Chapter 257: She’ll live a long life

"Little beggar?! What happened to you?!"

Penny slowly looked up at her auntie dejectedly. "Auntie, how can you not recognize me?"

"Hahaha!" Jessa placed her hands on her hips while laughing like an evil witch. "What a surprise! Allison said you’d be coming today, but I was watching out for plump customers. The request for discount riled me up!"

Allison chuckled as she stood beside Jessa. "Penny’s changed a lot since her last visit. Anyway, Jessi... don’t do that again, will you? You’ll scare our customers away if you confront them like that."

"Well, sometimes, I think they come here to be talked down to. I thought it was another troublemaker. I was ready to fight!"

"Haha." Allison shook her head and smiled at the girls. "Your aunt and I have been waiting for you both. Let’s eat together, okay?"

Allison quickly dragged Jessa to sit down, and they joined the girls.

Initially, Penny couldn’t help but express her dismay. After all, she had only lost weight and hadn’t gone under the knife! She still looked the same! First, it was Slater, and now Jessa — two people very close to her heart — didn’t recognize her.

"Fine, fine!" Jessa waved dismissively. "Penny, just because you’ve lost weight doesn’t mean I’ll appreciate it if you ever tell me you’re on a diet."

Penny grinned. "That’s not something you’ll hear from me, Auntie."

"Good, good!" Jessa intoned, darting her eyes between Allison and Penny. "Now, you two look very alike."

Penny’s brows rose as she intuitively looked at her mother. Allison also faced Penny squarely before both women smiled at each other.

Shortly after, the food Jessa had prepared arrived at their table.

The conversation over the meal was mostly catching up on what had been going on. Penny was more interested in hearing about the restaurant’s status.

Although Penny was aware of the restaurant’s stable finances and reputation, it was still best to hear it from Jessa and Allison rather than just relying on data from Yugi. After all, her wish and hope before she left twelve years ago had finally come true.

Jessa might not have won the competition, but she had won the people’s hearts. Her savage personality and honesty earned her quite the popularity. Because of this, Jessa would sometimes guest on cooking shows or segments—she even became a judge for two seasons of Master Chef.

Allison, on the other hand, wasn’t just the manager of the business but also Jessa’s manager for those shows. Both women made Penny proud.

Watching them smile and talk so carefree brought a smile to Penny’s face.

’Mom and Aunt Jessa really have turned their lives around.’ Her smile broadened, and her eyes twinkled. ’In my previous life, Aunt Jessa... and then Mom...’

Penny didn’t want to dwell on those thoughts, but it was clear that Jessa and Allison had become strong, independent individuals. Allison could now stand on her own, and Jessa was even stronger than before.

"By the way, Penny, how is that rebellious son of mine?" Jessa’s eyes blazed as she mentioned her son. "When does he plan to show his face to me, huh?"

Penny’s smile faltered. "Auntie, about that..." she trailed off, gulping nervously. "To be fair, I told him to visit you! But that brat doesn’t want to because he said you’re just going to scold him!"

"I knew it!" Jessa fumed. "Is he in the country?"

"He was here, but he had to fly out for a business trip — I’ll tell you when he’s back. I mean, no, I’ll tell you where he’s staying when he’s here!"

Allison and Nina stared at Penny incredulously, rendered speechless by this display of betrayal. One thing that hadn’t changed about Penny was her quickness to throw people under the bus to save herself.

To this day, they weren’t sure if this trait was a good thing or a terrible one. But one thing they were sure of was that Penny would live a long life—a very long life.

After the meal, their happy chat continued until Nina checked her phone.

"Uhm... Auntie, Mom, Penny, I have to go," Nina announced with a kind smile. "My fiancé came to pick me up, so he’ll drive me home."

Jessa crossed her arms. "That fiancé of yours wouldn’t even say hi to us?"

"Jessa, you know Nina’s fiancé is a little shy, and he’s also busy," Allison soothed, earning a raised brow from Jessa. "He’s probably tired. Let him adjust slowly."

"That’s right, Aunt. He just arrived from the airport and wanted to pick me up to drive me home," Nina chuckled. "He’s scared of you."

"Hmp!" Jessa crossed her arms. "That still doesn’t excuse the fact that it would only take a second to say hi to his soon-to-be in-laws."

Penny glanced at Jessa and shared her sentiments. However, she wasn’t one to judge.

"I’ll walk her out," Penny offered with a smile as she rose from her seat. "Nina, let’s go. Your fiancé is so tired that I’m afraid if I don’t walk you out, I’ll never see what he looks like until the wedding day."

Nina chuckled and nodded. She bid Allison and Jessa goodbye before walking side by side with Penny.

"Penny, how come you still don’t know his face when I keep sending you our pictures together?" Nina asked as they left the restaurant.

Penny arched a brow. "You did?"

"This is what I mean when I say you’re not interested; you don’t remember," Nina teased, perking up as she caught sight of a black sedan right outside the establishment. "He’s there!"

Penny set her eyes on the car, but no one was outside.

"Penny, I have to go. I’ll see you again once the materials arrive!"

With that, Nina skipped toward the car and went straight to the back seat. Penny squinted her eyes and lowered her head, catching a glimpse of a man inside the backseat. Although it was dark inside the car, Penny somewhat grasped what he looked like.

"That’s her fiancé?" Penny muttered. "He’s handsome, just as she said, and also... familiar. Where did I see him again?"