Chapter 315: Comparisons

Zoe Kane whipped her head around. Seeing that Melody Summers had already opened her door and gone inside, likely not having overheard their conversation, she let out a sigh of relief.

Zella Kane watched her sister’s reaction and couldn’t help but purse her lips. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly remembered her boyfriend was still standing beside her.

So Zella Kane turned to her boyfriend, who was wearing a slate-blue down jacket, and said with a smile, "Forrest, why don’t you go back inside and help my mom unpack? I’ll just walk my sister to the elevator."

Forrest Archer, who had been standing quietly to the side, nodded and turned to go back inside.

Watching Forrest Archer’s retreating back, Zoe Kane’s brow furrowed slightly. She pulled Zella Kane over to the elevators and asked in a hushed voice, "Sis, is this Forrest guy reliable? I noticed he keeps his head down and doesn’t talk much. He seems so sullen, like he’s got a lot on his mind..."

Zella Kane laughed confidently. "Don’t you worry," she replied. "He’s just a kid. I’ve got him completely wrapped around my finger. He’s very obedient! If I tell him to go east, he wouldn’t dare go west!"

There was a hint of smugness in Zella Kane’s voice. Forrest Archer was only in his early twenties, a full ten years younger than her.

Once men become successful, they like to find a young wife, proving their own success by poaching from the dating pool of younger men. Zella Kane had the exact same idea.

Even though she was divorced with two kids, the fact that she could land a boyfriend ten years her junior proved her charm was as potent as ever. Those young girls were no match for her!

Zoe Kane still wasn’t convinced. With a worried expression, she tried to reason with her. "Sis, these are special times, and supplies are limited. You’re having him move in with you all... under the same roof. What if supplies run low after a while...? I just feel like it’s dangerous..."

Although Zoe Kane was a few years younger than Zella Kane, she was the more level-headed of the two.

’A man who gets with a divorced woman with kids, ten years his senior... to say he isn’t after something...’ Zoe Kane just couldn’t believe it. Her intuition told her this Forrest Archer wasn’t trustworthy. Keeping him in their home was a huge liability.

But Zella Kane just waved a dismissive hand. "Relax. He’s a good boy in front of me. If I told him not to eat, he’d starve to death before taking a bite."

Zella Kane gathered her shoulder-length curls and continued, "Besides, it’s *because* these are special times that I asked him to move in. He’s a man, after all. These days, the more men you have in the house, the less likely outsiders are to mess with you!"

Seeing that Zoe Kane was about to argue further, Zella Kane quickly cut her off. "Alright, alright, enough about me. Let’s talk about you!"

Zella Kane pointed at the door to 1606, where Melody Summers had disappeared. "That little brat just now, that’s your husband’s niece, right?" she asked, annoyed. "Did you see her attitude? You’re her aunt, for crying out loud! She just gives you that cold face, doesn’t even invite you in for a minute. What kind of way is that for a junior to act?!"

Zoe Kane sighed. "We’ve only been married a little over a year," she said helplessly. "I never really interacted with his family before. It’s normal for his relatives to be distant with me..."

After their child was born, Zoe Kane had mentioned to Caleb Summers that she wanted to visit her mother-in-law and connect with his side of the family, but Caleb had always brushed it off.

Caleb Summers just said that he hadn’t kept in touch with the people from his hometown since moving to the city and told Zoe not to bother trying to contact them.

Zella Kane frowned at her sister’s words. "Not visiting before you had the baby is one thing," she said disapprovingly, "but now you’ve given them a son! The heir to the throne came from your belly! You’re their family’s greatest hero! Your in-laws should be showing some appreciation!"

’What daughter-in-law doesn’t want to be valued by her husband’s family?’ Zoe Kane couldn’t help but agree with her sister.

From her marriage to the birth of her son, Caleb Summers’s family hadn’t made a single gesture. It was impossible for Zoe Kane not to be bothered by it.

So Zoe Kane nodded and said, "I know. I’ll talk to Caleb about it when I get home..."

...

After seeing Zoe Kane off, Zella Kane returned to 1604.

Although 1604 was a well-finished apartment, it had never been sold, so it came with no furniture or appliances. The place could be described as having nothing but four bare walls.

Zella Kane looked at the empty living room and sighed softly. She consoled herself with the thought that at least the kitchen had a stove and sink, and the bathroom had a vanity and toilet. Otherwise, she really wouldn’t know how they could live here.

Zella Kane walked into the master bedroom and saw her mother, her children, and Forrest Archer all busy inside.

Forrest Archer was setting up a tent, Mrs. Kane was adding coal to a small stove, and Zella’s son, Howard Fletcher, and daughter, Gemma Fletcher, were unpacking sleeping bags.

When he saw Zella Kane return, Forrest Archer quickly asked, "Honey, what do you think? Is setting up the tent here okay?"

Zella Kane looked up at the flimsy tent, a headache already forming. She sighed and complained, "This apartment doesn’t even have a single bed. We’re going to be sleeping in tents for the next few months. It’s going to be so uncomfortable. If only we could have brought a couple of beds from home!"

Hearing this, Mrs. Kane, who was nearby, chimed in, "Moving two beds here would mean paying extra for a moving company, and then we’d have to move them back when we leave... It’s too much trouble and too expensive. Forget it. We should save every penny we can."

Mrs. Kane sighed again. "These days, we’re lucky just to have an apartment to shelter us from this disaster. The Archers next door couldn’t afford to rent a place, so they had to move into a government emergency shelter."

"I heard him say that dozens of people are crammed into a hundred-square-meter room in that shelter. You can’t even stretch your legs when you sleep. Compared to them, our family has a whole two-bedroom apartment to ourselves. Countless people would be envious. And it’s all thanks to your brother-in-law."

Zella Kane snorted. "If you ask me, our brother-in-law doesn’t know how to get things done right. Why would he find us an apartment with no furniture or appliances? If he’d rented a furnished place, we wouldn’t have to be sleeping in tents."

Hearing Zella say this, Mrs. Kane retorted, displeased, "Your brother-in-law found us this apartment, and he even sent over two boxes of coal and over fifty catties of rice. That’s more than enough. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get coal and rice these days? Don’t be so ungrateful!"

Ever since Zoe Kane gave birth to their son, Caleb Summers had been promoted, and the perks of his position had increased. He would periodically give Zoe supplies to take back to her family.

Thanks to Caleb Summers’s contributions, the Kane Family had been living quite comfortably lately, which was why Mrs. Kane was extremely pleased with her son-in-law.

Zella Kane pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "All you ever do is show favoritism to my dear old brother-in-law..."

Mrs. Kane had told Zella Kane more than once that she should learn from her younger sister and find a reliable, capable man, not some poor kid like Forrest Archer who had nothing to offer besides his youth and good looks.

Zella Kane found this advice repulsive!

’Never mind anything else, that Caleb Summers is almost fifty!’ Just thinking about Caleb Summers’s age made Zella Kane imagine the smell of an old man. She couldn’t stomach the thought of being with him.

She had no idea how her sister, Zoe Kane, could stand it.

Mrs. Kane was about to say something more to Zella Kane, but she saw Forrest Archer silently continuing to set up the tent with his head down, and she swallowed her words.

She couldn’t say too much in front of Forrest Archer.

Mrs. Kane then changed the subject. "Ai, you know what they say, comparisons are odious. I was just asking around. Apartments 1605 and 1606 on our floor are both large units, but guess what?"

Seeing Zella Kane’s confused expression, Mrs. Kane continued, "The owner of 1605 and 1606 is the same person! That family has two whole big apartments all to themselves!"