Chapter 1241: Familiar But Different
It was finally time for dinner.
Jin Liwei asked Dom to wake Wang Yingjie, Meimei, and Ice Cream. Wang Yingjie looked alert despite having slept for only a few minutes. Meimei appeared more energetic but her dark circles, eye bags and pallor still made her look like a zombie. As for the lazy Ice Cream, the fat grey cat looked grumpy at being disturbed from her precious beauty sleep (as usual) but immediately demanded for her Uncle Dom, a.k.a. Slave #1, to carry her after hearing that it was dinnertime.
Everyone moved to the adjacent hall where they were greeted by delicious food served in buffet tables. It wasn't just a simple buffet though. There were also ten chefs in their own stations who would prepare their specialties in real time. Kid and cat-friendly options were also available for the children and the cats.
The aroma of all the food was mouth-watering. It was like entering food paradise. Even someone like Wei Lan, a former model who strictly controlled her diet, couldn't wait to gorge herself tonight after seeing all the inviting food. All of them felt the same way except for one.
As soon as Iris stepped inside, her face twisted and she gagged. She covered her nose and mouth before rushing back to the room that they had been before. The mishmash of aroma in the air was just too much for her. She couldn't take it.
A worried Jin Liwei followed her back. "I knew that you're going to feel sick. I told you to stay here and wait for me to get you food."
She pouted and pressed her face against his chest, inhaling as much of his scent as possible to cleanse away the tainted smell from her nose. "I thought I'm going to be fine."
He sighed and stroked her hair. "Wait for me here. I'll go get us food."
She nodded.
"Let me do it, Sir Boss!" Dom interrupted from behind them. "I'll get food for both of you instead so that Sir Boss doesn't need to leave Boss here alone."
Jin Liwei nodded his thanks. Seconds later, he received a video call from Dom and Clover. The siblings used the camera to show the wide selection of food to the couple and asked them what they wanted to eat.
Dom and Clover joined Iris and Jin Liwei to eat dinner together but sat a little farther away. Their actions didn't escape the others' notice. Most of them also wanted to sit with Iris and Jin Liwei but Grandma Li stopped all of them.
"If all of us go there, the smell of our food will only make Xiulan feel sicker," she said. "Let's just stay here and let my grandson and Reina's children take care of her."
Reina Chua nodded. "Dom and Clover will bring whatever food Xiulan and Liwei want. Also, we're going to join each other again later when it's time to distribute the presents."
"Pwesents! Pwesents!"
"Yay! I want pwesents!"
Little Jun and Marjorie's son both became excited as soon as they heard that presents would be distributed soon. Jiang Ying Yue and Marjorie had to calm their sons first in order to continue feeding them. Marjorie's daughter was older so she wasn't as vocal but the excitement was still clear in the little girl's eyes. The cats, Ice Cream and Popcorn, were busy eating their own food at a corner away from the hustle and bustle of people exploring the variety of dishes. [Read official chapters on W e b n o v e l (dot) com. Please stop supporting piracy. Also follow author on Instagram: @arriacross]
Back to the other room, Iris consumed soup first to ease her nausea and unsettled stomach. She didn't have that much of an appetite after being disgusted by what she smelled in the adjacent hall. Still, she did her best to eat as much of what she could swallow as possible. It was a struggle at first but her stomach gradually warmed up. She felt better and ate more.
"Ask Bacon what time Grandpa Lu, Big Brother and Big Sister are going to come," she whispered to her husband.
Jin Liwei used the concealed earpiece to do what she asked. He listened to his AI son's report before sharing it to his wife.
"Thank goodness that they're going to arrive before dinner ends. We can save food for them if they really miss it but it's not fun if they don't join us for dinner."
"En."
After finishing off their first plates, Iris and Jin Liwei slipped away and walked somewhere else.
On the way, she asked, "Darling, what's your impression of René Alejandro?"
"He has good manners," he replied.
She waited for him to say more but he didn't. "That's it?"
He shrugged. As long as René Alejandro didn't covet his wife, he would be polite to the Spaniard. So far, he was satisfied that the man didn't allow his eyes to linger on his wife for too long. René Alejandro also seemed to get along well with his younger brother and fourth brother. Overall, he didn't have much of an interest in the Spaniard.
However, he noticed the contemplative look on his wife. "What's the matter, love? You don't like him?"
She nodded.
Both his eyebrows rose before his expression became serious. His wife must have a reason why she didn't like René Alejandro who she only met today. Their interactions with the Spaniard so far were few and far between. René Alejandro interacted with Jin Chonglin and Yu Mo the most.
"He hides it well but the persona he's showing us isn't the real him," she said. "I don't know how to explain it to you in a way that you'll understand but…I sensed a familiar feeling from him."
He frowned. "Familiar feeling? You think that you've met him before?"
"That's not it. I'm sure that I have never met him before."
"Then…how?" He was confused and waited for her to explain.
"He somehow feels similar to some of the best agents from, you know, our family organization back then."
His frown deepened.
"But he also feels different at the same time." Her eyebrows scrunched as she struggled to find the right words to express her thoughts. "Think of a chocolate bar. One is a classic dark bittersweet chocolate with almonds while the other is a milk chocolate with a tinge of peanut butter flavour. They're similar because they're both chocolate but still smell and taste differ from each other."