Reborn in the 80s, Get Rich by Eating Melons

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Really Dramatic Enough

The other family members had already gone to the hospital canteen, and it was only the four of them who had just set off. Every time Li Meiyu thought of people’s stunned expressions at the sight of Tong Yao, she felt as if a massive stone was weighing on her chest. However, she quickly put these feelings aside.

Today was Yu Shiya’s birthday, and the exuberant Tong Yao was upstaging the honoree. It was not a good thing; both girls were already vying for the same man. If they made a scene today, Tong Yao would completely offend Shiya, and she would undoubtedly suffer in the future. Upon this thought, Li Meiyu cheered up, walked confidently, head held high and stepping with a proud stride.

Upon noticing a sudden change in his wife’s demeanour, Liu Haisheng was filled with suspicion. She had looked as if she was about to explode after her encounter with Tong Yao, and now suddenly she was all better?

Women truly are strange creatures.

However, he had to admit, he was feeling a mixture of awkwardness and anxiety. He was unsure if Tong Yao knew about him suggesting divorce to Si Chen the other day. If she did and caused a fuss at Yu Shiya’s birthday dinner, he couldn’t avoid being implicated in the scandal.

Ah, he hope that Si Chen wouldn’t be so honest as to tell his wife everything.

Now it was the time for the evening meal after work. Besides some doctors in the inpatient department who needed to be on duty and couldn’t leave, almost everyone else was here. Cheng Yu was chatting with the other doctors’ family members in the canteen. Among them, Chen Yanmei was the most talkative, complimenting Cheng Yu whilst holding her kid. Looking around, Cheng Yu found that most of the people here were familiar faces, and there weren’t many strangers, presumably, none of them were Tong Yao. She casually asked, "I heard that Dr. Si is married; which one is his wife?"

"His wife acts like a wealthy lady, never leaving the house. It’s been over a week, and I have never seen her," someone responded. When the other wives of the physicians moved in, everyone would bring gifts for others as a goodwill gesture to get to know each other. Only Tong Yao was an exception. Being the youngest, she didn’t know how to socialize at all.

Cheng Yu was surprised, "You live in the same building and haven’t seen her?"

"Indeed," Chen Yanmei lowered her voice and whispered to Cheng Yu, "Madam, I must tell you, Dr. Si’s wife is not a good person. She keeps us awake at night almost every day. I cannot get to sleep because of the noise."

"What are you two whispering about? It looks intriguing," Li Nuanchun, who had noticed Cheng Yu and Yanmei being enthusiastic about their conversation, walked over out of curiosity.

"Nothing much," Chen Yanmei quickly avoided the topic. "Madam asked me which one is Dr. Si’s wife, and I said I hadn’t seen her."

Li Nuanchun looked around and said, "She hasn’t arrived yet. I guess it’s very likely she won’t come. Dr. Si’s wife doesn’t like to go out."

Upon hearing these words Cheng Yu’s smile faded slightly, "Shiya invited her to eat for her birthday and failed to persuade to show up she must have quite the high and mighty air about her. Like a pampered lady cloistered all day."

Seeing that Cheng Yu was upset, Li Nuanchun realised she had misspoke and forced an awkward smile, "Well, I’m just blindly guessing. She might arrive any moment now."

Fearing that she might be implicated, Li Nuanchun quickly moved away.

But Chen Yanmei loved to stir the pot and added fuel to the fire, "I think she might not come at all. Dr. Si’s wife is like a shut-in. She doesn’t even come out to collect her laundry in thunderstorms. She doesn’t pay attention to all the older women in the family courtyard. On her first few days here, she had a fight with Meiyu and made her cry. "

Cheng Yu scoffed with a disdainful smile, "Well then, I must see this person who thinks she can stir things up here."

Hearing these words, Chen Yanmei was overjoyed. She was eager to see Cheng Yu teach Tong Yao a lesson. Catching sight of Shiya casting glances this way, she quickly changed the topic to spare no flattery, "Madam, Shiya is so like you, pretty, classy, knowledgeable, and capable. It’s hard to find a girl more beautiful than Shiya in the whole Li city."

On hearing these words, Cheng Yu broke into a smile full of superiority, "Of course, normal children can hardly compare with Shiya. Shiya never disappointed us throughout all the efforts we and her father have put into her."

Just then, Baodan, who had been held by Chen Yanmei for some time, grew impatient and started to fuss. He wanted to go down, and Chen Yanmei, helpless, took him aside to play.

Yu Shiya, who was being surrounded and praised by several nurses, had been closely observing Si Chen and Tong Yao. As the banquet was about to begin, both of them had yet to appear, and her carefully maintained smile was gradually fading. She wondered if Tong Yao was preventing Si Chen from coming?

Part of the reason for the birthday banquet was to put pressure on Tong Yao and let her see the disparity between them. Without her presence, the banquet seemed a wasted effort.

"Dr. Yu, you look beautiful today. This lake-blue dress suits you perfectly. It seems to have been tailor-made just for you. Looking at the fabric, it must have cost a fortune?" Guo Nan, with envy in his eyes, praised Yu Shiya’s dress. Today, Yu Shiya had dressed up especially. The fitted lake-blue dress accentuated her figure perfectly.

The blue color was challenging to pull off and could make those with not-so-good skin or figure look like sanitation workers. But on Shiya, this dress exuded an upscale aura.

Shiya, beaming from the compliments, said, "It’s not expensive, just a bit over two hundred yuan."

"Wow! That’s almost a year’s salary for us!" Guo Nan had completely grown tired of envy.

Shiya laughed insipidly.

Qian Niannian, from next to her, cackled, "Dr. Yu, look at those single male doctors around us. Their eyes are practically glued to you."

"Not just that!" Guo Nan signaled everyone to look at a bespectacled doctor towards the left. "Look at Dr. Wang. He’s been staring at Dr. Yu for so long that he didn’t notice his wife glaring at him. They’re sure to quarrel when they get home."

Qian Niannian chimed in, "Even I, a woman, find it hard to look away. Let alone the men; they don’t stand a chance!"

After chatting and laughing for a while, noticing that Shiya was not joining in, they turned their heads and saw that she was absent-minded, her eyes fixed on the canteen entrance. Guo Nan asked curiously, "Dr. Yu, what are you looking at?"

Shiya snapped out of her trance and, pretending to be calm, asked, "We’re about to start. Why haven’t we seen Dr. Si and his wife yet?"

Guo Nan responded, "They should be here soon! When I was off work, I saw him going home to pick up his wife."

In recent days, all the gossip over tea and meals revolved around Si Chen’s marriage. Now that they heard about it again, they instantly became more engaged, and started gossiping more eagerly.

"She’s so high and mighty. Even just to come for a meal she needs someone to escort her. She’s really putting on airs," someone said.