Chapter 544: With a Stepmother Comes a Stepfather
"But watching him every day isn’t a long-term solution. It’d be great if we could make Mark Xavier’s father change his mind. Armstrong, what do you think? Should I offer to pay for Kelley Xavier’s tuition? If the Xavier family doesn’t have to pay, maybe they won’t make her get married, right?" Tang Xiaonan asked.
Armstrong Huxley shook his head. "You think the Xavier family is making Kelley Xavier get married because of tuition fees? Hmph. How much is one year of tuition? Besides, Kelley is first in her class every year. She’ll definitely get into a university. Once she graduates, the money she earns will be far more than the tuition. Anyone who can do basic math wouldn’t sell the goose that lays the golden eggs."
"Then why is the Xavier family doing this?" Neither Tang Xiaonan nor Amanda Chapman could understand. Why wouldn’t they want a better life?
Armstrong Huxley sneered. "It’s because they can’t stand to see Kelley Xavier succeed. The stepmother is worried that if Kelley makes something of herself, she’ll come back to settle scores. So she’s trying every trick in the book to stop Kelley from going to school. And the man she’s supposed to marry is no good either. He has a job, but he just fools around. He loves to gamble and gets into fights all the time. Basically, he’s a bad apple. Any woman who marries a man like that will have her life ruined."
"That bastard is even worse than my dad! She can’t marry him, absolutely not. How can that stepmother be so evil!" Amanda Chapman fumed. She used to think her own father was the biggest scum, but now she’d found someone even scummier. ’Come to think of it, maybe my dad isn’t so bad after all.’
At least her dad didn’t gamble or get into fights, and he always handed over his salary. His only faults were his shady dealings with a widow and his tendency to listen to her grandma’s instigations. If only her grandma would die, her family would surely be at peace.
Tang Xiaonan was furious too. This stepmother was deliberately trying to ruin Kelley Xavier. The most hateful person was their father. It made sense that the stepmother wouldn’t care, since they weren’t related by blood. But he was her biological father, wasn’t he? How could he let the stepmother abuse his own daughter like that?
’Damn it. It’s true what they say: a stepmother comes with a stepfather. What a piece of work!’
They had almost finished their ice cream, but the three of them still hadn’t come up with a good solution. For now, all they could do was keep an eye on Mark Xavier and stop him from doing anything foolish.
"Grandma Huxley, my mom asked me to bring you some mullien tofu."
Clayton Xavier’s voice came from the doorway. He was holding a basin. He paused for a moment when he saw Tang Xiaonan, then smiled and entered the yard, giving her a gentle pat on the head.
"Mr. Xavier, have some ice cream."
Tang Xiaonan handed the half-melted ice cream in her cup to Clayton Xavier. He put down the basin and started eating it. Grandma Huxley got some small bowls and ladled out the mullien tofu for Tang Xiaonan and the others. It had been chilled in well water, making it cool and silky. With a bit of brown sugar syrup added, it was sweet and refreshingly icy.
Mullien tofu was a summer snack. In some places, it was called liangfen cake, and in others, grass jelly, though the ingredients were different. Here in Vessaria, it was made from mullien seeds. You put the seeds in cheesecloth and kneaded them vigorously. The juice that was squeezed out would combine with cool water and set like gelatin. It tasted even better after being chilled in well water and was a favorite among both adults and children.
"This is delicious."
Tang Xiaonan finished one bowl and asked her grandma for another. The summer heat just melted away. She decided to ask Phoebe Huxley to make some when she got home.
Mark Xavier came over too, his pant legs rolled up high and his feet bare. Grandma Huxley ladled him a bowl of mullien tofu as well, adding a generous amount of brown sugar. The boy was as thin as a bundle of firewood; it was a heart-wrenching sight.
"Thank you, Grandma Huxley."
Mark Xavier thanked her in a low voice and began to wolf it down, finishing in just a few bites. But even the sweet brown sugar couldn’t wash away the bitterness in his heart. He had already made up his mind. If his father insisted on marrying his sister off, then he would...
’No matter what, I’ll make sure my sister gets to go to school.’
’Since my existence as a son still has some value, I’ll make sure Dad regrets this for the rest of his life.’