Chapter Twenty-Two: Dinner

The two adults went to the kitchen, leaving only the two children in the living room.

Xiao Yao looked at Sun Tingting and asked, "What do you want to play? I'll keep you company. But all the toys have been taken away, and it doesn't seem like there's anything fun to do."

Sun Tingting also realized there was nothing to play with, but just sitting there was quite boring. It was almost dark now, so going outside didn't seem like a good idea either. Frowning, she suddenly remembered Xiao Yao's performance from the morning and smiled. "Brother Bayi, that... that..." She couldn't recall the name of the instrument, stumbled, and frowned again.

"Ukulele," Xiao Yao prompted.

"Right, ukulele. You played it so well. And the song 'Most Beautiful' you played was also really nice," Sun Tingting added.

"Oh, you recognized it?" Xiao Yao said, a bit surprised. "You even know the name. Have you heard it before?"

Sun Tingting nodded. "I have heard that song. I'm learning to play the piano, so of course I can recognize it. I've heard my dad sing it to my mom a few times. Every time he sings it to her, she gets so happy. I asked her what the song was, and she told me."

Sun Zhihao had been a singer in his younger years, so it was only natural that he would provide his daughter with a musical education. Xiao Yao smiled and said, "Do you know that the original singer of that song is my dad, and he wrote it too?"

"With someone else," Xiao Siqi's voice called out from the kitchen.

The kitchen and the living room were adjacent, and since the kitchen door was left open and the two children hadn't lowered their voices, the adults could hear their conversation. As a responsible father, even while cooking, Xiao Siqi kept part of his attention on his son in the living room.

"Really? Your dad is amazing," Sun Tingting praised.

"Thanks, Duo'er!" Xiao Siqi's laughter drifted over.

"Focus on your cooking!" Xiao Yao said with a hint of impatience, turning his head to shout toward the kitchen.

Seeing Xiao Yao's reaction, Sun Tingting covered her mouth and giggled.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yao asked, feeling puzzled.

"Nothing." Sun Tingting shook her head and continued, "Mom said this song is written very well. It's for someone the songwriter loves very, very much. My dad sings it because he loves my mom very, very much. Since your dad wrote it, it must be for your mom, right? Your dad must love your mom a lot too, right?"

"Duo'er, let's not talk about this, let's talk about something else," Sun Zhihao's voice interrupted.

In the kitchen, Sun Zhihao said apologetically to Xiao Siqi, "I'm sorry about that." Xiao Siqi shook his head with a smile. "It's fine. It's been so long, Bayi and I have both moved on. It's okay."

"What's wrong? Why can't we talk about it?" Sun Tingting asked curiously.

"It's nothing. Your dad doesn't want you to talk about it because my mom passed away. Do you know what passed away means? It means she went to heaven, up in the sky." Xiao Yao smiled bitterly and pointed upward. "Your parents must have taught you what that means, right?"

"I know," Sun Tingting said, taking Xiao Yao's hand. "Mom said we shouldn't bring up other people's sad memories. I'm sorry, I won't say it anymore. Please don't be sad."

"It's okay," Xiao Yao patted her little hand.

Just then, a sizzle came from the kitchen, and a thick cloud of smoke drifted into the living room.

"So much oily smoke." Xiao Yao and Sun Tingting covered their noses and mouths simultaneously. Xiao Yao took her hand and headed outside. "Let's go out to get some fresh air."

"You two go stand outside for a while, but don't run off!" Sun Zhihao's voice shouted from the kitchen.

Standing in the open space outside, Xiao Yao and Sun Tingting both took a few deep breaths; the smoke had been truly choking.

"My dad doesn't cook like that," Sun Tingting muttered, feeling puzzled.

"That must be my dad's doing," Xiao Yao laughed. "My dad can't cook."

"Poor thing," Sun Tingting said, looking at him with sympathy. "Why don't you come to my house for dinner in the future? I'll have my dad cook for you."

"Okay, thank you," Xiao Yao smiled and nodded.

"It's a deal then," Sun Tingting said happily.

"Was this kid planning this all along?" Chen Min's camera crew, who had been following the father and son all day, couldn't help but whisper to her. "He's already found himself a long-term meal ticket."

"I think this father and son duo planned it long ago," Chen Min replied with a smile. "Those who become big stars are never simple." Despite her words, there was no resentment in her tone. She added, "But then again, if they didn't have these social skills, how could they make it in the entertainment industry?"

Soon after, the camera crew responsible for filming Sun Zhihao's family in the kitchen was also driven out by the smoke.

Watching the disheveled crew members coughing and sneezing as they stumbled out, Xiao Yao roughly guessed what Xiao Siqi and Sun Zhihao had been whispering about earlier.

Everyone stood outside for a long time until the smoke cleared, and dinner was nearly ready.

Because the ingredients from both families had been combined, there was plenty of food, and they luxuriously had four dishes and a soup. Sun Zhihao lived up to his nickname as a "Little Chef"; just looking at the presentation and smelling the aroma made everyone hungry.

"Dinner is served!" Sun Tingting cheered and was about to dig in.

"Wait a second." The director of Sun Zhihao's camera crew called a halt and looked at Xiao Yao. "Bayi, only one of these dishes was cooked by your father. Let me ask you, what is your favorite dish? Let's see if it's the one your father made."

As part of their duty, the crew had filmed the entire cooking process, except for the brief moment they had to flee the smoke. They were setting a trap.

Chen Min curled her lip; she could already guess how Xiao Yao would answer such a simple question.

Sure enough, Xiao Yao looked at the dishes on the table and pointed to the one with the worst presentation. "That one, the braised pork with radishes."

"Heh heh." Sun Zhihao and Xiao Siqi exchanged triumphant smiles. All the dishes on the table were actually cooked by Sun Zhihao. The smoke had been at its worst during the cooking of that specific dish, which was exactly when the crew had been forced out. Once they left, for safety's sake, Xiao Siqi had instructed Sun Zhihao to make that dish look worse than the others, even intentionally burning a few pieces of radish. When the crew returned, they saw Xiao Siqi taking that dish off the stove and naturally assumed he had cooked it. They had done this specifically to guard against the program's tricks. They believed that with Xiao Yao's intelligence, he would cooperate perfectly.

Since the answer was correct, the crew didn't cause any more trouble. Both families began to eat, and the camera crew took their turn to eat as well, with only one photographer left behind to film while the others went outside to eat boxed lunches.

Noticing Chen Min's look, Xiao Yao felt she had figured something out and had helped cover for them, so he felt he should thank her. He went to the kitchen, grabbed an empty bowl, filled it with five or six meatballs, and ran out.

The crew was eating in the open area outside Sun Zhihao's house. Xiao Yao walked up to Chen Min with the bowl. "Auntie Chen, try these meatballs from Chef Sun. You don't get to eat these often." He placed a meatball into her lunch box. Then he walked over to Liu Lixing. "Uncle Liu, here's one for you too."

"Oh, an extra serving!" Liu Lixing said with a grin, holding up his bowl.

Xiao Yao made sure everyone from the crew was taken care of, but noticed one meatball left. "Why is the count off?" he wondered aloud.

Chen Min chuckled and pointed behind him. Xiao Yao turned around and realized there was still someone behind the camera.

"Oh, Uncle Hu was blocked by the camera, no wonder I didn't see him." He picked up the meatball with his chopsticks and held it toward the lens. "You're the hardest worker, filming while everyone else is eating. Here, let me feed you."

The cameraman laughed and leaned forward to bite the meatball off the chopsticks.

Although a single meatball wasn't much, this thoughtfulness moved the crew members deeply.

"This kid is really considerate. No wonder little Duo'er is so willing to call him brother," Liu Lixing said to Chen Min with a smile.

"This little guy is truly a genius," Chen Min added.

Inside the house, Sun Zhihao saw the envious looks from the other crew members. He called out to his daughter, then tilted his head toward the door, signaling her.

"Oh." Sun Tingting immediately understood her father's intention. She followed suit, grabbed an empty bowl, filled it with meatballs, and walked out to the crew filming her. "Uncle, Auntie, you've worked hard..."

The meal was a satisfying success.

"Uncle Sun, Dad, you've worked hard cooking. Let me handle clearing the table and washing the dishes," Xiao Yao offered as he saw Sun Zhihao stand up. He efficiently stacked the empty bowls and plates and headed to the kitchen. Returning with a dishcloth, he wiped the table and told the adults, "You two go rest and chat, I'll wash the dishes."

"I'll help!" Sun Tingting chirped and ran into the kitchen after him.

"Be careful, don't make a mess," Sun Zhihao cautioned his daughter, then turned to Xiao Siqi. "Does your Bayi wash dishes at home?"

"I've never seen him do it," Xiao Siqi replied with a smile. "I can't cook, so we don't really use the kitchen at home. How would I see him wash dishes?"

"Wait, you're not joking?" Sun Zhihao asked, startled, and started to stand up to head to the kitchen. He had assumed Xiao Yao was experienced and skilled because of how confident he had been. This was a TV show, and he didn't want to stop the boy from having his moment, but he was suddenly worried.