubt there was a connection. He'd be an idiot if he couldn't even notice that much. No matter how his mother tried to hide her obvious happiness, he was her son. He could see everything.