It was as if nothing had ever happened; the two young toddlers were able to eat happily again as they chatted with each other about things that only toddlers knew.
"It's so good to be young... Forgiveness comes just like that..." Xiao Lei murmured and snapped her fingers for effect as she looked at them while eating her second slice of cake.
Han Ye nodded with a smile. "Kids have simpler things to argue about. These two even argued about whose turn it was to breathe once."
He patted Little Monkey and Mo Yuan on their heads when they looked up at him with mouths that were covered with chocolate sauce.
Angela Zhang smiled. "That must have been a funny argument."
"It was... until they tried to stop each other from breathing because they had 'dibs' on the air in the room," Han Ye said with a chuckle.
"If only they can be like this forever..." Xiao Lei sighed. "It's no fun to be an a.d.u.l.t..."
Han Ye smiled, but he did not say anything. He figured that she was probably thinking about her childhood that was relatively carefree.
Once the two toddlers were done eating, Han Ye took them to the washroom to wash their faces, leaving behind Xiao Lei, who was onto her third slice of cake, and Angela Zhang, who had only ordered a cup of iced latte.
"Are you sure you don't want to eat? You can have my last slice," Xiao Lei said as she gently pushed the last slice of chocolate banana cake toward Angela Zhang. This was her favorite, and she decided to eat it last. But seeing how thin Angela Zhang was, Xiao Lei felt that the woman needed it more than her.
Angela Zhang looked at the slice of cake that was pushed to her and sneered, "Not everyone can afford to get fat."
Xiao Lei rolled her eyes and said, "You won't get fat from a slice of cake."
She would never understand people who hated on a slice of cake just because it was slightly fattening. It was a heavenly, decadent slice of cake, for God's sake! Just eat some rabbit food for the next two days, and it would be fine!
"It's a good thing that you're married..." Angela Zhang smirked. "Otherwise, your husband would have left you... or did he not do that already?"
Xiao Lei was about to eat the last bite of the third slice of cake when she heard Angela Zhang's remark. Her jaw tightened as she glared at the woman opposite her. "I thought I heard you say something that might be a mistake, and I hope that I'm wrong. Would you mind repeating what you just said?"
"You didn't hear wrongly." Angela Zhang crossed her legs and glanced at Xiao Lei's body. She then said in a mocking manner, "Look at the way you eat. I bet your husband abandoned you because of your gluttony. Seriously, Ms. Xiao, if I were you, I'd refrain from pigging out. Otherwise, no man would ever want you."
"Angela..." Xiao Lei murmured in a low voice as she tried to control herself. The dessert fork in her hand was slightly bent because of the force that she unconsciously exerted upon it. At that moment, Xiao Lei felt like stabbing the fork in her hand somewhere... possibly in that woman's face.
As if she was a dense woman who could not tell the danger she was in at the moment, Angela Zhang continued, "And I hope you'd remember that Han Ye is my boyfriend."
She pushed the slice of cake back to Xiao Lei as she said in a low voice, "If you don't want any trouble to befall you or your son, I'd suggest you keep a distance away from him."
"Are you threatening me now?" Xiao Lei asked as she narrowed her eyes angrily at Angela Zhang. There was an urge in her to lash out, but she knew that it would only look bad at her. This woman had been pretending to be a weak woman, and given how blind Han Ye was at the moment, it would be obvious who he would side with... not that she cared, but she did not want anything to anger him, in case he decided not to take her along to City F or to the columbarium.
"I think you know what I'm doing now," Angela Zhang sneered. "Han Ye is a good and kind man. He doesn't even like you, and I know that because he told me you're an annoying, whiny woman who keeps bothering him. He was stuck with you because you're his neighbor, and he felt pity for you because of your circ.u.mstances. But if you keep taking advantage of him, I don't think I can just sit by and do nothing."
"Me taking advantage of him?" Xiao Lei scoffed and barked out a harsh laugh. "Haha! That's so funny when it comes from you!"
She then slammed the dessert fork that she was holding down and glared at Angela Zhang as she continued, "I'll do whatever I want to do, Angela Zhang. If I were you, I'd shut that pretty mouth up instead of spouting sh*t when you don't even know anything. I know what you've been doing the whole time; acting weak and sh*t. The things you supposedly like and hate... You are just pretending to be Yuexue and you're taking advantage of his lingering feelings for her!" Xiao Lei snapped.
Angela Zhang laughed harshly, totally unlike how she laughed when Han Ye was around. With a high and mighty expression, she sneered, "At least I'm not an abandoned woman like you. I'm sure your husband has enough of you and is out with other women now! A harlot like you who went around seducing men like Han Ye probably had a husband that was like you. He's probably... no! Definitely rolling around with other women who paid for his body."
"You!" Xiao Lei was unable to take it anymore. She could take anything, but this infuriating woman in front of her not only threatened her son's life, but she was talking sh*t about her beloved husband as well.
She slammed her hands down on the table and yelled, "How dare you talk about me or Yunjie as if you know us! And guess what, you're just a f*cking substitute for Yuexue!"
"Xiao Lei!"
When she heard the harsh voice, Xiao Lei cursed and turned around, and sure enough, Han Ye was standing behind her. If looks could kill, then that angry look on his face could have killed everyone in the room at the moment.
"I was only away for a while! Can't you behave yourself?" he scolded Xiao Lei as he grabbed the toddlers' backpacks. "Must you pick a fight every time I'm not there!"
Xiao Lei grabbed the hem of her shirt as she bit down on her lower lip while trying to defend herself, "She started it! She said-"
"I-I didn't!" Angela Zhang said in a sad voice as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked at Han Ye with a pitiful expression as she continued, "I tried to be nice to Ms. Xiao, but she kept threatening me because she doesn't think that I'm good enough for you..."
She then went to Han Ye and hugged him. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have argued with her. Ms. Xiao didn't mean her words, I'm sure of it. Please don't get angry."
Han Ye gently patted her back as he stared at Xiao Lei, who was staring back at him with a scorching gaze. "I don't want to talk about this now, not with the kids here. We'll talk later."
"Uncle Han..." Little Monkey and Mo Yuan called out in unison as they looked up at the tensed a.d.u.l.ts with worried looks.
Han Ye smiled and said, "It's fine. Nothing is wrong here. We are going back soon."
He then looked at Angela Zhang. There was a flash of anger in his eyes, as if he was blaming her as well, but it was quickly replaced by a doting emotion. With a forced smile, he said, "I'll send them back to the hospital first. Then I'll send you back."
"But I want to stay with you," Angela Zhang said with a soft voice as she held his hand.
Han Ye nodded, but he said, "I have something that I need to talk to you about later. The hospital is not a good place for us to talk."
With a sigh, she nodded. As they walked out of the store, she purposely bumped into Xiao Lei and murmured in a low voice, "I win."
Xiao Lei could only clench her teeth and fists as she walked out behind her. When she glanced at Han Ye, he did not even look at her. Instead, he purposely looked away from her.
xxx
[If you are not reading this at .com, then the content you're reading is stolen! Please support the author at #The-President's-Man]