The wind atop the hill was strong, carrying the scent of the barbecue far away. Thankfully, high trees and vegetation separated the neighbors, or they might have been driven to tears by the delicious smell.
In the usually quiet villa, there was now laughter, and Fang Zhenyue leaned against the white exterior wall of the villa, holding a champagne and chatting with guests, occasionally bursting into laughter—a heartiness rarely seen in the past.
He was wearing his favorite flip-flops, with the hem of his shirt casually tucked in on one side and hanging loose on the other, his black sweatpants swinging with every move he made, exuding an air of relaxed and carefree charm.
It was clear that today, Fang Zhenyue was truly relaxed and happy.
The mountain breeze blew through his short hair, and with a gentle touch of his slender fingers, Liu Jiaming loudly claimed he wanted the first skewer of lamb, but Fang Zhenyue laughed and disagreed:
“If we are to respect the elderly, the oldest here is Uncle Jiu. If we prioritize children, the youngest is Jiajun. If ladies first, then it should be Jiaru and Eleven. How could it be your turn?”
“Maybe I should be a pet instead.” Liu Jiaming, picking up a pre-prepared convenience snack cake from the long dining table, said with a woeful tone.
As Jiaru walked by, Liu Jiaming, tasting the food in his mouth, glanced at her, quickly picked up another small cake, and mumbled, “Try this, it’s really good.”
“Oh, thank you, Jiaming Brother~” Jiaru looked up with a sweet smile, sweeter than the cake Liu Jiaming handed to her.
“Hehe.” Liu Jiaming picked up another cake, clinking his cake against hers.
“As a pet, a large one like you isn’t very popular. It’s not your turn, no matter what. Just wait.” Sanfu, passing by with freshly skewered meat for the grill, couldn’t resist chiming in to tease Jiaming.
Jiaru moved next to her elder sister, helping to arrange various alcoholic drinks and beverages on the table, and whispered:
“Big sister, when you become a lawyer, could you please discipline Brother Jiaming properly?”
“Ah?” Jiayi popped open a champagne bottle, took a sip, and looked around at the scenery.
Fang Zhenyue’s villa faced Victoria Harbour, and the rooftop terrace offered even broader views of the sea in other directions. It’s said that even among mountain-top villas, there are ranks, and those facing the harbor are among the best. Of course, having a panoramic view would be the ultimate.
The villa area was sparsely populated, in stark contrast to the crowded Sham Shui Po, where you bump into someone every two steps.
The mountain breeze was refreshing, cooling the face and neck, and taking a deep breath felt invigorating. The sea breeze climbed the hill, carrying not only the scent of the sea but also the fragrance of grass and trees from the mountainside.
Overlooking the scenery in all directions, whether it was the boundless sea, Victoria Harbour, or the city and hills across the bay, was spectacular.
No wonder the wealthy chose to build their villas here. Looking around, there truly was a thrilling sense of having the world at one’s feet. The feeling of control, as if owning the city, was really exhilarating.
“Train him to be a detective who is especially gentlemanly towards women, but make sure to keep his cheerful personality,” Jiayi said as she neatly arranged all the Dongfang Moshui and Jianlibao energy drinks, along with 5 bottles of iced lemon tea and 5 cups of milk tea.
“?” Jiayi finally shifted her gaze from the scenery back to her sister’s face.
Wait, when did she become a police superintendent?
Why is she starting to train other detectives now?
Is Ms. Yi Jiaru thinking a bit too far ahead?
“When I grow up, he can be my boyfriend,” Jiaru arranged all the drinks, clasped her hands together, and turned to her big sister with a giggly smile:
“You’re my sister, you wouldn’t refuse to help me with this, right?”
“…” Jiayi.
She suddenly felt old, no longer understanding the thoughts of the young.
“Let’s eat, let’s eat.” Suddenly, Yi Jiadong shouted loudly, having smelled the delicious aromas for so long that everyone who was drooling gathered around.
Oil dripped onto the charcoal, bursting forth with a marvelous fragrance.
At first sniff, it was merely the aroma of meat, but further smelling revealed the scents of cumin, sesame, Sichuan pepper, black pepper, chili powder, and other spices.
These barbecue aromas mixed together, probably creating the most irresistible scent for humans.
Jiayi faintly heard barking and seriously suspected that it was the neighbor’s dog, whose nose was more sensitive, now drooling in envy and howling skyward.
Everyone stretched their hands towards Brother Dong, and the eldest brother distributed skewers like a benevolent official aiding the distressed.
Soon, everyone in the courtyard had a small handful of skewers.
Yi Jiadong watched everyone devouring their food like starving ghosts, himself also grabbing a skewer, eating while continuing to grill new ones—the privilege of being the chef, to eat the cooked meat first.
In Jiayi’s handful, there were 3 beef skewers and 2 lamb skewers. She glanced around and saw that Sanfu, standing next to her, actually had two grilled sausages.
The sausages were cut into octopus flowers, with tentacle slices curled up and crisply charred.
Catching Jiayi’s glance, Sanfu smiled lightly and graciously picked out a skewer of sausage and handed it to her.
Jiayi then moved her gaze from the sausage to Sanfu’s face, “Thanks, Brother Sanfu.”
“Eat up,” Sanfu grinned casually, seemingly indifferent. He turned his head and continued chatting away with his brothers.
As soon as Jiayi got the sausage, she bit into it crisply.
The first bite was into the charred, crispy skin, which snapped audibly when bitten, revealing a stretch of meat stuffed with fragrant oils, cumin, chili, and other spices. Chewing it was a delightful mix of crunchy and tender textures, rich in both taste and sensation.
Barbecue is really delicious, scaldingly hot in the mouth, provoking involuntary exclamations of “Mmm,” “Ahh,” and “Sss”—it’s so good that beyond primal cries, it’s hard to find words to describe its deliciousness.
Such tasty food shouldn’t be enjoyed alone. Jiayi had eaten half when she handed it over to Jiaru, saying, “Here, sister, all the good things come out of my mouth, eat it!”
“…” Jiaru was speechless at her sister’s description, but no one could resist the allure of the grilled sausage, so she obediently ate half and then left a bite for Jiajun:
“Here, all the good things come from sister’s mouth, eat it!”
“…” Jiajun.
Oops, I’ve accidentally become the bottom of this family’s food chain. But… the grilled sausage is so tasty, yum yum…
Walking with a lamb skewer, Jiayi bumped into Gary, who was munching on chicken wings.
Her gaze then fell on another skewer of chicken wings in Gary’s hand, with the chicken skin roasted to a caramel color, bubbling with oil, and coated in cumin seeds and other spices. One could imagine how crunchy the skin and juicy the meat would be when bitten together, mixing with the barbecue seasoning for a tender and delicious flavor.
Following her gaze, Gary smiled and handed over the last skewer of chicken wings he held.
“Thanks, brother Gary,” Jiayi said as she took the chicken wings and smiled with her eyes squinted up, oh, her dream came true, so happy.
“You’re welcome, Sister Eleven,” Gary laughed and bumped her shoulder before turning to find some milk tea.
Jiayi took a big bite of the chicken wing, just as tasty as she imagined. The flavor of the chicken juice filled her mouth, fresh at first, then the crispy and tender chicken skin mixed with the roasted seasoning. She quickly finished off this wing, and with two more left on the skewer, she handed it back to Jiaru:
“Here, sister spills some more good stuff for you!”
“Thanks, big sis!” Jiaru devoured the second chicken wing and handed the last one to Jiajun.
Before Jiaru could speak, Jiajun preempted: “I know, the good stuff sis spills for me.”
Jiaru giggled and patted Jiajun on the head.
Before long, she got the grilled octopus that big sister had looted from Sir Fang, the grilled prawns looted from Uncle Jiu, and the grilled abalone looted from Sun Xin…
Having eaten so much from her sister’s bounty, Jiaru looked around at the people walking back and forth in the villa yard, eating and chatting, and couldn’t help but remark:
“Big sister, you really are so loved…”
“?” After strolling around the yard and sampling all the varieties of skewered dishes, Jiayi raised an eyebrow. Thinking about it, her situation was really like Yi Jiadong’s, enjoying the food as much as if she was grilling and eating at the same time.
She laughed heartily, sweetly sitting on the swing by the swimming pool, skewer in hand, glancing over everyone around.
Everyone was truly kind-hearted, treating her so well.
After achieving a satisfying fullness, her spirits were uplifted as well.
Jiayi gently swung on the swing, her toes touching the ground, tilting her head back to look at the blue sky above the mountain, as the breeze caressed her lifted chin and slender neck.
So comfortable, she felt almost sleepy.
…
After a hearty meal, as previously mentioned, the detectives really did invite Sun Xin to play mahjong.
Everyone was eager and ready, determined to win today.
So, a dozen people set up two tables for mahjong, leaving only the three youngsters, Ding Baoshu, Jiaru, and Jiajun, unable to join the table. They had to play the role of servers, freely moving and playing around in Fang Zhenyue’s large villa, helping to fetch food and drinks whenever someone shouted.
Luckily, Fang Zhenyue’s home also had a gaming console, providing entertainment for the children.
At first, the villa was noisier at the gaming console area, with Jiajun often making Jiaru scream during their competitive games.
But soon, the noise from the mahjong games overpowered the sounds of the children’s video game battles. Liu Jiaming was the first to lose patience, his eyes wide with defeat, as he kept taunting and shouting provocatively:
“Next round! I’ll win so hard you’ll cry for your parents!”
“Wow, what’s happening? Again, again! I don’t believe this luck!”
“Tofu Boy, are you sure you aren’t cheating? Why doesn’t the director cast you in ‘King of Gamblers’? You wouldn’t even need special effects!”
“It can’t be! No way! No way…”
“Jiaming bro, are you okay? Otherwise, let me try?” Jiayi, sitting at another table, turned to look at Liu Jiaming sweating from his losses, unable to resist chiming in.
At first, Liu Jiaming stubbornly refused, but after continuing to lose, he couldn’t take it anymore and dejectedly agreed to switch tables with Jiayi. As he moved to the ‘casual game table,’ he kept insisting it wasn’t that he was too weak, but that Tofu Boy was up to something.
Patting Liu Jiaming on the shoulder, Jiayi sat down at the ‘Asura’s Game Table’ and realized that it wasn’t just Liu Jiaming who was losing; he was just the only one losing loudly.
Brother Yue and Brother Sanfu were also losing miserably, but as two ‘tough guys’ with an idol image to uphold, they wouldn’t show weakness or wail even if they lost money. They both played the role of a boss who, even if left only in their underwear, would still keep a straight face.
“Sun Xin, why are you so fierce? Let the Gambling God Sister Eleven try to test your depth!” As soon as Jiayi sat at the table, trash talk just naturally flowed out.
“Don’t brag, Eleven, or you’ll end up rolling on the floor crying!” Liu Jiaming, sitting at the next table, couldn’t help but turn around and retort.
Tofu Boy is the real – unbeatable Gambling God!
“Really? Bring it on!” Jiayi, while shuffling the Mahjong Wall, grinned provocatively.
The Wall in front of Sun Xin was already neatly arranged, and with skillful push, he moved the tiles forward half a finger’s width, setting them slanted, creating a free space in front of him.
Jiayi imitated Sun Xin’s move, pushing her tile arrangement forward, but it was clumsy, dragging tiles along, and she had to manually rearrange the stragglers.
She didn’t feel clumsy, still eagerly waiting for the dealer to roll the dice.
“Don’t get too cocky. At this Mahjong table, Tofu Boy is like when cooking Mapo Tofu; every move is purposeful and significant. Every tile he plays is well-planned. There must be a Mahjong strategy map in Tofu Boy’s head, tracking which tiles have been played and by whom, which useless tiles to discard early, and which later – all calculated precisely,” Sanfu said, shaking his head in amazement.
“Is he that impressive?” Jiayi furrowed her brows and glared at Sun Xin.
She quickly calculated, realizing this was no simple matter.
Nodding forcefully, she put on a determined face, but casually pushed out a tile, not really taking much care in her play.
It’s just a game. What does it matter if she loses some money to Sun Xin?
At this table, only Jiayi was relaxed, focusing on arranging her own tiles, unconcerned about what others were winning. She let things run their course.
Although Fang Zhenyue and Sanfu didn’t care about the money, their innate competitiveness couldn’t stand losing.
Both men frowned, intensely focused on counting tiles, arranging tiles, and watching Sun Xin.
Through the persistent efforts of Fang Zhenyue and Sanfu, in the first round, Jiayi won with the tiles 3-6-9 of bamboo, with Sanfu causing the payout.
Sun Xin revealed a hand that could win with five circles, but he explained in a low voice why he didn’t claim Jiayi’s five circles to win: “Wanted to win by drawing it myself, too bad Jiayi won first. If only I hadn’t been so greedy.”
“Right, better to just win when you can, even small money is money. Sometimes you want to win big, and then you end up losing. Hahaha.” Jiayi laughed joyously, reaching out to collect money from Brother Sanfu.
In the second round, Jiayi won with a pair of twos and sixes in mahjong.
Sun Xin declared a loss, having played a six of bamboos.
As Jiayi happily clapped and praised her own luck, Sun Xin pushed his tiles to the center of the mahjong table, slowly shuffling them while methodically saying:
“I should’ve just settled for winning a small hand, instead of breaking up my ready hand. I wanted to set up a Thirteen Orphans…”
He was explaining why he had a sequence of five, six, and seven bamboos, but chose to break it up and singularly play the six of bamboos.
In the third round, Fang Zhenyue won by drawing his own tile.
In the fourth round, Sanfu played a six of dots, Sun Xin did not claim it, and Jiayi won with a pure suit while Fang Zhenyue declared a loss.
The fifth round…
After several rounds, Sanfu suddenly slammed the table and pointed angrily at Sun Xin:
“Tofu boy! You’re cheating! Always letting Jiayi win.”
He had figured it out! It was unmistakable!
Sun Xin was indeed trying to curry favor with the younger player Jiayi, and that was exactly what was happening.