Prompt Box

Second Chance

Author's Note
Playing with JVH624 rainingmeteors and Dr-Cokebottles (is there anyone else?)
prompt: redemption
Enjoy!
-monicacantwrite
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Maybe this was a mistake, Feng thought as she walked towards the front door of the Daoming Mansion. She knew Ah Si was away on a business trip in New York for the week, and that her daughter-in-law, Shancai had stayed behind. How bad could things go? "Who am I kidding?" the Daoming matriarch muttered under her breath. There was plenty that could go wrong when Daoming Feng and Daoming (formerly Dong) Shancai were alone in the same room. Daoming Feng knew that her daughter-in-law was not her biggest fan. Whenever the two would cross paths, which wasn't often given that Ah Si and his wife lived in Shanghai and the Daoming matriarch resided in London, their interactions with one another were brief. Shancai was never rude to her, in fact she was very polite and poise, however, Daoming Feng was no fool. She noticed the way Shancai tended to keep a distance from her, both physically and emotionally. At parties where all of the Daoming family were present, Feng had noticed Shancai had a habit of subtly leaning away from her if they were sat together, her hands folded together tightly in her lap and an uneasy look in her eyes. Worse still when they weren't in front of prying eyes, Shancai tended to make herself scarce whenever Daoming Feng was staying in Shanghai.

Truth be told, this rejection from Shancai stung the Daoming matriarch, but she didn't blame the younger woman's aversion to her. During the early months of her relationship with Ah Si, Feng had tried to force Ah Si to marry another woman, a spoiled brat of an heiress, when she was fully aware her son was head over heels for Shancai. It had been to the point that she'd resorted to dirty tricks such as targeting Shancai's loved ones and allowing the couple to nearly starve themselves to death. Feng winced at the memory, knowing that though she could claim it had been for the Daoming Group's sake, but deep down, she merely didn't like that Shancai hadn't come a wealthy background. Daoming Feng regretted her actions and knew she deserved to live with the guilt, but the damage had been done and there was nothing that could change that. The Daoming matriarch tore herself from her dark thoughts when she heard footsteps from the second floor and begin to descend the steps.

"Hello? Who's...," Shancai stopped dead in her tracks on the staircase when she laid eyes on her mother-in-law. "Shancai, long time, no see," the Daoming matriarch greeted. "H-hello Daoming Feng," Shancai said, her expression guarded as she cleared her throat, "You arrived earlier than I expected." Feng nodded as she replied, "I wrapped up business in London and was able to catch an earlier flight to Shanghai." She paused, "Where you expecting company?" Shancai shook her head, "I was just going for a walk and to have some coffee or tea." What Feng said next shocked Shancai to the core. "Actually, why don't I have one of the maids prepare us some tea? I'd like to speak with you. Will you join me?" Shancai hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Feng gave Shancai a cautious smile. "I'll go get the tea started," the younger woman said before hightailing it to the kitchen before her mother-in-law got in another word. Once in the kitchen, she pulled out her phone and swiftly tapped out a text to her husband.

🐷: I didn't know your mother was coming today, I thought her flight was the day after tomorrow
🍍: What? She's there? Right now?! 
🍍: Fuck, I missed her call, and I just checked her voicemail. I'm sorry, Shancai. I should have known.
🐷: It's fine, I was just a little surprised. We're about to have tea together. She asked me to join her.
🍍: Really? I don't know if I like the sound of that 🤨 I don't want her making any offhand comments towards you
🐷: I'm sure it'll be fine.
🍍: You know what kind of attitude my mom has, Shancai. I really don't think she could have changed so much in three years 😒
🐷: ...
🍍: listen, just tell me if she gives you any trouble, and I'll deal with her
🐷: I will, but I don't think she'll do that