It'll Come Naturally
Chapter 1487 Mingling With The Elites (Part One)

When Patricia woke up the next morning, there was no sign of Tom anywhere. In her mind, the crazy night seemed unreal, but her aching body was telling her it had not been a dream and they had gratifying sex on this soft bed.

She got up and walked downstairs. The morning sun came through the glass windows. Patricia was in a happy mood because Tom didn't get angry even after she deceived him. "What am I going to do today? It's so boring to be staying home alone," she mumbled to

herself. They still hadn't seen Leena, and Michelle had to go to school. So, Patricia was really bored.

"Mrs. Qin, what do you want for breakfast?" Zanna, the housekeeper, asked when she saw Patricia. The housekeeper was sent by Tom's mother to take care of her son. Zanna was good at reading people's minds, and Tom's mother trusted her very much. "Don't bother, Zanna. I'll eat whatever is available." Patricia gave her an awkward smile for waking up late. With a secret smile, she thought, 'This is all Tom's fault. If not for him, I wouldn't have gotten up so late.'

"All right then. I'll serve you the same breakfast Mr. Qin had this morning." Zanna was in her forties. She looked pleasant and amiable, and not the kind who would make trouble.

"All right. Thank you, Zanna." She smiled at the housekeeper. Perhaps it was because she came from a family of equal social rank, so she didn't feel uncomfortable living in such an enormous villa. Neither did she feel awkward having a servant attend to her needs. After breakfast, she drove to a market selling home decorations. Patricia wasn't very fond of their bedroom design and wanted to buy fashionable items to enhance the space. Tom had told her she could replace everything in the house as she wanted. Patricia decided not to redecorate the entire room, but only to add colorful ornaments.

She was in the middle of bargaining for a porcelain vase when she got the call from Tom's mother, Pamela. Her mother-in-law requested to see her, so Patricia laid down the vase and turned to leave. But the storekeeper suddenly stopped her as she decided to accept the price Patricia wanted. Unfortunately, the customer had changed her mind because of more important things that needed her attention.

Pamela, a well-educated woman, had graduated from a distinguished university in S City. She was beautiful and came from a wealthy family. It was love at first sight for Tom's father, but he had courted her for a long time before they became a pair.

"Patricia! Over here!" Pamela called out. Patricia arrived shortly at the restaurant and searched for Tom's mother. Aside from Pamela, there were other middle-aged women sitting at the table.

"I'm here, Mom," Patricia said as she walked up to the table. "Good morning, aunties." She greeted the ladies politely, though she didn't know who they were. She then sat next to Pamela.

She discreetly looked at her mother-in-law's companions, trying to figure them out. "So, this is your son's new wife! She is indeed pretty and very polite," one of the women, wearing dazzling jewels, said.

While she appeared to be praising Patricia, disdain was evident on her face. Graciously, Pamela replied, "As long as Tom loves her, I don't have a problem with anything about her." She was aware of why her female companions asked her to call Patricia and have her come over. All the women were wives of wealthy men. They hung out together and showed off everything their husbands, sons, and daughters, as well as sons- and daughters-in-law. And frankly, this annoyed Pamela a little.

Pamela's statement humbled Patricia. The first time she met Tom's mother, she found her quite amiable. Now, she liked her even more because of her character. Patricia believed they would make good friends in the future.

"You're such a wonderful mother-in-law, Pamela. Your son's wife should be grateful to have a mother-in-law like you," another woman taunted her while playing with her diamond ring. The woman eyed Patricia from head to toe, apparently forming an opinion based on appearance alone. The young bride felt awkward as they scrutinized her like a piece of merchandise. Had she known so many discriminating women were waiting for her, Patricia would have come to the restaurant as late as possible.

"Exactly!" another woman with a round face, piped in. "What is her name, Pamela?" she asked. She looked gracious enough, but also looked down on Patricia.

"Aunties, my name is Patricia Bai. And you can call me Patricia," she immediately stood up to introduce herself. Pamela was just about to speak when Patricia beat her to it.

"And what do you do, Patricia?" asked one lady in a very cold tone. From her tone alone, Patricia knew it would not be easy to get along with this woman.

"I've only graduated from university, and haven't applied for a job yet," she answered truthfully. The fact was, Patricia still had no plans of looking for a job and planned to enjoy her time. After all, she didn't need a salary to support herself. If she did look for a job someday, it would be out of interest rather than money. But now, faced with so many critical women, she was embarrassed by her decision.

"Ah, is that so? And what do your parents do?" The onslaught of questions didn't stop. And to Patricia, it seemed as if they would not stop asking until they dug deep into her family background.

The last question flustered the young woman. "Uh... My parents..." Patricia tried to compose herself before replying. "I'm from an ordinary family," she admitted. Forcing a smile to conceal her embarrassment, Patricia was too modest to say that she was from a family of scholars.

"Ahhh! So you are a real life Cinderella! What is that saying again? 'A poor man's child soon learns to cope.' Mrs. Qin, you are very fortunate to have such a daughter-in-law, because from now on, she will manage everything for you." They were pretending to compliment Patricia, but were actually mocking her for coming from a poor family.

Displeased with the interrogation, Pamela jumped in, "Yes, it'll be much easier for me now. Patricia, after all, has been managing her mother's gallery since she was in high school." Initially, Pamela planned to keep quiet and let Patricia deal with the ladies herself. But the girl wanted to keep a low profile, which gave them the opportunity to attack the Qin family. So, Pamela decided to stand up in her defense. Staying low key was not wrong, but in upper-class circles, if you didn't show your real strength, others would gladly step on you. 'Patricia is still too young to know this, and I'll have to talk to her about it later. Besides, she has to learn how to deal with these people after marrying into the Qin family. I know she's a modest girl, but she has to learn to handle people like these, ' Pamela thought firmly.

"Gallery? It seems Patricia was just being modest," the one who mocked the girl gave an awkward smile. In the eyes of the nouveau rich, painting was considered a refined art form, and only the well-educated knew how to appreciate and enjoy it. She herself knew nothing about the arts, so she was forced to change her opinion of Patricia after Pamela's revelation.

The young woman only smiled but said nothing. She didn't understand why her mother-in-law told them the truth, because it embarrassed her to be somewhat bragging about her family. "I guess Mrs. Qin means the kind of store selling cheap paintings. That's why Patricia was embarrassed to disclose this." The woman with a diamond ring blew on her fingers before casting a mocking glance at Patricia.

Slightly angered by the remark, Patricia said nothing. She was unsure whether these women were Pamela's friends or not, so she refrained from speaking harshly.

"I don't know when Rarity Gallery started selling cheap paintings," Pamela spoke up, as she sipped lemonade. Although everyone in the table was rich woman who wore fashionable clothes and expensive jewelry, Pamela was more graceful and elegant than any of her companions.

"What? Rarity Gallery? The one run by Concordia Pei, the well-known painter? So, Patricia is Concordia Pei's daughter?" one woman exclaimed. Almost everyone in the city knew who Concordia Pei was.

"Ah, no wonder you look so educated and sensible, Patricia. Your parents are both well-known scholars. I heard your father is a professor in C University and is a famous calligrapher. His works are priceless, right?" Then came a series of questions that had Patricia confused and unable to withstand the interrogation. She wasn't expecting her family's exposure so quickly, and all she could give them was an awkward smile.000000000000☐☐☐☐