Volume One, Chapter Seven: The Stay-at-Home Mother Without Any Income

Finally, under Yan Chen’s instruction, the restaurant set up a new table nearby for Su Wanqing and the others.

Su Wanqing deliberately sat at the table farthest from them, yet Su Wanling’s delicate voice still drifted from behind.

“Brother Yan Chen, you actually remembered that I’m allergic to yam…”

Su Wanqing’s heart, which should have remained calm, suddenly felt as if pricked by a needle, memories rushing back to a month ago.

On the day Su Wanling returned to the country, the Su family held a banquet to welcome her, inviting the wealthiest families in the city.

As the elder sister, Su Wanqing should have attended, but she noticed that Yan Chen did not want her to appear with him in public, so she excused herself, saying she needed to stay home to care for Xie Kexin, who had autism, and missed the banquet.

From that moment, she gradually sensed a change in Yan Chen.

Though married for five years, she had endured numerous provocations from various women, all trying to make her step aside by claiming Yan Chen had been involved with them.

But she never cared, for she recognized certain features in their photos that resembled Su Wanling.

They were mere substitutes—how could they be better than her?

She had no interest in making enemies with them and never took it to heart.

Moreover, in the following two years, Yan Chen had reined himself in considerably. From visiting home once every six months, he began coming almost monthly, and his attitude toward her improved, sometimes even bringing gifts.

She believed that after five years of companionship, he had finally developed some feelings for her.

But unexpectedly, after attending that banquet once, Yan Chen never came home again.

It must have been then that Yan Chen and Su Wanling began their affair.

“Be careful, little one, sister’s bringing the food,” the gentle voice of the waitress interrupted Su Wanqing’s reverie. Seeing the steaming dishes in her hands, Su Wanqing quickly pulled Xie Kexin slightly back.

Zheng Lu sat opposite, not only hearing Su Wanling’s nauseating voice but also witnessing their every move.

Seeing the two of them so intimately absorbed in each other, oblivious to those around them, the food before her lost its appeal.

Yet, thinking of Xie Kexin, she suppressed her anger.

But when she saw the scallions on the dish, she suddenly exploded: “What’s going on? Didn’t you say no scallions?”

Slapping the table in frustration, the waitress was startled and just about to protest that it wasn’t a big deal and she could have picked out the scallions, but realizing they were friends of that table, she reluctantly took the dish back to be remade.

This seemed to unlock Zheng Lu’s grievances. She hovered on the verge of speaking, biting back her words repeatedly, a hesitant expression that made Su Wanqing smile faintly.

“Say whatever you want. Be careful you don’t cause yourself harm holding it in.”

Whether from the food or those two people’s behavior, Zheng Lu’s eyes reddened. Clenching her fists, she whispered angrily:

“Damn that scumbag! You’ve been married five years and he still doesn’t remember you don’t eat scallions, but that white lotus disappeared for five years and he remembers she’s allergic to yam!”

“It’s infuriating!”

Seeing her more upset than herself, Su Wanqing felt a slight easing of her own pain.

She picked up the only yam dish without scallions and put it into Zheng Lu’s bowl. “It’s fine. Just remember it for me next time.”

Looking at the yam in her bowl and recalling Su Wanling’s words, Zheng Lu transformed her sorrow into resolve, quickly stuffing a piece into her mouth and loudly declaring:

“Qingqing, try this yam! No scallions—delicious!”

She even raised her hand and called out, “Waiter, bring us another serving of yam, no scallions this time!”

Her words naturally reached Yan Chen and Su Wanling.

Su Wanling’s smile stiffened.

As a woman, how could she not recognize Zheng Lu’s sarcasm?

She glanced cautiously at Yan Chen, and seeing no reaction, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in her eyes.

She looked at the plate of yam and suddenly had an idea.

“Brother Yan Chen, it seems sister and her friends really like yam. We actually ordered the wrong dish. Why not give this plate to them?”

Yan Chen glanced over and, indifferent, said: “Whatever you want.”

Receiving his approval, Su Wanling smiled, beckoned the waitress, and had the yam sent over to Su Wanqing’s table.

The waitress hesitated, “Ah? Is this appropriate?”

Would someone who could afford this restaurant really bother saving the cost of one dish?

Su Wanling explained, “Sorry, that’s my sister. She’s never worked and always spends my brother-in-law’s money…”

Hearing this, the waitress understood, and recalling how a few scallions had caused such a fuss, she felt even more disdainful.

No job, always causing trouble—she disliked such people the most.

The waitress nodded knowingly, then placed the untouched plate of yam at Su Wanqing’s table, smiling but with a trace of scorn in her voice:

“Madam, your sister is allergic to yam and can’t eat it. I’m giving this plate to you, and I’ll refund the newly ordered one. This plate costs 346 yuan, so it’s saving a little, right?”

Su Wanqing froze. Zheng Lu snapped her chopsticks with a sharp “crack”: “Watch your tongue! Who wants someone else’s leftovers? Do you take us for trash bins?”

“That’s not even leftovers!” the waitress rolled her eyes. “Aren’t you family? If your sister wasn’t paying today, you probably would’ve licked the takeout box clean before leaving!”

Zheng Lu exploded on the spot: “What did you say? Say that again!”

The manager hurried over in quick steps. “What’s going on? What happened?”

The waitress pouted, feeling wronged: “Manager, I know she’s a full-time mom without a job, so I just brought the yam over to help her save some money. Who knew she’d be ungrateful!”

Zheng Lu grew even angrier at this, but Su Wanqing, having caught on, pulled her back.

She stood up, pointed at the dish, and said coldly, “That plate of food goes back where it came from.”

The waitress tightened her neck, about to protest, but Su Wanqing’s face darkened, radiating cold authority: “Want to file a complaint?”

At the word “complaint,” the manager’s legs softened, and he slapped the waitress’s head: “Did you hear that? Take it back! Stop slacking off or you’ll be fired!”

Turning to Su Wanqing, he smiled apologetically: “Madam, sorry, this is our new staff. Training wasn’t thorough. Please forgive her.”

Su Wanqing wasn’t truly angry; she knew the waitress was just being used by Su Wanling.

Still, watching the yam being taken away, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

As a wife from a wealthy family, unless she achieved something remarkable, there was no need for her to work publicly.

Besides, she had married into the Xie family on Su Wanling’s behalf, which had already displeased Yan Chen—she was too embarrassed to bring it up.

So she had resigned from her research job with Xu Qiuyun.

But even with these rules, she had initially struggled to adapt, sneaking in some freelance work until Xie Kexin was born, after which she quit all part-time jobs to care for her properly.

Looking back, it seemed she had truly been a full-time mother without any income for five years.

She tugged at the corner of her mouth in self-mockery, thinking: Su Wanqing, you really are useless. After five years of nothing, you can’t even earn the respect of a waitress!