Li Yayan gave a simple one-worded reply in a daze. It was only when she saw Qiao Nan taking in several plates’ worth of food did Li Yayan shake her head and regain her senses. “Your-your appetite is pretty good. I guess you must have been using up a lot of energy lately.”

  What she didn’t understand was how Qiao Nan could hold such a voracious appetite in that petite body of hers. She was probably no more than 1.6 meters and weighed approximately 45 kilograms. Besides, was Qiao Nan’s stomach a black hole? Why didn’t she seem to gain any weight even after eating all these? She thought about how she didn’t even dare to eat anything greasy or sweet for fear of gaining weight although she was in her early thirties.

  Even so, every time she returned home to visit her parents, her mom would ask her without fail, “Yayan, have you gained weight again? Now that you’re thirty and have given birth, it’ll be easy for you to gain weight since you don’t move around much. Wang Yang has such a great background and he’s handsome too. You’d better not let anyone get the chance to take your place. Wang Yang might not be able to have an affair with his status, but he can surely divorce you to get remarried.”

  Because of their son-in-law, Wang Yang, the Li family’s conditions had improved drastically. There was no way Mother Li was going to let such a good son-in-law slip through her fingers. In order to prevent that from happening, Li Yayan had to make an effort. As long as Li Yayan kept herself at her peak, there wouldn’t be any chance for other women to get their way.

  If Li Yayan stopped caring about her image, the position of Wang Yang’s wife would be someone else’s sooner or later.

  Because of her mother’s constant nagging about how she couldn’t afford to eat too much, Li Yayan had restrained herself all this while. Buffets had never been on Li Yayan’s menu. She had no other choice. Buffets were delicious and offered too many of her favorite dishes all at once. There was no way she would be able to control herself.

  \r \r \r

  Just like now, Li Yayan had only taken a few bites but it had already gone over her calorie limit. Thinking about those terrible calories, Li Yayan shivered and quickly put down her fork. She wiped her hands and stopped eating. “Qiao Nan, were you naturally born with this physique? Do you never gain weight no matter how much you eat?”

  “Yes.” Qiao Nan nodded and took a sip of water. “That’s exactly the case.” Her dad said that she took after her paternal grandpa, while Qiao Zijin took after her maternal grandma’s family. Because of that, Qiao Zijin had always been disgruntled. Even while knowing that Qiao Nan would never gain weight no matter how much she ate, Qiao Zijin would always convince her mom not to feed Qiao Nan.

  Li Yayan looked at Qiao Nan in envy. “How nice it would be to have such a physique. You won’t even have to worry about eating foods high in calories!”

  Qiao Nan was already past the age of forty and had just given birth to triplets a few months ago and yet, her figure was no different from that of an eighteen-year-old teenager. It would have been perfect if she had Qiao Nan’s physique. “You’ll never lose out in buffets.”

  Thinking about how Qiao Nan had everything she wanted, Li Yayan couldn’t help but make a sour comment.

  Before getting to know Qiao Nan, Li Yayan had always thought that she had good fortune. The Li family was not particularly well-to-do, but neither had they ever starved. At that time, there were many who were envious of her when she had married Wang Yang, for having found a man with such an outstanding background.

  Those whose husbands could barely compare to Wang Yang were either older than him or were in their second marriages. More importantly, they were all pot-bellied. It was disgusting. There was not a single one whose appearance and family background could compare to Wang Yang’s. As such, Li Yayan felt as though she was the most fortunate woman in the entire world as others watched on in envy when she married Wang Yang.

  But after meeting Qiao Nan, Li Yayan had none of those thoughts. Qiao Nan had been much luckier than her, and Qiao Nan had a much more fortunate life than her. Apart from her age, Qiao Nan lost out to her in every aspect. The problem was that Qiao Nan had married into a better family than she had. Even her uncle, Zhu Chengqi, favored an outsider like Qiao Nan over his own nephew and niece-in-law!

  Even all these didn’t mean much. Now, Li Yayan was green with envy over how Qiao Nan could afford to eat as much as she wanted without gaining any weight.

  Even upon hearing the sourness in Li Yayan’s tone, Qiao Nan didn’t slow down. After all, it was not Qiao Nan’s first time hearing such words.

  In the past, Qiao Zijin would always try to provoke Qiao Nan with buffets too, saying that buffets were the most suitable for people like Qiao Nan. When others went to buffets, the owners of the restaurants probably rolled in money. On the other hand, if they were to have many customers like Qiao Nan, the restaurants would probably go bankrupt.

  Was there anything better than having a big appetite but never gaining any weight?

  Qiao Nan couldn’t help but burp after having her fill. “It’s true that buffets are suitable for people like me. Or should I say that it’s the most economical?” The food here indeed tasted good. At least, Li Yayan had not made a bad recommendation.

  Li Yayan was in a panic. She had really been a fool! She had intended on making friends with Qiao Nan, and it hadn’t been easy to invite Qiao Nan out for lunch. Why had she said such a foolish thing and committed such a low-level mistake? “Qiao Nan, please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean anything else. I just thought that it’s really worth it for you to go to buffets. That you wouldn’t lose out… Not…”

  The more anxious one was, the messier one’s thoughts got. The messier one’s thoughts were, the easier it was for mistakes to slip out.

  Seeing how anxious Li Yayan was, Qiao Nan chuckled and handed her a piece of tissue. “I never expected this restaurant to have such good heating.”

  “Tell me about it. Look, I’m already sweating.” Li Yayan regretted her words the moment she said them. She had hit a soft spot.

  Earlier, Li Yayan had always thought that she simply lacked the opportunity to meet Qiao Nan. She had graduated from a second-tier university, after all. There was no way a junior-high-school graduate would be her match. As long as she was given a chance, she would definitely be able to befriend Qiao Nan and make Qiao Nan a close friend who would pour out her heart to her. It would be a breeze.

  As such, Li Yayan had felt that it couldn’t be easier to get the five million yuan that should have gone to Qiao Zijin now that she had this opportunity.