My Moon, Chapter 19.2 pg 4
My Moon, Chapter 19.2 pg 4
His eyes lowered after seeing it, and a question popped into his head: Did Klai already love the moon, or did he start loving it because of him? Either way, it made his heart race again, and he couldn’t help but think…
If Klai loves the moon because of him…
That thought made him smile faintly as he grilled the plump shrimp. Without taking his eyes off the grill, he replied, “From the looks of it… probably not gonna finish it all.”
“Wanna share with me? It’d be a shame to waste it.”
“Don’t mess with the kid’s food. Come steal our pork instead.”
“I’m not trying to steal from him. It’s just a lot, and I’m worried it’ll go to waste and get us fined.”
“No fine, trust me,” Phii Babe said.
While he grilled large shrimp and listened to Phii Dom and Phii Babe bicker, the person sitting across from him started placing red meat on the grill. But Klai only set the meat at the edge, as if too timid to challenge Panli’s shrimp army.
The truth is…
It was Klai’s army all along.
Because soon, Panli would be giving it all to him.
He picked up an orange shrimp and placed it on his plate to let it cool before peeling it. As he kept his eyes fixed on the grill, he felt like the person across from him was staring at him the whole time. The nearly burnt pork slices confirmed he wasn’t imagining it—Klai was really looking at him.
“Klai…” Panli said, not taking his eyes off the grill, before picking up a darker pork slice and placing it on Klai’s plate. “Your pork’s about to burn… better take it off the grill.”
He looked up at the person he’d just called out to. Klai nodded, then glanced at the cooked pork on his plate, his thin lips pressed tightly as if holding back some emotion.
Panli had heard that “Yawning is contagious—when you see someone yawn, you yawn too.” But he’d never heard that “holding back a smile is contagious” until he experienced it himself. Seeing Klai try to suppress his smile, he couldn’t help but do the same.
When only one shrimp was left on the grill, Panli noticed the owner of the name “Klai,” which he wanted to say again, place another pork slice on the grill. He still kept it at the same spot, far from the large shrimp lying still. So, he used his chopsticks to move Klai’s pork to the center of the grill before looking up to meet his eyes.
“Don’t keep it at the edge… it won’t cook properly.”
“Uh, okay,” he replied with a slight nod.
Panli locked eyes with Klai for a brief moment before he lowered his gaze to his plate. He picked up the last cooked shrimp and placed it on his plate to peel for him.
“Hey, you guys made it?”
Phii Dom’s loud greeting drew Panli’s attention to the last guest arriving at the birthday party, and soon a conversation between Klai and Phii Fah began.
“Hello, Phii Fah.”
“Hey… sorry I’m late.”
“It’s okay. Klai is just really grateful you came.”
“Go grab a drink first, Fah… I didn’t get one for you, wasn’t sure what you’d like.”
“Yeah, I’ll get it myself.”
Panli saw the chubby-cheeked guy, who’d just sat down next to him, stand up again and say, “I’ll go with Phii Fah to get a drink… I need to refill my lychee soda too.”
He shifted his gaze from the two of them and started peeling the shrimp on his plate. When his fingertips touched the orange shell, he realized the large shrimp hadn’t cooled down much. He thought about waiting a bit longer, but then he glanced at the pile of shrimp on the plate of Klai’s close friend sitting nearby. Guessing that friend was probably peeling shrimp for Klai too, he decided he shouldn’t wait any longer.
“Klai… they’re all cooked, but I’ll wait for them to cool a bit before peeling them for you, okay?”
“Thanks, Kant.”
Panli stole a glance at Klai’s close friend, who was showing off a plate of shrimp to him, then hurried to peel the shrimp on his own plate faster. In all his life, he’d never peeled shrimp for anyone to eat. His shrimp-peeling skills might not match Klai’s friend’s, but even so… he’d do his best.
“Li! You’re eating that many shrimp?”
The loud interruption from Chubby Cheeks made Panli lose focus as he was diligently peeling. He widened his eyes, looking shocked, and plopped down next to him.
“Don’t exaggerate, Chubby Cheeks… it’s just a few.”
“Don’t be so greedy, Li. Have some respect for Klai. He’s kind enough to treat us, so peel some for the birthday boy… and share with his friends too.”
Panli turned to Chubby Cheeks, who was eagerly ruining his good image, and said, “You mean share with you, right?”
“Exactly…”
Seeing his close friend laugh heartily, he could only shake his head and mutter, “Seriously, Fat Cheeks.”
“Eat up, guys. If anyone wants more seafood, go for it. We already picked the seafood package, so it won’t cost extra,” Klai said.
“Klai is so generous!”
Yes… Klai is kind and thoughtful.
Panli realized he probably planned for everyone at the party, which is why he chose the seafood package. But if Klai hadn’t picked this package from the start, he was ready to cover the bill himself, as he’d told the staff, and sort it out with the birthday boy later.
But now, he didn’t have to worry about that. Panli’s only focus was giving the birthday boy twenty shrimp. He handed a plate of neatly peeled, large shrimp to the guy in front of him, who was chatting with Chubby Cheeks.
“Here… your birthday gift.”
He had no idea…
No idea that the person who already had a crush on him…
“…”
“Earlier, Panli asked Phii Dom what you like so he could get you a belated gift. He said you love shrimp, so I figured I’d peel these as your birthday gift for now… You’re turning twenty today, right?”
Would his heart race a little?
“Uh, yeah.”
“There are twenty shrimp on the plate, one for each year. Happy birthday, and nice to meet you.”
But his heart, feeling something…
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