Chapter 25
'Egg? Too delicious?'
"What egg? Where did you get it?" Zhou Lei inquired.
"I got it from the ground outside. The one you threw away." Zhou Jiahao said without any reservations.
"What the heck?! Why'd you eat that?!" Zhou Lei threw away all the formalities and asked his father directly.
"Right back at you. Why'd you throw it away in the first place?" Zhou Jiahao was genuinely confused why his son would throw away such a delicious egg.
"That's because it fell under the kitchen sink!" Zhou Lei answered bluntly.
"Huh?" Zhou Jiahao was puzzled. 'If it fell under the kitchen sink, why did it taste so good? Wait, does that mean...'
A revelation suddenly struck him. "Then you need to cook one now!"
"Huh, what?!" Zhou Lei was getting even more confused. Why was his father so adamant in making his son cook him an egg? "If you want an egg that badly, cook one yourself!"
After that, Zhou Lei covered himself with his blanket and lied down. This blanket quickly disappeared from Zhou Lei's grasp. The blanket was in Zhou Jiahao's hands now.
Zhou Lei felt the coldness of the surroundings. It was especially cold, now that it was January. The heater in the Zhou house was located in the living room. Thus, it didn't have much effect in Zhou Lei's bedroom.
Covering his arms with his warm palms, Zhou Lei s.h.i.+vered. He looked at his father angrily, then stood up.
.....
Soon after, the two arrived at the kitchen. Zhou Zhenya and Zhou Xiang were already asleep, so only the two of them were awake in the house.
Zhou Lei, once again, grabbed an egg from the refrigerator. He grabbed the previously washed pan and put some oil on it, before he cracked the egg and put it in the pan, throwing the sh.e.l.l away.
After this, the erratic movements came.
Zing! Zang! Zong!
'd.a.m.n!' Zhou Jiahao couldn't help but be in awe of his son's fast hand motions.
Eventually, Zhou Lei finished cooking the egg and served it on a plate, before immediately walking back to his room, grabbing his blanket back from his father's hand in the process.
He shut the door to his room intensely.
Boom!
Zhou Jiahao couldn't hold back his eye shutting when he heard the violent sound.
'Geez, Louise...'
As he thought of how to reprimand his son tomorrow, he grabbed some rice and put it on the plate. Soon enough, Zhou Jiahao started eating.
"The f**k, this tastes so good!"
Zhou Jiahao had already forgotten his son's disrespectful tone and instead immersed himself in the egg his son cooked for him.
The egg tasted better than before, as the previous one was infested with dirt, soil, and other things, while this one was straight from the pan!
Without the dirt hindering the egg, it could finally exhibit its full taste! In the hands of Zhou Lei, the egg was a masterpiece. An art form.
Zhou Jiahao's face flushed red as he chewed and savored the taste of the egg in his mouth.
"Mm, mm!"
.....
Boom!
The door to Zhou Lei's room was shut.
The loud sound woke both Zhou Zhenya and Zhou Xiang up from their slumber.
'The heck?'
Both of the two opened the doors to their respective rooms simultaneously. They first looked at Zhou Lei's room, where the sound came from.
'Hmm?'
They then turned their heads toward the dining room, where the lights were open. Inside, Zhou Jiahao was sitting on a chair with a fried egg on his plate. There was also a small bit of rice on the plate.
They saw Zhou Jiahao's mouth moving subtly. It looked like he was grumbling about something. Soon after, he picked up a spoon from the side and put the egg and some rice inside his mouth. At this moment, his expression changed drastically.
The face that once wore an expression of anger was now wearing the exact opposite of that - it was a face full of delight.
As the two women watched on, they eventually heard their stomachs grumbling. Hungry, they walked towards where Zhou Jiahao was, sneaking up on him.
"Mm, mm! So good, d.a.m.n!"
Zhou Jiahao was completely immersed in eating. He didn't notice at all that his wife and his daughter were right behind him. As he prepared to eat a part of the egg once more, he quickly discovered that... it was gone.
On the plate was the rice that was put on it, and some traces of the previously present egg.
"Did I... unknowingly eat it all already?"
Despite the fact that he had already eaten much, he was still craving for more. That Sunny-Side Up was too d.a.m.n tasty.
He stood up and turned around, planning to walk towards his son's room. As he did, what greeted him was the sight of his wife and his daughter feasting on an egg.
"That... that's my egg!"
He quickly stretched out his hand to grab the stolen egg out of his daughter's little hands. However, some other hand stopped his midway, causing his hand to lose its momentum.
"Xiang Xiang!"
The couple stared at each other intensely. They both turned their heads towards their daughter... or at least in the direction where she once was.
She wasn't there anymore!
"d.a.m.n!"
"Hehehe..." Zhou Zhenya actually ran away, betraying her mother in the process. The egg's taste is too good, why would I share it with you? Are
Suddenly, there appeared in front of her a silhouette. The lights were off so she couldn't see clearly, but the silhouette was definitely getting closer!
Her subconscious reaction was to take a step back, but then, she felt a hand touch her back. She... she was cornered!
The silhouette and the person behind Zhou Zhenya nodded at each other. The person behind Zhou Zhenya suddenly wrapped her hands around her, causing Zhou Zhenya to become immobile! The egg on her hand was barely being held on, extremely close to falling on the floor.
The silhouette walked closer until the light revealed who he really was - it was Zhou Jiahao! With his daughter rendered immobile, he could easily grab the egg out of her hands.
Suddenly, as Zhou Jiahao's hand approached the egg, the person behind Zhou Zhenya grabbed Zhou Zhenya's hand and raised it up.
"How do I know you're not planning on backstabbing me? Huh?"
This voice was recognized by Zhou Zhenya - it was her mother, Zhou Xiang! Now she knew, it was her parents that schemed against her. But who else could it have been?
As her two parents were negotiating, Zhou Zhenya thought of a plan... That's it! Not only was this plan ingenious, but she could also execute it right now!
With a bold move, she let go of the egg.
The fried egg was dropped!
"Oh, s**t!"
The moment Zhou Xiang saw the egg drop, her grip on her daughter was released, and she tried to grab the falling egg with her now free hand.
Zhou Jiahao was also thinking of the same thing. They were both reaching for the falling egg, not caring about their daughter anymore.
Zhou Zhenya was free from her mother's hands and used this slight second to escape, grabbing the egg in the process.
"Yes!"
Zhou Xiang and Zhou Jiahao both missed the egg, but their momentum was now unstoppable. Their lips..h.i.t each other, causing them to kiss.
Zhou Zhenya, who snuck a glance while she was running away, saw her parents accidentally kissing. "Yuck" was the first word she thought of. Of course, she was still just an eleven-year-old, why would she understand romance?
The parents didn't understand romance either.
After they kissed, they stood up straight and immediately chased Zhou Zhenya, not caring about what just happened at all!
But that was just on the surface. Inside, they almost lost their cool. Luckily for them, the image of their daughter watching them both popped up in their peripheral view, causing them to break out of the daze they were almost in.
"Ah, c.r.a.p!" Zhou Zhenya ran towards the kitchen, which was located beside the dining room. It was also the last room in the house. She closed the door on the way.
'This place is unbelievably small!' Now that she ran through it did she understand how tiny their house was. A diner just across the street was bigger than their house! And that diner isn't even considered a big diner...
In any case, she was cornered. With nowhere left to run, she looked for a place to hide in the kitchen. The curtain that covered the underside of the kitchen sink entered her sight.
'That place...
That place could be a good hiding spot...
...Wait, no!'
She recalled how the egg her brother cooked fell into a puddle there. She could vividly remember the picture of her brother biting into that very same egg.
'Wait a minute... an egg?
Where did father get this egg from?
And what was with bro's door shutting?
Did he... cook this egg?'
As soon as she thought of this, her parents opened the door to the kitchen.
Zhou Jiahao and Zhou Xiang had made a truce. They were to work together to get the egg from their daughter's hands.
When they opened the door, they saw their daughter... docile. She was standing there, looking down. But the most important thing was... that she was handing over the egg!
"What?!" An unexpected move from their daughter caught both Zhou Xiang and Zhou Jiahao in surprise! How could they have antic.i.p.ated this? How could they have antic.i.p.ated... that their daughter was crazy enough to give the egg away?!
All of a sudden, Zhou Zhenya opened her mouth. "Before you take this egg... I want you to answer a question, dad."
Her sight then turned to Zhou Jiahao. Zhou Xiang's also turned to Zhou Jiahao. With both of his most beloved girls staring at him, Zhou Jiahao could only blush inside.
Her words continued. "Did big bro... cook this egg?"
In front of his abnormally beautiful daughter, Zhou Jiahao could only nod helplessly. "Yes, he did."
As if she was excited about something, Zhou Zhenya nodded her head as well, before handing the egg over to her father. "I see..."
She exited the kitchen, making the image of an enigma in her parents' minds.
"What... what magnanimousness!"
.....
Zhou Lei was sleeping peacefully, his face not morphing yet. He was also snoring loudly as well.
Until suddenly, someone barged into his room. It was his beautiful little sister, Zhou Zhenya!
"Big bro. Big bro. Big bro. Big bro..."
As soon as she entered the room, she started repeating two words. "Big" and "bro". This wasn't enough to make Zhou Lei stand up from his bed, but it was certainly enough to wake him up.
'Hmm, so annoying.'
Zhou Lei covered his ears with his pillow. The movements under the blanket were seen by Zhou Zhenya, and thus she knew that her big brother was already awake.
"Cook me an egg. Cook me an egg..."
Her set of words changed when she learned that her brother was already awake. Instead of just two, it turned into four!
'AaAaAh...'
Zhou Lei grumbled while he was still trying to sleep. He was ignoring his sister.
Seeing that her brother was not faltering, she strengthened her attack! Her voice became louder than before.
"Cook me an egg. Cook me an egg..."
'AaAaAh, obnoxious brat!'
He finally gave in and removed the blanket from his face, then looked at his sister's increasingly desperate pleas to cook her an egg.
However, once he saw his little sister's beautiful face, all feelings of resentment disappeared. What was left was her command: cook her an egg.
He stood up from his bed like a robot. Zhou Zhenya was pleased with her brother. Her expression brightened as she opened her mouth.
"Follow me!"
The door was already open, so there was no need for Zhou Zhenya to open it again. Are you crazy, why would you open a door two times? Is that even humanly possible?!
They walked out of Zhou Lei's room and headed straight for the kitchen.
Zhou Xiang and Zhou Jiahao halved the egg in two and were eating at the dining room which was right next to the kitchen. That meant that whenever someone would walk in or out of the kitchen, they would see it.
They saw their daughter and their son going to the kitchen.
'Wait, what?' Zhou Xiang had a dazed expression. Why the heck would she wake her brother up, just to bring him to the kitchen?
She was already confused enough when her daughter gave them the egg and walked towards her son's room.
On the other hand, Zhou Jiahao was dumbfounded. 'Of course!' He could've just woken up his son to cook again! What a genius plan!
Zhou Lei and Zhou Zhenya arrived at the kitchen.
"Give me an egg from the refrigerator." Zhou Lei ordered his little sister.
"Okay." Zhou Zhenya responded quickly.
As she was right beside the refrigerator, she could just turn her body and open it, and she did exactly that. She looked for the egg tray.
"Ahah!" Zhou Zhenya found the egg tray right in the corner of the refrigerator, next to a milk carton and a cabbage.
She grabbed the egg tray from the refrigerator. However, she noticed that it was surprisingly light. Too light, in fact. Her face full of antic.i.p.ation turned grim as she opened the tray.
Zhou Lei was impatiently waiting for the egg as he stretched out his hand. "Come on, give me the egg!"
"But... we are out of eggs!"