Dinner with the Changs

What was a person supposed to prepare for his first dinner at his girlfriend's home? Across two lives, Edmund had never had that experience. Today, he would have his first.

After leaving Knockturn Alley, Edmund hurried home and selected a bottle of red wine from the Rhone Valley as a gift.

Cho had mentioned that her father liked wine and spirits, whether Chinese baijiu or Western red wine. This bottle had been given to Edmund by a shareholder in one of the companies he had invested in. Supposedly, it was a collector's vintage and worth a fair amount.

After changing clothes and wrapping the bottle, Edmund went to the meeting place he and Cho had agreed on.

Cho arrived soon after.

When she saw Edmund, her eyes lit up slightly. His style today was entirely different from his usual school look.

The fitted black suit and gentle smile made him look like a young gentleman from an old family.

They chatted and laughed along the way. But as they approached the front door, Edmund suddenly felt a little tense.

Cho noticed and gently took his hand, silently telling him not to worry. Edmund smiled back, indicating that he was fine, and the two of them went inside together.

Cho's family lived on the outskirts of London. Their house was not large, just an ordinary detached home. No one would have guessed that a wizarding family lived there.

"Mum! Dad! We're home!"

As soon as they entered, Cho called into the house.

Cho's mother was cooking in the kitchen, while her father sat on the sofa with a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hands.

Hearing her daughter's voice, Helen Chang came out of the kitchen, greeted them warmly, then hurried back.

Edmund thought she had no need to stay inside. Every utensil in the kitchen had been charmed and was preparing the meal on its own.

Mr. Chang had been smiling when his beloved daughter came home. The moment his gaze landed on Edmund, his face went stern.

Edmund was speechless. It seemed Cho's father had a serious overprotective streak where his daughter was concerned. Cho, however, was excited to be home. She pulled Edmund upstairs and brought him to her room. Edmund looked around curiously.

It was his first time entering a girl's bedroom.

The room was not large. It held a single bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. The walls were covered in posters of the Tutshill Tornados, and the Nimbus 2001 Edmund had given Cho sat carefully to one side, revealing her love of Quidditch.

At the same time, the two dolls on the bed made the room feel unmistakably girlish.

Seeing Edmund look around with such curiosity, Cho grew embarrassed and covered his eyes with both hands.

"Stop looking everywhere."

Edmund laughed and nodded. Then he pulled the girl down onto the narrow bed, and the two of them tumbled into a playful wrestling match.

Only when Helen Chang called them downstairs did Edmund and Cho get up, straightening clothes that had become damp and rumpled from the frantic roughhousing.

"Come, Edmund. May I call you Edmund?" Helen Chang greeted him with a smile beside the dining table. "Do not be nervous. Treat this like your own home. Eat whatever you like."

Edmund sat down and looked at the table full of Chinese dishes. He could not help praising her.

"Auntie Helen, your cooking is wonderful. These dishes smell better than anything I have had in a restaurant."

"Then eat more."

Helen Chang was delighted by his sweet words and kept placing food in Edmund's bowl, ignoring both Cho and Mr. Chang.

Edmund did not stand on ceremony. Enjoying the food was the greatest compliment to the cook. As he ate, he praised nearly every dish in detail.

"You know Chinese food?" Mr. Chang asked, finally interested.

He had not expected someone raised in Britain to understand so much about Chinese cuisine. When it came to this topic, Edmund was no longer sleepy at all. In his previous life, he had been a proper foodie.

Some of the dishes and regional details Edmund mentioned were things even Mr. Chang did not know. Seeing Edmund understand Chinese culture so well, Cho's father developed a little goodwill toward him.

Then Mr. Chang suddenly stood, walked to a cabinet, and brought back a bottle.

"Since you know so much about Chinese food, I have a bottle here. Drink with me while we talk."

Mr. Chang's intentions were not entirely pure.

Although he now had a better impression of Edmund, this was still the boy who had stolen his daughter. His solution was simple: get the boy drunk.

"No nonsense, you," Helen Chang said immediately. "Edmund is our guest, not your drinking partner."

Edmund finally learned something else about Cho's father: the man had excellent taste in liquor.

Moutai. Edmund almost laughed. Was this supposed to frighten him?

In his previous life, as an overworked office drone, he had rarely had a chance to drink Moutai, let alone a bottle from this period.

"It is all right, Auntie Helen. Since Uncle Chang is happy, I can drink a little with him."

Edmund smiled and helped persuade Helen, who had been about to stop them. Cho watched from the side with a cheerful smile and said nothing.

During the last term, she and Edmund had often secretly drunk the Butterbeer Fred and George brought them. She knew Edmund's tolerance.

Seeing her father determined to drink Edmund under the table, Cho already knew who was going to fall tonight.

Mr. Chang was still smiling, completely unaware that his sweet little daughter had turned against him.

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