Billionaire Biker Boy

Chapter 46 - She Took the Bait.

 

While everyone waited for Varatchaya and Luca to clean up the two messy little kids who kept trying to escape them, Ranee, holding Windy in her arms, turned to ask Samut, "O, do you want to try Peking duck?"

 

"I do! I really do! I've never had it before, only seen pictures,"

 

The tiny young man replied enthusiastically, and his answer caused an odd pang in the hearts of the two older adults.

 

Vichai spoke up kindly, "Then I'll take you to try it. Actually, this restaurant is famous for its Four Seasons Roast Duck, but their Peking duck is pretty good, too. If you like it here, I'll take you to the best place next time."

 

Samut thanked him with a bright smile that crinkled his eyes.

 

Once the Monet family was ready, everyone piled into two cars. Wonchana drove Vichai's black car, with Vichai in the front passenger seat and Samut and the twins in car seats in the back. Varatchaya drove Ranee's white car, with Luca in the front passenger seat and Ranee in the back, tending to Windy, who was also in a car seat.

 

"I think I should buy a new car," Vichai said. "Soon, the kids will grow, and there won't be enough space. Win, look into some vans for me. Any brand is fine, but prioritise safety and comfort. Budget's not an issue."

 

"Got it, Dad," his eldest son replied.

 

Wonchana then drove to the upscale mall where he'd once taken Samut for pancakes. They headed straight to a renowned Chinese restaurant. The host ordered both the Peking duck and the signature Four Seasons Roast Duck. The leftover Peking duck meat was to be prepared as salted fried duck and tofu soup. Wonchana also ordered salted fried tofu and two other dishes he thought Samut might like. The rest of the group enthusiastically ordered dim sum, with Samut adding an extra basket of har gow.

 

As for poor little Windy, she only got her mother's pumped breast milk and some supplementary foods, like mashed banana and large slices of apple, to gnaw on for teething. Her mother carefully ensured the apple didn't break into small pieces that Windy might accidentally swallow.

 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the table, the father was doting on another kid-no, wait....Wonchana was doting on Samut with great care. The tall man taught the smaller one how to eat Peking duck by picking up each ingredient with chopsticks, arranging them on Samut’s plate, drizzling dark soy sauce over it, and rolling it up neatly.

"If you don't mind messy hands, you can use your hands to eat it. But I prefer chopsticks," he said.

 

Though he'd washed his hands, Samut, not wanting to get his hands dirty again, replied, "I can use chopsticks just fine."

 

And as soon as he took his first bite of Peking duck, his eyes sparkled.

..So delicious!

 

The Four Seasons Roast Duck, though different in aroma from the one at the sukiyaki restaurant, was thick, tender, juicy, and truly melted in his mouth. Samut thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Although his family was Chinese, they didn't often frequent Chinese restaurants. His evident delight made everyone look at him fondly.

 

...Just watching him eat makes you happy and hungry, too. Now they understood why Wonchana loved taking him out to find good food so much.

 

When the delightful meal ended, the group left the restaurant. Their next stop was to accompany Luca to a meeting with the mall's representative about a space and to pick up ingredients at the supermarket for dinner.

...But then, they encountered someone unexpected.

 

"Hello, Mr Vichai," a voice greeted. Vichai turned to look at the speaker and sighed quietly.

 

"Hello, Mr Wichien," he replied.

 

"It's been a while. Do you know what your son has done?"

 

"Of course I do. I'm the one who ordered the lawsuit," Vichai replied nonchalantly. Wichien's eyes widened, and his voice rose. 

 

"How could you do this? Don't you think this is absolutely embarrassing? Whenever there was an issue with the machinery, I sent technicians to fix it at no cost. And now you have the nerve to sue me?"

 

"Fixing it for free is standard under the contract, isn't it? Or are you misunderstanding something? We pay maintenance fees; it's not free. As for the damages, they were caused by your substandard products. We're only claiming what's rightfully owed. If you're still upset, let the court decide," Vichai said coolly.

 

"What the fuck did you say!?" Wichien shouted

 

"Mr Wichien! That's enough," a plump woman accompanying him pulled his arm and turned to Vichai. “I apologise, Mr Vichai. May we send a representative to negotiate again?"

 

Vichai sighed deeply but agreed to meet halfway.

 

"You can send someone, Ms Onnapha. But let me be clear, we're claiming damages because there was actual harm caused."

 

The woman, exuding a matronly charm, smiled warmly. "I understand... Oh, are those your grandchildren? They're so adorable!"

 

Before anyone could respond, Wichien's voice rang out loudly, "You're lucky to have grandchildren. Look at that, one son and one daughter, but you ended up with two sons-in-law! Hahaha!"

 

Everyone fell silent at the blatant rudeness. Wonchana immediately wrapped an arm protectively around Samut when he felt the smaller hand he was holding grow icy cold. But before he could respond... the head of the Atcharangkul family spoke in a voice as cold as ice.

 

"Mr Wichien, you're more narrow-minded than I thought. I didn't realise you judged people by their gender rather than their humanity. Do you know that those people often have more human decency than some who call themselves 'straight? And let me make it clear, even if someone is a 'straight' but has a vile character, I wouldn't want them as a son-in-law or daughter-in-law."

 

Vichai made as if to walk away but paused and turned back, his voice merciless.

"..Oh, and you might want to keep an eye on your 'straight' son. Just because cannabis is legal now doesn't mean he should overindulge. And your daughter, well, even if she's a lesbian, she might still give you grandchildren. Take care of them, will you? Don't spend all your time seeking pleasure outside the home, or the people inside might end up miserable."

 

With that, the Atcharangkul family walked away in disgust, ignoring the curses that followed.

 

Though the twins didn't understand the adults' argument, Varatchaya bent down to explain and teach her sons what had happened. Vichai sighed heavily, feeling grateful that his eldest son had hired a private investigator to uncover this business partner's weaknesses. The information he'd learned made him feel his children were far better than others' in many ways. Ranee, too, felt repulsed by the long-time acquaintance.

 

...You really can't judge a book by its cover.

 

Her fondness for her son's future partner deepened. The older woman reached out to pat the head of the young man walking dejectedly behind them and comforted him, 

 

"O, don't pay attention to the crude words of people like that. They're not worth your time."

 

"Yes, Auntie," Samut replied, looking up with a sad smile. Ranee paused for a moment before making a decision.

 

"You can call me 'Mom." Samut blushed shyly.

 

"Yes... Mom."

 

Wonchana beamed with joy, wrapping his arm lovingly around Samut’s waist. He felt as though his life had been filled in a way it never had before. All that remained was to wait for the right time for everything to fall perfectly into place. He then suggested, "Let's go shopping. Luca has a meeting at the mall, right? Vick, why don't you take Luca? We'll watch the kids."

 

His sister nodded. "Okay, I'll leave them to you, P'Win."

 

When her parents left, Windy immediately reached for Samut. The tiny young man ended up carrying her, even though they had a stroller. Wonchana took over pushing the stroller while their parents each held one of the twins' hands.

 

During the shopping trip, Samut realised that the Atcharangkul family didn't spoil their young grandchildren with everything they wanted. While the items they bought were expensive, they were carefully chosen for quality and suitability for the children's age. The kids themselves didn't throw tantrums when they didn't get their way, as the adults always explained things calmly.

 

When they entered a bookstore to look at colouring books for the kids, little Windy had already fallen asleep on Samut’s shoulder.

 

"O, are you tired?" Wonchana asked.

 

Though a six-month-old wasn't heavy, carrying her for a long time could be tiring.

 

"Not too much, but is she comfortable sleeping like this?" Samut asked

 

"Hmm, I think we should put her in the stroller," Ranee suggested.

 

Wonchana cleared space in the stroller and carefully helped settle the little girl into it. Windy stirred and made a small sound, but when Samut’s small hand gently patted her chest, the sleeping beauty quickly drifted back to sleep.

 

"She's so sweet and easy to care for," Samut remarked. Ranee smiled and began to share, "We're lucky. None of the kids in our family is very fussy. When Win was born, I was nervous. Even though I'd taken care of my siblings, I hadn't cared for a newborn before. I followed every parenting book I could find. Luckily, Win hardly ever cried. When he was hungry, he wouldn't wail but would make this... grumpy face to let us know. Hahaha!"

 

The one being gossiped about right to her face made a difficult-to-describe expression. 

 

"Mom!"

 

Samut burst out laughing but quickly covered his mouth. Wonchana reached out to ruffle the smaller man's hair to ease his embarrassment, while Ranee ignored the protests and continued gossiping about her daughter.

 

"As for Vick, she only cried when she was hungry, but when she did, it was loud enough to burst your eardrums."

 

Just then, Vichai, who had just paid for the books, walked over, holding the twins, each carrying a bag of books, and announced to everyone,

 

"Louis and Liam are thirsty. Let's find a place to sit and rest."

 

"Let's go to the macaron shop downstairs," Ranee suggested. " I was planning to buy some to bring to my friends at tomorrow's meetup since I didn't bring any desserts from over there." She laughed. "French desserts from Thailand. Hopefully, no one will complain."

 

So the group made their way to the macaron shop owned by a French chef, hailed as the god of macarons. The Hat Yai native's eyes nearly popped out of his head again when he saw the price of a single macaron, which was small enough to finish in two bites.

 

..But it costs over a hundred baht per piece. Samut's jaw dropped.

...Good heavens!

... it better be delicious to justify that price, especially with people constantly coming in to buy them.

 

The twins were busy crowding around the cake pop display with their grandparents, while Wonchana pushed Windy's stroller closer, standing behind the still-wide-eyed Samut, who was staring at the brightly colored macarons.

 

"O, which flavour do you want?"

 

"Pistachio, please," Samut replied, deciding on just one. But in the end, Wonchana coaxed him into picking four pieces, complete with an adorably designed tin box.

...This is insane. These four macarons cost over 600 baht.

 

But when Ranee approached the macaron display and ordered five more medium-sized boxes, Samut blinked in disbelief.

...How much will this cost?

 

Once they were seated and the desserts and drinks were served, little Windy was still fast asleep. Everyone began sipping their drinks, but Samut hesitated, torn between wanting to take a photo with his phone and feeling too shy to do so.

 

"O, don't forget to take a picture for Facebook," Wonchana teased with a smile, noticing the smaller man's indecision.

...So cute

 

Samut beamed with joy and immediately raised his phone to snap a photo. "Oh, let me add you on Facebook," Ranee said. "Accept my request, okay?"

 

"Me too," Vichai chimed in, not wanting to be left out.

 

Samut nodded and opened the blue social media app, only to find a message waiting for him from the cake shop owner.

 

...She took the bait.

...But first, let me accept these requests and enjoy my dessert.

 

He showed his screen to the older couple so they could send their friend requests. Once they were all connected, their proud eldest son announced,

 

"Dad, Mom, did you know O is a TikTok influencer? He's got a ton of fans." He then smirked mischievously.

 

"But there's a five-hundred-baht friend request fee."

 

"P'Win! How can you charge your parents for a friend request?" the frugal one protested, scrunching up his face.

 

"Hahaha, I'll give you a thousand. Add me now," Vichai said cheerfully.

 

"Me, too," Ranee added, opening her app in preparation. Samut quickly pulled up his QR code and said, "No, no, you don't have to pay!"

 

The small-framed man shot a glare at the laughing Wonchana before, feeling flustered by his own stinginess, he grabbed a pink macaron and took a small bite.

...Wow, it's so fragrant and not overly sweet.

 

He then held out the remaining macaron to Wonchana, offering the untouched side. "P'Win, try this. It smells so much like roses, and it's not too sweet."

 

Wonchana glanced at it, then gently took hold of Samut’s hand, turning the bitten side toward himself. He leaned down and bit into the same spot. Samut froze for three seconds before realising what had just happened. His pale cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink.

..Is this a sign of something incoming?