Master Wouldn’t Be in the Mood to Eat Today
What kind of feeling was it to be seen by your ex-husband while on a blind date?
Standing to the side, Zhuang Fuyao felt unbearably awkward. She recalled an extra segment of memories that had appeared in her mind during this period.
This was a romance novel. The male lead was named Liang Chaoluo. When he was only a few years old, both of his parents passed away, and he grew up with his younger uncle’s family. As the only grandson of the Liang family, he had been placed under high expectations since childhood and never dared to slack off for even a moment.
The only act of defiance he had ever committed in his life was secretly registering a marriage with the female lead, who came from an ordinary family background.
A marriage that failed to gain the elders’ approval was extremely difficult. A large portion of the novel focused on the pure and innocent female lead resisting the oppression of the vicious mother-in-law. It was not until the very end, after the father-in-law Liang Huaixu passed away and the male lead gained control over the family’s authority, that the two of them were finally able to be together.
As for the antagonist of the entire novel, the vicious mother-in-law’s ending was equally tragic. She was abandoned by everyone and died alone.
…Only then did Zhuang Fuyao belatedly realize that she herself was the vicious mother-in-law in the novel, Liang Chaoluo’s mother in name.
Liang Chaoluo’s true background was that he was the child of Liang Huaixu’s elder brother and a student who had just reached adulthood. When he was born, his biological mother died from complications during childbirth. When he was six years old, his father died overseas after fooling around outside. Old Master Liang felt it was truly a disgrace to the family and was deeply worried about Liang Chaoluo’s psychological state.
The whole family sat together to discuss it and decided to have Liang Chaoluo adopted by her and Liang Huaixu.
The novel described that after an accidental miscarriage, her temperament changed drastically. She quarreled with Liang Huaixu every few days, and in the end, when they truly could not continue living together, she chose divorce. After the divorce, her spiritual world became excessively empty, so she shifted her attention to comparing the marriages of the younger generation. The more outstanding other wealthy families’ daughters-in-law were, the harsher she became toward the female lead.
By the end of all her scheming, the family fell apart. Her son became estranged from her, and even her ex-husband, who had always silently supported her, died before the age of fifty.
Although she had not yet experienced any of these things, the moment she thought about how this was the predetermined ending for her and Liang Huaixu in the book, it felt like a needle stabbing into her mind, stirring up dense, piercing pain.
She still had not figured out how to face Liang Huaixu. Taking advantage of the fact that the two men were still exchanging pleasantries, Zhuang Fuyao quickly slipped away.
…
After chatting with Qin Zhenglin for a few more sentences, Liang Huaixu returned to the private room.
He had already been in low spirits. After going out to smoke, he became even more silent. Seeing how distracted and absent-minded he looked, He Zongqin did not keep him for dinner.
After returning home, Liang Huaixu took a business magazine to read, but he never turned a single page.
Dinner had already been prepared for an hour. It had cooled and been reheated. The master still had not eaten, and neither the head chef nor the household aunts dared to leave the main building.
After waiting a while longer, Aunt Yuan went over and asked, “Master, would you like to eat dinner first?”
Liang Huaixu came back to his senses, glanced at the people waiting for him, and said gently, “You can go attend to your work first. Come back to clean up in half an hour.”
As they were leaving, someone with a careless disposition accidentally bumped into a vase, and a few drops of water leaked out.
Aunt Yuan’s expression changed instantly.
Her Master was gentle with people and treated the household staff very well. He never made things difficult for them.
He could be considered an extremely easy employer to serve.
However, there was one matter in which Master had extremely strict requirements. Water stains were not allowed anywhere except the bathroom and the kitchen. Not a single drop could be seen.
She had worked in this household for five years. The only time she had ever seen her Master lose his temper was last year, when a newly hired cleaner left water stains all over the floor while cleaning.
She took a deep breath and was about to go wipe it up when Liang Huaixu stopped her.
The next second, she saw Master walk toward the water stains, squat down halfway, and carefully wipe them clean with a tissue. He did not lose his temper like last time. Instead, it inexplicably gave people a particularly lonely feeling.
The confusion in her heart turned into shock.
Half an hour later, when she came back to clean the kitchen, the dishes on the dining table were still untouched, and the master had already gone upstairs.
Aunt Yuan could not make up her mind and called Butler Cao, who was on a business trip in the United Kingdom.
Butler Cao’s calm tone carried a trace of anger. “When hiring, I reminded you again and again. How can you not remember even such a small thing? Tell that person not to come in tomorrow.”
Ever since a few years ago, when Madam slipped on water in the house and fell, resulting in a miscarriage, the master had been extremely sensitive to water stains at home. This sensitivity became even more severe after the divorce from Madam. In psychology, this was called stress-induced trauma disorder.
Aunt Yuan and the others had only come to work for the Liang family in recent years. They had never met Madam and did not know about these matters.
Butler Cao said, “You can throw the dishes away as well. Master won’t be in the mood to eat today.”
…
The third floor of the villa was Liang Huaixu’s private space, with a separate fingerprint lock.
Even his son, Liang Chaoluo, was not allowed to enter without permission.
After washing up, Liang Huaixu poured himself a cup of warm water. After drinking halfway, his thoughts began to wander.
By the time the alarm for his scheduled rest rang, the water in his hand had already gone completely cold.
He swallowed his melatonin with that half cup of cold water.
Two hours later, he resigned himself to opening his eyes that were still completely clear even after taking melatonin. He found the sleeping pills he had not taken for quite some time, poured out one pill, and swallowed it.
*
At the same time, in a bar in the university district, Zhuang Fuyao was there reminiscing about her youth.
The scene of rock music once sweeping the streets no longer existed. A new group of people had taken its place, playing and singing folk songs.
Zhuang Fuyao had a good tolerance for alcohol. After two drinks, she only felt slightly tipsy. Her gaze swept toward the bar counter from time to time.
Sitting there was a girl with her hair tied in a bun, a round face, and almond-shaped eyes, with a cute-looking appearance.
This reminded her of her best friend from university, Cheng Beibei. After transmigrating here, she had sent Cheng Beibei messages, but Cheng Beibei had not replied, and her status also showed offline.
She asked Madam Ji, but Madam Ji was not very sure either.
Worried to the point she could not sit still, she had sent someone to Cheng Beibei’s hometown to inquire. There was still no reply yet.
As her thoughts drifted, she saw that girl get up to go to the restroom, and a tattooed man nearby sneakily followed behind her.
Zhuang Fuyao’s alarm bells rang. She walked over, squeezed in front of the tattooed man, linked her arm through the girl’s arm, and said, “Baby, how come you also have time to come drink today?”
Being suddenly linked by a stranger, Shu Run was startled and was about to struggle when she heard the other woman lean close to her ear and whisper, “Someone is following you from behind.”
Anticipating her reaction, Zhuang Fuyao added, “Don’t turn around.”
Shu Run’s heart raced as she walked the whole way in nervous fear.
The tattooed man could not find an opportunity and left in boredom.
After returning from the restroom, Shu Run finally relaxed. “Thank you. I’ll treat you to a drink.”
Zhuang Fuyao was just about to say there was no need when, in the next second, she saw the girl, completely unguarded, about to pick up the unfinished drink from earlier. She quickly stopped the glass. “If you’re drinking alone, then after going to the restroom, don’t keep drinking from the glass you didn’t finish.”
Shu Run nodded, seeming to half understand. After a while, with an extremely long delay, she asked, “Why?”
“……”
Zhuang Fuyao gathered her thoughts. “When you went to the restroom, no one was watching your drink. Who knows whether someone might have tampered with it? There are all kinds of people in society…”
As she said this, she felt she was getting a bit long-winded herself. “Anyway, try not to come drink alone in the future.”
Shu Run’s cheeks were flushed red from the alcohol. When she smiled, her eyes were bright. Sensing the other party’s goodwill, she nodded obediently. “I’m not alone. My friend will be here later.”
“Mm.”
Zhuang Fuyao planned to stay seated until her friend arrived before leaving, but she did not expect this girl’s alcohol tolerance to be so poor. After drinking just a little, she started talking drunkenly and crying while hugging her.
Song Qing rushed over after receiving the message. She searched around and finally found Shu Run in the arms of a beautiful woman. She pulled her over, preparing to take her home.
Shu Run refused to leave. “I’m not going back. I’m staying here until I’m completely drunk!”
Song Qing: “……”
Song Qing tried but could not move her, so she gave up, sat down beside her, ordered herself a drink, and clinked glasses with the beauty next to her. “Sorry, my friend isn’t in a very good mood today, and her drinking manners aren’t great either. She disturbed you just now.”
“It’s fine.” Zhuang Fuyao had originally wanted to drink to drown her sorrows anyway. Now that she had company, she ordered another strong drink. By the time she finished drinking, she was a little tipsy herself. “You said just now that she’s in a bad mood. Why is she in a bad mood?”
Shu Run cried while speaking. “I’ve been with my boyfriend for four years. He said before that we’d get married after graduation, but now it’s been several months since we graduated. Whenever I mention his family, he hesitates. The gap between our family backgrounds is too big. His family seems to dislike me…”
Shu Run complained in a muddled, hazy way.
Zhuang Fuyao felt indignant when she heard this. With the alcohol going to her head, she scolded the man’s family. “They’re just snobs who look down on people!”
Song Qing let out a drunken hiccup and agreed. “Even if we’re not as rich as his family, we’re pretty, motivated, and full of positive energy. If the relationship works, keep it going. If it doesn’t, move on to the next one!”
After being comforted for a while, Shu Run’s mood improved a lot. She delicately noticed that the beautiful older sister’s mood also seemed off and asked her, “What about you? Have you run into anything troubling lately?”
Perhaps the bar at night was too enchanting. Listening to the guitar playing a sentimental love song, Zhuang Fuyao’s desire to confide gradually overflowed.
“As for me…” Her alcohol-addled brain was slower than usual. Zhuang Fuyao thought for a moment before managing to explain it clearly. “I want to get back together with my ex-husband, but I don’t know which direction to work toward.”
In her view, she and Liang Huaixu had still been deeply in love just half a month ago. But from a time perspective, this was already sixteen years later. The current Liang Huaixu held a high position of power, had shed his youthful immaturity, and gained the charm of a mature man. Compared to his former self, he also did not smile much anymore.
She felt unfamiliar with this version of Liang Huaixu.
“Wow!” Both Song Qing and Shu Run were shocked. “Sister, go look in the mirror. With a face like yours, if you go chase someone, which ex-husband could refuse you?”
Being praised so bluntly made Zhuang Fuyao laugh. “But we haven’t seen each other in a long time. Should I maintain some sense of boundary as an ex-wife?”
“Sister, you…” Song Qing paused. “Did you cheat during the marriage?”
Zhuang Fuyao was shocked and shook her head. “No.”
Regarding this point, although the plot had not mentioned it, she believed she was not the kind of person who would cheat.
“Then did he cheat?”
Zhuang Fuyao shook her head even harder.
She might doubt her own character, but she would never doubt Liang Huaixu’s character. He had always been strict with himself and lenient with others. After being with Liang Huaixu for so long, she knew his character very well.
“Then what are you still hesitating about!” Song Qing was a theoretical master when it came to relationships, analyzing it point by point. “Whether you pursue him or not is your business. Whether he accepts or not is his business. Besides, there are techniques to pursuing someone. You don’t need to be so straightforward. You have to make him feel like you might like him, but he’s not sure. In the end, he’ll rack his brain trying to figure out what you’re thinking…”
After that, the three of them chatted about various random things. By the end of the conversation, they came to a conclusion.
“Women still need to focus on building their careers. As long as you don’t put all your thoughts on men, you won’t become overly anxious about gains and losses.”