Hui Yin and her daughter are all about being extra, be it in dresses, like the one they are wearing at this gathering. Hui Yin's modern Chinese dress with a fur shawl around her shoulders; the dress costs almost 50,00,00 RMB also with a pearl necklace and earrings.
Caiwei being the spoiled brat she is wore a dark green bodice dress which is above the knee length. Zheng Yi and Hui Yin spoil her daughter too much. They let her have whatever she desires.
Zimen on the other hand is calm but a coward. He wasn't the one who initiate bullying Shi Lian, it was his sister who bullied her. He never even tried to stop her from doing this, he just stood there watched. He wants to develop his own game but his father insists he works in Mo corp. Both the children are like the puppets of their mother. They do whatever Hui Yin asks them to, she manipulates them in such a way that they will willing to do it.
"So what do you want to talk about?" Shi Lian asks nonchalantly. Caiwei asked to have a 'sister' chat with her in her room. In her room and alone are not a sign that it will be going to be a casual talk.
"You sure have changed so much. Look at your confidence now! I am impressed" she scorns.
Shi Lian sits on her bed without having any interest in talking with her; she looks around her room, all pink walls and glitters.
"Guess I could say that to you too" She Lian makes a sarcastic comment.
It takes two seconds for Caiwei to understand what she meant. "How dare you act so arrogantly! Do you think living in America has given you some sort of power? You are wrong!" she yells at her.
'Not single percent of maturity' Shi Lian pities her.
"Do you want to talk or can I go now?" Shi Lian got up from the bed and she is feeling bored staying here.
"Yes, yes, I do! Is it true that you work in Mo company now?" she asks her, stopping Shi Lian from exiting.
"Words sure spread fast" smirks Shi Lian, "Yes I do."
"You studied in a prestigious university in America…but only to work in Mo corp? What a loss!" Caiwei laughs at her.
When Shi Lian went to America to attend higher studies, Caiwei felt envious of her. She thought if her simpleton cousin can go to America, then she could too! She asked, more than forcly begged that she want to go to America too but her parents denied. She was only 15 y/o at that time; Zheng Yi could never send her daughter all alone in a strange country. She threw a fit when they denied.
Later on, Hui Yin told her fake stories that America is a bad country, only to stop her stubborn daughter to throw a fit like this. Caiwei believed her mother and her fake stories and stopped mentioning going to America.
"Loss? Do you think our Mo corp is cheap and poor? Is that what you meant?" Shi Lian asks loudly standing in front of her.
"I-I Did not mean that!" Caiwei protests. She dare not say anything to the company like this, as she knows how hard her father works (hard work= planning to covet his brother's position).
"Oh? But you just said it", Shi Lian approaches her, giving her an intimidating look.
"I-I D-didn't…" Caiwei is a little frightened by her. It's the first time that she is scared of her. 'What's wrong with me? why am I getting frightened by her? No, I can't..'
Caiwei thinks looking at Shi Lian who is smiling evilly up close to her close that she may fall on the bed.
"Don't try to trick me! You want to make me the bad guy in front of elder uncle and aunt!" Caiwei yells at her, distancing herself from Shi Lian and stand on the other side.
"Oh my! Are you scared of me dear cousin? Your face is full of sweat" Shi Lian smirks, walking towards her but Caiwei steps back.
She sure is scared now. "I am not! Stop coming close to my face!" she shouts at her in annoyance.
She Lian had enough fun with her and she stops scaring her. "I am going down. Bye cousin~" she says and exits the room.
Caiwei stands there in anger, her face as red as a tomato, on top of that her green dress, she looks like a complete watermelon but a slim one. Tears start running down from her hazel eyes with her nose sniffing. Her eyeliner and mascara are all messed up and she looks like a complete ghost.
"I won't let you off Mo Shi Lian!" she screams in anger without caring that one might hear from downstairs.
When Shi Lian reaches down, in the living room, Zheng Yi is already present, chatting with his brother.
"Ah! There she is!" he exclaims. Shi Lian thinks that he must be buttering my father about the Chairman position.
"Evening Uncle. How have you been?" she asks approaching where they are seated and greets him.
"I am fine as always" he laughs answering her.
"Everyone, it's dinner time. Let's head there" Hui Yin says like a hostess.
"Where's Caiwei?" Zheng Yi asks. "Her makeup was kind of messed up so she is fixing that. She will come soon" Shi Lian lies.
He nods and they all travel to the dining area. Servants neatly bring the dishes, set up the dining area, and politely pour water into everyone's glass. They all take their respective seats.
To give respect to his elder brother, Mo Zheng Yi requested Mo Zheng Yuan to seat in the middle one, the front, and the supreme one. Sha Sha beside Zheng Yuan, Shi Lian beside her, and her uncle and aunt on the other side with Zimen. The dinner table is so big that ten people can seat comfortably. The servants start to serve dishes one by one. One by one the servants keep on coming with various dishes, there were varieties.
Hui Yin did put the effort into this. the dishes look delicious, expensive, and mouth-watering.
Hui Yin introduces each dish's name with full confidence even though she is not the one who cooked all of these, it is their's hired chef, one of the best in Shanghai. "For today's special gathering, I prepared, Bright Pearl Abalone, Char siu, Jiaozi, Xiao long bao, Lotus Seed Pod Fish, Phoenix Tail Shrimp, Zhangcha Duck, Bird Nest especially for elder brother in law and for the desserts, we have Crystal cake, Kai kou xia, and Mango pudding. Please enjoy" she smiles after listing all the food items' names.
"Wow, Hui Yin! You have prepared a lot and they all look delightful!" Sha Sha praises her.
Hui Yin smiles at her widely. She loves when someone compliments her, even if she is not the one who did that.
"I doubt if she made any of these" Shi Lian mumbles on her own.
"Did you said anything, Shi Lian?" Hui Yin asks when she saw Shi Lian mumbling something. She did not hear anything if she had she would be cursing her now.
"No, Just musing how wonderful the dishes look" She Lian smiles a forced smile.
They start eating their eating but Zheng Yi is looking for Caiwei. He is frustrated why she is not here?
"Where is Caiwei? What's taking her so long?" he whispers to Hui Yin beside her.
She does not have any clue what her daughter is doing so she does not know what t say. "I'll go call her to come down," she tells him.
He nods with a stern face but immediately changes when he notices Shi Lian is looking at him.
"Excuse me," Hui yin says with an apologetic smile and goes upstairs to look for Caiwei.
××××××××××××
About some of the dishes:~
Xiao long bao -- A type of steamed bun/soup-filled dumplings traditionally filled with pork, served piping hot and dipped in vinegar with ginger, and eaten with extra care as the dumplings are very delicate.
Abalone —Essentially seashells. They are high in protein, low in fat, and high in selenium for stamina. Price as high as 30,000 RMB per kg.
Jiaozi – Consist of a thinly rolled piece of dough which contains either meat or a vegetable filling, is one of the most popular eaten dishes in china and east Asia.
Zhangcha Duck – It is a quintessential dish of Sichuan cuisine. It is prepared by hot smoking a marinated duck over tea leaves and camphor leaves.
Char siu – Consist of roasted barbecued pork that has previously been marinated in the eponymous sauce.
Crystal cake – One of the traditional desserts in China. Its name, Crystal cake, was given because its filling's appearance is glittering and translucent, like that of crystal. The crust is made with wheat flour, starch, and oil, the filling is a mixture of granulated sugar, lard, and pounded rock candy, candied fruits, and nuts.
Kai kou xia – It is a fried sesame egg cake made from flour, peanut oil, eggs, malt sugar, sesame seeds, baking soda, and Lu Juntai's (Hui Yin's hired chef) secret ingredient.