My online dating circle has millions of followers, why would she put a collar on me?

The four of them ate their fill very quickly.

Zhao Xiujuan frowned with heartache as she looked at the unfinished dishes on the table.

Su Xiaoyue noticed Zhao Xiujuan's expression and smiled.

"Waiter, please, pack it up."

Su Xiaoyue raised her hand and beckoned to the waiter.

Zhao Xiujuan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, why pack it up? It's too embarrassing..."

"Auntie, it's not shameful. When I order a lot from outside with Jiang Yi, we always get it to go!"

Su Xiaoyue smiled and turned to look at Jiang Yi.

Suddenly, all three people looked at him. Jiang Yi was stunned for a moment, then nodded mechanically.

The waiter quickly brought some takeout boxes.

Su Xiaoyue stood up and fell down with Zhao Xiujuan.

She moved slowly but carefully, turning each piece of meat twice on the plate to make sure there were no bone fragments before putting it into the box.

As Zhao Xiujuan watched Su Xiaoyue's fair hands rummaging through the greasy plate, she felt a mix of sadness and warmth in her heart, and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Yueyue, stop doing that, it's dirty..."

"Not dirty."

Su Xiaoyue didn't even raise her head, her voice muffled, her hands continuing their work.

"Auntie, this Dongpo pork is delicious. Take it home and heat it up tonight. It'll be even more fragrant than the ones in restaurants."

Looking at her serious profile, Zhao Xiujuan grew to like her more and more.

Four people were busy packing when a waiter in a white shirt and black vest walked briskly from the other end of the corridor.

He held a black card reader in his hand, and wore a standard, trained, polite smile on his face.

"Ms. Su, I'm sorry to bother you."

The waiter bowed slightly, his voice not loud but very clear.

"The card you just gave me needs to be activated in person at the front desk. It might be because it's a new card and the system can't read it."

Su Xiaoyue's fingers paused for a moment.

She put down the takeout box, took out a wet wipe from her bag, and carefully wiped her fingers clean.

Then he stood up and smiled at Zhao Xiujuan:

"Auntie, please pack first, I'll be right back."

"Okay, go ahead."

After Su Xiaoyue left, the air around the dining table suddenly became quiet for a moment.

Zhao Xiujuan bent over and continued to put food into the takeout box, her movements very nimble.

Her eyes kept glancing towards the corridor where Su Xiaoyue had disappeared, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.

"Xiao Yi".

She suddenly spoke, her voice very low, as if she were plotting something important.

Jiang Yi was busy serving the dishes with his head down.

"Yueyue's cell phone."

Zhao Xiujuan pointed with her chin at the pink phone on the table with a cartoon rabbit sticker on its casing, which Su Xiaoyue had casually placed on the table earlier.

"Untie Mom."

Jiang Yi paused in his chewing, looked up at his mother, and asked, "What?"

"Will you solve it or not?"

Zhao Xiujuan glared at him, and his rough hand reached out and picked up the phone, turning it over and over in his hand as if examining a rare object.

"This phone is really pretty, just like Yueyue herself, so fresh and lovely."

"Mom, why are you taking someone else's phone?" Jiang Yi put down his chopsticks and frowned.

"Keep your voice down!"

Zhao Xiujuan was so anxious that she reached out and patted his arm, lowering her voice even further, almost to the point of whispering.

"Mom is telling you, Yueyue can't pay for this meal. Your sister has already gone to so much trouble for them, and Mom feels bad about it. Mom will secretly transfer the money to her. Now, unlock your phone for me."

Jiang Yi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but looking at his mother's face, which was slightly flushed with anxiety, and her calloused hands that were carefully holding the phone, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He sighed and held out his hand: "Give it to me."

Zhao Xiujuan smiled and quickly handed over the phone, still muttering to herself:

"What's the password? You definitely know it. You can't possibly not know your girlfriend's phone password? I'm telling you, don't tell Mom you don't know it, Mom won't believe you—"

"0713".

Jiang Yi typed in four numbers without any expression.

The screen is unlocked.

Zhao Xiujuan snatched the phone away, her movements so fast that she didn't seem like someone nearing fifty.

Zhao Xiujuan didn't even look up, chattering away as she operated the machine.

"Let me tell you, Xiao Yi, Yueyue is such a nice girl. Not only is she beautiful, but she's also considerate and has no airs at all."

"Look at her hands, so fair and delicate. She even helped Mom pack the food and scooped vegetables into the takeout box. She didn't look down on us at all."

"Your Aunt Li's daughter-in-law, the last time she came to our house, she didn't even wash a single dish."

Jiang Yi remained silent and did not speak.

"You've had such a great girlfriend for three years, and you haven't even told your family."

Zhao Xiujuan's finger paused on the transfer amount field, then she looked up and glared at Jiang Yi. "Are you trying to drive your mother crazy?"

"no"

Jiang Yi's voice was muffled.

"No? Is your mouth rented? Even if it's blessed, you can't use it like that."

Zhao Xiujuan kept her head down and continued operating the machine, but she kept talking.

"Yueyue is such a wonderful girl, what incredible luck did you have to find her? Tell me honestly, did you save Yueyue's life in your past life? Or is it that she has bad taste?"

"Mom," Jiang Yi said, his voice tinged with helplessness.

"What are you yelling for? Is Mom wrong?"

After Zhao Xiujuan entered the amount, she checked it again to make sure there were no mistakes before pressing the transfer confirmation button.

She let out a long sigh of relief when the words "transfer successful" popped up on the screen.

"This girl, Yueyue, doesn't mind that we're poor, doesn't mind that we've gone through this, and still came with you to visit your parents. We'll remember this kindness for the rest of our lives. If you dare to treat her badly, Mom will be the first to object."

Jiang Yi lowered his head and remained silent, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Zhao Xiujuan glanced at him, sighed, and said nothing more.

She turned around and continued putting food into the takeout box.

Suddenly, a figure stood next to Su Xiaoyue.

Zhao Xiujuan paused for a moment, a smile playing on her lips, and said without looking up:

"Yueyue's back? Auntie has something to tell you..."

She looked up as she spoke.

The smile froze on her face.

The person standing by the table was not Su Xiaoyue.

She was a girl she had never seen before.

very beautiful.

It's hard to say whether this girl is prettier than Su Xiaoyue.

She was wearing a black trench coat over a dark gray turtleneck sweater, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, she wasn't wearing makeup, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept for several days.

Her gaze did not fall on Zhao Xiujuan.

From the moment she appeared, her gaze was fixed on Jiang Yi.

"Jiang Yi."

She spoke, her voice not loud, but every word was clear.

Why didn't you answer my calls?