During dinner, Luo Wei looked at the large spread of dishes on the table and couldn't help but furrow her brows. Why were they all her favorite foods?
Curious, Luo Wei glanced at the man beside her. Mo Huai narrowed his eyes and smiled, a smile as bright as the stars in the sky.
It turned out that they had already asked Mo Huai about her preferences, and the entire table was filled with food she loved. A warm feeling surged through her heart.
Her nose tingled, and she felt an indescribable sense of emotion.
“Weiwei, eat more; you're too skinny,” Mo's father said, placing a piece of chicken in her bowl with a bright smile.
“Okay, thank you,” Luo Wei responded, taking a bite of the chicken, which was tender and flavorful.
Mo Huai put on disposable gloves and started peeling shrimp, filling a bowl full of them and placing it in front of her. He even served her soup and let it cool down before offering it to her.
Seeing Mo Huai’s attentive and caring behavior, Fu Chen couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into him. Since when did the eldest son of the Mo family become so considerate?
Fu Chen's expression stiffened, and he shot Mo Huai a jealous glance, saying, “I want shrimp too.”
Fu Chen looked at Mo Huai with starry eyes, but the next words hit him like a bolt from the blue.
“No one’s stopping you. Get them yourself,” Mo Huai's cold voice rang out without even lifting his eyelids.
Fu Chen huffed, his lips curling upward as he mumbled, “I want them peeled.”
Mo Huai gave him a dismissive glance and asked disdainfully, “Do you not have hands?”
Fu Chen was left speechless, thinking to himself that it was true—Mo Huai would only be this considerate to someone he loved. Now, he felt like he had just consumed a ton of dog food.
Seeing the situation, Luo Wei quickly offered the peeled shrimp that Mo Huai had prepared to Fu Chen. “You can have them. I’m almost full.”
Fu Chen glanced cautiously at Mo Huai, who was indeed giving him a menacing look. He turned back to Luo Wei and forced a smile. “No need, these are from my cousin. I’m already full.”
Fu Chen emphasized the word “cousin,” indicating he was full of dog food.
Mo Huai was quite pleased with his response, his expression returning to its usual calm demeanor.
After dinner, Mo's mother leisurely pulled Luo Wei aside for a casual chat, starting from Luo Wei's childhood and moving on to how she and Mo Huai got married.
The two of them interacted like a harmonious mother and daughter, enjoying each other's company.
The tension Luo Wei had felt earlier gradually faded, and she finally experienced the warmth of family she had long missed.
At ten o'clock, Luo Wei and Mo Huai said their goodbyes to his parents and left the old house. Before they left, Mo’s father handed her a red envelope. Luo Wei tried to refuse, but in the end, she reluctantly accepted it.
In the luxurious Maybach, Luo Wei was in high spirits. She had worried in the past that Mo Huai’s parents wouldn’t like her, but it turned out she had been overthinking it.
Mo’s mother cared for her even more than her adoptive mother. When she thought of Zhu Shulan, Luo Wei couldn't help but frown but quickly pushed the unpleasant memories out of her mind.
Although Mo's father was serious and dignified, he cared more for her than Luo Jianguo ever did.
Luo Wei happily hummed a tune and swayed in her seat.
Mo Huai, focused on driving, had a satisfied smile on his face.
“Who would’ve thought your parents would like me this much?” Luo Wei said proudly, lifting her head.
“Yes,” Mo Huai agreed, “Weiwei is so lovable; it’s hard not to like you.”
Luo Wei pouted playfully, “You and your sweet talk.”
Mo Huai chuckled softly, glancing at her.
Bored, Luo Wei played with her fingers and suddenly thought of the red envelope in her bag. She took it out and ran her fingers over the surface.
“Other than receiving red envelopes during Chinese New Year as a child, I haven’t received one in a long time,” Luo Wei said casually, reminiscing about how her New Year’s money as a child was always just a few dozen yuan, while Luo Qianqian's was several thousand.
Luo Wei didn’t feel jealous and never asked her adoptive mother for more. She was content that her adoptive mother gave her any New Year’s money at all.
“Is that so?” Mo Huai raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never received a red envelope.”
Luo Wei looked at him as if he were an alien. “You never got New Year’s money as a kid?”
“No,” Mo Huai replied bluntly, adding, “When I was a kid, I didn’t have any concept of money. I had a private bank black card.”
Luo Wei nearly choked. Indeed, comparisons between people were odious. She clicked her tongue twice in disbelief.
Luo Wei continued to stroke the thin red envelope, thinking it must contain a hundred yuan. Out of curiosity, she opened it.
But instead of a hundred yuan, she found a check inside, and her eyes widened.
She pulled out the check and counted the zeros carefully: thousands, ten thousand... one million!
Luo Wei was stunned, staring at the check in disbelief. A one million yuan gift?
It took her a while to regain her composure, and she turned to Mo Huai, saying, “Your parents gave me a one million yuan check?”
Mo Huai smiled and confidently replied, “Because you’re worth it.”
Luo Wei’s hand trembled as she clutched the check. Although she had signed a contract with Mo Huai to receive one hundred million yuan before, she had never spent any of that money.
Since meeting him, she felt like money had become so easy to come by. In the past, she couldn’t have earned this much in ten lifetimes.
Luo Wei carefully placed the check back in her bag, making sure to press it down securely.
—
Luo Qianqian looked at her bank account, which only had a few hundred yuan left, and her anger flared up. She furiously swept the cosmetics off her vanity table, leaving the room in disarray.
A trace of malice flashed in her eyes as her WeChat vibrated. Luo Qianqian picked up her phone and opened WeChat.
“Qianqian, are you coming out this weekend?”
Luo Qianqian furrowed her brows before quickly typing a reply.
“Sure, I’ll be there.”
After replying, she locked her phone and clenched it in her hand.
Luo Qianqian walked into the living room, and Zhu Shulan looked up at her. “What was that noise in your room just now? What did you knock over?”
“Nothing,” Luo Qianqian replied with a sweet smile. “I accidentally dropped some skincare products.”
Luo Qianqian sat down beside Zhu Shulan and asked, “Mom, could you give me ten thousand yuan?”
She pouted and observed Zhu Shulan's reaction with her fair cheeks.
“What?” Zhu Shulan asked in surprise, raising her voice. “Didn’t I just give you twenty thousand last week? How did you spend it so quickly? What did you waste money on this time?”
Luo Qianqian steadied her temper and said with a pretense of sincerity, “Mom, I signed up for a course to learn about yoga and beauty treatments. I want to learn these skills so I can find a job and start earning money. That twenty thousand was used for the tuition.”
“Really?” Zhu Shulan was half-believing, half-doubting. Ever since the Luo family went bankrupt, they had been struggling financially, and Luo Jianguo couldn’t find a job.
“Of course,” Luo Qianqian said firmly. “Mom, I’ll make sure to earn a lot of money and take care of you in the future.”
Zhu Shulan smiled, her expression softening. “Alright, I’ll transfer you another ten thousand. Remember to study hard.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Qianqian excitedly hugged Zhu Shulan, grinning from ear to ear. “Thank you, Mom! I’ll study hard and earn lots of money to support you.”
“Good, my sweet daughter,” Zhu Shulan said, her smile deepening, unaware that this was the beginning of a descent into the abyss.
—--
T/N: I almost feel bad for her. Almost.
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