Mr. Kane Got Blacklisted (Stella and Keegan)
Chapter 2253

Chapter 2253

She knew Jaylene's ways. Wasn't Wren afraid Jaylene would undermine her again for getting so close to Stella?

Stella really couldn't figure this girl out.

On the other hand, Kiara seemed pleased, warmly greeting Wren.

"Wren, isn't your grandmother still in the hospital? Why are you having lunch at the office today?"

Before Wren could respond, someone nearby teased, "She should have come to the office earlier. The lunchbox she brings every day looks like slop. Can you even eat that? I'm telling you, Wren, the canteen has subsidies, it's only three hundred a month. You can't be that short on money, with the way you bring your lunch, I've seen enough even if you haven't eaten enough. Wren's face immediately flushed red, clutching her chopsticks in embarrassment.

Kiara frowned, "Quiana, how can you say such things? Whether to eat at the canteen or bring a lunchbox is everyone's choice. Spending three hundred at the canteen is considered class?"

The person called Quiana sat beside Jaylene, whom Stella had met before, also from the finance department.

Quiana raised an eyebrow, "I didn't say eating at the canteen was class, but she brings a lunchbox every day that looks like mush, to reheat in the canteen. Honestly, it affects everyone's appetite. We're all tired from work, yet we have to lose our appetite during lunch, how's that fair?"

Julia Harper chimed in, "Wren shouldn't be short of money, right?

Remember when Ms. Hall gave clothes that time? She picked the most expensive one, didn't she? You can tell she's materialistic, she picked the best one right away."

"Wearing clothes worth tens of thousands, but unwilling to spend three hundred on meals?"

"Can you compare the two? Clothes worth tens of thousands can be seen and touched when worn, they show status. Three hundred is money directly taken out of your pocket."

Jaylene also generously offered, "Wren, if your family is really struggling, you can mention it to the company. We can waive the three hundred meal fee for you."

Wren turned as pale as a sheet, her eyes reddening.

The three hundred meal fee wasn't much indeed, and Wren's salary certainly didn't suffer from it. But she had an elderly person at home, whose teeth were not in good condition due to old age, and needed food to be soft and mushy. For the sake of convenience in taking care of her grandmother, she didn't eat at the company canteen, but brought pre-made lunch boxes. She would leave one for her grandmother and bring one for herself to be reheated by the canteen lady at noon.

The already mushy food looked even worse after being reheated, and since she wasn't allowed to eat in the office, Wren could only eat at the canteen. Many people had seen her lunch box, and there were plenty like Quiana who were disdainful. Wren noticed, and would always come to the canteen only after everyone had finished eating.

But the fact was that her family was not well-off. End-Stage renal disease was a bottomless pit, no matter how much money you threw in, it wouldn't be enough. Her grandmother always said to give up, but people had their spirits, how could they give up easily on treatment?

Until the end, she still wanted to hold on, even if it meant wearing shabby clothes and eating poor food. Every time she finished a dialysis session, she felt it was worth it.

She never thought poverty was a joke. She didn't steal or rob, she lived on her own, why should it be a joke? But when colleagues turned these things into jokes to please everyone, she suddenly felt ashamed.

The teasing around her seemed to be amplified infinitely, and for a moment, she felt like fleeing.

Just then, Stella, who was dining across from her, glanced at those people and smiled. "If wearing expensive clothes is considered vanity, does that mean you can't even earn ten thousand a month?"

Quiana's face darkened a bit, but with Jaylene there, she had a lot of confidence. "If a person can't even afford a meal, but still wants to wear such expensive clothes, isn't that vanity?"

"Do you know if she can't afford it? Did she tell you herself?"

Quiana was choked for a moment and couldn't speak.

Stella asked again, "Is the canteen run by your family?"

Quiana kept a straight face, whispering, "No."

"If it's not your business, why are you so concerned? From what you were saying, others would think she was coming to your house to cook with your pots."