As evening fell, the front door opened. Liam led Lila in, Vanessa linked arms with him, and the three of them walked in, chatting and laughing. Vanessa held a drawing in her hand, a "family portrait" drawn by Lila—it included her father, Vanessa, and herself in a princess dress, but Clara was nowhere to be seen. Liam took the drawing, smiled, and ruffled Lila's hair: "Our Lila drew so well, even better than her kindergarten teacher."
The scene was too jarring. Clara stood in the kitchen doorway, feeling like an intruder. The table was already set with dishes: spicy chicken, boiled fish, and Mapo tofu—all the spicy dishes that Liam and Lila loved. Over the years, to cater to their tastes, Clara had forced herself to transform from a girl from Jiangnan who couldn't eat spicy food into someone who couldn't live without chili peppers at every meal. Stomach medicine was always kept in the table drawer, but they had never asked her, "Does your stomach still hurt?"
"Wow! It smells so good!" Lila sniffed exaggeratedly, and before everyone could sit down, she eagerly picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece of spicy chicken.
Vanessa suddenly teared up, covered her mouth, and coughed softly, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air, unwilling to move. Liam immediately put down his cup and anxiously felt her forehead: "What's wrong? Did you choke on the chili?"
“I…I’m currently controlling my sugar and oil intake, so I can’t eat anything too oily or spicy…” Vanessa’s voice trembled with tears, which streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. “It’s all my fault. I didn’t explain things clearly to Aunt Su beforehand, and she did all that work for nothing…”
Liam's gaze instantly turned cold as he glared at Clara: "Clara, didn't I tell you that Vanessa needs to maintain her figure? I asked you to cook healthier dishes, can't you understand human language? So many chili peppers, are you trying to kill her?"
Lila's face fell, and she slammed her chopsticks on the table, yelling at Clara, "Teacher Vanessa doesn't eat spicy food! Why did you make so many spicy dishes? You bad woman!" She pointed to the kitchen and ordered imperiously, "Teacher Vanessa loves seafood, go and make it for her again! Steamed shrimp, garlic scallops, and cream of mushroom soup!"