Chapter 25
Meeting Madam Jiang by Chance
“Alright, Alright. You can’t afford to pay for it, so I won’t pursue the matter any further. Hurry up and pack your things, and take your daughter away. My small temple can’t accommodate you.”
The boss waved his hand impatiently. Then, he glanced at Xuan Wan Rou, who was still struggling to get up, and said, “Sister Xuan, seeing that you’ve been working seriously in my shop for the past two days, let me give you a piece of advice. It’s better for the child not to be too indulgent. Otherwise, you’ll regret it in the future.”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
After saying that, the boss and the others apologized and promised that the customers who had already ordered food would be exempted. Only then did the noodle shop gradually return to normal.
After comforting the others, the boss apologized to Shi Yan and Jiang Rui, “I’m sorry to have affected your mood.”
“It’s okay. It’s our bad luck.”
As Jiang Rui said that, she asked Shi Yan, “Xiao Yan, do you still want to eat?”
Shi Yan nodded.
If she didn’t eat, wouldn’t the bowl of plain porridge she had just saved and the bowl of noodles Jiang Rui had saved go to waste? Jiang Rui had only eaten two mouthfuls of the large bowl of noodles, and she hadn’t even eaten a mouthful of porridge.
Seeing this, the boss hurriedly invited the two of them to sit at an empty table at the side.
Finally, Xuan Wan Rou, who was holding on to the table leg and struggling to stand up, looked at Xuan Liuying, who was still standing there motionlessly, and scolded her angrily, “Why aren’t you leaving? Haven’t you embarrassed enough people?”
Jiang Rui was eating her noodles, couldn’t help but say, “I wonder who is the one who is embarrassed.”
Her words were like poking a hornet’s nest, and Xuan Wan Rou completely exploded.
“Jiang Rui, seeing that I’ve embarrassed such a big person, you’re very proud of yourself, aren’t you?”
This time, not only did Jiang Rui stop eating her noodles, but Shi Yan also stopped eating her porridge with a spoon. Both of them looked at Xuan Wan Rou at the same time.
Jiang Rui looked like she was looking at a lunatic.
“Xuan Wanrou, is there something wrong with your brain? “What does it have to do with me whether you’re embarrassed or not? Why should I be proud? On the other hand, I’ve seen how hard it was for your mother to let go of the fact that you almost hurt my friend and me by accident just now. How can you still have the face to continue making trouble here? If I were you, I would have run away with my tail between my legs.”
Looking at how smart the two girls who came with her were, they had sneaked away while the boss was comforting the customers in the shop and no one noticed them.
“You...”
“Wan Rou!”
Xuan Liuying, who had been hanging her head, finally could not help but shout.
“How long are you going to make a scene!”
Her eyes were red, her figure was shaky. “You lost one job after another. Do you still want to live at home? You’re already an adult. Can’t you be more sensible? These are your classmates, right? You’ve always been good at saving face. What good will it do you if you keep making a scene like this?”
As she spoke, Xuan Liuying no longer looked at Xuan Wan Rou. She bowed to Shi Yan and Jiang Rui and said, “I’m sorry.”
Then, she turned around to clean up the mess that Xuan wanrou had made.
“Boss, I’m really sorry. I’ll leave after I clean up.”
The boss didn’t say anything. The noodle shop was small, and there were only two waiters including Xuan Liuying. They really needed people to clean up the place.
Seeing Xuan Liuying ignore her, the other people in the shop stared at her while eating. Their eyes were full of disdain, and Xuan Wan Rou felt her face burning.
Biting her lips, she glared at Shi Yan and Jiang Rui with an unfriendly look and limped out of the noodle shop.
She had just walked out of the noodle shop when she met someone.
A woman, both noble and elegant.
The woman looked at her indifferently. That gaze was full of contempt, causing Xuan Wan Rou’s body to freeze. A strong sense of difference and inferiority spread from the bottom of her heart.
However, the woman had already brushed past her.
“Rui’er.”
Jiang Rui raised her head when she heard the voice and said in surprise, “Mom, why are you here?”
Mom? This elegant woman was Jiang Rui’s mother?
Then, she looked at Xuan Liuying, who was squatting on the ground in a waiter’s outfit, cleaning up the broken bottles and cutlery. Xuan Wanrou’s eyes were full of jealousy toward Jiang Rui.
She was not inferior to Jiang Rui. Why did Jiang Rui, who pretended to be noble, have such a good family background, but she had to struggle in the gutter?
Why?!
When Kong Xiangxiang appeared, Jiang Rui was only concerned out of surprise. She did not see the jealousy in Xuan Wan Rou’s eyes, but Shi Yan did.
However, Shi Yan only glanced at her briefly before she averted her gaze.
She met Kong Xiangxiang’s gaze.
“Little Yan is here too.”
Kong Xiangxiang greeted her first. It was not very cordial.
Shi Yan smiled and nodded, “First Madam.”
Jiang Rui looked at them and sighed in her heart.
Xiaoyan had already called her second aunt Aunt Fang, but she still called her mother first madam. It seemed that Xiao Yan also felt that her mother had a prejudice against her.
Her mother was really too much. Why did she have to do this? Even if Xiao Yan wanted to stare at someone in their family, she was not staring at her brother!
“Why are you eating here? I thought I was wrong when I was in the car just now. Fortunately, I insisted on getting the driver to stop the car to take a look. I didn’t expect it to really be you guys.”
Then, she looked at Jiang Rui and scolded, “Rui’er, your grandmother told you to take good care of Xiao Yan. Why did you invite her to such a place to eat? You should invite Xiao Yan to eat something good.”
Jiang Rui quickly glanced at Shi Yan, afraid that she would think too much after hearing what she said.
Seeing that Shi Yan’s expression was still the same, she heaved a sigh of relief.
She did not mention that this meal was actually Shi Yan’s treat.
She said coquettishly to Kong xiangxiang, “Hey, Mom, it’s different where we eat. Xiaoyan and I were shopping and we were hungry. When we saw this noodle shop, we immediately came in. These days, we’ve eaten quite a lot of things. It’s only right for us to have a taste of everything. Besides, this noodle shop’s taste is not bad.”
“Mom, do you want a bowl?”
Kong Xiangxiang glanced at the food in their bowls and frowned slightly, “I won’t eat it.”
“Your brother really spoils you, stuffing everything into your mouth. It’s fine if there’s a guest this time, but don’t eat outside recklessly in the future.”
Jiang Rui thought she would be scolded.
She stuck her tongue out playfully at Kong Xiangxiang.
“Mom, Xiao Yan and I still want to walk around. If you have something to do, go ahead. Don’t worry about us, I’m familiar with Sea City.”
“No rush. I don’t have anything to do either. Since we met here, let’s find a place to sit and talk. It just so happens that I haven’t treated Xiao Yan well since she came to Sea City.”
Jiang Rui was about to say that they could walk around on their own when Kong Xiangxiang glared at her.
She swallowed her words.
Kong Xiangxiang smiled and asked Shi Yan, “Xiaoyan, do you drink coffee?”
“I don’t mind,”Shi Yan smiled politely.
“After you guys finish eating, let’s go to the coffee shop across the street. The coffee there is not bad.”
“Sure, but it might take a few minutes, as the First Madam waits.”
Kong Xiangxiang sized Shi Yan up and her gaze fell on her again.
Although Shi Yan came from the countryside, she did not have the aura of a country girl. Her temperament was like that of an orthodox young lady from an aristocratic family. She could not see through Shi Yan.
Previously, when she returned to the old residence to attend the family banquet, she had wanted to find an opportunity to get in touch with Shi Yan to probe her about her background. However, with Grandma Jiang around, that wasn’t possible, as she was especially protective of Shi Yan. She had eaten at the family banquet and left the next day after staying at the old residence, so she could not find an opportunity.
If she returned to the old residence a few days after the family banquet ended, it would seem deliberate, and Grandma Jiang would definitely keep an eye on her. She had originally planned to wait a few days before returning to the old residence to find out more about Shi Yan, but she did not expect to meet her here.
It was a good opportunity to test her while Grandma Jiang was not around.
She had to find out whether Grandma Jiang had set Shi Yan and her son up on her own wishful thinking, or if Shi Yan had her own intentions.
Rui’er was rarely willing to make serious friends, and she did not want Rui’er to be caught in the middle. If Shi Yan had no intentions towards her son, and it was just Grandma Jiang’s wishful thinking, then she would give Shi Yan a hint. Then, she would slowly start from the old lady and stop staring at Shi Yan.
Otherwise, if Rui’er continued to protect Shi Yan, it might affect the relationship between the mother and daughter. It was not worth it.
“It’s fine. I’ll wait for you in the car. Come and find me after you’re done eating.”