There were no other sounds in the living room other than the muffled sniffles from Eli. Leon allowed to let out her emotions and kept still for a while.
On one hand, he securely held Little Han, while the other was soothing the sobbing Eli.
"Awoooo.." Little Han felt that Eli was emotional. He suddenly bent down and tried to reach out with his little chubby paws to 'comfort' his mommy.
When he reached out his little paws, he realized that he couldn't reach even the top of Eli's head. "Uummpph!" He huffed and puffed his round cheeks and bent down a little more, trying to reach the top of his mummy's head.
Afraid that Little Han would injure his young body because of the action, Leon slightly lowered his arm. Finally, Little Han was able to reach the top of Eli's head.
Little Han clumsily flailed his two paws as if trying to caress Eli's head. "Awuuuu..." Then his next action gave Leon a big surprise!
He bent his head down and 'kissed' the top of Eli's head just like how Leon did it earlier!
Seeing this, Leon let out a helpless chuckle and said, "You sure learn so fast!"
Eli also felt Little Han's gesture and lifted her head with a smile. Her eyes were still moist and a little bit red, but she didn't forget to reciprocate Little Han's 'kiss'.
Realizing that she became too forward with her reactions, she shyly let go of Leon and turned away her face on a guise of wiping it.
Seeing this, Leon felt stifled, 'What about me? I was the first one to 'kiss' you. Where is my kiss back?'
But of course, he wouldn't directly ask that because he didn't want to scare away Eli because of his aggressiveness. He could just patiently wait for Eli to reciprocate his feelings for her.
Besides, this too is not bad. At least, he knew that Eli cared for him deeply.
"Kayden is also here, let's wait for the others to go home. Dinner is ready." Leon then helped Eli carry Little Han to the kitchen, while they waited for a few more minutes for the other bunch to 'appear'.
Entering the kitchen, Eli was greeted with the very familiar smell. She also noticed Kayden, who was busy setting up the long table while wearing a simple white apron.
"Big Brother!" Eli greeted Kayden affectionately. Her frequent interactions with him regarding the c-section research also made the two close enough to really treat each other as siblings.
"You are finally here! Come, your big bro helped Leon prepare this dinner!" Kayden smiled gently while he gracefully took off his apron and washed his hands.
He then wore a fawning smile and approached Little Han who was carried away by his daddy, "Oh, my little cute nephew!!! Come to uncle~~~ I miss you so much~~"
Leon seeing Kayden like this immediately felt goosebumps all over his body.
He casted a disdainful glance towards his friend who looked particularly creepy right now and was about to step back to distance Little Han away from him.
"Awoooo!" Little Han leaned forward and smiled in a silly manner while he reached out his two little hands towards Kayden. He didn't forget to flash his two little milk teeth as if it was a proud achievement that he attained.
"Ohh!! You did very well in growing fast! Now you have two little teeth! Soon you can eat more solid foods like uncle!" Kayden proudly praised his little nephew as he carried him in his arms.
He didn't forget to cast a triumphant glance towards Leon who was suddenly ignored by Little Han for him.
'Hmf! You've been away for too long! Little Han loves me more than you!' He looked at Leon smuggly.
Helpless, Leon could only begrudgingly let Kayden carry his son.
Alas, his little son was too adorable and approachable. When he grows up, Leon promised himself to 'train' Little Han to be vigilant to everyone except mommy and daddy! Hmpf!
Seeing the somewhat comical interaction of the three, Eli let out a chuckle. Her heart was full, seeing them right in front of her, safe and well.
After bickering for a while, Leon proceeded to notify the blades immediately through the notification paper.
In order to ensure that the little family would have their very own 'moment'. Rosea, the Blades, Baobao and Wisey chose to 'come home late' in order to give time for the family to reunite.
Now that Leon had achieved his goal, he immediately called for the rest, who showed up excitedly in less than a minute. All looked at Leon with expectant and proud glances.
Especially the Blades, they saw from the window as they hid from 'afar' how their Madame took the initiative to hug their Master!
Oh, it was such a beautiful scene!!!
It seems that it would not take that long for them to witness another little prince or princess in the little cottage!
However, they all held back their excitement lest they scare their lovely Madame away. Obediently, they greeted Leon and the rest, then sat in the kitchen in an orderly manner.
Rosea helped Kayden, who was extremely excited, to serve the food on the table. On the other hand, Leon took Little Han on his lap and strictly reminded Eli to rest and just concentrate on eating for a while.
"Yes, Eli, we worked hard for the food today. So we have to make sure that you can focus on enjoying everything we prepared!" Kayden shot Eli a lively glance.
When he was not fawning over Little Han, his expression would not be far from Leon's ever serious face. Only that it was gentler and a few degrees warmer than Leon's frigid face.
"Alright!" Eli replied eagerly. Actually when she catched a whiff of the fragrance earlier, her heart was already leaping in excitement.
However, she tried to calm herself down because her guess might be wrong. She would be disappointed if she expected too much. She could only anticipate the food that was about to be served at the table.
Her agony didn't last long as Kayden beamed with excitement as he carried a steaming pot of white rice on the table just in front of Eli.
The steam of the freshly cooked rice assaulted Eli's nose and face directly. She couldn't believe what's in front of her!
Rice!!!
Hot Steaming RICE!!!
Oh, Great Heavens!!!!!
Oh, Great One!!!!!
She had been longing for rice ever since she was pregnant with Little Han!!! She thought that she would never ever taste that guilty mountain of starch and carbs in this lifetime!
Her eyes widened in excitement and surprise. She looked at Kayden and Leon in disbelief, only to see them smiling at her warmly. "It's for you.."
"Rice…" Her eyes glistened emotionally yet again. She was so blessed today.
First, Leon came home safely.
Next, she was able to eat rice in this lifetime!
Oh, I am having such a good life!!! She exclaimed in her heart.
"Eat it while it's hot." Leon reminded her.
Only then did she look at everyone who also looked back at her with a smile. Then she looked up high in the heavens and uttered her most heartfelt graces ever since she descended in Prasinos.
"Oh, You, Great One, showered the rain on this land.
Blessed the fruit of the farmer's labor at the wave of Your hand!
Now his work and Your grace fell upon our table,
Oh Heavenly Father we thank you for this great favor!"
"Amen!!" Everyone shouted unison as they started to dig in the food on the table. Leon, Kayden and the rest were also curious about the taste of rice on their hand.
Luckily, they asked the Blades beforehand what kind of dishes would go well with rice. It was because Eli would often tell them tales about the mystifying rice whenever she introduced good food to them during meals.
The Blades never failed to report these little things to their Master. Leon, on the other hand, took note of everything in his notebook and made sure that he would find a way to get a hand of this legendary rice!
The easiest dish to partner with rice, based on Leon and Kayden's limited time in the kitchen, was the flavored fried chicken. They strictly followed the recipe passed by Ron and the rest, as they were the ones who frequently assisted Eli in the kitchen.
They had learned several 'Asian' dishes, as what Eli would call it, and passed it on for Leon to study.
Leon, on the other hand, spent his free time in Riverfort practicing making these dishes along with Kayden.
Their hard work seemed to pay off at this moment!
Seeing Eli's elated expression as she happily ate the rice with the honey garlic glazed chicken on the side!
Eli was really on cloud nine right now, she could feel every inch of starch assaulting her taste buds as it was perfectly complemented by the sweet and fragrant honey garlic chicken.
The juice from the chicken meat and the honey coating perfectly coated the rice, all magically happening in her spoon!
As she took this spoonful in her mouth, she couldn't help but grunt in satisfaction.
Oh, I am living such a good life!!!
