Win My Husband Over to Find My Child
Chapter 483: Delicious Tropical Cuisine

Chapter 483: Delicious Tropical Cuisine

"Calix, show your wife and daughter around. I gonna serve lunch quick. Don’t you dare follow me ah."

Before Calix could say anything, Ryken disappeared from the living room, his feet swiftly brought him to the kitchen where the fragrant aroma of delicious spices wafted.

Sighing in helplessness, Calix returned his gaze to Leslie whose eyes were staring at him. Calliope was admiring the cabinet where various artifacts of smaller sizes lined up.

"He said he’d cook some Thai food for us," Calix put his arm across Leslie’s back, his tone imbuing anticipation, "Among us four, Ryken’s the only one I can talk about cooking."

"That’s amazing, honey. He surely learns even the tips hard to be found from the Internet," Leslie smiled, thinking her assumption was not far from the truth, "He usually mingles with the locals, right?"

"Yup! He does. Ryken is a polyglot. He keeps learning new languages during his travel."

While leading Leslie to the shelf where Calliope was, Calix told some stories about Ryken’s travels.

"He has mastered some languages while for the others, he just picked up the necessary ones. Once he said he had to communicate with a tribe member through hand gestures."

Leslie sensed admiration in Calix’s voice as he talked about Ryken. Their friendship remained intact despite the huge distance between the two friends because of the latter’s fondness for traveling.

"Papa, Mama! Look at this! A black tiger ah."

Calliope called for her parents as she pointed to one of the carved statues on the shelf. Leslie and Calix quickly reached the little one.

"That’s a jaguar, Poppy," said Calix, amused to hear Calliope addressing it as a black tiger, "Your Uncle Ryken bought it when he visited Amazon before."

"A jaguar? Amazon?" Calliope stared at Calix, her round eyes flickering with confusion.

Leslie chuckled when Calix took his phone out of the jacket pocket before quickly searching for the Amazon forest and jaguars. He showed them to Calliope, also describing what they were.

A certain little dumpling was filled with more awe as she listened to her papa’s explanation.

Then, Calliope kept shooting questions at Calix as her attention darted from one artifact to the next. The man happily entertained the little one’s curiosity while Leslie smilingly listened to their interaction.

"Lunch’s ready! Come here, guys!"

Ryken’s voice rang in the air when Calix was explaining about one of the wooden masks hanging on the wall. The former called from the dining room, just next to the kitchen.

"Let’s go."

Calix led Leslie and Calliope to the dining room where vibrant dishes were served on the dining table. The fragrant aromas wafting from the plates piqued their appetite, including the appealing visual for each dish.

"I made Thai green chicken curry, coconut rice, stir-fried prawns with garlic and chili and papaya salad for us adults," Ryken pointed at each dish before showing the last two, "For Poppy, here! Pineapple fried rice and sweet cashew chicken!"

Ryken gestured at the half-cut pineapple positioned on a spot. The hollowed center was filled with a golden heap of fried rice. Juicy pineapple chunks, chicken bites and colorful veggies dotted the surface.

The sweet cashew chicken was served on an adorable bunny plate, placed next to the pineapple. The little one also had sweet watermelon juice in a cute glass.

"Oh? Woww! So cute! Thank you, Uncle Ryken!"

Calliope’s gaze on Ryken brimming with admiration, earning laughter from both Calix and Leslie. The husband and wife didn’t expect the crimson-haired man to go all out for their daughter.

"Hurry ah, sit down. Let’s dig in!"

The family of three joined Ryken at the dining table. It was not long before they started praising the tastes crafted by the host.

"The curry is perfect," Calix showed a thumbs-up to Ryken, being frank with his opinion, "The creaminess and the spiciness balance. I also like the slight hint of sweetness."

Leslie nodded, swiftly agreeing with Calix, "The curry matches well with the coconut rice. I like the prawns and the salad too. Did you learn these recipes during your travel?"

A smug smile was plastered on Ryken’s face, enjoying the praises from his guests. He quickly shared about it, "I learned the curry and salad recipes from a small village in Thailand. It took a few times before I got the right taste."

Ryken often tried to get the taste as authentic as he could get but, the process was long and hard. Despite that, he enjoyed the steps he took during it.

Tearing his eyes away from Ryken, Calix looked at Calliope whose cheeks stuffed with food. He laughed in helplessness.

"How is it, Poppy? Do you like Uncle Ryken’s food?"

Calliope continued munching, her appearance resembled a chipmunk before she swallowed everything. Grinning at Calix, she happily chirped, "Delicious ah! Everything so delicious!"

"Seems like I need to learn from you ah," Calix said jokingly, "Lest my daughter likes your cooking more than mine."

"Oh, man, don’t tell me you’re jealous of me," Ryken arched his brows, returning the teasing to Calix, "I’m just happy to get a cute niece ah. I wanna stuff her with many good food."

"You’re just like my mother and grandmother. All they think are feeding Poppy and Mia."

Calix and Ryken exchanged laughter while Leslie and Calliope witnessed the close bond shared between the men.

"Continue eating ah. I haven’t served you guys desserts."

The family of three resumed eating. While savoring the delicious tropical cuisine from Thailand, they listened to Ryken’s stories of his recent travels.

Happy chatter and laughter resonated in the dining room as they were accompanied by great food. Neither of them got bored as they marveled at the tales narrated by the avid traveler.

After lunch, Calix insisted on helping Ryken with the dishes. The crimson-haired man shooed him out to the living room where Leslie and Calliope were.

"I’ll just load them in the dishwasher. Go to your wife and daughter ah."

With one more push on Calix’s back, Ryken vanished into the kitchen. The former had nothing else to do aside from joining Leslie and Calliope again.

Coming here to meet his friend was nice amidst the recent chaos. Calix hoped he could maintain this peace for as long as he could.