“Hey ma, we are going out.”

Ma pauses form her spoonful of her breakfast. It was a healthy meal comprised of a small bowl of congee with a side of salted duck eggs and pickled tofu. 

“Why?” she inquires, looking pleasantly surprised.

“Can’t a son take his mother out on this beautiful day? It’s Chinese New Year, Ma. Accompany me to buy some groceries to make a delicious New Year meal. And some other... things.”

“Oh darling, you spoil this old woman. But why drag me along when you can do your errands much faster without this sick lady?”

Luhan dramatically gasps, looking at ma in mock indignation. “Ma, I’m insulted. You prefer these bland, closed walls over your precious son? Even on this fine, February morning? 

She eyes him for a a couple of seconds before giving him a sincere smile, full of teeth. 

“Of course not, baby. I’m glad that even in my condition, you do not see me as a burden. You are my everything, Luhan. Never forget that.”

Luhan feels his heart swell in his chest. “You want to make me cry, don’t you?” 

“Ma, you are my sky full of stars, a beauty unparalleled.”

And on that light note, they eat their breakfast in peace. 

--------

Who would have thought that someone bright and handsome as Kris has such a sad past?

He had no parents and lived alone, here on campus. It was really sad I think. I might be an only child but I have my nainai with me. My nainai and I are super close. I’m grateful to have such a wonderful person in my life like her. 

We stopped talking after I stupidly brought up his parents. It was a very foolish move and I should have watched my words more carefully. 

I was so eager to be talking to him and exhilarated at the fact that we were both eating together in  a quaint restaurant that I forgot my proper etiquette. Mother and father did not raise me like this. They did not raise a ill-mannered son. 

“What are you thinking about?”

A waitress comes up to our table and serves our deserts. It’s presentation was simple yet elegant. 

“Enjoy.” The waitress tilted her head and smiled. 

“Thank you, miss” I smile back. Kris does the same. The waitress leaves and I have yet to answer his question. 

“You’re doing that frowny face again, Tao. Keep it up and you will seriously turn into a chipmunk.” 

I absolutely do not look like a chipmunk. How dare he. If we are talking animals, I should be compared to a leopard. They are so cool. They look cool, with their spots and everything. Plus they are one of the fastest animals on earth, an outstanding speed of 36 miles per hour. 

“I do not. And to answer your question, I was mulling over what you told me and how I acted brashly. I should have watched my words more carefully and not asked questions so crudely.”

Kris merely stares at me. “Are you mad at me? I didn’t mean to, truly.” This is the end. Kris probably hates me and is never going to talk to me again. I knew this was too good to be true. 

“You are such an odd kid. I never met someone quite like you. And don’t pout. That was a compliment.”

“So you are not angry?” My voice goes up a notch. Not cool Zitao.

He chuckles, the warm sounds reverberating in his chest.  

“There is nothing to be angry over. You asked a question and I answered it. Nothing to fuss over.” 

His response calms my nerves and I finally try a bite of my delectable slice of cheesecake, topped with a gorgeous red passionfruit sauce. Food can be so beautiful sometimes. 

--------

Luhan is on edge and a bit jittery. 

There was no other way. He should feel guilty but he doesn’t. Why? Simple. His ma needs help and she needs it fast. 

It will put his heart at rest and most importantly, cure ma from whatever she has. At least, he hopes she has nothing wrong with her. 

Walking up to their local mart, they stroll in. He and ma spend time idly going up and down the aisles, picking things they want eat for their New Year dinner. 

Nothing flashy and over the top, Luhan decides. The dinner will consist of food they don’t eat everyday. It was that time of year to treat themselves. Whoop, whoop.  

He goes to the frozen foods section and picks out a bag of pork dumplings and another bag of pork buns. Yeah, pork is love. Pork is life. 

Ma is more of a traditionalist. She heads toward the baking aisle and grabs a package of glutinous rice flour and some brown sugar. 

“Time to take out the bamboo steamer.” She gives Luhan if-you-get-what-I-mean-look. 

Luhan gapes. His favorite New Year desert. Warm, chewy, and oh so sweet. 

Back when they were children, Yifan and him would sneak bites of the mouth-watering chewy goodness.  The sky would be pitch black and their stubby fingers would snake their way under the cloth that covered the cake. In the morning, ma would wag her finger and admonish them with a tiny boop on their noses. Their innocent faces weren’t fooling no one. And there was also the fact that they didn’t realize the brown finger stains on their pajamas gave them away immediately. 

In conclusion, if he interpreted ma’s face correctly, then the ingredients all pointed out to—

--------

“Glutinous rice cake?”

If I recall from the menu, it was the signature sweet called “Donkey rolling on the ground”. Different from the New Year cake, there is red bean paste rolled in glutinous rice cake. The outside was dusted with grounded soya bean flour which gives it the look of a donkey that has rolled in the dust on the ground. The rice cake is served with homemade sweet-scented osmanthus-jujube-brown sugar syrup.

Kris stares at his dessert almost nostalgically. It’s like he is reminiscing something. By the small smile he has, it must be a really happy memory. 

I let him be. Judging by distant expression clouding his eyes, Kris is off somewhere, lost in his little content bubble of memories. 

I, too, enjoy the chewy sweet. But cheesecake was too good of an offer to pass up. Cheesecake is the epitome of the absolute dessert. In China, people don’t usually eat cheese. Westerners eat this beautiful masterpiece of a food everyday in every imaginable way possible. 

There’s tofu but even then it could never constitute the holiness of cheese¹.

Bah. Here I am talking about cheese and time is flying. I need to get home before nainai calls for a search party. That would be beyond embarrassing and totally uncalled for. 

Grabbing my phone from my pocket, I press the button. A glaring 8:37 flashes from my screen and 13 missed calls. They weren’t just from nainai but from my parents as well. 

My parents? They never call—Ohmygoodness. How could I forget? Today is Chinese New Year. An important family holiday. Emphasis on family. I should be sitting with them, eating dumplings. Baba might be lenient with me but mama? No. She is going to skin me alive. 

“Hey Tao are you ok? You’ve been squeaking and facepalming for the past 2ish minutes” I hear a chortle from Kris and a quiet “You are definitely a chipmunk.”

“Kris, I will have you know that I am scared out of my wits right now. Not only is past my curfew, but I missed thirteen calls. Thirteen.”

A waiter comes by our table and hands us the bill. I pounce and skim the bill and do the math quickly in my head. We had 2 mains and 2 deserts which is 620 RMB. Add on the two papaya milks, its a total of 756 RMB. 

I slap 800 yuan on the table and hurriedly put on my coat. I can’t die now. Not today. 

Giving a stunned Kris a quick hug, I say over my shoulder, “Sorry Kris I need to leave. Treat me another day” and run out of the restaurant. For the first time, I didn’t care if I looked stupid. My mind was blank with fear. 

--------

Even the waiter looked shocked.

Tao literally glanced at the bill for 2 seconds and ran off. 

“Thank you for the food.” I give an awkward laugh and leave, dignity still intact. It was dark outside and I check to see if Tao had left. I saw no sign of his black mop of hair. 

Extending my arm out, I hail a cab. Going back to my dorm was boring but maybe Dawei was still up. 

It was great Tao warmed up to me quickly but this quickly? He even hugged me? Is this normally how he is? Is he into skinship? At least he is not Sunsun.

I’m ecstatic my plan is going above expectations. Tao is now in my hands. I can now call him my ‘friend’. And it gets better. He is a walking money-machine. You hit the jackpot, Kris. A well-deserved pat on the back for you.

¹ Aha a pun. 

A/N: According to Google, 756 RMB is around $121.71. King's Joy is a real vegeterian restaurant in Beijing. It's really pretty from the pictures I've seen online.