Chapter 61
Gift
Sam praises and urges everyone to eat together:
- It's so delicious! Brother is No.1! Let's eat and drink!
He serves rice to his mother first, then to Huge, and then to his sister-in-law. Rose is sure that Sam will never care about her, so she raises her chopsticks — and Sam fights for the food again.
Rose just wants to yell at Sam to relieve her frustration and glances at him. The idiot makes her blurt out a loud "Oh!" Rose stares as he gently places the "most" delicious piece of rice into her bowl.
- Hey, eat, and stop being so unhappy and uncomfortable because of me. Second sister!
Her heart throbs at his half-smile — the same smile that looks like it wants to be punched, now shining in her sparkling eyes. Sam gets goosebumps and a rash of red bumps at the gentle look, impossible from the Ha Dong lion.
- Don't scare me, second sister!
The whole family sees the forest fool pulling Rose's feelings down; everyone tries to hold back their laughter and almost chokes. Rose purses her lips, presses her mouth tightly, and a few seconds later sits calmly to taste every bite.
Sam lazily watches her eat as if she's afraid the food will disappear too quickly. He clicks his tongue, picks up another piece of food for her, and then drinks comfortably.
Rose watches as Sam avoids the middle piece, using his chopsticks to pick from the outside in. She giggles at how this rude guy behaves politely when eating dishes that call for proper rules.
Sam slowly adds a little shacha sauce into another bowl until the desired level of spiciness is reached, then dips the surface of the rolling piece of rice into soy sauce and shacha sauce, opening his mouth to bite the whole piece and absorb all the flavors.
The rice, mixed with vinegar and sugar, releases a sweet and sour taste, slowly cleansing the remaining fishy smell from the raw fish.
Sam chews evenly — not too fast, not too slow. The cucumber and salad make a rustling sound. The pleasant sound isn't over yet; the crisp seaweed melts into water, allowing the shrimps and crabs to "swim" freely around his mouth and tongue.
Thrashing with the seafood is the cool, bouncy fish, releasing a rich, creamy aroma that mingles with the pungent shacha sauce rushing into his nose.
He wrinkles his nose, sticks out his tongue at the taste that tears his eyes, and waves his hand in front of his mouth to reduce the spiciness — without drinking water. He's afraid water will wash away the spiciness to the point of tongue-twisting and lip-burning, leaving behind the aftertaste of soft rice, the sweet and spicy taste of pickled pink ginger, and the toughness of fish wrapped in soft shrimps and crabs dancing like waves.
The remaining small seaweed turns the cucumber salad into a skateboard gliding in the sea, surfing playfully. Rose smiles, watching Sam eat while shaking his head and clicking his tongue. He clicks his tongue:
- I've eaten this dish countless times, but today — top of the peak! Brother is No.1! - He gives a thumbs-up and praises the people he cares about. - For a long time, this dish has become the spirit of this cooking line. It's a metaphor for an ethereal and noble beauty that far exceeds a bunch of mundane things. Haha, sky of the little swallow must be different, right, brother?
He shows the demeanor of a specialist inspecting cuisine. His words of appreciation for his brother's choice of dish are pure praise. Sam's subtle way of complimenting his sister-in-law makes everyone laugh. Whenever he has the chance, he shows admiration for those he respects.
His level of family madness grows by the second, but instead of feeling strange, the family gathers at the party table. Rose pours wine for Huge, and Father gives the girl a plate of side dishes. Sam sits next to Hanna so the two of them can conveniently ask each other to run errands. He helps her pour dipping sauce on the cake and grab more cilantro and sweet fruit.
A harmonious family is a mother's happiness. She's excited to drink some, but the beer is placed far away. She asks Kai to bring it to her, and he opens the lid of the beer can and hands it to her.
Thanh Hang takes a long sip, then picks up food for Kai without turning the chopsticks. The chopsticks are smeared with oil and fat — but to someone who has never experienced such a simple thing, those stains are a mother's sincerity.
Kai silently gazes at the mother, who smiles gently. He bows his head, quietly thankful that she subtly understands his thoughts… a relative not bound by blood… longing to feel familial affection… when… he pensively watches Sam and his father bickering noisily. The father and son nitpick every word, tease, mock, and ridicule each other.
The son grumbles, complaining that his father is biased, pretending to be envious and saying the father should just adopt Kai to show their deep father-son bond.
The father curses him flat out, doesn't bother to flip his chopsticks, grabs Sam's favorite dish with the greasy, stained tip. He grumbles and shoves a rolled rice piece with a big chunk of meat straight into his son's mouth.
Kai stares at the pristine white rice, marked with messy stains, for a long time. The descendants hope that today's party remains forever indelible in his memory, with the people who gave birth to relatives. Kai smiles at her and eats slowly, savoring every second, so that he can always remember the strong, salty, and warm taste of family affection.
Thanh Hang watches thoughtfully the joy on Kai's lips, and his eyes fill with tears mixed with gloomy thoughts, as if another kind of sadness hides within the emotion of being split in two.
The old worry and feel distressed, and the young carry their own problems. Strangely, Kai contains a quiet melancholy — a personal sorrow he cannot confide to anyone.
If they can't understand the thoughts of children and grandchildren, relatives will always dig deep and bury their affairs tightly in their stomachs while alive, and take them away when they die.
Kai doesn't deliberately hide his feelings, but she still feels there's a secret behind his radiant appearance.
The mother sadly realizes that Kai has suffered in silence for too long. He is forced to maintain a facade every minute of every second. Day after day, the unwanted "pretense" becomes an instinct for communication. Maybe Kai himself doesn't know that "it" has become a part of him.
Once again, her turbid eyes blur with tears. She has always respected God, but at this moment, the mother curses the Supreme Being who has eyes like a blind man, favors the devil, and is cruel to angels. Does God have to torture her family to feel satisfied?
The mother lowers her head, twists her hands, and trembles with anger at herself. She deserves the criticism from JK — this is the retribution she brings to her family.
The whole family is happy, so they don't see that pain. Only the father always watches, clearly understands the pain the descendants must endure — the karma — while the mother can only cry silently.
It can't go on like this forever. If the children find out she is sad because of self-blame, darkness will cover everything again. Huge must find a way to stir up the atmosphere.
The father teases Sam into going crazy and lets the quarrel rumble through the house. Whenever the dramatic father and son perform their comedy, even people with severed happy nerves have to hold their stomachs and laugh until it hurts.
Thanh Hang smiles sadly and nods silently to thank Huge for helping her help her resolve the issue. He shakes his head slightly, circles his fingers around his temples, and then gently swings them.
She understands the meaning of letting go of the burden and softening the mind. The mother exhales, letting go of all the sadness and enjoying the moment with her family.
Unlike Sam, Thanh Hang and the others all use chili sauce mixed with mayonnaise. Eating with other dipping sauces brings new flavors: the spicy, sweet, and salty notes dissolve into the oily sauce, and a slight greasiness tempers the heat of the chili peppers. The two components blend well with each other, and the sour, spicy, and sweet tastes, along with the nutty flavor, evoke every gentle aroma.
Everyone praises the cooking peak. But the filling is rich in nutrition. Seafood has always been prone to becoming a breeding ground for bacteria and parasites, so Kai has taken initial steps to eliminate all risks.
Fish contains a lot of protein, fat, and salt. Kai fears that people with allergies or weak bodies eat too much and cannot digest it, risking bloating, nausea, and other disorders. So Kai only cooks enough to eat. Sam is greedy, but it's a pity he can't eat a lot:
- Hey, brother!
Kai hums and turns to him. Sam snorts and laughs, "Heh heh":
- Little brother's birthday is next week — let's drink hard and have fun, brothers! - He pats his full stomach - Haha, little brother's stomach can digest any food! Not afraid of water coming out the buttocks and fireworks shooting out the mouth!
Everyone laughs until they fall off their chairs. Rose hears that Sam's birthday is coming soon, and a glimmer of joy flashes in her eyes — but she hears the last sentence while drinking water and nearly sprays it on Sam's face. The "uncharming girl" suppresses her laughter and immediately chokes on the water. Sam flares his lips and stares at her:
- Say, uncharming girl — you instantly get touchy!
Rose apologizes to the elders again and again:
- I was so careless. But even God has to laugh, uncle and aunt! I'm dying!
The old father pats his son's head as he glares at Rose. Sam shouts:
- What kind of pants are you making?
- You're the one without charm, fool guy! - Huge laughs like he's about to bring the house down - The niece keeps smiling in the face of this idiot — uncle allows it!
Huge emphasizes the word "fool" to test Rose, then scratches his nose and pretends not to see her shyness. That shyness, revealed a moment ago, makes others suspicious — which leads to the father's amusement and... attention.
The son is an idiot when it comes to girls — he doesn't understand women's psychology, yet still dares to call the girl a charmless lion. Sam quarrels and loses again, makes excuses to clean and wash dishes, croaks in the sink, mutters:
- She's not only uncharming but also more sideways than a crab. Any guy who runs into her will have a headache all day long!
Kai washes dishes beside him, smiling as if to say: That guy you're talking about is standing right next to your brother. Sam looks up, confused:
- What's wrong, brother?
Kai says ah. I suddenly remember a funny story. Sam feels like his brother is pretending. He can't stand the unpleasant attitude of that Ha Dong lion, and he's baffled by Kai's excuses. But he can't refute them without reason, so he gets even more annoyed.
Sam, easily flustered by trivial things, quickly finishes the dishes to clear the mess in his head. Sam and Kai put the dishes away, then return to the table and drink water with the whole family. Rose is still shy. Huge finds an excuse:
- The city's busy at night — we'd better leave early to avoid traffic jams!
Sam wants to go back to the hospital to escape a mess of annoying things that scramble his brain, so he says goodbye to his brother and sister-in-law. The idiot wants to wave at Rose but feels embarrassed, so he throws her a dull, bored look instead. Rose glances sideways, snorts, then turns to the respected elders:
- Yah, I ask for permission to go back to the room first!
Sam isn't in the mood to stir things up, so he simply walks out of the house. Everyone shakes their heads, helpless against the troublesome couple. Hanna and her brother bow and say goodbye. Kai stands up, sees them off, waits until the relatives disappear, then closes the door and carries his sister back to the room.
The brother gently lifts his sister's hair and caresses her cheek. Hanna gently touches her elder brother's hand, and the two say goodnight tenderly. Rose giggles when her brother lingers, unwilling to "leave" his sister just yet. She teases:
- Hey, elder brother, wanna sleep here? We're girls!
Kai and Hanna chuckle at the teasing. Kai pats his sister's cheek gently and walks over to the sofa in the living room. Hanna waits until the door is fully closed, then playfully smacks Rose with a pillow:
- This girl is so uncharming when joking!
Rose giggles and walks to the closet. The mischievous girl tosses pajamas to her bestie:
- Your husband's younger brother protects you, your brother spoils you, and when your leg hurts, your bestie ships everything from A to Z! You're living the dream, girl!
Hanna changes clothes and teases:
- It's still a week until someone's birthday cake, so why does it already smell like gato?
Rose immediately turns away:
- It's my birthday this year, and I'm gonna slam a cake in your face to show you what gato really is!
Hanna covers her mouth and giggles — those with secrets nearby flinch:
- Oh? On someone's birthday, I'll put a cake on your face too so you know what gato tastes like!
Rose giggles at the pure girl, who now seems even slyer than Rose herself. She ignores it and opens her drawer, discovering a foreign object under her pajamas. She takes it out and immediately hides it in her clothes, sneaking a glance at Hanna, who's busy playing with her Halo. Rose pats her chest, exhales softly, grabs a long cotton towel, drapes it over her shoulders, and says:
- I'm going to the bathroom.
She runs to the toilet, carefully locks the door, and takes out the foreign object. She smiles, admiring the paper stuck to the lid of the box. A lion's face with bristling hair takes up most of the paper. Below it, the words read:
- Happy birthday, Ha Dong lion!
Rose tears off the glossy wrapping and is about to open the box when she suddenly remembers the gift giver is a notorious prankster. She's sure he's up to something, so she has to be careful not to fall into a trap. She slowly places the box on a chair, trembling slightly as if holding a time bomb. The gift box doesn't move.
To be safe, Rose steps back a few paces. She turns the hook-tipped stick forward, hooks it into the box slot, and slowly pries it open — squinting, grimacing, eyes shut tight, and 99.9% sure that something horrifying is about to happen.
One second, two seconds, three... a whole minute — the box stays silent. Rose exhales and laughs as she steps closer. What hits her wide eyes is a pile of metal pieces in different sizes, with a booklet of assembly instructions lying on top. She loves this kind of game the most, so she happily follows the illustrations.
She's as excited as a child. After just a few minutes, she nimbly assembles hundreds of parts. Rose is infatuated with the robot lion — as cute as she is — and watches the replica with complete focus.
Suddenly, the lion roars, echoing through the house. She shouts loudly. Kai panics, runs to the door, and knocks. Worried and confused, he listens to Rose's giggles. He asks again. She suppresses her laughter and replies:
- There's a horror movie on network TV, but Hanna's afraid of having a heart attack, so I have to watch it here while removing my makeup and applying a face mask.
Kai goes "ah ah" and returns to the sofa. Rose covers her mouth and smiles at her brother being tricked. She laughs until her eyes squint, completely fascinated by the mechanical lion that just growled. Now it bends its hips, turns its head, twists its body, shakes its butt, dances and teases her, and opens its mouth to sing:
Rose is not a rose
Rose is a lioness... ah... ah... ah... ah... ah…
No one is more aggressive than... Increase... Increase... Increase... Increase…
Wild beasts are afraid, splatter the soul... Hoo... Hoo... Hoo... Hoo... Hoo…
Rose beautiful sharp
Beautiful stunning sparkling... Ding... Ding... Ting... Ting... Ting…
It's a pity that there's charmless... ah... ah... ah... ah... ah…
Combo plus clumsiness... ha... ha... ha... ha... ha…
Sustainable personality of the splatter cage... huh... huh... huh... huh... huh…
No husband for life…
With every line it sings, the robot lion pats its butt, sticks out its tongue, and teases her like a brat — making her laugh so hard she can't stay mad. She laughs until her body shakes, laughs like a mad girl, like she's never laughed before. Because Sam's silly voice is coming out of the lion's mouth.
The super naughty guy has probably racked his brain to come up with this trolling song and record it, leaving her unable to get mad at the idiot's foolish little devotion meant just for her.
He gives it on the most meaningful occasion, so Rose shouldn't aim her thorns at him. Instead, she gazes at the lion tenderly and affectionately, listening to every heartfelt word:
"It's just a little joke for fun! Ahem, how do I put it? Tsk, I'm a rude person, so it's hard for me to fully express what I mean. But why ramble with the Ha Dong lion and make the brain tired?"
Rose bites her nails and giggles as Sam switches to a low, warm voice:
"Next Sunday is your birthday. I'm busy taking care of my sister-in-law's future husband, and I'm afraid of getting into trouble with some dude or some crazy girl. It's hard to control my anger, which leads to smashing their mouths, then going to jail and peeling off the calendar. So I don't have time to accompany you… ah… mistake… don't get me wrong… damn, I say mistake. I mean, I can't buy gifts, let alone sing nonsense like a crazy guy. By the way, when the whole family gets together, I instantly become lively!"
Rose bites her lip shyly as she listens to his heartfelt confession:
"Thank you for accompanying, caring for, defending, and protecting my sister-in-law over the past three years. This family love is priceless to me. Thank you for everything! Tsk, I'm too sentimental! Hehe… I wish you a happy birthday — let's make it less loathsome!"
Congratulations echo in the bustling explosion. The lion opens its mouth and shoots paper fireworks that fly and flutter, and the delicate colors shimmer in her glittering eyes filled with tears.
She laughs happily, her soul wants to be intoxicated by her first love, and her consciousness fears that exposing it will confuse her in front of her bestie.
Rose doesn't want to leave this moment. But she pats her face to reduce the redness, takes off her clothes and puts on pajamas. She dismantles the mechanical lion, puts the birthday gift in the box, wraps it with a cotton towel, and opens the door slightly to look outside.
After confirming that it's safe, the one who has something to hide fears being startled and hurries back to his room. Hanna stops playing with her Halo, raises her eyes, and asks Rose:
- Just now you're watching some kind of movie that makes you scream like the house is on fire?
Rose smiles mischievously, covers her face with her long hair, leaves only one eye exposed, and runs to the other side of the bed, saying in a hoarse voice:
- A movie with ghosts at the bottom of the well!
Hanna closes her eyes in fear, forcing the joke to stop. Rose quickly opens the wooden trunk, hides the gift at the bottom, closes the lid, and jumps onto the bed to tickle Hanna. The two besties laugh and tease each other. Suddenly, Kai anxiously asks Hanna about her screams.
The girls all laugh because their brother is too worried about his sister. Hanna says they're joking. Kai scolds them lightly and goes back to the sofa. Hanna and Rose hug each other and whisper until late at night before turning off the lights and going to bed.
Note
[1] In addition to meaning "cake," gato is also used by Vietnamese youth today to tease or mock people who are envious of others, usually in a joking context.