Chapter 46
Roy met his gaze with a smirk, his expression dripping with disdain.
Brad watched this heartwarming scene unfold and muttered from the back of the group, “If she really had stayed with our family before she was reborn, how could she have never eaten fruit? Doesn’t that prove her lies are falling apart?”
Those who overheard raised their eyebrows and turned to look at Regina.
She was happily sampling each fruit, popping questions to Preston or Roy about what they were called.
She was like a kid trying candy for the first time.
She’s looking cute. Funny even.
Xavier’s curiosity was piqued. “Regina, how’ve you never had fruit?”
Her hand paused mid–air as she turned to Xavier.
He stared back at her with intrigue. “Eighteen years without a single piece of fruit? That sounds ridiculous.”
Regina paused, then tilted her head a little. “Everything’s so mechanized these days, so the water and soil are trashed. Fruit and veggies only grow in purified dirt with clean water. It’s so picky only rich folks can swing it. You didn’t know that?”
Xavier didn’t know what to say.
She continued evenly, “In the slums, people survive on canned goods and bread. Nobody can afford fruit that costs thousands of dollars–or rather, no one would spend that much on it.
“If you ask about the most common ‘fruit, it’d be grape or strawberry–flavored milk.”
Regina added, “Of course, I’ve never seen real grapes or strawberries. Only cartoon images of them.”
Xavier was caught off guard. Embarrassed, he looked down. “Sorry, I didn’t know about your situation.”
Regina shook her head. “It’s not your fault. I only realized after coming to downtown that air isn’t supposed to smell decayed–it can actually smell refreshing.”
She let out a mocking laugh. “Even the wind from the slums can’t reach downtown. Let alone the truth.”
Xavier sank lower, feeling like some spoiled rich kid who’d missed the memo on reality.
Seeing Xavier get reprimanded, Brad stepped forward indignantly. “But surely you’ve stayed at someone else’s house before. They didn’t have fruit either:”
Regina’s brows barely twitched as she slid her eyes over to Brad.
He locked onto her, pressing hard. “No way you’ve never visited family!”
J
If she had been reborn and had lived with his family in her past life, she’d definitely have had fruits.
He thought to himself, ‘My family has an endless supply of fruit, ok?
Just open the fridge, and there it is!‘
Preston, visibly annoyed, retorted, “Brad, why are you being so aggressive? She just hasn’t had fruit before.”
Brad sneered. “I’m just asking if she’s had any fruit while staying at someone else’s house. Is that wrong? Or are we supposed to just accept her playing the pathetic card to gain sympathy?”
Regina chuckled. “Oh? Not having fruit is pathetic? More pathetic than you losing to me?”
Brad’s face turned red. “What did you just say?”
She smirked, voice sharp and taunting. “Quit stressing about my fruit situation and save some pity for yourself. Ignorance is fixable–being a loser’s permanent.”
Brad’s head felt like it was going to explode. “Say that again!”
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12:13 PM
Chapter 46
Regina scoffed. “But yes, I did stay at someone’s house once. They were rich, but unfortunately, they had a daughter around my age. That girl didn’t like me, so I was left to fend for myself.”
The room went silent as everyone’s thoughts converged on one person.
Melinda.
Regina rested her chin lazily on her hand, her tone casual yet biting as she recalled, “The moment that girl saw me, she’d cry. Her family made it clear that I was to stay away from them.
“If all five of them were watching TV in the living room, I had to get back to my room. At mealtimes, I ate the same food as the cleaning staff.”
Her lips twitched upward. “Why the cleaning staff’s food and not the family’s, you may ask…”
“Because if I ate what they did, that girl would cry her eyes out and lose her appetite. So I wasn’t allowed to touch the good stuff–just whatever was beneath them.”
Regina threw her hands out like she was on stage. “So, why no fruit?”
She fixed her gaze on Brad, whose face had gone ghostly pale. With a chilling smile, she answered, “Because I was always alone in that house. Everyone avoided me as much as they could.
JI didn’t know I could have fruit, and they didn’t care enough to offer any. I wasn’t worth the thought. My existence didn’t matter.”
She tilted her head, that smile turning sharp. “That clear it up for you, loser?”
