Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Chen Xiaoqian’s home was in a village within a city. It would take a ten-minute walk to the downtown area. Chen Xiaoqian was hungry but did not have money and the roadside food stalls were all dirty and messy.
These vendors knew her and they would let her buy things on credit, but she was not willing to treat herself poorly.
She did not treat herself poorly in her past life and would make doubly sure that she would not do so in her current.
Walking past the food stalls, she saw a sizable hotel not far from where she was.
Although it was not as fancy as the hotel she used to go to in her previous life, it was still acceptable for her in a stretch. She ignored the fact that she did not have money and walked confidently into the hotel.
The waitress saw such a plainly dressed beautiful girl and asked if she was dining alone several times. Chen Xiaoqian gave her a look and pushed her glasses. The waitress was shocked by her aura and showed her to a window seat.
The view was not that bad either; with starlights in the sky, a willow tree swaying in the wind, the neon light of the hotel shining on the willow tree, and even cicadas singing in the background.
Chen Xiaoqian took the menu and skimmed through it. She then ordered, “Two boiled prawns with garlic and ginger sauce, a steamed turbot, a scallop with vermicelli, a plate of river crab, stir-fry string beans, potato stir-fried with green chili, and a bowl of rice.”
The waitress said hesitantly, “Miss, that’s quite a big portion.”
Chen Xiaoqian gave her a gentle smile and said, “I’ll have a doggy bag for the leftovers.”
The waitress dared not act slowly. However, she could not help but to take a few glances at Chen Xiaoqian. She noticed the girl ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu.
All the dishes were served very quickly and Chen Xiaoqian dined leisurely. She was able to enjoy the food because there was no one there to annoy her. The waitress stood by the side and watched that strange young girl.
Plenty of seafood dishes had been ordered but instead of touching any of them, she only ate vegetables and rice.
Never before did the waitress see a patron like her. Chen Xiaoqian then called the waitress when she had enough.
“Can I please have two more vegetable dishes to take away? But I have special requests about the presentation of the food and how it’s made.”
“Alright, I’ll note it down.”
Chen Xiaoqian told the waitress her requests. The waitress was shocked as she asked, “Are…you sure?”
‘Is that even edible?’
“Just do as I say, I’ll pay double.”
Then, she ordered a soothing chrysanthemum tea. She watched the chrysanthemum rolling in the teapot. Chen Xiaoqian blew on it to cool it down.
“The taste is far inferior to Golden Chrysanthemum.”
A soft child’s voice popped in her head. ‘Mom, why do you always have chrysanthemum tea?’
‘It’s bad on my liver when mommy burns the midnight oil. Chrysanthemum tea soothes the liver. ‘
‘Then Xiaowei will sleep here with mommy and mommy won’t burn the midnight oil.’
There were tears in her eyes. There were a few middle school children cycling home after their revision classes. They were wearing large-sized school sportswear. She watched the youthful faces.
If it were not for the b*stard, Xiaowei would be in secondary school by now. With a large backpack behind her back, she would be telling Chen Xiaoqian about the troubles of growing up.
After her angel left, she suffered from insomnia. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her daughter’s bloody body, crying for her mommy. The pain she felt was not something anyone could understand.
‘Xiaowei, mommy misses you.’
“Miss, the total bill is 480 bucks. Would you like to pay in cash or credit card?” The voice of the waitress interrupted Chen Xiaoqian’s thoughts. She stopped looking outside the window.
“I would like to borrow your phone, if that’s alright?”
“This way, please.”
No one could understand the feeling of a mother who lost a child, especially when both mother and daughter relied on each other for survival. No matter how many times one avenged one’s child, it would never be enough.
The only way she could only be free from that anger was if her little angel returned and called her ‘mommy’.
However, Chen Xiaoqian, who was a psychologist for many years, knew that the terminology for death in psychology is ‘the greatest loss’. The void created by that loss could never be filled.
Thus, the only thing she could do was to avenge her daughter. Although it would not fill the void in her heart, she could stab the b*stard in the heart to make him feel the same pain that she felt.
Chen Xiaoqian called Ni Jianren with the phone.
“I’m at Binhai Hotel, come and pay the bill.”
Ni Jianren was a stingy man, he was comparable to Chen Lin in this regard. He was unhappy to hear that Chen Xiaoqian wanted him to pay the bill.
“Why are you there anyway?!” That was the priciest restaurant in town!
“Just come here and pay the bill, stop babbling!”
“I’ve got things to do, I can’t be there. Take care of it yourself!” Just as he was about to hang up.
Chen Xiaoqian grinned and pushed her glasses, “Your boss, what’s his name? Ah… Lee Zhen is it? He’s sitting right next to me, I’ll just ask him to settle the bill for me.”
“Xiaoqian! Don’t! I’ll be there!” Ni Jianren panicked.
After she hung up the phone, Chen Xiaoqian looked at the dishes on the table and thought that she probably could take away a few more dishes.
There was no one named Lee Zhen there and it was all a bluff.
The reason the bastard panicked was that Lee Zhen was his boyfriend and he was afraid that his sexual orientation would be exposed.
“Miss, the dishes that you ordered are all packed. And this is your special request. Is it…really edible?” The waitress handed her the meal box and there was a strange smell coming from it.
“Young lady, let me ask you, where should a wound be at for you to not feel the pain?” Chen Xiaoqian asked.
“Um, on the nail?” The waitress was dumbfounded as she thought, ‘What a weird customer!’
“Wrong, the wound has to be on someone else for you to not feel the pain. Understood?” Chen Xiaoqian pushed her glasses, while the waitress was stupefied.
It would be impolite that she only took care of herself, right? She needed to prepare something for the b*stard—this was for the b*stard.
Ni Jianren got there after Chen Xiaoqian finished one pot of chrysanthemum tea. He was panting when he arrived. He quickly scanned the room and Lee Zhen was nowhere in sight. He only saw Chen Xiaoqian sitting there, steady as a rock.
“Where’s Lee Zhen?”
“Maybe I was mistaken. Looked a little like him.”
Ni Jianren took the bill and saw that the bill was more than four hundred bucks. He almost fainted.
“Why is it so expensive?!” He worked in an institution where they provided a good salary and benefits, but that was half of his monthly salary!
“I don’t have that much cash on me!” Ni Jianren’s heart ached.
Half a month’s salary!
“Then I’ll get my father here. But you know he’s stingy, if he gets mad, he would probably end this arranged marriage. And he would probably make a scene in your institution.”
“I’ll go to the ATM!” Ni Jiaren said those words while clenching his teeth.
“Leave your handphone here.” Chen Xiaoqian grabbed the old Nokia phone from his hand. Those days, it was a luxury good. She used it as collateral so that he would come back.
It felt great to watch his angry shadow leave. Then, she picked up the teacup and sipped.
She was evil to the bone indeed and was happy to see the b*stard getting mad yet unable to do anything to her.