Chapter 177

I said to her flatly, “Auntie, it’s late. Please take the soup back; I want to sleep.”

My aunt looked at me sadly. “Esmeralda, do you really hate us? Look at your tone; it’s like you’re chasing me away. You weren’t like this before.”

I didn’t want to say anything. She’d lived so many years; what didn’t she understand? Why didn’t she grasp the reason for my current tone? I saw through their game, while mother and son pretended to be oblivious. My current attitude needed to be resolutely indifferent; otherwise, they would endlessly bother me.

Auntie glanced at me again. “Yes, I was wrong about seducing the big boss last time.”

But from another perspective, I also helped you. If I hadn’t tested the waters with the big boss first, you would have been thrown out by the bodyguards. You see, today you did nothing, so the boss punished you with hard labor. If you’d tried to seduce him that day and angered him, it wouldn’t have been as simple as hard labor.

I sneered inwardly. What I disliked most was their tendency to shirk responsibility and distort the truth. They were wrong, yet shamelessly claimed to have helped me. Our values didn't align, so there was no point in further conversation.

I said lightly, “Auntie, I’m really tired. Please go back.”

“Please don’t come knocking on my door again, neither of you. It really disturbs me.”

Surprisingly, Auntie didn’t get angry. She sighed. “Alright, alright. I can see you’re really tired.”

“Don’t worry; neither Trevin nor I will disturb you again. It’s just that Trevin wasn’t fortunate enough.” She stood up, ready to leave. I felt relieved and followed her to the door. Seeing the bowl of silver ear soup, I quickly picked it up and handed it to her. “Auntie, don’t forget your soup.”

Auntie said, “Hey, I brought this for you. Drink it; otherwise, that naughty boy will pester me again.”

I shook my head, firmly refusing.

Aunt sighed. “Esmeralda, don’t be like this. It’s just a bowl of soup; consider it a last bit of friendship after all these years.”

After I finished drinking, Auntie took the bowl back, promising she and Trevin would never bother me again.

I furrowed my brows. What did it mean? If I didn’t drink the soup, she wouldn’t leave?

Auntie looked at me kindly. “Esmeralda, we’re different from you. We’ve been rural people since childhood and can’t stand wastefulness.” Trevin and I were already full. We couldn’t finish the soup; what a waste. You should just drink it. You finished drinking, and Auntie left immediately. Exhausted, I just wanted her to leave quickly.

Upon hearing her last sentence, I calmly replied, “Fine, I’ll drink. I hope you remember your words, Auntie, and never bother me again.”

After saying that, I drank the soup in one gulp and returned the empty bowl. Auntie took the bowl but didn’t leave immediately. She smiled. “Is it delicious?”

I was too lazy to answer, so I opened the door and said expressionlessly, “Auntie, please go back.”

“Ah, okay. Auntie has gone back, so you should rest early.” She was leaving, but stopped at the door. “Oh no, Auntie forgot something!”

I frowned. “What’s wrong again?”

Auntie looked into my room. “I brought soup and also wanted to borrow some laundry detergent. We ran out at home, and I live on the sixth floor and I’m too lazy to go buy it, so…”

Without waiting for her to finish, I went to the bathroom. I gave her more than half a bucket of detergent. “Take it; no need to return it.” This borrowing and returning only added trouble.