Evelina came out of the kitchen, looked at her daughter, and said faintly, "First, light a stick of incense for your father."
Mabel Quinn took three sticks of incense, lit them with a candle, bowed three times to her father’s portrait, and then inserted the incense into the burner.
When the incense had completely burned out, the three of them bowed three more times to the portrait before putting away the offerings.
During dinner, Evelina said, "Let me tell you, regardless of what unpleasantness you might have had with that Lyra Grant lady, don’t provoke her in the future, understand! I heard later that day, she only accidentally spilled some drink on your clothes, yet you asked Soren to take off his coat for you to wear. Don’t you know Soren is Miss Grant’s boyfriend?"
"Exactly, Mabel, really, Lyra Grant’s father is an executive, and if he wanted to trouble us ordinary people, it would be effortless. Soren and Lyra Grant are dating, so don’t get any wrong ideas about Soren," Cecil Quinn also chimed in.
"I’m not interested in Soren," Mabel Quinn said calmly.
"It’s best if you’re not interested." Evelina said coldly, "People should be self-aware. Someone like Soren, once he graduates, will enter the city’s publicity department. His father is the director of a major hospital. Only a wealthy lady like Lyra Grant can match him. Can’t you endure it facing Miss Grant? Must you make things awkward for others? In the end, it’s your brother and me who will suffer from your antics!"
Her mother’s words chilled Mabel Quinn’s heart. "If Brother fell for some rich lady, would you also tell him to be self-aware, Mom? If Brother got drink spilled on him, would you also tell him to endure?"
"How are these the same? Your brother is your brother. You are you!" Evelina said.
"What’s the difference?" Mabel asked.
Evelina, flustered and exasperated, snapped, "Why are you so disobedient, child? I say one thing, and you have ten retorts, is that it? You’ve already caused your father’s death, and are you intent on destroying your brother and me to be happy! Listen well, if you get into any trouble outside and implicate your brother, don’t expect me to acknowledge you as my daughter!"
With that, Evelina pushed her bowl away, got up, and went into the bedroom.
Cecil Quinn also said to Mabel, "You really are something, going against Lyra Grant, what good will it do you? Aren’t you just angry because you think she plagiarized your novel? Can’t you see, if she hadn’t, with your capabilities, would that novel have been published?"
"So should I be grateful to her for using my novel?" Mabel retorted.
"You just have such a rigid mindset." Cecil said irritably, "Think about it yourself. I’ll go check on Mom." He finished speaking, put his cutlery down, got up, and followed her into the bedroom.
Mabel sat alone at the table, mechanically spooning rice into her mouth. She should have realized long ago that her mother only cared about her brother; to her mother, her brother was everything, and she was nothing.
Even though she was also her child...
Her nose stung, and the rice she swallowed tasted so bitter...
Mabel Quinn didn’t expect to encounter Lyra Grant so soon again. When she arrived at the company where she was interning—Morningstar Film Culture Co., the screenplay group supervisor, Lavender Foster, after some basic conversation, led her into a meeting room for a conference.