"What's with that look? Don't you remember me?"
"How long has it been since you returned to the Sterling Family? You've already forgotten your old classmates. I never thought you were that kind of person, Stella Sterling."
A chattering voice buzzed in her ear. Stella Sterling's expression soured, and she couldn't be bothered to respond.
'Back in the apocalypse, I would've beaten up an idiot like this long ago. I never would have let him spout so much nonsense in front of me.'
But now, under the watchful eyes of so many people, she figured she needed a bit of the patience she'd long since lost and had to suppress her explosive temper.
Ignoring him, she devoured several lamb skewers in a row, along with her grilled chicken wings. From time to time, she took a satisfying sip of the milk tea she'd bought from the shop next door.
'Ah, these flavors bring back so many memories.' She took a long drag of her milk tea before burying her head in the food again.
Ethan Cheney, who was standing to the side, watched this scene, dumbfounded. The Stella Sterling he remembered was a bright and stunningly beautiful girl with a gentle personality.
They hadn't seen each other in just a few months, and she had already become so... 'uncultured'?
She looked exactly like a starving ghost who had been reincarnated after several lifetimes of hunger.
The disdain in his eyes was completely undisguised!
He had once pursued her for months, but she'd bluntly rejected him without a second thought. The memory had always left a sour taste in his mouth.
It was only after he heard that Stella Sterling was actually the long-lost true heiress of the Sterling Family and had been taken back in that he'd abandoned some of his more malicious ideas.
He never expected to see her like this upon meeting again. He narrowed his eyes and looked closer, easily spotting the wounds on her body. Even her pretty face was covered in bruises. 'And she hasn't even been to a hospital...'
'It seems this true heiress of the Sterling Family isn't having a good time at home.' A cold smirk appeared on his face. He wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to mock her like this!
Stella Sterling had ordered a lot of food, filling the large table. Besides the skewers from this shop, there were also various other delicious snacks she had ordered from elsewhere.
As expected of Mirefall's most famous late-night food street. The reputation was well-deserved; the flavors were incredible.
She frantically enjoyed the feast—a delicacy she couldn't have in the apocalypse. As for the eyesore of a man, she had long since ignored him. He was an insignificant person, not worth her time.
That is, until he reached for a skewer on the table. The moment his hand lifted, her own shot out and clamped down hard on his wrist. She looked up at him, her eyes icy. "Are you trying to steal my food?"
Stella Sterling's eyes narrowed and her tone grew colder. It seemed that if she confirmed his intentions, she would strike the very next moment.
Ethan Cheney was startled by her gaze, then flew into a rage. "Are you out of your mind?"
He tried to shake her hand off but failed. 'How is she so strong?' he thought in shock.
Seeing people nearby looking over and pointing at him, he grew flustered and angry. "Let go of me, you lunatic, Stella Sterling! We're all classmates here. I just saw you eating with such gusto and wanted to try a bite, that's all. And you accuse me of stealing? Are you sick in the head?"
"Touching my things without my permission is stealing!"
'Trying to snatch food from my hands? I wouldn't be out of line even if I killed him for it!'
Stella Sterling stared at his face, tightening her grip as if to shatter his wrist. But unfortunately, this body wasn't the one she had honed in the apocalypse. On top of that, it was injured and incredibly weak; she simply didn't have that kind of strength.
"AAAH, IT HURTS, IT HURTS! Let go, let go!" Ethan Cheney screamed in pain, cursing nonstop. "You really are sick in the head! It's just one damn skewer, do you have to be so dramatic? I'm a rich kid, for crying out loud. Why would I steal your stuff?"
The surrounding crowd burst into laughter, amused by the scene and by Ethan Cheney's exaggerated performance. 'Could it really hurt that much just from a woman grabbing his wrist?'
Only Ethan Cheney knew how strong Stella Sterling really was. The pain brought tears to the corners of his eyes. Seeing she had no intention of letting go, he yelled in a fury, "Like I'd want your crappy food! Look at you, all poor and pathetic, treating a single skewer like it's treasure. You're a disgrace to the Sterling Family! You don't have money, right? Fine, I'll treat you! Everything you buy on this street today is on me!"
The next moment, the hand gripping his wrist released him. The coldness in Stella Sterling's eyes receded, replaced by a glint he couldn't decipher. "You sure?"
"Of course I'm sure! You think I'm like you? I wouldn't even look at this junk on a normal day. Only you would like this garbage. Since you like it so much, I'll treat you as an old classmate. You're a pretty pathetic heiress for the Sterling Family!" Ethan Cheney said quickly, his tone dripping with undisguised contempt.
As he pulled his hand back, he saw his wrist had already swollen. His pupils dilated slightly, and his expression shifted several times.
"Then I'll thank you in advance!" Stella Sterling gave him a meaningful look. 'What a Good Samaritan!'
She had just been thinking about stocking up on all these snacks. After all, once the apocalypse started, none of this would be available. She just had limited funds and would have to wait until she got more money to hoard them.
Now that someone was willing to foot the bill, she wasn't going to be polite.
She walked over to the shop owner. "Lamb skewers, beef skewers, grilled wings, grilled fish..."
She rattled off a long list of items before finishing with, "Whatever you have left in the shop, I'll take it all. To go. He's paying!"
Pointing at Ethan Cheney, who was still rubbing his wrist not far away, Stella Sterling spoke to the shop owner, who was grinning from ear to ear, and then headed to the next shop.
He had said he'd pay for however much she bought on this street. It would be a disservice to his generosity if she didn't go on a crazy ordering spree.
Roast chicken, various duck dishes, seafood like crawfish, all kinds of savory pancakes, plus the milk tea from every shop... Stella Sterling went through every single shop on the street. Even for the same type of snack, she didn't miss a single different flavor, buying out the entire stock of every store.
Ethan Cheney just sat there and watched her, letting her buy whatever she wanted with an air of indifference. 'Heh, did the Sterling Family really not give her any money? Look at that greedy, gleeful expression. So tacky. She doesn't have a single shred of the dignity a famous heiress should have.'
'How much could one little girl buy anyway? Spending a bit of cash to have something to hold over her head was more than worth it.'
Finally, Stella Sterling returned to her seat, escorted by the fawning smiles of one shopkeeper after another. Ethan Cheney spoke with a haughty tone, "So where's all the stuff you bought? Don't tell me you were afraid I couldn't afford it. Heh, I'm not you!"
Stella Sterling looked at him with a 'gentle' smile. "I was afraid *you'd* regret it!"
As if he'd just heard a joke, Ethan Cheney's contempt for Stella Sterling deepened. "Don't worry, I don't give a damn about this little bit of money. You, on the other hand... if word of this gets out, you'll probably bring shame to the entire Sterling Family!"
'The Sterling Family's reputation?'
'What does the Sterling Family's reputation have to do with me!'
The smile on her face didn't falter. "As long as you don't regret it. Look, the shopkeepers are here to collect. Go ahead and pay up!"
And just like that, all the shop owners from the street started walking over, each holding a QR code and wearing a flattering smile. The sight of seventy or eighty shopkeepers approaching all at once was enough to make one's skin crawl.
Ethan Cheney sneered, "A little bit of money, and they act like this. A bunch of country bumpkins!"