I Became Spider-Man's Cousin in Anime Crossover

Chapter 591 Reunion Dinner

Zhang Jianguo's residence is an old-style bungalow with a courtyard, located deep in the quietest alley in the old city.

This house was allocated to him by his employer when he first started working.

Now, decades have passed, and even though he has reached a high position, he has not changed his position.

In his words, he had lived there for so long that he had developed an attachment to it, and he wouldn't be used to living in other places.

But Riley understood...

Everywhere here, you can see traces of Riley's growth.

They were even more worried that if they moved away, what would happen if Riley dreamed of him one day but couldn't find him?

Now, after years of weathering, the exterior wall tiles are somewhat worn.

But the pomegranate tree in the yard grows more lush year by year, and at this moment it is full of fist-sized green fruits, swaying gently in the evening breeze.

Riley stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking at the pomegranate tree. He suddenly remembered that every Mid-Autumn Festival when he was a child, Uncle Zhang would pick the reddest few pomegranates, peel them, and put them in his hand, saying, "Eat more, so you can grow taller."

Back then, he couldn't even reach the lowest branches, but now he can easily pick the fruit with a simple wave of his hand.

But standing in this courtyard, he felt like he was still that little kid being led around by his uncles.

Seeing Riley's stunned expression, Zhang Jianguo couldn't help but smile.

He didn't urge Riley, but instead pushed open the slightly ajar door and shouted into the house, "Honey, we're back!"

The sound of stir-frying in the kitchen paused for a moment, and then a little old lady with gray hair and an apron peeked out from the kitchen doorway.

Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and she was holding a spatula in her hand, from which dripped dark brown sauce.

She first saw Zhang Jianguo and instinctively wanted to grumble a bit about "Why did you take so long to come back?" But when her gaze passed over him and landed on Riley behind him, the words that were on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

After a moment of silence, he asked cautiously in a low voice, his lips trembling.

"He...he really is...?"

Although the old lady had already heard the good news of Riley's "resurrection" from a phone call before they returned.

Now, witnessing Liu Weiguo, Chen Zhijun, and Jia Wenhe enter one after another behind Riley, she noticed that their eyes were all red, as if they had all cried, yet they also carried a kind of indescribable joy that she hadn't seen in many years. This served as silent proof, further increasing the credibility of the news.

But back then, like everyone else, I witnessed Riley's cremation...

Looking at the unfamiliar foreign boy in front of her, she still felt a little unreal.

When she came to her senses and looked at the unfamiliar boy again, she noticed that Riley, whose gaze was fixed on her, had already walked up to her with a smile and was giving her a slight bow. He even deliberately adjusted his voice, using the voice of Peng Jinghui from his previous life, and greeted her word by word: "Aunt Li, long time no see."

With a crash, the spatula fell to the ground, splashing soup onto the tiles, but the old lady was completely unaware.

The voice that had filled her with longing and unrequited love for countless days and nights now echoed vividly in her ears once more.

She took a shaky step forward, stretched out her hand, still smeared with cooking oil, and gently touched Riley's face.

The touch was warm and real, unlike the dream she had dreamt of countless times, one that she could only observe from afar but could never touch.

Her lips moved for a long time, but tears fell before she could make a sound.

"It's good that you're back. My poor child, you've lost so much weight. I wonder what suffering you've endured outside, how many people have bullied you..."

[Criminals: What the hell? Bullying Spider-Man? Who? Me?]

As she rambled on, she bent down to pick up the spatula and wiped it repeatedly on her apron. Her voice trembled uncontrollably, but she forced a smile.

"The pork rib soup is already simmering, and we can have dinner after stir-frying a couple more dishes. Uncle Zhang didn't even give me a heads-up, so I didn't have time to buy any extra groceries."

As she spoke, she glared reproachfully at her husband, and without waiting for the amused and aggrieved Zhang Jianguo to offer a word of explanation for her, she turned and walked towards the kitchen.

He took two steps, then looked back once more. Making sure the person was still standing there and hadn't disappeared, he quickly scurried back into the kitchen.

Soon, the sound of the spatula hitting the iron pot resumed, more frequent, more urgent, and louder than before.

It's as if he's using his most familiar way to vent emotions that have been building up deep inside for so many years.

Clearly, Zhang Jianguo's wife, Li Xiulan, is a typical example of someone with a sharp tongue but a kind heart.

When news of Riley's sacrifice reached them, a group of grown men wept uncontrollably, but she didn't shed a single tear at the memorial service. Instead, after returning home, she cooked all of Riley's favorite dishes—rib soup, braised pork belly, braised pork hock, and lion's head meatballs. Then, as usual, she called her family to eat while setting the table.

When Zhang Jianguo, whose eyes were red and swollen, sat down, he glanced at the table and seemed to realize something, but he didn't say anything. He just picked up his bowl and chopsticks and ate in silence.

Li Xiulan then realized that she had set out an extra set of chopsticks and bowls.

Li Xiulan didn't eat a single bite of that meal. She just sat at the table, staring blankly at the empty bowl and chopsticks for the entire afternoon.

Later, every year on the day before Qingming Festival and the anniversary of her death, she would quietly pack the dishes she had prepared into a thermos without ever crying.

But the amount of food she cooked increased year by year. It was as if as long as she cooked enough, she could send the meals that Riley hadn't been able to eat during his years undercover work, across the tombstone, to the mouth of the child in her eyes who would never grow up.

At that moment, her movements were surprisingly nimble for a woman in her sixties. The spatula flew up and down in her hands, while the range hood hummed.

While cooking, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve, muttering to herself, "This child has lost weight; it's obvious he hasn't been eating properly. Now that he's back, I'm making sure he stays home for a few more days, obediently, until he's gained back his weight."

Although the old man deliberately lowered his voice when he said these words, to Riley now, it was no different than being spoken loudly in his ear.

But he also knew that in the eyes of elders, no matter how tall, thin, fat, or short a child is, as long as they haven't seen each other for a long time, they are all classified as "thinner," which is a sign of their deep affection for the younger generation.

Therefore, despite feeling quite emotional, Riley wasn't foolish enough to argue at this crucial moment that she hadn't lost weight. She simply exchanged a knowing glance with her uncles, smiled knowingly, and then rolled up her sleeves and headed to the kitchen.

"Aunt Li, don't tire yourself out, let me lend you a hand!"

As Riley spoke, he squeezed to the stove. Based on their mutual understanding, they roughly guessed which dish the other was going to cook next, and then casually picked up a kitchen knife.

The next second, Riley unleashed a flurry of sword flashes, cleanly and efficiently giving the plump carp a full service. Even the smallest intermuscular spines were meticulously removed by Riley.

"Oh, oh, oh? No need, no need, you can just sit on the sofa and rest for a while!"

Li Xiulan waved her spatula repeatedly, looking at her child who had been lost and found again. Her face showed both heartache and doting. She couldn't bear to let Riley get tired at all.

"How can that be? It's not right for you to be the only one working in the kitchen while we just sit around eating for free."

"Perfect timing! My husband just messaged me saying he's already bought the groceries at the market. I'll chop some ingredients first, so we can have an extra meal later."

Liu Weiguo and Jia Wenhe, after entering the kitchen, took over the conversation, chatting and laughing to comfort Li Xiulan, while also helping out by picking vegetables or carrying out bowls and chopsticks to set them out.

"And me, and me too! It's rare for the child to come home, so he has to try my cooking!"

Zhang Jianguo squeezed in at that moment, chuckling as he reached for his apron. He looked confident and ready to get started.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, you'd better not go into the kitchen. I'm afraid you'll blow it up like you did before. If you really want to help, just boil some water and make a pot of tea, like your treasured Da Hong Pao."

Unexpectedly, before his hand even touched the apron, Chen Zhijun snatched it away. He made no attempt to hide his disgust, waving his hand at Zhang Jianguo as if he were driving away something dirty.

"Hey! That's an old almanac from so many years ago! Why are you bringing that up again!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianguo subconsciously turned his head and glanced at Riley. He found that the other man seemed to have remembered something, his head drooping, his back to him, his shoulders shaking, clearly trying hard to suppress a laugh.

This made Zhang Jianguo feel embarrassed. His old comrade-in-arms' words left him red-faced and furious, and he tried to defend himself, quite unconvinced.

"I...I just made a mistake that time! And the kitchen didn't explode, did it? They say you can look at a person with new eyes after three days of separation, but you...!"

"The reason the kitchen didn't explode is because Xiao Peng happened to come home from school. If he hadn't turned off the gas valve in time, with your 'genius mind' trying to set the place on fire with a match while the whole house reeked of gas, you would have blown the house to smithereens!"

When the topic turned to her husband's embarrassing past, Li Xiulan became interested. Before Zhang Jianguo could finish speaking, she put on a serious face and began to tease him.

"The old comrade who strikes fear into the hearts of criminals almost blew himself into the air just because he was hungry and wanted to boil water and cook a bowl of noodles... The children finally came back, so we'll have to wait until another day to try your cooking skills~"

"Well... I was just thinking that since the gas stove wouldn't light, I thought... Back in my hometown, we always used a wood-burning stove like this, so how can you blame me!"

"Ha ha ha ha--!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jianguo's face instantly turned bright red, but he couldn't find a way to refute it. He could only mutter under his breath and glare fiercely at Chen Zhijun, who had brought up the very thing he shouldn't have.

And that long-lost childlike demeanor made Li Xiulan unable to hold back her laughter. She tapped the spatula against the edge of the pot and burst into laughter so hard she couldn't stand up straight.

Meanwhile, Riley, having finished processing the carp, couldn't help but laugh at the noisy commotion around him.

He suddenly understood why the main characters in those online novels were mostly orphans with no ties to them...

Thinking this, Riley first rinsed off the bloodstains with water, washed his hands, and put the cleaver back in its place.

Then he turned around, stuffed a plate of plump garlic cloves into Zhang Jianguo's hand, and helped Zhang Weiguo out of his predicament. He naturally took the spatula from Li Xiulan's hand, turned his head and smiled.

"Uncle Zhang, let's brew the tea later. Could you peel a few cloves of garlic for me first... Auntie, let me cook this dish. You go and rest first. Please try it later and see if my cooking skills have deteriorated or if there's anything I can improve."

He gently pushed Li Xiulan from in front of the stove to the kitchen doorway.

She wiped her hands on her apron, her eyes fixed on the tall boy as he skillfully flipped the dishes with a spatula.

It's worth mentioning that, because she was reborn in New York, even the most popular Chinese restaurants had long since changed their dishes to suit local tastes. Whenever Riley missed her hometown food, she could only buy the ingredients herself and try to make it herself by following recipes found online and relying on the lingering tastes in her memory.

Over time, Riley himself gradually mastered certain cooking skills.

That's why Riley's current actions of simmering food with his head down are completely different from the brat in Li Xiulan's memory who was always flustered in front of the stove, even screaming in fright when hot oil splattered everywhere.

But this did not make Li Xiulan feel unfamiliar or distant from Riley. On the contrary, she couldn't help but raise her hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes, and felt more and more heartache and pride for Riley.

Of course, besides Riley, she and Zhang Jianguo also have several biological children.

But as they grew older, they all scattered across the country, busy with their own work. They might not even see each other a few times a year. Adding to this, Zhang Jianguo himself was also busy with work, rarely home during the day except for his days off. This made the small house feel cold and lonely.

The kitchen was now packed with people. They chatted and laughed, and the clatter of pots and pans filled the air. The wrinkles on Li Xiulan's brow had noticeably faded.

This family has finally come back to life.

"By the way, Uncle Zhang."

Riley asked without turning his head as he stirred the food.

"Where did you put that Da Hong Pao tea again? I'll brew some for you after dinner so Uncle Liu and the others can try it, and they won't keep making fun of you for blowing up the kitchen. I can guarantee you, your tea-brewing skills are absolutely professional! I've been craving that rich, fragrant taste ever since I came back!"

"...Of course! I'll make you some in a bit! Plenty!"

Zhang Jianguo was standing in the corner of the kitchen, holding a plate of half-peeled garlic. Hearing this, he looked down at the garlic, then up at the stove, where the boy was skillfully flipping the pan while trying to help him out. Suddenly, he grinned, his voice even louder than before, his words brimming with the smug satisfaction of "See! This kid is still closer to me!" He chuckled and glanced at his old friends.

"Your Uncle Zhang's tea-making skills have improved so much! He could open a teahouse now! I'll brew some for you guys later, let's see who dares to laugh at me then!"

"Wow, Lao Liu, Lao Chen, your accident insurance shouldn't have expired yet, right? I have a feeling this old guy might hold a grudge and try to give us laxatives!"

"Hey! Old Jia! Watch out, I'll call the police! This is defamation! Defamation! He's defaming me!"

"Call the police? Aren't there police everywhere here?"

"That's right, that's right! Come on, call them right now, watch me give you a lightning-fast response!"

"Ha ha ha ha--!"

As they were talking, laughter erupted from the kitchen once again.

The pomegranate tree outside the window swayed gently in the breeze under the warm sunlight. The green pomegranates on the tree rustled softly, as if they were laughing along with the tree.