Clara stood rooted to the spot, her body ice-cold. Liam and Lila both knew she was allergic to seafood—three years ago, she accidentally ate a shrimp, her throat swelled up instantly, and she nearly choked. Liam had even frowned and said, "How could you be so careless?" But now, they had completely forgotten. She remembered how she hadn't touched spicy or greasy food for three years to practice dancing, and now she was sacrificing herself for them, only to receive nothing in return, not even a simple "Remember you can't eat spicy food."
“This is too much trouble for Clara…” Vanessa tugged at Liam’s sleeve feigning concern, but a smug smile lurked in her eyes. “Actually, I’ll just have some plain porridge…”
"No!" Lila interrupted her, slamming her little hand on the table. "Teacher Vanessa can't eat this awful stuff! That fat bastard does nothing all day, not even a proper meal. What else can she possibly do!"
The words "fat bastard" hit Clara like a hammer blow, making her vision blur. She trembled with rage, grabbed the chopsticks from the table, and slammed them to the floor: "Why should I redo it? I've had enough of this!"
The chopsticks fell to the floor with a crisp sound. Liam's face darkened. He stood up and walked over to her, his tone authoritative and leaving no room for argument: "Clara, can't you be a little more sensible? Lila is still young, and Vanessa is a guest. How can you be less reasonable than a child?"
With Liam backing her up, Lila seemed to have been set ablaze. She rushed to the dining table, her little hands sweeping haphazardly across the plates—with a "crash," the entire table of food was swept to the floor. Red chili oil splattered onto Clara's arm, the scalding heat sending a burning sensation through her. She instinctively pulled her hand away, only to see Liam immediately shield Vanessa behind him, as if afraid the oil would splash onto her.
"Your cooking is awful! And you won't let Teacher Vanessa eat! You bad woman!" Lila shouted, jumping up and down, her little face full of disgust. "I put sleeping pills in your milk! That way Teacher Vanessa can go to kindergarten and be my mom! All the classmates say Teacher Vanessa is beautiful and gentle, she's like my mom! Unlike you, you only deserve to be an ugly, fat maid at home!"