"Bang!"
Ye Fei dashed out of a hotel room, her face pale as a sheet.
She ran while hurriedly tidying her clothes.
Outside, the sky was still dark, and the room was pitch black; she hadn't even managed to see the face of the man who had been lying beside her just moments before.
Rushing out of the hotel, she figured out where she was. Her only option now was to hail a taxi home; walking on the streets in her current state was extremely unsafe.
But when she reached into her pocket, her heart sank.
She didn't bring her phone!
And now, going back was out of the question; she didn't dare.
Thankfully, she still had seventy-odd dollars in cash, enough for a taxi ride home.
Ye Fei quickly flagged down a cab and gave the address.
Sitting alone in the back seat, she began to recall.
Her memory last lingered on last night, when Ye Fei saw off the last table of guests at the family's small eatery.
After cleaning up the table, her sister Ye Ning walked in, dressed fashionably, wearing high heels, and carrying a Chanel bag.
Her urban elite appearance was completely out of place with the small restaurant.
"Ning Ning, why are you here?" Xu Huizhen, their mother, quickly rounded the counter and warmly took Ye Ning's hand, "You work so hard, why do you come running here?"
Ye Fei thought, just looking at Ye Ning's attire, it didn't seem like she had come straight from work.
Ye Ning smiled, "I'm busy with work, can't really take care of the family eatery, but I can only drop by after work to check things out."
Xu Huizhen quickly said to Ye Fei, "Ye Fei, look at your sister, even with work she's thinking about the family eatery. You're not busy with school, yet you're not willing to help out. This family spent a lot of money for you to study—consider it paying back to help out here, what's wrong with that?"
"Ye Fei, are you complaining again?" Ye Ning said displeased, "You're in your sophomore year, not busy. What's wrong with coming home to help out? If you ask me, you don't even need to go to college. You're not those who need a college degree to find a job."
Ye Ning let go of Xu Huizhen's hand, went to the cabinet behind the cashier counter, and took two bottles of beer.
"Even if you don't attend college, there's still a place for you at our eatery," Ye Ning lectured her, "you'd save on tuition money, look at how exhausted Dad and Mom are."
"You got to go to college, why can't I? It's not like our family can't afford it. No matter what I do after graduation, more learning and experience are never bad," Ye Fei said coldly.
Unlike Ye Ning, who only wanted to climb up the social ladder to become distinguished.
Ye Fei genuinely liked culinary arts, loved crafting various dishes with creativity.
She could sacrifice all her leisure to help out, but she must go to school.
"I just don't understand, going to college makes me seem like a criminal in our family." Ye Fei pressed her lips.
"Ye Fei! How do you talk to your sister!" Xu Huizhen swung her hand to smack Ye Fei's back harshly.
The sound of the slap echoed, causing pain that seemed to cut through the cloth, directly to the flesh.
Ye Fei stiffened from pain, and heard Xu Huizhen say, "Your sister graduated and works as an administrative manager at Ye City's most prestigious restaurant. And you? After graduation, you'd still return to our family eatery as a server. What's the point of your college degree!"
"I could find a good job elsewhere too, but because you can't bear to have my sister moving away, you force me to return," Ye Fei said coldly.
Even returning to the family eatery, she intended to be the chef.
"Say one more word! Tomorrow I'll get you dropped out!" Xu Huizhen raised a hand, ready to slap Ye Fei.
Ye Fei pressed her lips, Ye Ning was the family darling, everything she did was right, she was the one to bring pride to her parents.
Back then, Ye Ning's scores couldn't even reach tier-three universities; Xu Huizhen paid for a tier-three international school for her. The last two years abroad added gold plating, returning with a foreign university diploma, earning an administrative manager position in Ye City.
Even if that foreign university was barely better than a diploma mill, their small town revered it; seeing a foreign degree felt prestigious.
But Ye Fei, no matter how excellent her studies from a young age, received no praise. Even with grades fit for B University, Xu Huizhen wouldn't approve, forcing her to stay at a local, unranked college, just so she could still juggle work at the family restaurant.
When outside, Xu Huizhen boasted about Ye Ning's foreign degree, her insightfulness, and good job to everyone.
Yet, in truth, Ye Ning failed to speak English fluently even after two years abroad.
While praising Ye Ning, she didn't forget to disparage Ye Fei as useless, wasting family money at a local crappy school.
Ye Fei gave a sarcastic, cold smile.
Seeing this, Xu Huizhen grew even more furious.
Just as the slap was about to fall, Ye Ning intervened.
"Mom, let's talk calmly," Ye Ning signaled Xu Huizhen with a look.
Xu Huizhen pursed her lips and withdrew her hand.
Ye Ning placed the beer on the table, "Mom, Ye Fei, stop arguing. You haven't eaten yet, have you? I packed our restaurant's new dish for you to try. Also, let's learn, our family eatery could innovate too, become better."
Ye Ning arranged the take-out boxes, and poured Ye Fei a cup of beer, "Ye Fei, I know it's hard work for you helping at home. I have my job, can't contribute much, the family eatery relies on you."
Xu Huizhen wanted to retort but was silenced by Ye Ning's glance.
Ye Ning raised her glass, "Come, cheers to you from your sister. Don't mind whatever unpleasantness you had with me before."
After saying that, Ye Ning finished her cup first.
Ye Fei suspiciously eyed Ye Ning, who seemed like a different person, making her bewildered.
"What? You won't drink the beer your sister toasted to you?" Ye Ning raised an eyebrow.
Ye Fei glanced at the beer in her glass, her tolerance was good, a cup was nothing.
With suspicion, she slowly drank the beer.
Who knew, as soon as she set down her glass, dizziness overwhelmed her, and she collapsed onto the table.
This was all Ye Fei could recall before she lost consciousness last night.
Ye Fei's nails dug deeply into her palm.
At this point, what was unclear to her?
She had probably been schemed against by her mother and sister.
Yet according to her memory, even though she didn't see the man's face clearly.
He seemed young, well-built, with a pleasing voice.
Hardly someone who needed to use such tactics to find a woman.
"Miss, we're here, 47 dollars," the driver stopped and said.
Ye Fei hurriedly paid and entered the building.