Chapter 106: The Difference Between Cousins
A/N: 2ch a day resumes tomorrow! Sorry sorry, I was out of the country for a week and it’s super hard to write and edit on the phone, esp. when I was dead tired high
...
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The lovely, introspective atmosphere was shattered, however, when a customer passing by suddenly stopped her tracks.
She whipped her head in the direction of Naia’s table, stomping over with a self-important expression on her face.
"What are you doing here?" a shrill voice came from the side.
Naia’s eyebrows furrowed, but only because it did not sound good. She had actually felt the hostile look but just chose to ignore it because she didn’t want to soil the food she was eating. It was, after all, the beat braised pork she had so far—
"YOU! NADIA!"
Naia was a bit surprised to see who it was.
This was none other than the fallen cousin Perdita and she still looked like a peacock.
A slightly more desperate peacock.
For one, she had become more gaunt (which was saying a lot since this girl went on various diets before). The makeup she put on could not cover her eyebags and pimples.
She was holding the arms of a middle aged flabby bastard who was now leering at Naia.
It was a sticky and disgusting stare.
Carina was with a playboy decent-looking rich kid, the cousin’s strategy was the same except with far lesser success.
Or could she say the latter was more willing to endure hardship?
Technically speaking, Carina’s situation was much harsher.
Not only was her father was in prison, and the company’s reputation was in shambles, the entire family business was now being investigated for various things, mostly tax evasion.
Sommehow, due to the investigation on Houser, a lot of things had been unearthed, and ones involving other people, and they were now even gearing for their lives, in case those gangs and other dark area groups decided to get rid of the family.
The accounts had been frozen and the two had been forced to live on their own.
She had no idea what Carina had been up to with that rich rakehell beue of hers, especially after that attempted murder she witnessed, but she’d probably find a way to slither out of it.
As for Perdita, they should still have some properties. Not to mention, the crimes were far less than what Houser was being charged with. There shouldn’t be powerful gangs targeting them, either, at least not the powerful ones.
However, somehow, Perdita was always in a much worse condition.
Tsk, tsk. There was indeed a lot of difference a brain could make.
For example, the brainless one had once again decided to poke trouble to herself again.
"Anwer the question!"
"I have no obligation to do that," she said, casually following up on her takeout order with a waitress passing by.
Perdita, who thought she could finally recover after so much hardship, saw her sworn enemy living leisurely in a restaurant she shouldn’t have been able to afford.
She let go of her lover’s arm to grab Naia’s, as if to drag her out of the table, but Naia avoided her just in time, causing her to fall down on the table, her face smack on her leftovers.
Naia rolled her eyes.
What an idiot.
She stood up and followed the waitress, whose face was also baffled and offended for Naia, so she was even more mindful than before.
Perdita’s ears were ringing in shock and anger. Worse, when she turned back to see her lover, not only did he look at her in disgust but his lecherous eyes also followed Naia!
Her mind buzzed and reason snapped.
She didn’t suffer so much just to lose her remaining hope at this juncture!!
"HEYYYYY!!" She screamed like a shrew, almost by instinct. Fortunately, the waitress blocked the way and even called in a nearby waiter.
This scene attracted the attention of every customer on that floor.
This included one of the people at a private room, whose door was just a few meters away.
Several people went out of the door to see what was happening at this high-end restaurant. "What is going on?"
A pretty woman with blonde hair approached along with a few others. They were all dressed beautifully and handsomely.
Many of them were wearing things with big brands, but the woman in the middle was not.
She was wearing a bespoke dress, which was far more expensive than those branded ones.
"We got unlucky and encountered a shrew. You can check the CCTV."
The lady looked troubled, and then turned to face Perdita’s middle aged lover. "Is this the person you’re introducing to me to become my assistant?"
"This...I..." he paused, eyes passing over Perdita’s messy appearance, and his eyes flickered. At that moment, he came to a decision.
"No, Miss Sarah, it seems like I don’t have anyone to introduce to you today. I’m sorry for barging into your dinner, please continue, I will take my leave."
Perdita looked at the man, aghast. "HONEY!?" She pushed herself up, tumbling a few times due to her high heels, and did her best to follow after the man.
Unfortunately, the man walked much faster than her clumsy walk, so she would definitely find it hard to catch up.
Naia was a bit curious but didn’t really care enough to stay. If Perdita got kicked down now, she might desperately try to cling to her instead.
Unexpectedly, when she was about to head out and do her own business, her peripheral vision saw another familiar face. She was with that Sarah lady, seemingly as part of her entourage.
Carina?
Is everyone in this city now?
But the woman pretended not to know her, so Naia naturally didn’t bother with her anymore.
Otherwise, if she decided to be an idiot, Naia would have said to Sarah: "It’s best not to associate yourself with trash. This one’s sticky. It will cling."
However, she didn’t know anyone in that group, so... whatever.
...
Carina’s palm was pretty much bleeding now, trying to stop herself from speaking.
She wanted to confront Naia, but she knew she couldn’t make a scene. That other girl causing such disturbance already affected the Lady’s mood, and she couldn’t afford Miss Sarah to be in a low mood.
Later, when she finally found time to be alone with the woman, Carina immediately adopted her most pitiable look.
"Please, Lady, my family is innocent! Please help me...we will do whatever you need."
"I told you that it is not my scope," she said, her eyebrows furrowing as if just realising what this meeting was about.
"I only met with you because Blaine asked me, providing some benefits for my charity. Anything more is presumptuous."
"If...if you could let us meet your father—"
Slap!
"My father is the minister of defense. Do you think he handles cases like this? Even if he does, are you trying to make us break the law for you?"
"Nono! That is not what I mean, please," Carina pleaded, eyes glistening with tears. If a typical man was in front of her, they’d likely given way. Sad for her, Sarah was not just an insightful woman, she was also trained in politics from a young age.
What feminine strategy had she not seen?
Perhaps she should warn Blaine about this one.
...
Naia spent the next two days shopping, primarily those related to seaside living. She even rented a yacht.
She rented it for two months and placed them in the space next to the yacht she got from the stepmum.
No matter what she was buying or planning to buy, she also spent a lot of money on food. She bought a lot of pre-cooked ones, too.
Sea people naturally knew how to cook seafood best.
She also bought a large amount of basics and some other things that were cheaper because they were next to the port.
She even bought not one, but two...popcorn machines.
There were some abandoned or unclaimed containers with its contents sold off for cheap. She got a lot of random things including small fans, massage chairs, and so on.
Speaking of containers, by this time, the container houses had already appeared and were set up.
They were arranged according to an initial plan, so the houses together looked like a lovely neighborhood with ample open spaces in between.
The aquariums were also done, complete with the fishes and sea life she requested. Those that had to be separated had their own small aquariums, too, and there were provisions to connect the aquariums together if she wanted to.
Anyway, soon, it was finally time to head home. Despite frequenting great restaurants here (and taking out hundreds of orders by the way), she still missed grandma’s simple cooking.
Unexpectedly, as she entered Lotus Town, she received a call from an unknown caller.
It was a rough, menacing voice. She could tell at an instant that he was up to no good.
"Hey, Miss, wanna see your twin cousins?"
