Tang Xin’er kept firing back word for word, leaving the entire family completely at a loss for how to respond. Even Zhou Zhigang felt a burning sense of humiliation.
More importantly, he couldn’t wrap his head around why Tang Xin’er’s personality had suddenly undergone such a drastic shift. She was making a complete mockery of their family’s dignity!
“Quiet!” Losing face and thoroughly stressed out over the massive amount of stolen wealth, he snapped and roared the command.
The room instantly fell silent. Zhou Yaozu’s expression was the ugliest of all.
Not only had Tang Xin’er completely disrespected him, but with all their household savings gone, he sat down heavily on the sofa with a furious huff. “What am I supposed to do about my wedding?”
“We’ve already spread the word to everyone, and the banquet hall is booked. If we don’t have the money, Xiaomei is definitely going to call off the wedding and refuse to marry me. Does that mean I’m going to be stuck as a bachelor for the rest of my life?” The more Zhou Yaozu thought about it, the angrier he got, and he lashed out with his foot, kicking the table hard.
Zhao Meifang sat nearby wearing an expression of deep, tragic misery, while Zhou Youyou watched Tang Xin’er with an icy, detached gaze.
Though she had just been forced to kneel, a comforting thought soon resurfaced in her mind: Tang Xin’er was about to be married off to Qin Shiyao, a man whose face was so severely disfigured that his features were completely unrecognizable.
Her remaining days were bound to be utterly wretched.
Just dwelling on that thought made Zhou Youyou feel a bit better. Sure, she had suffered the humiliation of kneeling for a moment, but Tang Xin’er was about to throw away her entire future.
How utterly pathetic.
“Don’t worry, my son, Mom will figure something out for you,” Zhao Meifang shouldered the burden right onto herself. Zhou Yaozu let out a cold grunt, too disgruntled to stay, and stormed off into his bedroom.
Tang Xin’er wanted to head back to her room as well, but Zhou Yaozu immediately popped back out. “I haven’t had breakfast yet, and I’m starving to death! One of you get in the kitchen and make me something to eat right now!”
Hearing his demands snapped the others back to reality.
“I still have to go to work!” Zhou Youyou dragged her exhausted body toward her room. Her plans to go shopping with her friend that afternoon were completely ruined now.
All of her pretty clothes and shoes were gone, and with every cent of her cash stolen, she couldn’t afford to buy a single thing anyway.
She changed into a plain, ordinary outfit, dragged her weary limbs out the door to head to work, while Zhou Zhigang—though he desperately wanted to stay home—figured that with their finances completely wiped out, staying away from work would literally leave them with nothing to eat.
He changed into his factory uniform and hurried out the door.
Before leaving, he gave Zhao Meifang a parting instruction. “You get moving too. No matter how upset you are, you still have to go—at least it’s better than an unexcused absence, right?”
The shock of the burglary had hit them so hard that they had momentarily lost their wits, but now the harsh reality of survival forced them back on track. They couldn’t afford to let work slide!
Watching her eldest daughter and husband both depart, Zhao Meifang turned her attention to Tang Xin’er. “Well, go on and cook a bowl of noodles for your brother.”
“Not interested!”
Tang Xin’er was just about to retreat to her room and rest when those words hit her, instantly souring her mood.
“What’s wrong with cooking a simple breakfast for your brother?” Having dragged her physically and mentally exhausted body around all morning, Zhao Meifang completely snapped now that the others were gone. She let her temper flare without restraint. “Your brother is hungry, so it’s your job to feed him!”
“Oh.”
Tang Xin’er’s facial expression didn’t shift by a single muscle. “Well, if he drops dead of starvation, do you need me to go out and pick out a nice coffin for him?”
The remark hit straight home, piercing like a dagger.
Zhao Meifang’s lungs nearly exploded with rage. She raised her hand, fully intending to slap it across Tang Xin’er’s face.
Instead of flinching, Tang Xin’er met her gaze with chilling indifference, taking a deliberate step forward and offering her cheek with a mocking smirk. “Go on, let’s see you hit me!”
“Did you forget that I’m still recovering from an injury?”
“Besides, Zhou Yaozu has a pair of healthy hands and feet—why on earth can’t he cook for himself?” Tang Xin’er rolled her eyes. Her hand hovering mid-air, Zhao Meifang ultimately let it drop back down, unable to follow through.
“Tang Xin’er, I truly raised an ungrateful wretch. You’re going to drive me to an early grave!”
Because Zhao Meifang’s factory salary was on the lower end, her shift started slightly later in the morning. She glared coldly at Tang Xin’er, radiating a deep, biting disappointment.
Tang Xin’er didn’t utter another word, letting the tense standoff hang in the air.
Watching from the side, Zhou Yaozu felt that Tang Xin’er was acting terribly strange today, so he decided not to poke the bear any further. Instead, he whined directly to Zhao Meifang, “I’m literally starving to death over here!”
Glancing at the clock, Zhao Meifang realized she still had about forty minutes before she needed to clock in, which was just enough time to throw together a quick meal. She grumbled under her breath and hurried into the kitchen.
Seeing her start cooking, Tang Xin’er calmly sauntered over and pulled out a chair at the table to wait.
She was an invalid recovering from trauma; breakfast damn well better include a portion for her.
Zhao Meifang quickly whipped up a pot of noodles, dishing out two bowls—one for herself and one for Zhou Yaozu—completely blanking on the existence of Tang Xin’er.
She brought the two bowls out to the table. Zhou Yaozu snatched up his bowl immediately and began wolfing down the food, while Zhao Meifang turned back toward the kitchen to grab the chili paste and garlic cloves.
Without a shred of hesitation, Tang Xin’er reached over with her chopsticks, pulled the second bowl right over to herself, and began eating. Zhou Yaozu shot her a sideways glare, but simply shrugged and kept shoveling food into his own mouth.
Just as Zhao Meifang emerged from the kitchen carrying the plate of garlic, she caught sight of Tang Xin’er devouring over half of that second bowl of noodles. The rage that had just begun to settle flared right back up. “You have your own hands and feet, why couldn’t you cook your own? Asking you to give this to your brother—”
Before she could finish her sentence, Tang Xin’er slurped down the very last strand of noodles, tilted the bowl to chug the remaining soup with a loud clatter, and pushed the empty ceramic dish firmly across the table.
“I’m your daughter, and I’m a patient. Shouldn’t you be taking care of me?”
“Thanks for the breakfast, Mom.”
With a bright, sarcastic grin that vanished into an icy expression the next second, Tang Xin’er stood up and strode straight toward the bathroom to wash up.
She had spent all morning watching a free theatrical performance and still hadn’t taken care of her morning hygiene.
She had a full stomach, a clean face, and a comfortable bed waiting for her back in her room, along with plenty of spiritual spring water to help nurse this broken-down body back to health as quickly as possible.
The day before, when she went out in disguise to buy sleeping pills, walking all around town had left her completely drenched in sweat. If she hadn’t kept her trips relatively close, she probably wouldn’t have even had the physical stamina to make it back home.
This body had been severely neglected, and that hospital visit a couple of days ago had completely drained what little reserve energy she had left, leaving her in this pitiful state.
Even Tang Xin’er herself found this frail condition rather pathetic.
Fuming with suppressed rage, Zhao Meifang slammed the plate of garlic down onto the table. Watching Tang Xin’er wash up in the bathroom, she swallowed down her boiling temper yet again, lacking the time to argue as she rushed off to gather her work gear.
“It’s fine if you ate the breakfast I made, but you need to go out and find a job as soon as possible to pull your own weight—we have zero money left in this house!” Though still angry, Zhao Meifang figured arguing was a waste of breath.
Tang Xin’er didn’t bother responding to the nagging demand to find a job, having zero intention of ever doing so.
“You’re not a child anymore, just sitting around at home all day isn’t right!”
“I’m heading off to work now. Stop stirring up trouble while I’m gone, and remember to cook lunch for your brother at noon!” Tying up her bag, Zhao Meifang turned on her heel and rushed out the door.
Finished washing up, Tang Xin’er emerged from the bathroom and walked straight back to her bedroom, completely ignoring Zhou Yaozu’s presence.
Having finished his meal, Zhou Yaozu initially considered playing a prank on Tang Xin’er to vent his frustration. However, since he hadn’t slept in late that morning, a heavy wave of sleepiness suddenly hit him. He decided it was best to take a nap first.
He could always deal with harassing Tang Xin’er after he woke up.
With so many people in the house earlier, she had still dared to talk back to him without fear; once he woke up, he was going to teach her a harsh lesson in fear!