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墨書 Inktalez
Time passed quickly, and my parents had already made plans to return to our hometown. After I got home, they briefly reminded me to think carefully about whether I wanted to go back with them for the New Year. I shook my head bitterly.
"No, Mom and Dad, you go ahead. Have a good New Year, and let's not mention this to the relatives for now. Just enjoy yourselves and remember to take care of your health and safety. Don't stay up late. I'll make sure to call you."
I zipped up my mom's down jacket and helped her remove some stray fluff. Seeing that my parents were in good spirits, I didn't want to become a burden during their holiday.
I couldn't let my family have a bad New Year.
"Hey, Zhuang Jun, you need to take care of yourself too. Remember to call often so we won't worry about you, okay?"
I nodded with tears in my eyes: "I know. You two should head out now; it's almost time for the bus. I’ll take you there."
Carrying a large bag of luggage and several gift boxes for our hometown, I went downstairs just as Wang Xu called to ask what I was doing. I told him I was taking my parents to the station. Wang Xu sounded anxious: "Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I'm coming over to help take your parents there. Just wait for me downstairs."
I didn’t want Wang Xu to come over since the fact that I was pregnant was a lie that my parents knew about. My expression might unintentionally reveal my emotions when facing him, so I steeled myself and declined his offer.
"Forget it; I'm in a hurry and might be late. Who knows how long it will take for the bus once you get here? Just stay where you are; I'll call you when I'm done."
Wang Xu insisted for a moment, but after hearing my reasoning, he seemed to agree and stopped pushing. After hanging up, I followed my parents into a taxi. My mom held my hand in the back seat as if she felt something.
"Zhuang Jun, we’ll be staying in our hometown for about ten days or half a month this time; we might not come back early. If you have nothing else going on and want to come over, just do it. The relatives here are nice and never make things difficult for anyone. Just come without any pressure."
She probably worried that I would dread the cold remarks from our relatives. When I visited Wang Xu's hometown before, I had heard plenty of such comments about how the Wang family’s daughter-in-law couldn’t have children and brought misfortune upon her husband. Even though my mother-in-law didn’t say anything, I was angry too, so I rarely accompanied Wang Xu back into that mess.
"I know, Mom; don’t worry. Going back with Dad is just for relaxation—have fun and don’t think about me."
After dropping them off at the station, my dad finally spoke to me with concern about taking care of myself. I thought he must be upset with me but still managed to remind me before we parted ways.
Watching them leave, I turned to exit the station when Wang Xu called again, asking where I was. Since my parents had left, meeting Wang Xu alone shouldn’t be an issue. I gave him the station address and waited for him to arrive. He soon showed up, breathless as he grabbed my hand.
"Did your parents leave? Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I could have prepared something for them to take back for the elders at home! Never mind that now; have you eaten? It’s already noon! Let me take you out for something to eat so you don’t go hungry."
Wang Xu pulled me out of the station, insisting that we shouldn’t eat anything from there because it wasn’t hygienic. He insisted on taking me somewhere upscale instead. On the way, he couldn’t help but boast: "Honey, my stocks have gone up quite a bit! Just tell me what you want to eat; I'll take you out! Do you want to buy some clothes? And forget about shopping online; it’s all cheap stuff."
When Wang Xu was employed, he often complained about being broke; now that he had been fired, he acted like he was wealthy instead. I nodded without showing any emotion as I followed him, thinking that after years of feeling wronged, it was time to reclaim something—even if it was just a little bit—to restore some balance in my heart.
We chose a relatively upscale restaurant for lunch. Before entering, I hesitated out of habit and asked him if he really wanted to eat here. Wang Xu laughed heartily and wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we walked in: "Don’t worry! Your husband has plenty of money now; supporting you is no problem at all! Supporting the little one in your belly is no problem either!"
He patted his chest and confidently assured me. Watching him made my heart ache; he was just indulging in his verbal skills, so I let him be.
The food in the restaurant was quite tasty, and I had a hearty appetite, eating a lot. Wang Xu smiled at me, occasionally helping me with my dishes. Suddenly, a waiter approached and placed a jug of apple juice on the table, respectfully saying, "Here is your carrot apple juice. Enjoy."
"Wait," I called out to him, recalling our earlier conversation. I asked, "We didn't order this."
At that time, Wang Xu wanted to order drinks, but the freshly squeezed juices in the restaurant were always expensive. It wasn't that I didn't care about Wang Xu's money; I just didn't want to spend it on such things, so we didn't order it. Now that the waiter brought it over, my first thought was that the restaurant had made a mistake.
The waiter smiled and replied, "No, ma'am. This was sent over by the gentleman at the next table. The order has already been paid for. Please enjoy."
He pointed behind me, and I turned around 180 degrees to look. I saw no one familiar among the scattered customers in the restaurant. I glanced back at Wang Xu and asked him, "Who? Do you know them?"
Wang Xu looked just as puzzled and scanned the area in my direction. "No, I don't know anyone. Is there a mistake? Who would send juice over?"
Thinking about it, there were no familiar faces around. Even if Wang Xu encountered someone while working, it was unlikely they would be wealthy enough to cover the bill for this place. The chances of him knowing someone like that were slim; even in business circles, people usually exchanged pleasantries before making such gestures.
I felt a bit anxious and wondered if it could be... Lu Ming?
This was exactly the kind of place he frequented, and he had both the means and inclination to do something like this. If it really was him, I wouldn't know what to say; fearing Wang Xu might suspect something, I joined him in speculating about who sent it.
"Forget it; let's not think too much about it. It might really be a mistake. Nowadays, the wealthier people are, the more carefree they become. Maybe someone just wanted to show off a bit. Let them spend; we just need to enjoy our meal."
Hearing Wang Xu say this made me not want to guess mindlessly anymore. Since it was already like this, we continued eating and occasionally sipping on juice without feeling anything amiss until Wang Xu suddenly screamed in shock across from me, startling me. When I looked over, his face was filled with terror, which heightened my own fear.
"What’s wrong with you?"
"There’s something in the juice!" Wang Xu shouted loudly, summoning a nearby waiter. He angrily pointed at what was in front of him: "You come here! Look at this! Explain!"
Wang Xu's hand inadvertently blocked my view; I couldn't see clearly what it was until he finished scolding the waiter. Only then did I ask, "What is it?"
"Zhuang Jun, take a look." He picked up what was on the table and handed it to me. As I focused on it, my surprise matched his; lying in Wang Xu's hand was a White Maggot!
I felt my stomach churn violently as if everything I'd just eaten would come back up. This was what Wang Xu had fished out from his juice earlier; suddenly, I understood his anger—if he hadn't reacted first, I would probably be the one losing my temper now.
The waiter kept apologizing and even called over the manager. The manager came to understand the situation and grimaced as he said such things could never happen in their establishment. My temper flared: "Could never happen? Then explain what this is!"
Wang Xu suddenly poured the remaining juice onto the table with one swift motion. Watching as the juice flowed across the surface of the table revealed many things that were previously hard to see beneath its thin layer.
White Maggot.
There were probably several lying quietly on the table, and I turned away in disgust, starting to gag. Goosebumps covered my body; it was outrageous for such a thing to happen in such a large hotel!
Wang Xu was also agitated, standing up and grabbing the collar of the manager's shirt, shouting, "Look at this! Look at it yourself! Can you still explain that this didn't happen in your establishment? My wife is pregnant now, and if anything happens because of this, I will make you pay with your life!"
With bloodshot eyes, Wang Xu began to roar. The manager kept apologizing and explaining, eventually calling over the waiter who had delivered the juice. The waiter looked nervous and, under Wang Xu's terrifying gaze, explained with a hint of tears in his voice, "I delivered this juice, but I couldn't possibly have put those things in it."
"Then look at it! Can you really say we put these things in ourselves!?"
Although I felt irritated as well, I understood that a waiter wouldn't do something like this; he had no reason to harm us. It would only jeopardize his job and be thankless work. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I immediately asked, "Who sent this juice? How many people were there? Did it come directly from the kitchen or what?"
The waiter cautiously replied, "The customer didn’t say their name; they paid and told me to deliver the juice before leaving. There were three or four people—three men and one woman. The juice was already on their table. As for anything else, I really don’t know; it wasn’t made by me. I swear it wasn’t me."
After hearing this from the waiter, my bad premonition grew stronger. Once I calmed down and thought about it more deeply, I felt a sense of dread. This restaurant was not only frequented by Wang Xu and me; Lu Ming would also come here. There was another possibility: it could be them!
This thought became increasingly intense; I felt we were getting closer to the truth!
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