“Tsk! I’ll say whatever I want about my daughter. Don’t you try to control me.”
Mr. Zhou was rendered speechless by her response. Forget it, it’s best I don’t try reasoning with a woman.
“Speaking about being reasonable, our daughter must be dating now. I should pay more attention from now on.”
Mr. Zhou wanted to ask Luo Huimei to give Yan more space, but he did not say anything after weighing his options. After all, both mother and daughter have a much more intimate relationship than I do with Yan. I suppose they are able to discuss certain things better.
Yan did not eat much for the whole day and it was most probably due to her excitement, but she never felt hungry at all. On the contrary, she was energized and tried the dress after a shower. She realized from the start that the dress suited her perfectly—the waistline and positions of the shoulders of the dress fitted her snugly. The fashion designer was very willful because not only did he design dresses for young women, each design only came in one size. Besides, there was only one piece for each pattern and he never reproduced the same one.
As such, Yan was quite surprised that it fitted her well. This means that my figure isn’t too bad after all. I’m lucky because the dress would feel tight if I were any fatter. Thank God I didn’t have much to eat today. I’d have a large belly if I ate more food earlier and would just look ugly then.
The banquet was the day after tomorrow, so Yan dropped by the company as usual the next day. Despite coming on a daily basis, she still politely greeted the receptionist everyday before heading upstairs. However, when Yan arrived at the reception today, she realized that there were about six to seven women crowding the counter. They all looked like employees of the Han Group. Yan figured that something was happening, so she didn’t want to disturb them. However, someone stopped her. “Hey! Delivery girl, hang on!”
Delivery girl? Yan stopped dead in her tracks and she turned around to the source of that voice in confusion. Is she calling me? She scanned her surroundings but didn’t see anyone else delivering takeout. Upon realizing that, she pointed at her nose. The tallest girl in the group answered while nodding haughtily, “That’s right. I’m calling you. Come over here.”
Yan was unsure why the woman wanted to talk to her, but the former approached the latter out of courtesy. “How do you do? Can I help you?”
The rest of the group started to give Yan once-overs when she approached them, looking as if they were stripping her naked with their eyes since they openly appraised her from head-to-toe.
Yan was rendered speechless by their reaction. What is happening? She blinked her eyes as she stared blankly at the group of women who appeared out of nowhere. I’m not sure if I’m imagining things, but I feel as if these women are staring at me with hostility. However… When did I offend them?
The group stared openly at Yan. Since the female receptionist had described Yan as a plain and forgettable woman, the bunch of women envisioned Yan as an ordinary-looking woman. However, they were green with envy when they saw Yan in person.
That was because Yan wasn’t as ugly as they had imagined. In fact, she didn’t resemble an ordinary woman at all. Her style of clothing was simple and it was obvious that she placed more emphasis on comfort than appearance. However, her style did not work against her. On the contrary, she looked comfortable while her eyes sparkled with energy and her body radiated an unmistakable vigor. She’s unlike us, the working class. We all have dark eye bags underneath our eyes due to working late into the night. We might be using overpriced skincare products, but it’s nothing compared to naturally-produced collagen from our bodies.
Currently, Yan was the walking example of that look—her skin was so supple that it appeared delicate and fine, which made the group of women jealous of her. The group couldn’t complain about her appearance, so they started mocking her profession. “I heard you operate a ramen restaurant.”
Yan nodded. “Yeah, is there a problem?”
“None at all. Can you deliver some takeout for us since you’re delivering food for President Han on a daily basis?”
“That’s right. We want some ramen too. Please deliver some for me.”
Yan felt slightly embarrassed about this because she recalled a previous incident where she reprimanded Han Qing by claiming that she would be unable to survive without delivering food to customers. However, now that she thought about it, her profit from food delivery wasn’t much. There are lots of customers in the restaurant and I wouldn’t make much from delivering food. Dad would have to work extra hard in the restaurant. In fact, we’d be in trouble if he is stuck alone if there are any issues in the restaurant. That’s why I’ve decided to only deliver food for pre-existing customers. In fact, I might stop doing so all together. These people have clearly never been to my shop. “I’m so sorry, everyone. We are understaffed in the restaurant, so we won’t be providing any food delivery services in the future. If you would like to have a try, please drop by our restaurant in person.”
“What did you say? Are you not providing food delivery services anymore? In that case, why are you delivering food on a daily basis for President Han?”
“That’s right! What do you mean that you’re not providing food delivery services? Aren’t you coming over on a daily basis anyway? Could it be possible that… you don’t want to deliver food to us since we’re merely female employees of the company whom you can’t benefit from?”
The group of women exchanged glances before cackling laughter.
“That’s right. You’re not the President and you’re not a man either. There’s nothing to benefit from you, so why would she deliver food to you?”
“Sigh… Well, food delivery girl, are you trying to be Cinderella in real life?”
Yan was rendered speechless after hearing that. She never gave it much thought when they beckoned at her in the beginning, but now that she heard their constant jeering remarks while looking down at her arrogantly, she finally realized why there were so many women gathering around. It turns out there is something after all. They are… targeting me. She immediately realized what went on and her expression turned cold and distant as a result of their constant mocking and teasing. “How is it any of your concern whether I’m trying to be a real life Cinderella? I think you are the one trying to rise up the social ladder and that is why you can’t help but switch to attack mode on others.”
The crowd was stunned into silence, most probably because they never expected such a simple and obedient-looking girl to suddenly appear cold and distant while refuting them.
The female receptionist, who watched from the sidelines, felt secretly gleeful about the situation. I’ve been wanting to mock Yan, but I lacked the courage. Now that others are mocking her on my behalf, I can’t help but feel relieved. They are just being nasty with words, so it’s nothing to be overly concerned about. President Han has not acknowledged their relationship anyway, so why would he raise a ruckus over such a small matter? “What are you saying? Who is the one trying to be Cinderella here? You are just a food delivery girl. You don’t even have a proper job. What gives you the right to speak when you’re throwing yourself at every man available here?”
Yan glared at her coldly. “I earn a living with my capabilities. The era of class stratification is in the past. You merely found a relaxing job. Are you under the impression that you reap what you sow like you’re in the Qing Dynasty? Do you think that you are better than everyone else? Is that why you are constantly judging others?”
“How dare you!” The woman must have lost her temper and she was about to lay a hand on Yan.
Yan took a step back, but she stopped after mulling it over. “Go ahead and try to make a move on me. Let’s see who ends up humiliated. Besides, let me remind you that it’s time for my food delivery for President Han. If President Han doesn’t see me when it’s time…”
