Chapter 11

Dinner was already prepared, but Father Zhai still hadn’t returned.

Mother Zhai was clearly distracted and had no appetite even when looking at the table full of dishes.

Zhai You and Jiang Bailu were both upstairs. Mother Zhai looked up more than once, but in the end, she only let out an irritated sigh and asked the butler, “What do you think of that girl?”

The butler had started working for the Zhai family when he was very young.

It could even be said that he had watched Zhai You grow up, and he cared more about Zhai You than he did about his own children.

He answered honestly, “Young Miss looks like she likes her very much. I don’t care what kind of person she is, as long as she doesn’t hurt Young Miss.”

As for everything else, as long as Zhai You was happy, that was enough.

Mother Zhai fell silent for a while. “Even you can think that way. As Youyou’s biological mother, of course I don’t want her to be unhappy either.”

“You also know that Youyou was in poor health when she was little and often fell unconscious. Back then, I invited an expert, and only then did Youyou gradually improve. What that expert said—I still remember it even now.”

The butler also remembered that incident.

The two of them silently recalled what had happened until Zhai You, summoned by a servant, came downstairs with Jiang Bailu.

“Let’s eat first.” Mother Zhai temporarily put aside her worries and gestured for Zhai You to sit.

After sitting down, Zhai You thoughtfully pulled out a chair for Jiang Bailu as well. This time, Jiang Bailu smiled sweetly and sat down with a slightly shy expression, making Mother Zhai’s chest tighten.

Since when had this child ever been this considerate toward her own mother?

Most of the dishes on the table were vegetarian. The chef had followed Zhai You’s instructions.

Most people in this household spoiled Young Miss Zhai.

Besides the various vegetarian dishes, there were also dishes Zhai You liked. Even though she had said she didn’t have much of an appetite, they had still prepared them.

The butler placed the braised pork ribs in front of Zhai You, then walked over to Mother Zhai’s side to serve her food.

Ribs.

Zhai You stared straight at them and, with absolutely no dignity, immediately started craving them.

She made a little slurping sound and thought, As expected of nouveau riche. None of that stingy little-plate nonsense. This bowl of ribs is huge. I can gnaw on these for ages.

She genuinely loved this.

Zhai You picked up her chopsticks.

She had been dirt poor in her previous life and rarely had the chance to eat at restaurants, while her own cooking skills weren’t good enough to make them herself.

It had been so long since she’d eaten ribs.

Zhai You loved this dish. Looking carefully, she could tell it had clearly been specially prepared for her. She hadn’t expected the original owner’s tastes to be so surprisingly similar to her own.

She had just picked up a rib and placed it in her bowl when she suddenly realized she had forgotten something.

Jiang Bailu hadn’t picked up her chopsticks. She was only looking at Zhai You, then at Mother Zhai.

Mother Zhai sat there with a stern expression, saying nothing, looking as though the moment Jiang Bailu touched her chopsticks, she would unleash her temper. It was enough to make anyone feel intimidated.

There really had been a scene like this in the original novel. Mother Zhai had stared at Jiang Bailu for a long time. [Read on BaiLianTales]The moment Jiang Bailu made a move, she started mocking her for having no manners and only knowing how to shamelessly force her way into the Zhai family.

The original owner, meanwhile, seemed to have been angry because Jiang Bailu hadn’t cooperated in bed. She had coldly eaten her favorite dishes and watched from the sidelines.

Using this kind of emotional abuse to break down Jiang Bailu’s psychological defenses.

Thinking of this, Zhai You looked at the rib in her bowl and thought that since Jiang Bailu didn’t like ribs anyway, she wouldn’t offer her any.

It would be awkward if she did.

Looking toward Jiang Bailu’s seat, one could see that the butler had deliberately placed the dishes farther away from her. At that distance, if Jiang Bailu wanted to eat, she would have to stand up to reach them.

And the moment she stood, Mother Zhai would mock her for having no manners.

If she didn’t stand up, she could only suffer in silence and eat plain rice.

This was way too much bullying.

Zhai You quickly glanced at Mother Zhai and the butler. After observing them both, she simply and unreasonably dragged several plates of vegetarian dishes directly in front of Jiang Bailu.

She only knew that Jiang Bailu liked vegetarian food. She ​Read on BaiLianTales​didn’t know what specific dishes she preferred.

So she simply dragged all of them over.

Mother Zhai looked at the now-empty space in front of herself: “……”

“Eat. You’re too thin. Eat more.” Zhai You frantically piled food into Jiang Bailu’s bowl, a little of everything.

“That’s enough…” Jiang Bailu moved her lips weakly. If Zhai You kept piling food on, it was going to turn into a mountain.

Meanwhile, Mother Zhai’s expression grew uglier and uglier.

Zhai You directly stood up.

She would not neglect either side!

So she personally began serving Mother Zhai food too.

Only then did Mother Zhai’s mood improve somewhat. She gave a small huff and said pointedly, “This is the first time my daughter has ever served me food. How touching.”

“Touching?” Zhai You acted as though she hadn’t understood. “Then I’ll give you more. If ​stolen content​there’s anything you want, just tell me and I’ll get it for you!”

The butler, who had originally been serving Mother Zhai, silently withdrew.

Let Madam and Young Miss spend some quality time together.

Zhai You: “……”

And just like that, Zhai You worked hard serving food to both sides. By the time she finally sat back down, even the ribs on the table had gone a little cold.

Forget it.

It didn’t matter if she suffered a little. The relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had to be handled properly.

She really was such a sensible little genius.

Jiang Bailu ate delicately without speaking. From the corner of her eye, she noticed that Zhai You really liked eating ribs.

Upstairs, Zhai You had told her,

“To put my mother at ease, I need you to cooperate with me a little.”

Because of the contract, Jiang Bailu had nodded and agreed.

So just now, she had gone along with Zhai You and made intimate gestures to mislead Mother Zhai.

Since they were supposed to be intimate, she couldn’t only focus on eating by herself. If Zhai You could go this far just to fool Mother Zhai, then she couldn’t fall behind.

If she was going to act, she had to perform the role properly.

The ribs were right in front of Zhai You, so if Jiang Bailu picked one up for her, it would seem a little fake.

Jiang Bailu guessed that Zhai You simply liked eating meat. She looked around the table and noticed that besides the ribs, there was another meat dish.

“You should eat too.” Jiang Bailu picked up some food with her chopsticks and placed it in Zhai You’s bowl.

Zhai You spared a moment to glance at her.

Then she lowered her head again and continued eating, giving a quiet “Mm.”

The room suddenly became a little too quiet.

This meal truly was torturous. Jiang Bailu held her chopsticks, but no matter how good the Zhai family chef’s cooking was, she no longer had the mood to keep enjoying it.

And Mother Zhai was deliberately making the atmosphere even more tense, so naturally, she had no intention of breaking the silence.

Jiang Bailu’s gaze gradually shifted toward Zhai You, as though time only passed faster when she looked at her.

Zhai You held her chopsticks steadily, picking up a rib and beginning to gnaw on it. Her movements were quick, but still refined.

Her hands were beautiful. One glance was enough to tell they belonged to someone raised in luxury. There wasn’t a single callus on them, and seemingly not even a scar. They were exceptionally smooth and delicate.

Zhai You really did have the appearance suited for modeling.

Those hands alone would be more than enough for her to work as a hand model.

Beautiful, yet very strong.

Jiang Bailu froze for a moment, then put down her chopsticks. “I’m full.”

She was waiting for Mother Zhai’s harsh rebuke, but instead, a voice sounded from behind her.

“I’m back late.”

In the midst of her busy eating, Zhai You lifted her head from her bowl and turned around.

The person who had spoken was very tall, with long legs as well. In only a few strides, she reached the dining table, then naturally slipped an arm around Mother Zhai and pulled her slightly into her embrace.

Zhai You stared at the scene, momentarily stunned.

Only belatedly did she remember—

This was an ABO world.

It was the original novel’s fault for barely describing cannon-fodder characters. Zhai You only knew that the original owner’s parents had treated Jiang Bailu badly.

But she hadn’t known that her parents—

Were a female Alpha and a female Omega…

The rib dropped back into her bowl with a clatter.