Ever since the private detective she hired gave her the results, Ren Suya's attitude toward her husband had turned for the better again.
Kong Liji did not stop her.
The phone was quickly answered.
"Dear, what's going on?"
"Our daughter wants to treat us to dinner. Can you make it back tonight to dine together with us?"
In the mall in Hangzhou, the moment Kong Liju uttered "dear" on the phone, Kong Lian immediately pricked up her ears to eavesdrop. After hearing the other person's words, she pouted pitifully, giving her father a woeful look.
Seeing his daughter's pitiful appearance, Kong Liji said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Something's come up that's tricky. I can't make it back for the time being. Next time, next time I'll keep you two company."
Ren Suya nodded understandingly, "Alright. Pay attention to getting some rest, don't overexert yourself."
"Mm, I will."
The call ended. This result was not surprising at all to Ren Ran.
It would be truly surprising if he agreed.
"Your dad can't make it back. Let's go next time." Ren Suya didn't want her husband to be absent.
Ren Ran walked over and affectionately put her arm around hers, "Mom, just because Dad can't make it back, does that mean we mother and daughter can't spend time together? You love Dad, not me."
"Alright, alright, I'll go with you."
Ren Ran called Gao Ying and had her personally drive them. From Haishi to Hangzhou took just over two hours. When Gao Ying saw the location the young miss had sent, she was rather surprised.
After the car left the city and got on the highway, Ren Suya was somewhat puzzled.
"Ranran, where is this restaurant you picked that you have to travel so far just for a dinner? You still have school tomorrow." Ren Suya considered things for her.
"Mom, this one dinner is more meaningful than going to school."
"Just what is it you're selling in that gourd of yours?"
She smiled without answering.
After passing the toll gate and entering Hangzhou, it was around 5pm already. According to the location Xu Zhaoyin had sent, it was a private kitchen.
Looking at the tastefully decorated private kitchen before her, Ren Suya didn't see anything particularly special about it.
When Xu Zhaoyin saw his employer arrive, he had originally intended to go up to her, but upon seeing the person accompanying her, he silently halted his footsteps and sent her a message.
[Your dad went in with them about ten minutes ago. Reservations are required to get in here, so I can't go in. I'm not sure which private room they're in.]
Ren Suya reflexively moved to go inside, but Ren Ran didn't budge. She turned her head to look at Gao Ying.
"Sis Ying, please help us get some takeout food packed up, a mix of meat and vegetables, as long as it's clean and hygienic."
Ren Ran looked all around them, then brought her mother over to sit on a bench outside a storefront across the street. This spot perfectly allowed an unobstructed view of the entire private kitchen.
Sitting on the bench behind them was none other than Xu Zhaoyin.
They exchanged a knowing look with each other.
Ren Suya truly could not figure out what her daughter was trying to do.
Gao Ying brought over the takeout, and the three of them ate inexpensive fast food straight from the plastic containers.
This was Madam Ren Suya's first time eating this kind of fast food.
"Ranran, is this the tasty food you wanted to take me to eat?" Ren Suya could hardly believe it.
"Mm," Ren Ran nodded. "Mom, this food is really tasty, it has the scent of mundane life."
Watching her daughter heartily shovel down the food, Ren Suya felt she was not even as good as her own child.
She tasted a couple bites - the flavor was a bit heavy, with too many seasonings added, but seeing her daughter eat with such relish, she got over the initial discomfort and slowly adjusted to it.
The three ate their boxed meals in silence.
After finishing their meals, seeing that she still wasn't leaving, Ren Suya followed her gaze to look at the private kitchen across the street.
"Ranran, is there something you're hiding from me?"
"Mom, how many kinds of emotions might one experience in their lifetime?"
Ren Suya looked deeply at her for a long while before answering, "Familial love, romantic love, friendship, mentorship, and so on."
"Out of those emotions, which do you feel is the most indispensable?"
She did not answer, instead asking back doubtfully, "Ranran, just what is going on?"
"Mom only needs to answer my question."
Ren Suya suppressed the doubts in her heart, and after brief consideration, said, "Familial love."
Ren Ran then recounted some allegorical stories, that even the most obtuse person would understand what was about to happen.
"Is he inside?"
The "he" went unsaid.
Ren Ran nodded.
At this time, a family of three walked out of the private kitchen - a middle-aged man and woman affectionately walking arm in arm, and a chattering girl at their side. Any outsider seeing this scene would certainly think they were a happy family.
Only the people involved knew that they were an existence that could not see the light of day.
Watching her husband be so intimate with Ruan Fengru, the heart of Ren Suya, which had just begun to heal, split open inch by inch.
Kong Liji caringly opened the car door for Ruan Fengru, and even kissed her on the face before getting in. That sweet atmosphere, who could watch without envying their affection?
The three got in the car and quickly left the premises.
They were still unaware that a group of spectators had witnessed the entire tender scene of their affectionate family of three.
Upon seeing Mr. Kong come out with another woman, Gao Ying was not surprised at all, and was even more convinced when she saw Ruan Fengru.
She had known all along that the person the young miss had asked her to investigate must not be simple, not to mention that in the process of investigating she had also caught a whiff of some unusual business scandals, even intricately tied to the group headquarters.
Sensing her mother's slight trembling, Ren Ran hugged her, pillowing her head on her shoulder, and softly said, "Mom, did you see that girl by his side?"
Ren Suya had naturally noticed her.
"She transferred into our class this year, her name is Kong Lian. She said her dad is called Kong Mingcheng, she gets 500,000 in monthly allowance, her dad often buys her jewelry and handbags, and she gets picked up and dropped off every day in luxury cars..."
As she recounted, the words her daughter had whispered in her ear in the past floated clearly through her mind.
Ren Suya raised her eyes brimming with tears and looked at her daughter.
Illegitimate daughter, picked up and dropped off in luxury cars.
Her daughter took the bus every day.
Illegitimate daughter, 500,000 in monthly allowance.
Her daughter only had 50,000 monthly.
Illegitimate daughter, frequently receiving jewelry and handbags.
Thinking back now, the gifts he had given their daughter, Ren Suya's heart felt like it was being sliced to pieces.
What bullshit about not letting her become prodigal and instilling values about money in her, it was all excuses.
Why should an illegitimate daughter be treated better than her own daughter?
Why should something that could not see the light of day supersede her own daughter?
She was the heiress of the Ren family, not that illegitimate child.
The husband she had thought loved her actually treated their own daughter so poorly behind her back, wrapping it prettily with glossy packaging, making them ingest poison wrapped in candy coating.
"Ugh..."
Ren Suya suddenly pushed Ren Ran away and hurriedly got to her feet, walking under a roadside tree, bracing herself against the trunk as she dry heaved.
Seeing her mother so uncomfortable, Ren Ran's heart ached.
Had she been too cruel?
But thinking of her mother's fate in the future, she suppressed that hint of remorse.
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