Chapter 358: Everyone Has Their Own Story
Chapter 358: Chapter 358: Everyone Has Their Own Story
Sun Chuanqing managed to coax and pull Jiang Gong back into his seat.
After Gao Manting’s outburst, he had no appetite left. He sat in his chair with a dark expression, fuming by himself.
Hu Bin couldn’t calm Gao Manting down at all. In fact, because someone was trying to placate her, Gao Manting’s bratty temper only grew more outrageous.
Catching everyone off guard, she flipped the table and ran out.
They had driven over in two cars, and Gao Manting took Jiang Gong’s.
Hu Bin considered stopping her by force, but Jiang Gong called out to him.
"Let her go. Better than her causing an endless scene in someone else’s restaurant."
’If she’s going to make a fool of herself, she can do it at home.’ Jiang Gong was extremely annoyed. He glanced over at the fast-food section again. His original plan had been to sit for a while after dinner, just like yesterday, and chat with Sang Yue once she wasn’t busy.
Great. So much for chatting.
"What was that noise?" Mo Bei and his friends, who were in the middle of enjoying their meal, looked over at the sound. Seeing the mess of cups and plates on the floor, they all stood up, indignant on Shen Lu’s behalf.
"Brother Jiang, why’d you bring someone to Boss Shen’s place to cause trouble?"
"Flipping such good food onto the floor... what a waste."
"Yeah, if you weren’t going to eat it, you should have just called us over. We wouldn’t have minded your leftovers."
Jiang Gong’s face was ashen. He forced a smile. "A youngster from my family has a bad temper and doesn’t know any better. We had a little argument. I’ll compensate you for the full price of the damages."
Shen Lu was bringing over the last dish, a grilled fish, and was taken aback when she saw the scene.
"Was the food not to your liking today?"
"No, Boss Shen. My cousin was throwing a tantrum. How about this: calculate the damages, and I’ll pay for it." Jiang Gong was a man who knew when to yield. "I’m really sorry about this."
"It’s no problem. Why don’t you move to another table? You still have the grilled fish to eat."
Jiang Gong sighed. "Please pack it up to go."
’Knowing Gao Manting’s personality, she’ll continue to cause a scene when I get back.’
He had to hurry back now, lest Gao Manting say something outrageous. If that happened, he’d truly have no way to defend himself.
Shen Lu packed the food efficiently, calculated the cost of the broken dishes, and gave him the total.
Without another word, Jiang Gong paid and drove home with his friends.
Shen Lu and Deng Ying cleaned up the mess on the floor together. Once all the porcelain shards were swept up, the robot vacuum immediately came over to mop the area.
In a short while, it was as clean as new.
Including the table that got takeout, the task of serving three tables for the day was complete. Shen Lu told Deng Ying to go see if Cai Su needed any help.
She sliced some apples and brought them over for Mo Bei and his friends, something she had promised them earlier.
Mao Guangjian, munching on a crisp, sweet apple, asked Shen Lu why she didn’t open at night.
People like them preferred to go out for food at night, especially for a late-night snack. Mao Guangjian savored the memory of the fire-roasted fish. ’If I had that as a bar snack while drinking, I could go all night!’
"That would be too exhausting. You have to make money, but you also have to live. Don’t you think?"
Mao Guangjian couldn’t understand it at all. ’If there’s money to be made, why not make it?’
Mo Bei’s table had no leftovers today; they’d eaten everything clean. Shen Lu saw them out the door, then packed a meal to take to Yang Jing.
Yang Jing wasn’t in her room. She had woken up early and was busy in the greenhouse.
All the easy-to-dig soil had already been turned over. What remained was much harder to dig. Since Yang Jing hadn’t fully recovered, she didn’t push herself.
The scallions had all sprouted. Some of the seeds had been sown too densely and needed to be thinned out.
She had been thinning the seedlings all morning.
"Mom, take a break and eat."
"Okay."
Yang Jing washed her hands in a bucket of water and sat down on a small stool to eat.
"Later, when things up front are taken care of, I’ll have Wu Jun drive th... the boss’s car to take you to handle the paperwork."
"Mm."
"Mom, you don’t seem very sad."
"Would being sad do any good?" Yang Jing stared straight ahead. "From now on, I’ll just work hard. I should have no problem supporting myself."
Shen Lu was genuinely surprised now. Yang Jing’s transformation was immense.
’Before, she had treated her husband and son as the most important things in her life. She was obedient in all matters, acting as if she wouldn’t know how to live without them.’
’How long has it been, and her entire mindset has changed?’
"Mom, what on earth happened?"
Shen Lu didn’t know what had transpired between the three of them. After all, she had no interest in monitoring them around the clock.
Yang Jing let out a soft sigh. She was silent for a few seconds before speaking. "It’s nothing, really. I’ve just stopped lying to myself."
It wasn’t just recently that Liu Qiang and Liu Yaozu had stopped treating her like she mattered. In the past, she pretended not to see it, living in a muddle and comforting herself that she wasn’t the only one suffering, that everyone lived like this.
But this time, when she was sick, she overheard her husband and son talking. They truly didn’t see her as a person at all.
If either of them had even a shred of conscience, they wouldn’t have made such plans.
Thankfully, she had a job now. If she was frugal, she could still get by.
After the employees finished their meal, Wu Jun drove back and picked up Liu Qiang and Yang Jing, along with the Deng sisters.
Deng Xuan had been fussing for days, saying she missed her mom. Deng Ying had promised that as soon as the weather cleared, she would take her back. So, she was catching a ride with them this afternoon.
The little girl happily said goodbye to everyone. Sang Yue couldn’t hold back and tried to persuade her, "Deng Ying, you really shouldn’t send your sister back."
"What’s so good about a family that favors boys over girls? Going back would just mean repeating the same old days of being neglected."
"Besides, Deng Xuan will be seven after the New Year, old enough for school. They wouldn’t even buy her medicine, let alone send her to get an education."
Deng Ying glanced at Sang Yue, then took her sister’s hand and got into the car.
Sang Yue sighed. "It’s obviously a pit of fire. Why does she have to jump in?"
Shen Lu said, "Miss Sang, it’s Deng Xuan who wants to go back, not Deng Ying who wants her sister to go back."
"What does a child know?"
"Do you like Deng Xuan that much, Miss Sang?"
"She’s alright. The little girl is quite well-behaved."
"Then let me give you an idea. Go to the Deng Family, tell them you like Deng Xuan and want to adopt her. As long as you can offer a satisfactory price, the Deng Family will definitely agree."
"Isn’t that human trafficking?!" Sang Yue’s brow twitched. "That’s illegal!"
Shen Lu gave her a meaningful look. "The laws here aren’t as strict as you think. The lines are very blurry. Haven’t you adapted yet, Miss Sang?"
Sang Yue’s expression soured.
「An hour later.」
Wu Jun drove back. Liu Qiang was beaming, Yang Jing was calm, and Deng Ying had a fresh handprint on her face.
’They each had their own story, it seemed.’
Shen Lu told Deng Ying to get some ice, wrap it in a towel, and press it to her face. Liu Qiang stopped her, his voice jubilant. "When are you going to find me a new wife? I’m divorced now, so I can start looking."
Shen Lu glanced at Yang Jing, who was standing to the side. "When did I ever promise to find you a new wife?"
’I never agreed to it at any point. They were just getting carried away all by themselves.’
Liu Qiang’s expression changed. "But you clearly..."
He stopped mid-sentence. ’That’s right. Shen Lu never actually agreed. She just hadn’t explicitly refused, so I automatically assumed she’d said yes.’