Chapter 339: What Exactly Am I in Your Hearts?
Chapter 339: Chapter 339: What Exactly Am I in Your Hearts?
Since it wasn’t her birthday, the daily missions were naturally not as easy as yesterday’s.
However, the workload was still much lighter than usual.
Shen Lu easily got today’s Lottery Ticket.
That afternoon, while Shen Lu was brewing tea by the stove and watching a movie in the fast-food area, Liu Qiang suddenly came looking for her. He said Yang Jing was awake.
Shen Lu raised an eyebrow, stood up, and went to the sheet metal shack.
The moment she entered, the stench that hit her was so foul it nearly knocked her over.
"Can’t you all be a little more hygienic? What is that smell?!"
Liu Qiang started to explain, but then swallowed his words.
Shen Lu crouched down beside Yang Jing. A flicker of life returned to the woman’s vacant eyes.
"Little Deer," she called out feebly.
"I’m here. How are you feeling?"
"I..."
"Mom’s fine. Her fever’s gone down. She just needs to rest for a couple more days," Liu Yaozu cut in. "Sister, look, Mom is awake now. She needs some nutritious food to get her strength back. Why don’t you bring some over tonight?"
Shen Lu shot him a look, then turned to Yang Jing and nodded. "Fine. I’ll bring Mom’s dinner over tonight."
’As if she didn’t know what Liu Yaozu was scheming.’
For dinner, Shen Lu simmered a chicken soup, then prepared a bowl of chicken noodle soup just for Yang Jing and brought it over.
Liu Yaozu stooped forward, his face plastered with a smile, and reached for the chicken noodle soup in Shen Lu’s hands.
"I’ll take that, Sister. I can feed Mom. You’ve worked hard, you should go get some rest."
’Excellent! I’ve been waiting forever, and now I finally get to eat something delicious.’
Shen Lu dodged his hand. "You and Dad have trouble getting around, and Mom is too weak to feed herself. It’s better if I do it."
With that, ignoring Liu Yaozu and Liu Qiang’s reactions, she helped Yang Jing sit up and fed her, one mouthful at a time.
A watery mist filmed over Yang Jing’s ashen eyes. She ate very slowly, her gaze fixed on Shen Lu.
Considering Yang Jing had been bedridden for days without food, Shen Lu had only cooked a small handful of noodles so as not to upset her stomach. Thus, even though Yang Jing ate slowly, the meal was over in a little over ten minutes.
Liu Yaozu’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.
’Damn it! He had wracked his brain to get those noodles, and every last bit had actually gone into his mother’s stomach.’
’What was this? Wasn’t his mom supposed to have a few bites, claim she was full, and then give the rest to him, her precious son?’
’What kind of mother was this? She could die of greed for all he cared!’
Shen Lu helped Yang Jing lie back down. "Mom, get some rest. I’ll come see you again tomorrow."
Yang Jing watched her without blinking and gave a slight nod.
As soon as Shen Lu was gone, Liu Yaozu immediately flew into a rage.
"Mom, I’m still hungry! I haven’t had a proper meal in days! Look at my face, my cheeks are all sunken in from hunger!"
"How could you be so selfish, only thinking about yourself? You could have at least left me a sip of the broth!"
"If I had known you were going to be like this, I wouldn’t have given you your medicine. Taking care of you was a complete waste."
Liu Qiang frowned. "Yaozu’s mother, you really went too far."
Yang Jing listened silently to the father and son’s accusations, not saying a word in her own defense.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, but that she didn’t have the strength.
Her gaze was chilling, her eyes unfocused as if she were in a daze.
Seeing her like this only made Liu Yaozu even angrier.
"Are you even listening to me?! Yang Jing, if you keep this up, I’ll disown you!"
His temper flaring, Liu Yaozu called Yang Jing by her full name, resorting to his ultimate threat.
This move was his trump card against Yang Jing. Previously, whenever Liu Yaozu said such a thing, Yang Jing would be ready to kneel and beg for his forgiveness, agreeing to anything he asked.
Yang Jing’s pupils constricted. She looked at Liu Yaozu with an expression of disbelief mixed with a hint of liberation.
’So this was the son she had raised through hardship and toil, the one she had doted on like the apple of her eye.’
’In his heart, had he ever once truly thought of her as his mother?’
Hah.
Yang Jing laughed scornfully to herself.
Liu Qiang sensed something was off about Yang Jing. His frown deepened. "Yaozu’s mother, what’s that look in your eyes?"
Yang Jing’s gaze shifted to Liu Qiang, as if she didn’t understand what he was saying.
"Yaozu is not wrong. He has an injured arm and a broken leg; he certainly needs nutritious food. You should have saved half for him."
"Oh."
Yang Jing replied without a trace of emotion.
Liu Yaozu couldn’t stand her lifeless appearance, and his words grew even more venomous. "Having a mother like you is sickening. Dad, as soon as the weather gets better, you two should get divorced immediately. Sister will definitely find you a new wife who’s pretty, young, and considerate!"
Yang Jing showed no reaction, merely watching the father and son in silence.
"Alright, this isn’t for you to decide," Liu Qiang said, slightly embarrassed. But he did want a new wife, and since his son had already said it out loud, he didn’t bother to hide it. "This is for the good of the two children. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay on as a nanny."
A silent rage seared through her chest. Yang Jing took a deep breath and squeezed out a question: "In your hearts, what am I to you?"
’Do you really see me as a wife? As a mother?’
"If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for being useless," Liu Yaozu sneered. "And you’re not even good to me. I don’t want a mother like you."
Liu Qiang added, "We have to think about the children. Isn’t a parent’s job to ensure a good future for their kids?"
Yang Jing laughed.
It was so absurd, she laughed.
She laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. Because she was so weak, the laughter came in ragged gasps, making it seem like she might lose her breath and faint at any second.
"Good. That’s great," she said, two tears rolling down her cheeks. Her eyes red, she looked at the father and son. "Just great."
"Stop with this creepy act!"
"The divorce. I agree."
Yang Jing caught her breath and said quietly, "When the weather is good, we’ll get the papers."
’No crying? No scenes? No begging him to stay?’
Liu Qiang was a little surprised. Knowing Yang Jing, he expected her to be crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself.
Still, this was better.
’It saved him the effort of arguing. She knew what was good for her.’
...
[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn prize #64 from the blind box: Store Defense Level +1.]
[DING! Congratulations, Host. Your store’s defense has reached the maximum, Level 10, unlocking Invincibility Mode. The Host can choose to enable or disable this in the store’s control panel.]
At first, Shen Lu thought it was a hallucination. After carefully reading the system prompt three times, she jumped up from her bed, screaming and stomping her feet with glee.
Hard work really does pay off! She had finally maxed out the store’s defense level.
This meant that as long as she stayed in the store, she would be completely unaffected even if the entire planet exploded. As long as she had enough supplies, she could live out the rest of her life in peace and safety.
Shen Lu forcefully exhaled, releasing all the tension in her chest. From this day forward, she would no longer have to live on eggshells. It felt so good.
She lay back on her bed, crossing her legs as she started planning for the future.
’The store’s defense is maxed out. I can start using the booth area. Hmm, I shouldn’t take on too many customers each day, or I’ll get too tired.’
’Conveniently, there are only eight tables in the booth area, so I’ll just serve eight parties a day.’
’All ingredients will come from the System Mall. I’ll go the high-quality route.’
’It doesn’t matter if the secret of my ingredients gets out. As long as I stay in the store, nobody can do a thing to me.’