Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

Breakfast was a bit awkward especially for Hoy's mother who looked like she was stabbing everything on her plate instead of eating gently like a civilized person. The other elders did their best not to laugh. They had been laughing so much that they felt if they continued, they were probably going to end up in the hospital. 

The younger ones on the other hand watched in confusion as they kept wondering what was up with everyone. 

They had all heard Li Han scream so all of them ran inside the room to check on him. Li Han didn't say anything but glared at his wife who was looking both embarrassed and angry at the same time. 

When the other elder couples arrived, they asked the younger ones to return to their rooms. Since they could tell the couple were probably having angry at each other, they didn't want the young ones to get involved.

They had been an heated arguement between the couple after the younger ones left, with the woman yelling at how her husband wasn't giving her any attention. And that was how everything blew up. Li Han mentioned she was acting crazy and even called him baby.

Remembering that now, Cixi could not hold it in any longer. She was the first to burst into laughter, making the others turn to look at her. With her outburst, it spurred the others and Muchen's mother followed next. 

While the younger ones wondered what was happening, the older ones kept laughing one after the other. 

Hoy's mother hit the table, dropping her cutleries noisily before she stood up abruptly. After glaring at all of them, she stomped towards the main door and left the house. That just made them laugh really loudly until tears began to pour out of their eyes. 

Her husband, Li Han stood up and hurried after his wife to apologize for his outburst earlier. He had been too shocked earlier which had made him react the way he did. 

As much as the others were curious, they all decided to focus on their meal instead. Even her kids Li Minde and Li Hoy didn't bother to know what had happened between their parents. 

"So what are we going to do today?" Muchen's mother asked when the laughter died down. 

"A family picnic by the sea sounds exciting, doesn't it?" She asked excitedly. 

"Picnic? I'm up for it aunt!" Minde raised his hand in support. 

"I'm up for it too grand aunt." Minde's son seconded with a grin mirroring his father's.

The woman waited for the others to give their inputs but they weren't saying anything. 

She first looked at Changyu and Jianjun, waiting for their answer. Changyu looked at her husband to know what he thought about it. She knew he didn't like stuffs like that except it was just with the two of them and the look on his face confirmed it. 

"Not up for it." She answered on their behalf. 

"I don't mind." Cixi answered while Jaime shrugged indifferently.

"A picnic sounds nice." Reen said and Joreen nodded in support. 

"Not my thing." Heya gave her piece. 

"We'll go with whatever you decide." Sara said on behalf of her family.

"I love picnics!" Mr Ping added with his signature grin. 

It was left for Hoy to give his input. They didn't even need to ask to know his answer would be a firm no. Realizing they were waiting for his answer, he shrugged and returned his attention to his food. 

"Well... Picnics... aren't very bad." 

Everyone was shocked by his answer. His answer showed he was up for it and it was very surprising considering how he was always against anything that involved him being around a lot of people even if they were his family. 

"It is decided then! By 3pm, let's have a general family picnic. You don't have to bring anything. Just come and have fun!" Jiang Dana said with a sound clap. 

Heya sighed in resignation. She wished it was easy to just be against something and they would accept it. But it wasn't the case with her family. She had a lot on her mind and for the past few days, she had been trying to find a good therapist online. She wasn't sure she would be able to pour out her mind to a person while meeting face to face, so after thinking about it carefully, she decided to do it virtually and start as soon as possible. But choosing the right person was another problem. 

After breakfast, she stopped Muchen when he was about to return to his room. 

He was the only one she could trust with things like this. She also wanted to unburden herself by telling someone about her latest progress with Zhu Liang.

"Can we talk outside?" She asked. 

He looked at her face carefully, trying to see if something was bothering her before nodding. "Sure." 

******

The weather was cool unlike the previous afternoon, so it didn't make them worry too much about getting beaten by the sun. 

"Over here!" Li Queen waved to get Reen and Joreen's attention. There were only a few other strangers around the area because they had chosen the area which was by the side of the resort and not the one in the front where everyone else was gathered.

"What the hell am I seeing? They really mean this?" Reen asked in surprise when she saw Muchen's mother with a football in her hand. She was surprsingly wearing a joggers and turtleneck sweater. 

They had been told there was going to be a moment for sport so they were asked to select their outfits carefully. But they hadn't thought they were this serious. They other women including their mother was dressed in almost a similar outfit as Jiang Dana. All wearing a joggers and tops or sweaters. 

"At least we are prepared too." Joreen said. 

She was wearing a loose fitted pant and bodyfitted black top while Reen wore a short with a sports bra and tank top over it. 

In less than twenty minutes, every member of the family were gathered there. Since majority was in favour for the picnic, the others had to come. 

"We'll be playing a throwball. The rules are..."

"What does she mean by throwball?" Joreen asked Reen in a whisper. 

"I think she means that throw and catch game. It's like football but you use your hands instead and make sure to not throw to your opponent." 

"....so it's the male vs the female. After every 2 minutes, the alarm is going to ring. Whoever holds the ball, either a male or female, that group wins. The losers are going to clean up this place when we are done and would be in charge of preparing our entire meal tomorrow." 

Hoy's mother, Muchen's mother, Cixi, Changyu, Heya, Joreen, Reen, Sara, Eva and Queen were in one group while Hoy's father, Muchen's father, Hoy, Minde, Muchen, Jaime, Jianjun, Mr Ping, Li King and Minde's son were in the other group. 

So they were ten each making up a group. 

"We won't go easy on you guys." Jaime said smugly.

"You should worry about yourself." Reen challenged her father while the other women supported her with a clap. 

"Oh! I see what this is!" Jaime said when realization dawned on him. "Reen is an athlete so I think it's unfair. She probably should be in charge of monitoring the alarm or making sure the camera doesn't fall off the tripod." 

"Oh... you are scared because we are going to beat you up?" Cixi challenged with her hands on her hips.

"Enough with the talk, let's deal with them!" Minde cheered, earning the support of his son who gave him an high five. 

"You wish! Be prepared to be beaten by us!" Kim Eva declared before the game officially started. At first, the men were reluctant because playing like kids wasn't their thing and also, they wanted to go easy on the women. But when they realised how serious the woman were and how excited they were about the game especially when they consecutively won 3 times for the first 6 minutes, they gradually began to get into it. Plus they women were quite aggressive. Some even bit them or tickle them just so they would release the ball. 

The game soon became very tough with the men having the upperhand. 

When the ball was with Jaime, Cixi ran to stand in front of him to get the ball. He pretended to hand it over to her and when she tried to take it, he withdrew his hand and stuck out his tongue before throwing the ball at Hoy. 

"You!" Cixi looked angry but he just laughed at her.

Hoy looked at the ball in his hand, wondering who to give it to because he kept hearing his name from different angles. 

"Uncle Hoy! Here!" Joreen waved at him, ready to catch the ball. Without thinking twice, he threw the ball at her and the alarm ringed again.

"WHAT THE...!!!"

All the women began to laugh and jump happily while hugging and giving each other high fives. The men glared at Hoy for making them fail.

"Things people do for love." Minde whispered to Muchen. 

Hoy realised what he had done and looked at Joreen who was grinning happily. When she noticed he was staring at her, she blew him a kiss and stuck out her tongue which made his scoff. 

Some people around the area watched the family play together while watching in envy, wishing their families were that close.

One of the people watching them was Madam Yan who turned to look at her husband, "When Shen marries Heya next year, we'll be a part of them." She said with strong conviction.