By the time Decker finished bathing and walked out of his bedroom, Debbie had already come back to the apartment with Evelyn.
Decker scooped up the little girl. He wanted to take her out to have some fun, but Ramona called out to stop him. "Decker, dinner is ready. You can play with her after dinner."
Annoyed, he was about to retort, but Ramona spoke again. "Come on, all of you. Enjoy your dinner. I have something else to do now. I'll leave soon."
As she moved the dishes from the kitchen to the dinner table, she said again, "I know that Debbie has a huge appetite, so I cooked a few more dishes. I'm not confident about my cooking skills. Please don't mind."
The siblings stood in the living room, watching their mother dart back and forth around the kitchen. When the last dish was served on the table, Ramona untied the apron, hung it on the kitchen hanger and said, "Eat before the food gets cold." After washing her hands, she grabbed her coat and walked up to Evelyn. Caressing the little girl's cheek, she muttered, "What a lovely girl you are!" 'When will I hear you call me Grandma?' she thought sadly.
Debbie silently watched her walk towards the door. She opened her mouth and wanted to ask, "Aren't you having dinner with us?" But while she hesitated, Ramona changed into her shoes and left the apartment.
Decker and Debbie stood in a daze for a moment.
At the dinner table, Debbie grabbed her chopsticks and looked at her brother. Decker didn't move a finger. Sensing her gaze, he stared back at her.
Evelyn sat quietly, her eyes darting between the two adults. She waited for them to start eating.
Finally, Decker grabbed his chopsticks and picked a slice of celery into Evelyn's bowl. "Eat, baby."
"Thank you," Evelyn replied politely. She scooped the food up with her spoon and put it into her little mouth.
Letting out a sigh, Debbie also began to help Piggy with the food. "I bet she hasn't eaten anything yet. She left with an empty stomach. I feel bad, Decker," she said, sounding remorseful.
Decker already knew that, but he said stubbornly, "She… She has something else to do."
"She isn't working anymore, and she doesn't have many friends. What does she have to do?" Debbie was a mother now. She felt a dull pain in her heart when she thought of how Ramona was trying everything to make her children forgive her.
A dash of unreadable emotion flashed in Decker's eyes. But he remained indifferent. "It has nothing to do with me."
Debbie was angered by his cold words. "It has nothing to do with you? Then why are you eating the food she cooked?" "
I didn't force her to cook for us. She volunteered to do it."
Debbie thrust out her chopsticks to stop him from picking up more food from his plate. Frowning, she rebuked, "Yes, you didn't force her to cook. But you can choose not to eat!"
He was already annoyed by Ramona's sudden appearance, and now his anger grew even more because of Debbie's tantrum. "Fine, who cares?" He slammed the chopsticks on the table as he shot to his feet. Then he grabbed his coat and made his way to the door.
"Stop!" Debbie tried not to be too loud. She didn't want to scare her daughter.
Casually draping his coat over his shoulders, Decker asked impatiently without turning around, "What now?"
"Don't you think you're being unfair? She tried her best to make all this food for us, but we didn't even invite her to the table. We were wrong to treat her that way, and now, you want to waste all this food? Decker Lu, get back to your seat right now! She didn't mean to abandon us back then; she was forced to. What are you angry at now?" Debbie considered herself a childish woman, but she realized that her brother was more childish than her.
"She's a Lu family member. I hate that entire family!"
"Your surname is Lu too! Do you hate yourself as well?"
Decker turned around and sneered, "Thanks for the reminder. I wasn't able to change my surname before, but things are different now. I'll go change it right away. I'll pick any last name—Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao!"
Debbie didn't back down either. She scoffed, "Zhang, Wang, Li, Zhao? Why not Nian then? Decker Nian. Yeah, that sounds good."
'Decker Nian?' he thought, staring speechlessly at his sister.
As they were arguing, Evelyn grabbed Debbie's cell phone from the dinner table and dialed a number. "Daddy? Uncle Decker is bullying Mommy..."
It was too late by the time Debbie had noticed what her little girl had done. "Okay, I'll wait for you. Bye, Daddy!" the little girl said and hung up.
The two of them widened their eyes in shock.
Debbie took her phone back from her little hands. Looking at her phone screen, she asked curiously, "Piggy, who taught you how to make a call?"
"Daddy. I memorized his number. Daddy said I should call him if something happens."
Debbie's lips twitched.
Decker thought it was best to stay and finish dinner there. If he left the apartment now, Carlos would chase him down. But if he stayed and waited for Carlos, they might be able to clear the misunderstanding face to face.
After considering his options, Decker threw his coat back onto the sofa and returned to his seat. He picked a chicken drumstick and put it into Evelyn's bowl, complimenting her, "Well done, Piggy. Come, this chicken is a reward for you. If anyone dares to bully your mommy, remember to call your daddy again next time."
Evelyn replied politely, "Yes, Uncle. I will." The next second, she pushed her bowl towards Debbie and told Decker, "Uncle, I don't eat meat."
Decker was amused. "Why not? That's such a pity. Your daddy will eat all the meat then."
The little girl didn't want to answer his question. She was taught to be quiet at the table. "Uncle Decker, Grandma says that we shouldn't talk while eating. But since you asked, I'll tell you this one last time. My daddy doesn't like meat either. Mommy eats all the meat."
Decker looked at Debbie and she glared back at him.
She took a bite of the drumstick and swallowed it down before ridiculing her brother, "Can't you just be quiet and eat your food?"
He nodded helplessly. "Okay, my bad. I'm sorry, Queen Debbie and Princess Evelyn."
Shortly after that, Carlos arrived at the apartment. When he opened the door and came in, he saw that they hadn't finished their dinner yet. As he changed into a pair of slippers, he said, "I'm hungry."
Debbie sighed. "I've spared some food for you and there's some congee left in the pot. I'll heat the potato pies." She put down her chopsticks to help him get the congee.
Carlos quickly pecked a kiss on his daughter's cheek and then made Debbie sit back in her seat. "I'll do it myself."
She didn't insist and continued to eat her food. "Did you finish your work?" she asked as he was about to go and wash his hands.
"No. An ungrateful guy is bullying my wife and daughter. I had to come and help," he said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
Decker protested, "How am I ungrateful? What did I do wrong?" 'I didn't bully them at all, ' he sulked.
Before entering the bathroom, Carlos turned around and cast him a glare. "Did I say that it was you? You just admitted it yourself."
Decker couldn't find a word to protest.
He had dealt with all kinds of people, including gangsters, in the past. He was good at winning arguments, but he realized that he was always being outsmarted by Carlos.