“Mrs. Ming, what kind of a question is that?” Mrs. Lin gave her a pointed look.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Lin, I don’t mean any harm.” Mrs. Ming put on a smile. “You know we all want the best for our dear Annie.”
Mrs. Lin didn’t think so. She could guess that the neighbors already knew what was going on. “I invited him to celebrate, not for you to interrogate him.” She stared at them.
“Ms. Lin, what we’re doing is not bad.”
“It is called showing familial support.”
“Mother-in-law, I don’t mind.” The guy forced a smile and looked at Mrs. Lin. “Of course, I am generous. Mrs. Ming, I love helping people too.”
“Really?” Mrs. Ming narrowed her eyes at the guy.
“Yeah.” He laughed nervously.
Everyone could tell Mrs. Ming was trying to scare him off. But they didn’t expect what Mrs. Ming said next.
“Young Man, since you’re generous, I’ll ask a favor. My stall suddenly ran out of goods and because of that, I can’t make as many pancakes as I did in the past. If you could lend me a hundred thousand, I think I can manage.”
“Ah! Mrs. Ming.”
“That’s so shameless of you.”
“Isn’t borrowing a hundred thousand like ripping someone off? How are you going to repay him? Is it with your Chen’s head?”
“Urgh! You guys should be cooperative.” Mrs. Ming rolled her eyes at them. She wasn’t actually after money, she just wanted to intimidate the guy.
“Didn’t you all say you love my Little Chen? How can you keep watching as someone snatches his treasure?”
“Mrs. Ming, that is crazy.”
“Enough with bothering the Young Man. Let’s just celebrate.”
The guy looked relieved as if a huge load had been lifted off his shoulder. He was even more relieved when he heard that Mrs. Ming was joking. ‘These people are really scary.’
He looked at Annie and his smile returned. He wondered if the girl was shy. She didn’t look up even while the neighbors spoke as she silently ate the cake slice in front of her.
Mrs. Lin looked at the guy’s happy expression and she became even happier. As for Dylan, he couldn’t stop chuckling from where he sat.
The neighbors began to think that Dylan was crazy. They wondered why the boy was laughing. But they couldn’t care less about him. They were more intrigued by the new guy.
“So you said you are a construction engineer. How many projects have you handled?” They continued with the interrogation.
“The projects I handled are uncountable. I have been in the field for quite long now?”
“For how many years?” Someone asked. “Aren’t you just twenty-eight?”
“Approximately eight years. I was twenty when I graduated college and I got the job immediately.”
“That means you are very talented, Young Man. Are your parents dead or are they still alive?”
As the neighbors continued interrogating the guy, Mrs. Lin became more annoyed. She couldn’t wait for the party to be over.
“Mrs. Lin.” Mrs. Tan looked at her. “You said you’re going to tell us. How did you find this handsome man?”
“Oh, it’s a long story-“ Mrs. Lin stopped speaking and she glared in Dylan’s direction. “What is so funny, you brat? I’ll hit your head with this spatula if you don’t stop laughing like a fool.”
“Sorry, Mum.” Dylan zipped his lips and chuckled.
“As I was saying.” Mrs. Lin returned her attention to the eager neighbors. As she started narrating about how they met, Annie’s phone rang.
Annie looked at the contact’s display name and she excused herself and stood up. She walked to a corner, away from the noises, and she answered the phone.
“You won’t come back tonight?” A man’s grumpy voice came from the other end. “If you keep doing this Annie, I might forbid you from visiting that apartment building.”
“Mr. Lim.” Annie glanced at the canopy before laughing softly. “You keep trying to impose rules on me while you do whatever you like. Can you tell me where you ran off to early in the morning?”
“It’s none of your concern.”
“Really?” Annie raised a brow. “Then I don’t think it is also part of your concern whether I decide to return or not.”
“Annie-“
“I’m having a nice time, Mr. Lim. If you don’t have anything to say, please don’t call me.”
The man hung up on her and Annie shook her head. Why was he behaving like a baby? She put her phone on silent and headed back to the canopy.
Mrs. Lin had finished narrating her story and Annie wondered where she was. When she returned, the woman’s spot was empty.
And because of that, she was now sitting directly close to the guy.
“Annie.” The guy shifted close to her and said, “You look like the quiet type. Mrs. Lin is no longer here, you can tell me how you feel.”
Annie didn’t like their proximity and she looked up. “Mister, do we know each other?”
The guy was taken aback. She wasn’t a timid girl after all? Her stare could freeze someone and it was having the same effect on him.
So Mrs. Lin’s daughter was bold. Great. Great. He didn’t like timid girls that much, by the way.
“You’re right.” He smiled at her. “But we have a lot of time to get to know each other. I must confess, Ms. Lin,” he whispered to her. “I like you already.”
“Pfft!” Dylan covered his mouth to stop his laughter from erupting. Luckily, Mrs. Lin had gone upstairs to get some napkins. She would have smacked him on the head.
The guy frowned a bit and looked at Dylan. He spoke in a low tone, so he was surprised that the guy heard what he said.
“Hehe, Brother-in-law, what did you find funny?”
“Haha! My Big Sis is blushing that’s why. Can you believe that she never blushed?”
Annie wasn’t blushing. Dylan was just making fun of her.
But the guy was more delighted when he heard that. He picked up a cup and grabbed the cola bottle. “It’s okay to blush, beautiful. I know I’m irresistible. Drink something chilled to calm down.”
“Hey! Who asked you to touch that Cola!?”
Everyone was startled by Little Chen’s voice. They all turned back and their eyes widened when they saw what the boy was holding.