Chapter 30

On the other side, Lu Yao was in the middle of a meeting, already swamped with work, when her phone started blowing up with calls from an unknown number. She rejected them all, but then Shen Zhirou called a few times too, which irritated her beyond measure. Whatever it was, couldn’t they just wait until she got home to discuss it? Why did they have to disrupt her work? In a burst of frustration, Lu Yao simply powered off her phone. Out of sight, out of mind.

Meanwhile, Ning Lei wasted no time. The moment Ning Jianfang finished her call, he hopped in the car with Liu Fengxia and drove off to pick her up. The three of them soon pulled up in front of the New District Construction Group’s office building. Ning Lei found a spot along the curb, parked, and they headed inside together.

Ning Jianfang took a quick look around the lobby and strode up to the reception desk.

“We’re here to see your CEO Lu—Lu Yao,” she said, puffing out her chest like they were old friends.

The receptionist glanced at Ning Jianfang. “Do you have an appointment? If not, you’ll need to schedule a time with CEO Lu first.”

“Do I need an appointment to see my daughter’s girlfriend? What’s with all the hassle? Call Lu Yao and tell her to come down and get us.” Ning Jianfang spoke in a haughty tone, chattering away at the receptionist.

Unable to shake her off, the receptionist picked up the phone and dialed Jiang Chen. “Assistant Jiang, there are some people downstairs who want to see CEO Lu. They say she’s their daughter’s girlfriend. Should I let them come up?”

“Hold on a second. I’ll check with CEO Lu,” Jiang Chen replied, frowning.

Jiang Chen hurried to Lu Yao’s office door, knocked a few times, and went in after hearing her say, “Come in.”

“CEO Lu, the front desk says Miss Shen’s mother is here. Not sure what she wants with you.”

Lu Yao was already on edge from those earlier calls. She could put up with Shen Zhirou throwing off her routine, but she drew the line at anyone else. To her, this was nothing but a pointless time sink.

Lu Yao picked up the office phone and called down to the front desk, exchanging a few words. The receptionist handed the receiver to Ning Jianfang. “CEO Lu wants to speak with you.”

“Alright, coming right up.” Ning Jianfang beamed, thinking this was her in. Her mouth stretched so wide it wouldn’t close.

Beside her, Liu Fengxia whispered to Ning Lei, “Leilei, look at your Second Aunt. Looks like your job hunt’s in the bag this time. Lu Yao wants to be with Zhirou, so she’s got to give your Second Aunt some face. And arranging a job? Piece of cake for someone like her.”

“Tch, you think? Who knew Shen Zhirou would actually come in handy.” Ning Lei scoffed lightly, a cocky glint in his eye as he started scoping out the New District Construction Group’s lobby like he already worked there.

Ning Jianfang took the phone, her face lit up with a smile. “Lu Yao, sorry to bother you at work. Auntie here’s got a little favor to ask. Zhirou’s too shy to bring it up with you herself, but since you two are together, Auntie doesn’t see you as an outsider. I’ll just come out and say it: my cousin from my maternal uncle’s family graduated college and still hasn’t found a job. I was wondering if you could hook him up with something here? We can talk details in person. You free now?”

Lu Yao’s brow furrowed deeper with every word of Ning Jianfang’s overly familiar chatter. She replied coldly, “Sorry, Auntie, but I don’t have the authority to assign jobs. All our hiring goes through HR with a proper process. I can’t help you. I’ve got work to do.”

With that, Lu Yao hung up. She then had Jiang Chen call the security team and asked them to “escort” Ning Jianfang and the others out of the building.

Ning Jianfang bristled at being hung up on by someone younger—it was an affront to her dignity. She demanded of the receptionist in a sharp voice, “Which floor is Lu Yao’s office on? We’ll go up ourselves. What’s so great about her? Thinks being a manager means she can ignore family? What kind of nonsense is this?”

Her voice suddenly spiked, drawing stares from people passing through the lobby.

The security team arrived promptly after Jiang Chen’s call. When Ning Jianfang saw four or five guards coming to usher them out, she only got louder. “Well, isn’t this something, Lu Yao? Dating my daughter and now you won’t even acknowledge your relatives? I’ll make sure Zhirou dumps you sooner or later. Hey, don’t grab me—I’ll call the cops if you lay a hand on me…”

Her racket filled the lobby, and the growing crowd of onlookers started murmuring.

“Who are those people?”

“Seems like CEO Lu’s girlfriend’s mom. What low-class behavior. How’d Lu Yao end up with family like that?”

“No idea, but if my partner’s family acted like that, I’d break up on the spot.”

“Exactly, taking advantage right at the company. How ridiculous.”

“What era is this? We still get to see shrewish street-brawling like that. With a mom like her, CEO Lu’s girlfriend can’t be much better. Maybe CEO Lu got set up in an extortion scam?”

“Very possible. CEO Lu is so pitiful, landing such a bloodsucking girlfriend.”

~~~

Lu Yao irritably set the documents aside and dialed Shen Zhirou. The moment the call connected, she demanded, “What the hell is going on? Why did your mom show up at my company? And asking me to arrange a job for your brother? That’s hilarious. Can’t you handle your own family drama? I told you I’m swamped these days—can you stop causing me trouble? Shen Zhirou, were those calls from you this morning about your brother’s job too? I’m telling you flat out: it’s impossible for me to hook him up with anything. Relay this to your mom—if she dares make another scene at the company, it won’t just be security showing her the door. I’ll have someone call the cops directly.”

Shen Zhirou’s face drained of color. She had truly underestimated her mother; the woman would do anything for Ning Lei.

Shen Zhirou felt her hand trembling around the phone, her slender fingers clenched tight. “I’m sorry. I told them not to bother you, but Mom wouldn’t listen. I called you earlier not to beg for a job for Ning Lei, just to warn you she might drop by. Anyway, I’m sorry—I didn’t keep my family in check and dragged you into this mess.”

“You know it’s a mess, good. I never want to see this shit again. Shen Zhirou, do you realize how absurd this is? No one with any self-respect would pull something like that. Make it crystal clear to you and your family: we’re just planning to get married. That doesn’t mean I’m adopting all your family’s baggage. What a goddamn waste of time.” With that, Lu Yao hung up.

Shen Zhirou’s right hand, still gripping the phone, had turned red. Her face was ghostly pale, her eyes unfocused. She and Lu Yao had finally been making progress—why did her mother have to sabotage it like this?

A chill seeped through Shen Zhirou’s entire body. The fragile harmony she’d maintained with her mother over the past few years lay shattered by this one incident. The harsh truth stared her in the face: Mom had only played nice after Shen Zhirou started working because she saw lingering “value” in her—just like now.

Shen Zhirou let out a bitter, self-mocking laugh and blinked back the tears brimming in her eyes. Crying wouldn’t fix a thing. She needed to head home and lay down the law: no more interfering with Lu Yao’s work.

Back at the office, Shen Zhirou got half a day’s leave from her supervisor and drove straight to her mother’s place. She had barely stepped into the stairwell when her mother’s shrill yelling echoed from inside the apartment.

Shen Zhirou knew dodging this wouldn’t make it go away. She had to set her mother straight. Steel yourself, she thought, and knocked on the door.

Kang Defa answered. Spotting Shen Zhirou, he gave an awkward greeting. “Zhirou’s here. Come on in—Ning Lei and the others are around.”

“What the hell is that Lu Yao? Dating my daughter and she has the nerve to disrespect me? Calling security to boot us out—I’ve lived this long and never taken that kind of crap. How can people like her even exist?” Ning Jianfang ranted loudly about her grudge against Lu Yao.

Liu Fengxia piled on from the sidelines. “Exactly! That Lu Yao struts around like she’s hot shit and won’t even deign to see us. Pathetic. Without Second Sis, there’d be no Shen Zhirou. Hey, speak of the devil—you’re here. Come judge this for us.”

Shen Zhirou eyed her chattering mother and aunt with cold detachment, suddenly realizing how foolish she’d been to ever crave warmth from her mom. From day one, to her mother, she was nothing but a convenient tool.

The clamor buzzed in Shen Zhirou’s ears like a swarm of hornets. She shouted, “Enough! All of you, shut it!”

Ning Jianfang jumped at the sudden volume, and even Liu Fengxia clammed up. The living room plunged into silence.

“Mom, do you have any idea how disrespectful that was today—to Lu Yao and to me? How do you expect Lu Yao and her family to see me now? As some desperate climber latching onto them? Or hauling around a pack of mooching relatives? Lu Yao’s just dating me—she owes Ning Lei jack shit for a job. And let’s be real, he’s twenty-five. What does he do besides leech and freeload? Go work at her company just to sponge off everyone? You people are ridiculous.”

“What do you mean by freeloading off your parents? Shen Zhirou, do you even know how to speak? Fuck, say that again.” Ning Lei angrily stood up from the sofa, clearly wanting to lay hands on Shen Zhirou.

Kang Defa held Ning Lei back. “What are you doing? We’re all family—do you really want to hit your sister?”

“I don’t have a sister like that. She’s completely useless, can’t even arrange a job for me, and she has the nerve to come back? Pfft.” Ning Lei spat in Shen Zhirou’s direction, but fortunately Kang Defa held him back, so he didn’t charge over.

“Exactly, what do you mean by that? Are you saying we’re bloodsuckers?” Liu Fengxia, unable to stomach it, moved to push Shen Zhirou, but Shen Zhirou grabbed her wrist with all her strength, gripping it until it hurt badly.

“You really are bloodsuckers. Mom, let me give you some advice: you’ve been a brother-supporting devil your whole life—what have Uncle and his family ever done for you? Or has kneeling for so long made you forget how to stand up and act like a human?” Shen Zhirou flung Liu Fengxia’s hand away and stared straight at Ning Jianfang.

A crisp “slap” rang out. Shen Zhirou felt a burning pain on her left cheek. She gave a self-mocking smile; she’d only told the truth, yet her mother had already turned the knife on her. In the end, she was the superfluous one in this family.