“Ah! Chen, where did you get that!?” Mrs. Ming placed both hands on her chest, staring at the boy in shock.
“Little Chen, drop that machete. It is not something to play with.”
“Mrs. Ming, please control your son. Where did he even get a machete as sharp as this?”
“Shut up! All of you are hypocrites.” Chen pointed the machete at them, his angry eyes fixed on the new guy. “Because you don’t respect Master Chen, you think you can say anything you like. Including you, Mum. How dare you ship Pretty Ann with this ugly man?”
Everyone quickly left where they were sitting and stayed away from the crazy boy. The last time he caused a riot in the neighborhood, no one could control him.
The look on his face made them wonder if he would hit anyone who got in his way with the machete.
“Mrs. Ming, please do something about him. He is going to scare Annie’s suitor off.”
“Mrs. Ming, your Chen really needs to be treated. Does he have a personality disorder? Wasn’t he obediently sitting here some minutes ago?”
“Mrs. Ming, I’ll call the police if you don’t stop Chen.”
However, Mrs. Ming was more helpless than anyone. How could she control the boy? Whenever Chen became angry, he never listened to even her.
“Come on, Chen, it hasn’t gotten to that. Who told you this man wants to snatch your Pretty Ann? He is a relative visiting Mrs. Lin from the province.”
“Mum! Stop lying! I know what Mrs. Lin is up to with this ugly man.”
The new guy watched Little Chen in astonishment. At first, he found the boy’s behavior funny. When the boy called him ugly though, he was a bit mad.
“Little Chen or whatever you’re called, you’re just a Little Boy. Why don’t you chase after someone your own size?”
“Eh? Young Man, don’t speak to my boy like that.” Mrs. Ming looked at him. “At least, Little Chen met Annie before you did.”
“Mrs. Ming, I believe you’re still pranking me.”
“Why would I prank you? Do we even know each other?”
“Enough of that, Mrs. Ming.” Mrs. Tan chipped in. “You can’t indulge Little Chen in such acts. This Young Man can marry Annie even tomorrow. But your Chen…”
“Mrs. Tan, stay out of this. Since when did we start speaking with each other?” Mrs. Ming became more protective of her boy.
“And you.” She looked at the new guy. “I don’t trust you. You look like those men who are only after a girl’s beauty. I don’t think you’re genuine.”
Mrs. Ming’s scrutinizing eyes didn’t miss the way the guy had been staring too much at Annie’s face. She knew what these kinds of men were only after.
“We don’t even know each other, Mrs. Ming. How can you label me with that?” The guy became defensive. “Mrs. Ming, do you have anything against Annie’s happiness?”
“Haha! This is getting more interesting.” Dylan toppled over with laughter. Mrs. Lin hadn’t returned and he felt he could laugh freely.
“Brother-in-law, you’re not the shy type too.”
“Of course. This woman and her son seem to be the kind of people your family should be wary of. Brother-in-law, tell them your sister is forever out of their reach.”
“Hahaha!” Dylan only laughed harder.
“You, Dylan. You never even called me Brother-in-law. Aren’t you afraid of what I’ll do to you?”
“Little Chen, shut up. Your Pretty Ann is about to be snatched away and you can’t do anything about it.”
“Is that what you think!” Chen thought Dylan was pushing him too hard.
“Of course. Otherwise, why are you still standing there?” Actually, Dylan was pushing him intentionally.
Up till now, he hadn’t seen any reaction from his sister and he was dying to see her displeasure towards the new guy who seemed to be so much full of himself.
He wondered where their mother even found him.
“Keep your eyes open, Dylan. No one challenges Master Chen. And you-“ Chen pointed at the guy. “I’m going to show you that I’m the most respected Master in this neighborhood.”
Before anyone could count two, Chen lunged forward with the machete, taking them by surprise.
The new guy was lucky to dodge it in time. And the second time Chen wanted to hit him, the neighbors watched as he took to his heels and ran into the street.
He quickly stopped a taxi and no one saw his figure again.
“Ah! Master Chen. What have you done?”
“You just scared Annie’s suitor off. Aren’t you afraid?”
“I, Master Chen, am the only one that deserves Pretty Ann.” Chen put on a proud look, raising the machete in the air. “Let me see anyone that will dare challenge me.”
“That’s my boy.” Mrs. Ming was happy that her son chased that fickle guy away. Wasn’t he so full of himself? She really didn’t like the vibes he gave off.
Dylan laughed harder this time. He even sat on the floor and held his stomach.
As for Annie, it was as if the girl wasn’t aware of what was going on. Even when the guy jumped on the table to escape Chen’s attack, she didn’t look up from the slice of cake she was eating.
“Pretty Ann, don’t worry. I will protect you from these kinds of stupid guys.”
“Big Sis!” Dylan left the floor and sat beside her. “Haha! Isn’t it ridiculous? Mum found you a chicken instead of a husband.”
“You’re having a lot of fun, aren’t you?” Annie looked up. There was no change in her blank expression.
“Of course it’s funny. You’re so boring, Big Sis. Didn’t you see the frightful look on his face?”
Annie clicked her tongue and picked up the cola bottle. Her eyes darted to her phone’s screen which just lit up and she ignored it.
At that moment, Mrs. Lin returned with the napkins and she stared at the hectic neighbors in confusion.
The table looked completely different from the way she had left it. Why was everyone looking frightful?
And why was Little Chen holding a machete?
More importantly, where was her son-in-law?