Chapter 14: Giving Gift To Ruth

At noon, the people drinking tea at the teahouse gradually started eating their meals. After finishing, some went into private rooms to play cards, while those playing poker stayed outside. Everything was orderly and leisurely.

At a table near the back sat four well-maintained women, the kind who clearly lived comfortably and without worries.

"Ruth, are you sure you don’t want to order something? Their fried rice is really good," one of them said.

Ruth kept glancing anxiously at the entrance and shook her head. "No need, my son-in-law will bring me food soon."

"Son-in-law? The one who works at Tiger Real Estate, right? What exactly does he do there?"

"How would I know? I don’t pry into young people’s business."

"Haha, well, when my son buys a house, I’ll ask him for a discount."

"Aunt Yana, you bought this bracelet too? I told you it’s trendy now."

"My daughter insisted on buying it for me. At our age, wearing something so fashionable is embarrassing, but it’d be a waste not to wear it!"

Ruth sat to the side, annoyed and jealous as they flattered each other. The bracelets, seemed to be a must-have now. Not wearing one almost felt shameful.

Ruth thought she might as well buy one herself and later claim her son-in-law had gifted it to her.

"Oh, Ruth, you’re still the modest one."

"Yeah, Ruth said wearing jewelry makes her itch, but didn’t she wear some piece last time?"

The gossipy women chatted away, their words laced with subtle digs. But that was just the culture here. Even playing cards required dressing up meticulously, as if wearing every expensive piece of jewelry they owned.

When Luis arrived, he couldn’t help but find the women ridiculous, decked out in gold and silver like Christmas trees.

"Mom, hello aunties!"

Luis walked up to their table, greeting them politely before placing the food he’d brought on the table.

"Oh, the live-in son-in-law! What did you buy for your mom? Such a big bag," one of them, Yana, said mockingly. She was a long-time card partner, and her tone was as sharp as Ruth’s.

Luis pulled out a chair and sat down, placing the gift bag in front of Ruth. "Mom, see if you like this."

"What is it?"

Ruth was confused, but the others crowded around, spotting the logo on the bag.

When she opened the jewelry box and saw the coveted bracelet inside, Ruth gasped and covered her mouth. Yana leaned over, her voice dripping with envy. "No way, this is the most expensive one. Did you buy a knockoff, live-in son-in-law?"

"Yeah, it doesn’t look like real gold!"

The others chimed in.

Luis pretended not to hear them. He took Ruth’s hand and slipped the bracelet on, saying, "Mom, I’ve been meaning to buy this for you but never had the time. Today, I went to look, and since I’m not good at picking, I just asked for the newest model."

Ruth stared at the thick bracelet on her wrist, stunned but hiding it well.

Luis deliberately let the receipt fall out of the bag. Yana snatched it up, and the others huddled around. Seeing it was genuine—and the priciest one—their envy was palpable.

Ruth noticed the receipt too, her eyes softening. She scolded playfully, "Silly boy, I told you I’m allergic to metal. Why’d you buy this?"

Acting came naturally to Luis. He smiled and said, "Mom, you’re not allergic anymore. Those vitamins fixed it. Stop overthinking it."

"Well, I’ll try wearing it and see if it itches."

Ruth smiled sweetly, making Luis momentarily dazed.

Then, switching to a lecturing tone, she said, "You, I already told you not to buy it. Why don’t you ever listen?"

Their little performance left Ruth overjoyed. She hadn’t expected Luis to play along so well, nor had she imagined her seemingly dull son-in-law could be so sharp.

Most surprising of all was that Luis had the money to buy her this bracelet—and the most expensive one at that. But she couldn’t ask about it now.

Yana’s face darkened. She sneered, "Ruth, that bracelet looks heavy. Your wrist might ache while playing cards."

"Yeah, son-in-law, why’d you buy such a heavy one? It’ll be inconvenient for playing cards."

Ruth ignored them, continuing her show.

This was the first time she’d ever called Luis "son-in-law" so affectionately. Before, it was always "hey," "that guy," or "poor boy."

Money, when spent on the right vanity, was irresistible to women like her.

"I didn’t know how to pick, so I just asked for the most expensive one!"

Luis grinned. "Mom, if it’s too heavy, I’ll buy you a lighter one later."

"Don’t waste money. If it itches, I just won’t wear it."

"Then don’t. Gold appreciates anyway. Just remember to take those imported vitamins, Mom. Stop making us nag you."

"Fine, fine, I got it."

Their back-and-forth left Ruth’s vanity thoroughly satisfied. Her flimsy allergy excuse now sounded convincing, thanks to Luis’s quick thinking.

Just then, Yana’s fried rice arrived. She snapped impatiently, "Alright, hurry up and eat. We’ve got cards to play. If you two have more to say, save it for home."

Her tone was sharp, but Ruth was too busy gloating to care.

Luis tucked the receipt back into the box. "Mom, keep this safe. If it gets stolen, you’ll need it to report to the police."

"I know, son-in-law. You can go now. Oh, tell Lily not to buy groceries tonight. I’ll handle it."

"Got it. Bye, aunties!"

Once Luis left, Ruth admired her bracelet, noticeably thicker than the others’. It was clearly the heaviest one, and she was practically looking down her nose at them.

The jealousy around her was palpable, and Ruth reveled in it, even feeling a little wet between her legs.

Spotting the large bag, she opened it and feigned surprise. "Oh, it’s from Ocean Hotel!"

The logo was obvious, and everyone in the city knew Ocean Hotel. But no one wanted to give Ruth the satisfaction of acknowledging it.

Ruth placed the elegant takeout boxes on the table, a stark contrast to Yana’s plain fried rice containers.

Even if the others tried not to look, their eyes were drawn to the food as she opened the boxes.

Thai jasmine rice— 65 dollars for plain rice alone— a premium roast meat platter, and a bowl of fish fin soup.

Ruth held the receipt, pretending to scold. "That brat spends money so carelessly. Over 120 dollars for this little bit of food. I’ll have to lecture him when I get home."

"Just eat already. We’ve got cards to play!" Yana snapped, suddenly finding her fried rice tasteless.

Ruth nodded but took her time, enthusiastically offering, "Yana, try the sea cucumber. It’s really good."

"Aunt Kiara, this is amazing. Ocean Hotel’s signature dish."

"Ugh, I really need to talk to my son-in-law. He wears rags but splurges like this!"

-----

Lily got off work early and felt puzzled when she returned home. "Husband, Mom suddenly called me and told me not to buy groceries. She even asked what you like to eat."

This was indeed shocking. After her daughter grew up, Ruth rarely did housework. She always simplified cooking and found it troublesome, so the task of cooking at home had always fallen on Lily.

The most terrifying thing was that since their marriage, Ruth had never given Luis a good look. Unless there were guests, she rarely cooked for him, let alone asked what he liked to eat.

"She must have received a gift!"

Luis, who had slept all afternoon to recharge, stretched lazily and smiled mysteriously. "Wife, go change your clothes first, then I’ll give you a gift."

"Stop being so mysterious. Don’t tell me it’s flowers or something. That’s a waste of money."

Lily was full of anticipation. She wasn’t someone who cared much for rituals, and Luis was a straight man who sometimes even forgot birthdays. The concept of gifts had almost disappeared from her mind.

Lily happily ran upstairs, changed out of her old and uncomfortable cheap office attire, and was choosing her loungewear when Luis suddenly threw a piece of clothing at her. "Wife, wear this."

It was a sheer black slip dress, sexy and short. Wearing it wouldn’t just reveal cleavage but almost expose up to the thighs. It was Ruth’s nightgown.

Lily blushed. "Why should I wear Mom’s nightgown?"

"I think you’ll look really sexy in it."

Under Luis’s coaxing, Lily didn’t object. After all, it was normal for mothers and daughters to share clothes, though the three sisters’ figures were different, making it awkward to swap outfits.

Mainly, it was said that Nancy had a strong personality and didn’t allow her younger sisters to wear her clothes, which made their sisterly relationship less close.

The moment she put it on, Luis couldn’t help but swallow hard and immediately started taking off her bra. "It’s so hot at home. Why wear this?"