No One Loves Me (GL) - Chapter 19

Lin Huilan woke up soon after, and the first thing she did was look at her daughter.

“What’s wrong with me? Why is it morning already?” Lin Huilan glanced at her surroundings. It wasn’t the food street or their home, but the cold white walls of a hospital. Confusion and worry filled her face. She blurted out, “Did I drag you down? Where’s the barbecue stand? Didn’t we sell barbecue last night?”

“You fainted last night,” Xin Geling said. “You inhaled too much of the barbecue seasoning and chili powder. Your airways became inflamed, and you had trouble breathing.”

“As for the barbecue stand, I brought it home. We didn’t sell everything.”

Lin Huilan was still worried about the meat. “Is it going to go bad? Did you put it in the refrigerator?”

“I put it in the refrigerator,” Xin Geling said. “It’s not spoiled. We can continue to sell it tonight.”

Lin Huilan was both regretful and emotional. “It’s all my fault for being so useless. Otherwise, we could have made a few hundred yuan last night. Let’s continue to sell barbecue tonight.”

Xin Geling’s eyes turned cold. “Mom, you’re not allowed to sell barbecue with me again.”

Lin Huilan couldn’t understand. “Why? Isn’t it better to have an extra pair of hands? Just because I fainted this time, you won’t let me sell barbecue? I can just wear a mask, can’t I?”

Xin Geling’s face turned cold. “I said no, and I mean it. I’m not joking.”

Lin Huilan saw her ugly expression and felt a little intimidated. But this was about making money, and they could make a lot of it. Compared to her minor illness, making money was more important.

So she tried to persuade her. “This illness is nothing. It’s just bronchitis. I’ll wear two masks to make sure I don’t inhale any of that chili powder.”

“You almost died last night,” Xin Geling said. “I almost lost you, Mom.”

Lin Huilan immediately fell silent, looking at her daughter like she had done something wrong. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

“I’ll sell barbecue by myself from now on,” Xin Geling said. “You can rest at home.”

“How can you… do that?” Lin Huilan’s voice got softer as she spoke.

Her daughter’s gaze was too domineering. Although her tone was the same as usual, her eyes were scary.

She remembered her daughter wasn’t like this before.

“Are you hungry?” Xin Geling asked. “I’ll go buy you some food.”

Lin Huilan shook her head and got out of bed. “I’m not hungry. Let’s go home and eat. Staying in the hospital must be expensive.”

Xin Geling saw how stubborn she was and could only swallow her frustration. “Okay, let’s go home.”

Xin Geling got up and helped her walk out of the hospital. Lin Huilan had just recovered from an illness, and her lips were pale.

After they left the hospital, they passed a breakfast stand. Xin Geling didn’t say anything and led her to sit down at an outdoor table. “Let’s eat breakfast first.”

Lin Huilan was unwilling. “It’s just a few steps. We’ll be home soon. We can eat when we get home.”

“It’ll take more than ten minutes to walk home from here,” Xin Geling said. “And you’ll still have to cook. It’ll be at least an hour before you can eat. Come on, sit down.”

Lin Huilan hesitated but sat down anyway. “I’ll just have some plain rice porridge.”

“Order whatever you want to eat,” Xin Geling said. “Don’t always think about saving money. You don’t get rich by saving money, Mom.”

Lin Huilan could only order a bowl of lean meat porridge with some fried dough sticks.

When the porridge was served, Lin Huilan took a sip and instantly forgot the hunger she had endured since yesterday afternoon. Her color slowly returned.

Xin Geling ate her own portion when she saw her mother eating with gusto.

After they had eaten, they went back home. Lin Huilan quickly went to check the refrigerator. When she saw the refrigerator filled with the skewers they hadn’t finished selling and grilling, her heart settled. It was a good thing they weren’t wasted.

Xin Geling told her to take a shower. “You should rest at home. I’m going to work.”

Lin Huilan nodded. “Okay. I’ll rest at home. I won’t cause you any trouble.”

Xin Geling was still worried. “Call me if anything happens.”

“I know,” Lin Huilan said. “What could happen to me?”

Xin Geling sighed and turned to go to the pet grooming shop.

Xie Zhitang’s kitten was still in the display cabinet. After two days apart, the kitten was no longer familiar with her.

Xin Geling scooped its poop, cleaned the cabinet, and refilled its food and water. The kitten gradually remembered her and started to warm up to her.

“Tangtang… look here,” Xin Geling said, holding a cat teaser in front of it. The kitten’s black, fluffy ears immediately perked up, and its head swayed back and forth with the bell on the cat teaser.

Xin Geling recorded a video and sent it to Xie Zhitang to update her on the kitten’s condition.

Tangtang: How is your aunt?

Xin Geling: She’s awake, but she’s a little weak. I told her to rest at home.

Tangtang: So your aunt can’t sell barbecue anymore? And she can’t eat food like barbecue?

Xin Geling: Mhm.

Tangtang: So, you’ll be selling barbecue by yourself from now on?

Xin Geling: Mhm.

At that moment, a customer came in, and Xin Geling had to put down her phone to greet them.

“Can you wash two cats?” the customer asked.

Xin Geling saw the two cats the customer was carrying. “Yes.”

“Can you deliver them to Jiajia Apartment after you’re done?”

“Which Jiajia Apartment?” Xin Geling asked.

There were many apartments with the same name nearby. It would be hard to find the exact location without a specific address.

“The one on Gangdeng Street, Lane Three,” the customer said.

Xin Geling checked the address. It wasn’t too far. “We can do that.”

The customer paid and left without a fuss.

Xin Geling took the two cats to the grooming room, ready to give them a bath.

However, after she had finished bathing the two cats and put them in the drying machine, she saw that the boss had returned.

He was carrying an airline carrier.

He put the carrier down and took out a tabby cat. He then opened a cabinet door in the display cabinet and put the tabby cat inside.

What Xin Geling didn’t understand was that there was already a boarding cat, a golden shaded cat, inside the display cabinet.

“Are they from the same customer?” she asked.

The boss looked at the display cabinet, his eyes full of calculations. “No. The golden shaded cat went into heat last night, so I’m here to find her a wife to relieve her.”

Xin Geling frowned. “What do you mean by ‘relieve her’?”

The boss saw that she didn’t understand and laughed at her for not knowing how to make money. “It’s for breeding. If my female cat gets pregnant with this golden shaded cat, the kittens that are born could be of a rare breed. I can raise them for a few days and then sell them for three or four thousand. It’s zero cost.”

The boss said the last three words with a smug look on his face.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the cabinet door was opened. A hand reached in, grabbed the tabby cat, and took it out.

The boss’s face turned pale, and he rushed forward to stop her. “What are you doing?! Put it back!”

But he was pushed away with a forceful shove. He stumbled back two steps. “Are you fucking crazy?! I’m your boss!”

Xin Geling held the cat with one hand, her eyes cold. “You’re an animal.”

The boss’s face turned from green to white. “You—you think I won’t fire you right now? You won’t get a single cent!”

“You think you can scare me?” Xin Geling asked.

The boss wanted to fight her but was stopped by her imposing aura. He didn’t dare to go forward, and his chest heaved up and down. “Give me the cat!”

Xin Geling glanced at the female cat in her hand. “Are you really selling cats’ wombs for money? Have you no conscience?”

“What’s it to you?! Get out of here right now!” the boss said.

“Give me my salary,” Xin Geling said.

“You want your salary?” the boss scoffed. “After how you treated your boss today? No way!”

Xin Geling looked at him for a moment, then took out her phone and called the owner of the golden shaded cat.

The boss’s eyes narrowed. He thought she was calling her rich friend. He rolled his eyes, full of disdain.

But when he heard what she was saying, he realized he had to stop her from exposing him to the customer. “Stop it right now!”

But it was already too late!

“I’m an employee at the pet grooming shop. Your golden shaded cat went into heat, and my boss secretly took it for breeding.”