Chapter 259: Chapter 259: The Prying Neighbor

To Melody Summers’s surprise, Mrs. Vance was also cradling a small pet dog.

The pet dog looked a bit like a Chihuahua, but it was much thinner and weaker than a normal one, appearing somewhat malnourished.

At the moment, it was curled up quietly in Mrs. Vance’s arms, looking a little listless.

Melody Summers looked at the Chihuahua, thinking, ’During this disaster, it’s hard enough for ordinary people to feed themselves. But for Mrs. Vance to be able to keep a pet dog... it shows her family must be doing quite well...’

Mrs. Vance sidled over with a grin and said to Melody Summers and Grace Sutton, "I just saw a few people carrying a big box, going in and out of our building. I was just wondering which family had the spare cash to buy so much stuff these days... So it was you guys again!"

Melody Summers instantly tensed up.

She thought with a headache, ’It seems Mrs. Vance must have seen the workers when they came to install the garbage disposal unit!’

It wasn’t that Melody Summers was deliberately prejudiced against Mrs. Vance; the woman was just too strange!

Although they had only met twice before, Mrs. Vance had always left a bad impression on Melody Summers.

The first time they met, Mrs. Vance had helped Sylvia Lancaster try to guilt-trip Melody Summers into giving up her apartment.

The second time, Mrs. Vance had brazenly pried about the supplies in Melody Summers’s home.

These were special times, and Melody Summers had to be on her guard against people like Mrs. Vance.

Mrs. Vance just stood there, sizing up Melody Summers and Grace Sutton, her eyes darting all over them.

As Mrs. Vance looked at Melody Summers’s and Grace Sutton’s clean, fair faces and their fluffy, dry hair, and then at their new fur and down coats, a calculating glint slowly appeared in her eyes.

Being so brazenly scrutinized by Mrs. Vance made both Melody Summers and Grace Sutton feel uncomfortable...

Grace Sutton subtly shielded Melody Summers behind her, forced a smile at Mrs. Vance, and said, "We weren’t buying things. It was just some stuff from our previous move that we hadn’t finished bringing over. We had the movers deliver it today."

After saying that, Grace Sutton seemed to remember something and added, "Besides, what spare cash? We’re just an ordinary family. Who has spare cash these days!"

Hearing Grace Sutton’s explanation, the glint in Mrs. Vance’s eyes didn’t fade. She pressed on, "Oh, listen to you. Gas and diesel are sky-high now. Just hailing a cab costs at least a thousand to start, and delivery fees are even more expensive! The fact that your family can afford to have people deliver things shows you’re not so ordinary..."

When Grace Sutton heard this, she cursed inwardly.

But Melody Summers, who was shielded behind Grace Sutton, let out a soft laugh and said to Mrs. Vance, "Mrs. Vance, what are you talking about? We’re just an ordinary family. We can’t compare to yours."

"Look at you, you’re still able to keep a pet dog! People are practically starving to death these days, yet you have extra food to feed a dog. That clearly shows your family is much better off than ours!"

Mrs. Vance’s expression changed at her words, and a flicker of guilt crossed her eyes.

But she quickly recovered and continued with an awkward smile, "Listen to yourself. This little puppy doesn’t need much food. Half a small sand vine cake a day is enough to keep it alive! But you two, even your hair is so clean... Tsk tsk, that’s not easy. You still have extra water to wash your hair? Did you hoard a lot of water before the disaster?"

Seeing the subtle, calculating look in Mrs. Vance’s eyes, Melody Summers replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, "Mrs. Vance, you give us too much credit. If we’d hoarded water before the disaster, we’d be laughing in our sleep! Our whole family just has dry hair that doesn’t get oily, so it only looks clean!"

Fortunately, the elevator arrived just then.

Melody Summers and Grace Sutton didn’t want to get tangled up with Mrs. Vance any longer. In this situation, the more they said, the more likely they were to slip up. These days, it was best not to let anyone know you had money and supplies at home!

But no sooner had the two of them stepped into the elevator than Mrs. Vance followed them in.

The elevator doors closed. Mrs. Vance was about to say something more, but before she could speak, the pet dog in her arms suddenly started to move.

The little dog, which had been lying listlessly in Mrs. Vance’s arms, suddenly began to struggle. It strained its neck to look toward Grace Sutton and Melody Summers, lolling its tongue out and letting out continuous whimpers and yaps, its eyes bulging as if they were about to pop out.

It was acting as if Melody Summers and Grace Sutton were some kind of delicious food.

If Mrs. Vance hadn’t been holding it tightly, it probably would have lunged right at Melody Summers and Grace Sutton. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Seeing this, Grace Sutton frowned, shielded Melody Summers behind her again, and watched the pet dog warily, afraid it would leap up and bite someone.

These days, medicine was a luxury. If you got bitten by a dog, it would be difficult to even get a rabies shot!

But Mrs. Vance just said, "Oh, my little dog is just greedy, and it has a good nose. See how excited it got when it got close to you? It probably smelled that you’ve been eating something good!"

With that, Mrs. Vance cackled. She turned her gaze back to Melody Summers and said with a smile, "Young lady, I told you last time I smelled a nice aroma coming from your apartment, but you wouldn’t admit it! I knew it, I couldn’t have smelled wrong! For you to still be eating so well... you must have hoarded a lot of food, haven’t you?"

Melody Summers was speechless.

’What on earth is wrong with this Mrs. Vance?!’

’Is she really that obsessed with prying into other people’s supplies?’

’Is she planning a home invasion or just planning to come begging?’

Mrs. Vance’s words were starting to get on Grace Sutton’s nerves too. Shielding Melody Summers behind her, she said irritably, "Who has any food these days? We don’t! We’ve been eating nothing but sand vine cakes for over a year!"

Seeing how tight-lipped both Melody Summers and Grace Sutton were, Mrs. Vance grew displeased. She wanted to keep pressing, but seeing the ugly look on Grace Sutton’s face, she ultimately didn’t dare to say anything more.

Just then, the elevator reached the 15th floor.

Mrs. Vance silently exited the elevator, still holding her pet dog.

After leaving the elevator, Mrs. Vance looked back reluctantly at Grace Sutton and Melody Summers.

Seeing this, Grace Sutton immediately jabbed the close-door button a few times.

The elevator doors then closed and began to ascend, and only then did Grace Sutton let out a sigh of relief.

Grace Sutton and Melody Summers exchanged a look, both seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.

Back when they lived in a villa, Grace Sutton had always found it too quiet and a bit lonely, but now she missed the benefits of the villa immensely.

At least in the villa community, there weren’t so many prying eyes watching them!

After they got back to their apartment, Melody Summers sat on the sofa for a while, but she still felt uneasy.

She was a little afraid that Mrs. Vance might start spouting nonsense in the community group chat, so she picked up her phone and started scrolling through the group messages.