Chapter 50: Turning the Tables

Su Ruo's face instantly turned cold, looking at Xu Honghua she asked: "Do you have something?"

Xu Honghua only dared to bully An'an; facing Su Ruo she immediately wilted, putting on a fawning smile and said: "It's nothing, I just saw An'an and came over to say hello; this child is doing quite well with you!"

Xu Honghua looked at An'an's chubby little face, her clothes, and her little leather shoes, feeling intensely jealous, silently cursing Su Ruo as foolish for raising a mysterious money-losing burden—how could you possibly dote on her so Jin Gui!

Xu Honghua also didn't understand how this little girl's fate could be so good—before, at home she had her older brother and sister-in-law doting on her; now they're gone, yet Su Ruo dotes on her, and now she can even eat at the State-run Hotel—truly, comparing people makes one angry to death.

Su Ruo ignored Xu Honghua, she held An'an and found an empty spot to sit down, while Li Zhaodi sat opposite Su Ruo.

Su Ruo picked up the menu, glanced at it, asked Li Zhaodi, then ordered: "We'll have one braised pork, one cold mixed bamboo shoots, and one dish of the three fresh vegetables."

Seeing Su Ruo actually ignore her, Xu Honghua felt a bit displeased, but she was only a temporary worker, having gotten in through connections, and dared not offend a customer, so she obediently went to the back kitchen to place Su Ruo's order.

Since it wasn't yet mealtime, there weren't many people in the hotel, and Su Ruo's dishes arrived quickly.

After all, An'an is still a child; although seeing Xu Honghua made her a bit unhappy, as soon as she ate the braised pork she immediately broke into a happy smile.

Seeing this, Su Ruo and Li Zhaodi also happily began eating, and Xu Honghua's presence did not affect their dining mood.

Xu Honghua looked at the braised pork on Su Ruo's table, unconsciously swallowed, and felt increasingly unbalanced inside.

But she also knew Su Ruo would definitely not invite her to eat together; out of sight, out of mind, she went to find the back kitchen helper auntie to talk.

The Head Chef of the State-run Hotel made delicious food, and just as Su Ruo and the two others were enjoying their meal immensely.

A woman and two men walked into the hotel; because of their outstanding appearance and extraordinary demeanor, they drew everyone's attention as soon as they entered.

Su Ruo looked up at the woman—Bulaji, wearing high heels, with a Longines watch on her wrist; the two men behind her were wearing suits that looked expensive at a glance.

Su Ruo knew these three people's identities were certainly not simple, but she didn't care, continuing to feed An'an the braised pork.

Xu Honghua, who had been chatting with the kitchen helper auntie in the kitchen, immediately went out upon seeing the woman.

She walked up to the woman with utmost respect, wearing a fawning smile, and said: "Manager Bai, you've come."

The woman lightly nodded, her critical gaze sweeping the store; upon seeing An'an, her originally indifferent eyes instantly became solemn.

An'an met the woman's gaze and instinctively hid a little in Su Ruo's embrace.

"An'an, what's wrong?" Su Ruo asked with a smile.

But before An'an could answer, the woman rushed over, snatched An'an into her arms, and cried: "Xiaomeng, my little Xiaomeng, you've finally come back! Do you know how much I've missed you..."

Su Ruo never expected that, in broad daylight, someone would snatch a child at the State-run Hotel; caught off guard, the woman took An'an away.

Su Ruo immediately sensed that the woman's mental state was off, furrowing her brows and saying: "You've mistaken the person!"

Then she tried to pull An'an from the woman's arms, but the woman held her too tightly, and Su Ruo feared hurting An'an, so she couldn't exert any strength; after several attempts she still couldn't succeed.

Frightened, An'an wailed in the woman's arms, crying out to Su Ruo: "Mom..."

Su Ruo felt heartbroken, her tone turning stern: "Madam, please release my daughter!"

Everyone in the State-run Hotel stared blankly at this, not understanding why the woman, who seemed fine, would suddenly go mad and snatch someone else's child.

The two men who had entered with the woman now approached her side; a middle-aged man embraced her lovingly and said: "Xinya, she is not Xiaomeng."

The woman, however, seemed not to hear the man's words at all, muttering to herself: "Zhou Feng, Xiaomeng, our little Xiaomeng, she has come back..."

Seeing the woman like this, the man's expression grew even more sorrowful.

The other man blocked Su Ruo's path, preventing her from going to hold An'an.

Su Ruo angrily looked at the man before her and demanded: "What are you doing?"

"My sister won't hurt her; here is fifty yuan—if you let my sister hold the child for a while, this money is yours."

The man spoke loftily, his gaze toward Su Ruo full of contempt, as if his condescension in speaking to her were a kind of charity.

Hearing An'an's heart-wrenching cries, Su Ruo bluntly swore: "I***, fifty yuan to buy my daughter? I'll give you a hundred—want to buy your dog's life?"

The man was momentarily stunned; he hadn't expected that Su Ruo, who looked soft and weak, would be so fierce, nor that she appeared only in her teens yet already had such a grown daughter.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Su Ruo kicked him aside, walked up to the woman, and said with an icy expression: "Release my daughter."

The man holding the woman said: "Xinya, return the child to her!"

But as if possessed, the woman clung tightly to An'an, refusing to let go.

Seeing this, Su Ruo didn't stand on ceremony; she stepped forward, firmly gripped the woman's arm, the woman winced in pain and had to release her grip, Su Ruo seized An'an and stepped back, putting distance between herself and the woman.

The woman instantly went mad, struggling nonstop in the man's arms and shouting angrily at Su Ruo: "Give me back my child!"

The man desperately tried to calm the woman's emotions, but to no avail.

Su Ruo held An'an, took Li Zhaodi's hand, and prepared to leave.

The man who had previously blocked Su Ruo again stood before her, angrily demanding: "What are you trying to do!"

Su Ruo was almost laughing from anger: "You snatched my daughter in broad daylight, and now you ask what I'm going to do!"

The man dissatisfiedly said: "Who snatched your daughter? We were just holding her; my sister taking a liking to your daughter is her blessing—I advise you not to spurn good fortune, for to refuse a toast is to invite punishment."

Just as Su Ruo was about to swear again, the man holding the woman suddenly cried out in panic: "Xinya, Xinya, what's wrong with you..."

The man blocking Su Ruo, seeing the woman actually faint, glared angrily at Su Ruo and said: "Listen, if anything happens to my sister, I will never forgive you!"