Chapter 7 ~Blessed to have them~

Kristi was stunned by the unexpected action of Simon, who grabbed her hand out of the blue. "Head Chef? Wh—" He suddenly leaned closer which caused her gaze to widen.

“Shhhh!! Come on. Follow me,” he whispered and took her outside. She was still pondering what was happening. After they walked outside, she was taken aback when she witnessed a cab there. “This…??”

He nodded his head with a smile, “Go home. I will take care of the rest. Feng never sleeps without you, after all. More importantly, he might be worried about you.”

“I know, but I can't just leave the work to you and go," she hesitantly glanced at him. Her voice quavered as she continued with concern, "You just came back after three days of being bedridden. I don't want to give you any trouble now."

"Idiot!" he softly exclaimed, lightly tapping her forehead by his index finger. "You ought to look after yourself and Feng first. After that, everything comes last, whether it's me or work. Be at ease. I'm doing great," he reassured, giving her a shoulder pat. "I'll handle everything else. I mean, I am the world's greatest chef, after all. Right?

She chuckled narrowly, “Yeah! You're right." Taking a deep breath, she glanced at him with a concern and inquired, "Are you sure then?”

“Yeah, yeah!" He nodded his head twice and gestured toward the cab, "You can go now.”

“Thank you, head chef!!” She was heartily grateful to him.

He gave a helpless sigh and gazed at her seriously. “Like I have mentioned before, just call me Simon when we're outside," he insisted in a strict manner.

She responded with a smile, "Alright! Alright! I got it, Simon. I'll get going now. Take care of yourself, okay?”

He nodded his head with a grin while tenderly staring at her for a moment before responding, “Sure! Take care of yourself too."

~At Home~

When Kristi knocked at the door, it immediately opened from inside and she spotted her a little boy with a huge grin while showing those bright adorable tiny teeth of his. “Mom!!” he jumped on her like a grasshopper. He was on cloud nine after seeing his mom.

“Feng!!” She embraced him firmly yet gently. Gazing at him with a concern, she inquired, “Aw, shouldn’t you have slept? It's too late.”

“But…" he stare at her with his puppy eyes, "I can't sleep without you.”

“This kid only knows how to give trouble.” From upstairs, the well-known voice spoke up from behind. Kristi glanced up and saw a attractive woman wearing a body-enhancing nightie.

“Rina!!” Kristi exclaimed, a wide broad across her lips.

“Welcome home, Kristi." Rina grinned. Her gaze then falls on Feng which made her sigh heavily. "I tried my best but this little devil doesn't listen to me. He kept on persisted to only wanting to sleep when his mommy arrives. Ugh! Why's he always so difficult?"

Kristi narrowly chuckled, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry for the trouble and—"

"Hey, hey. I'm not saying so that you'll apologized to me, idiot." Leisurely walking towards Feng, Rina suggested while gazing down at him, "You shouldn't give trouble to your, mommy. Do you get that?"

Feng pout his cheek, "But I can't sleep without mommy."

Kristi patted on his head and then glanced at Rina with those puppy eyes, "Well, we can't fall asleep without each other. Can you forgive us?"

"W—" Rina inwardly sighed and mumbled underneath her voice, "Like mother, like son."

Feng nodded his head with a broad smile, "Exactly. Mom and I can't sleep without each other." He then tightly hugged his mother and then teased Rina while splitting his tongue out which made her pinched his cheek. "You little devil!!"

Suddenly, all three of them glanced at each other and burst into chuckle. Indeed, Kristi felt so at ease returning home that she forgot about her exhaustion and the entire day she had spent. They really made her heart sing with joy.

~At morning 6 A.M~

Feng and Kristi were both brushing their teeth looking at their reflection in the mirror.

“Mom!! Aunt Rina is really lazy. She never wakes up in time," he complained while sighing heavily as though he was a guardian of Rina worrying about her future. "At this rate, she'll never progress and succeed in her life." He sounded like an old man which made her feel hilarious but also adorable.

With a smile, she said, “Don't say like that. Aunt must be tired. Let her sleep, okay?”

“No!" He made up his mind and hurriedly brushed his teeth then washed his face. "Sleeping too much is a bad habit! I'll go and wake her up.” He then rushed to the upstairs even though she tried to stop him.

“Aunt Rina! Wake up!!!” He let out a shout. Rina was still sound asleep, though, as if there would never be another day. Then he began yelling in her ear on top of his lungs, "Wake up!!"

However, there was still no effect on her. She gently pushed him away and mumbled in sleepy tone. “Mmmm… Let me sleep, Feng!”

"Aunt Rina!! It's a bad habit to sleep for so long!!" He began grumbling like an old man as he tried his best to move her body with those small, pudgy hands in an attempt to wake her.

Kristi was preparing breakfast for the three of them like always in the kitchen while she noticed Rina with a disappointment glued in her pale complexion. She felt guilty since her son didn't let her get enough sleep. "Good morning, Rina. Sorry about Feng. He always do that and I couldn't stop him."

"Who can even stop a tsunami like him?" With a deep yawn, Rina sat on the dinning table where Kriti served a glass of warm water. Taking a sip, she switch to her complaining mode like always. "You know what, Feng isn't a little boy. Trust me!" She then pointed at Feng who sat beside her innocently, “Can you see this breathtaking cuteness? This is just an illusion. There is devil behind that cute face. I'm dead serious.” with a glared, she exclaimed, “You little devil!!”

“Devil?" Feng rolled his adorable round eyes, "What are you even talking about? I am just a little cute boy. Aren't you ashamed of yourself to call a little adorable and cute boy like me a devil? Shame on you! You know nothing but sleep everytime. You're so lazy like a worm," he turns to look at Kristi feeling proud of himself, “Right, mom?”

“Feng!” Kriti stared at him seriously which made him fall silent. “You shouldn’t talk with your Aunt so rudely. Have I ever taught you to act rudely?"

He lowered his gaze and shook his head, "No, mommy."

"Apologized to her now!” She instructed strictly which made Feng trembled in fear. Without waiting a second, he apologized to Rina sincerely, “I'm sorry, Aunt. I'll never be rude to you!”

“Good boy,” she served a black tea with a biscuit and said, "Have this one. I'll prepared breakfast quickly." She then walked to the kitchen and began preparing it.

Rina burst into laughter as soon as Kristi went to the kitchen. “Serves you better, you devil!” She felt proud of herself, “Finally, today I win.” She was feeling like her nose would even touch the sky at the moment. That's how content she was.

“Ahem! Ahem!” Feng fold his chubby hand above his chest and said, “Don't celebrate your victory so soon. I was just easy on you today. Got it?”

“Oh!” she raised her eyebrows with a smirk, “Is that so?”

“Y-Yeah! Of course!” He tried to avoid her gaze.

“So…" She leaned closer to him, "It wasn't because you were scared of your mom, right?”

“S-Scared? Why… why would I ever be afraid of my mom? I… I... I'm not. I just felt pity for you cause you never win against me. That's it." Then he took a sip of tea, and his tense face shifted to serious mode as he gave her a sly little smirk while narrowing his gaze that made him seem like a mafia boss in an adorable way, "Be happy that I gave you a chance, Aunt. Cause, there won't be a next time."

The corner of her lips curled up. Placing her chin on her palm, she played with her lower lips by her pinky fingertips. "You're truly a devil in human child flesh!!"

Kristi was quietly making breakfast for the three of them, feeling guilty for scolding her son. When she first came to this foreign country where she knew no one, it was really tough for her, about four and a half years ago. She had nothing. Her initial job was cleaning here and there for living. She worked day and night. Later, thanks to her talent, she landed a cooking job in a small restaurant. Her income was below average, and she was all alone with nobody to rely on.

She was already 4 months pregnant. When the owner of the restaurant found out about her pregnancy, she had to quit the job. After that, it was extremely difficult to find another job. After one month, she fortunately met Simon. That was their first encounter like a destiny had planned beforehand. When she asked for help, without any question, he agreed to help her but it wasn't easy but tough.

Simon's boss also opposed to it given that she was a 5-month pregnant woman. After all, customers might perceive the boss as being cruel and irresponsible towards a pregnant woman if she is allowed to work there. Additionally, if something were to happen to her during work, the owner would be held accountable and exposed to risk, something the owner had no intention to deal with. After that, she felt helpless.

Like a noble prince from a fairy tale, Simon extended his hand to help her through the birth of her child and even continued to support her so she could provide her child with the enough love and warmth of a mother. When her son turned about five months old, she met Rina, who eventually became a close friend. It was all thanks to Simon's introduction as his best friend. Subsequently, they began living together.

Since Rina, being a novel writer, didn't need to leave the house frequently, she took care of Feng in Kristi's absence like a mother while she was busy working at the restaurant where Simon was employed as a head chef.

Rina took care of Feng without any complaints, though occasionally she does, which makes Kristi feel guilty because of her mischievous boy causing trouble for her. Nonetheless, Rina still continued to look after Feng in spite of this like a mother. She has therefore always been appreciative of Rina and Simon for their kindness, which is something that very few people do during a time of hardship and strife. Especially to a stranger.

She truly felt blessed to have them. However, she was still feeling guilty at the deep part of her heart since she kept doubting their kind gesture in the beginning. Later, she came to realize they were truly a kind people. She wanted to repay their kind gesture someday with everything she has.

In restaurant***

She was quietly cutting vegetables with a sharp knife while Simon notices her in a funk. He stood beside her and inquired with a concern, “Kristi are you okay? Is something wrong?"

“Huh? No! Not at all.” She nervously smiled and continued to do her work as though she was trying to avoid him which caused him to gently pat her shoulder. He inquired, “Are you worried about Feng?”

A dejected smile took a place at her thin lips and she sighed heavily, "It’s not like, I can hide anything from you, Head chef."