Dreaming With My Dragon Lover - Chapter 154

“Is it all food? That’s so over the top! You really think I have a big stomach!”

“It’s best to use local ingredients, otherwise it won’t taste authentic. I’m going to cook a Cantonese dish for you today. Don’t you always say that Cantonese people are the real connoisseurs?”

Amélie smiles as beautifully as a flower. Without thinking, she passes the luggage trolley in her hand to Yuan Ge and says, “Jinghai will be back the day after tomorrow, and Boss Chow won’t be back until after the tenth day of the New Year; that means you and I can enjoy two more days of holidays!”

Yuan Ge certainly has heard the emphasis on ‘you and I’ in her words. He smiles awkwardly and beckons towards Rong Qiuchen, who is standing by the window, “Chenchen! Stop watching the planes, it’s time to go home!”

“Huh? Isn’t he that …” Amélie is totally caught off guard. She didn’t expect Yuan Ge to bring a little gooseberry[1] with him.

“Hello Sister Amélie, I’m Rong Qiuchen.”

Amélie has momentarily lost herself, believing that the man in front of her, who is making a bow to her with hands folded in front in an old-fashioned way, must be Rong Qiuchen himself from “Qingqing”. However, when she sees that he is wearing the same down jacket that Yuan Ge used to wear, and that the hat and scarf he is wearing are actually her birthday present to Yuan Ge, she is instantly back to reality, feeling more than a little uncomfortable inside.

“Why is he here?”

“Oh, it was on the last working day before the New Year break, after our hot pot dinner party, I went back to the Rong Mansion and saw him in a really pitiful state, cold and hungry, so I took him home with me.”

“Back to Moonlight Villa?”

“Yes.”

Although Amélie is still smiling, she is feeling a little grumpy inside. How can Yuan Ge have brought a complete stranger home and stayed with him for nearly two weeks? He has always been a man who values his personal space and keeps his distance from people. She has hinted many times before to visit his Moonlight Villa home without success, yet a stranger has managed to stay there so easily! And, has he forgotten that the scarf and hat were a birthday gift to him from her? Why did he give them so casually to another man to use? Amélie suddenly feels a little aggrieved, and although she has tried her best to restrain herself, she cannot help the smile on her face from stiffening a little when she glances at Rong Qiuchen.

Rong Qiuchen has always been very sensitive in people’s feelings and how the world works, so how could he not have detected Amélie’s thoughts. Without waiting for Yuan Ge’s instructions, he takes over the luggage trolley from him. The three of them walk back to the car park while chatting about King Guan’s new movie. Rong Qiuchen helps Amélie put the suitcases into the boot, gives up the passenger seat to her, and volunteers to sit in the narrow back seat of the convertible.

“Are you sure you are okay to sit in the back? The back seat is actually for children or dogs and may not be very comfortable …” Seeing that Rong Qiuchen insists on sitting in the back, Yuan Ge has no choice but to let him be. He turns around uneasily and tells Rong Qiuchen to fasten his seat belt.

***

The three of them drove west, heading for Moonlight Villa.

They haven’t even entered the villa compound yet, Amélie is already struck by the beauty of the surrounding lake and mountains, “The feng shui here is really good!”

“Since my mother, Chenchen and you all said so, the feng shui here must be very good.” Yuan Ge smiles happily, not noticing the trace of unease in Amélie’s face when she hears Rong Qiuchen’s name being mentioned.

When they reach the front door of the house, Amélie hesitates slightly and looks at Yuan Ge enquiringly as if asking, “Is that thing still there …”

“Open Sesame!” Yuan Ge deliberately scares Amélie, “That thing? It’s just by the front door to welcome guests!”

“You are so annoying!”

Amélie finds the entrance hall clean and empty when she removes her hand from her covered eyes, realising that Yuan Ge was teasing her again – He has been living here for two whole weeks with the little “porcelain bumping” boy Rong Qiuchen, and that coffin must have been moved somewhere else.

“Yuan Ge, I’m warning you, if you let me see that ominous thing today and spoil my New Year’s luck, I’ll put laxatives in the dish I make for you!”

“Are you sure you have the heart to do so?” Yuan Ge teases her, “The ingredients you brought over must be precious and the cooking is such a time consuming activity.”

“Of course I have!” Amélie replies, pretending to be vicious.

“Well, the thing is in my dad’s room. As long as you don’t wander around on your own you won’t come across it.” Yuan Ge leads Amélie into the hall and makes a gesture of coming in, “Miss Jiang, welcome to my humble abode.”

Feeling reassured, Amélie walks into the living room, looks around the modern and simplistic decor and exclaims, “Yuan Ge, your house is really beautiful!”

Rong Qiuchen follows them in and takes the initiative to bring in all the luggage from the car. He has watched many similar scenes in films recently and is able to put what he has learned into practice.

Amélie hurriedly thanks him, but hears Rong Qiuchen call out, “Yuan Ge Yuan Ge, get two bottles of coke and a yoghurt!”

You’re quite good at ordering people around!

Amélie watches Rong Qiuchen’s every move and can’t help but grumble in her heart.

This little guy is quite good looking, but his emotional intelligence doesn’t seem to be very high. He acts as if he is the master in someone else’s house!

However, Yuan Ge shows no sign of getting drinks for his guests. Just as she is wondering, she hears a buzzing sound and shortly afterwards a small, round, white robot slowly walks up the stairs, holding two bottles of coke and a yoghurt on a tray.

Rong Qiuchen introduces with a smile, “Brother Puppet’s name is Yuan Ge.”

Those who have stayed for fourteen days really did have the first mover advantage!

Amélie is upset. She had always meant to come and visit Yuan Ge’s house in Moonlight Villa, but because of her busy work schedule, she ended up putting it off again and again. But what made this strange boy who appeared from nowhere get ahead of her and worm his way in?!

Holding back her displeasure, Amélie points to “Yuan Ge” and asks Rong Qiuchen, “If its name is Yuan Ge, then what do you call Yuan Ge?”

“Gege, naturally!” Rong Qiuchen replies with a broad smile and matter-of-factly.

Amélie feels even more annoyed. Such an intimate name[2], she has been wanting to use it to address Yuan Ge countless times, but has refrained from doing so due to her reserve. But now this guy has taken it! Does it mean that she would never be able to call Yuan Ge that in the future?

“Come on, let me show you around.” Yuan Ge does understand that Amélie has been wanting to visit his house for quite some time, so just with one simple remark he has managed to divert her attention away from Rong Qiuchen.

——————–

[1] Gooseberry is a British slang, means an unwelcome chaperone or extra person on a date.

[2] Gege literally means brother in Chinese and is often used as a term of endearment for a girl to a boy between lovers.