The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 45 - How Did You Get So Round

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: How Did You Get So Round?

Chapter 45 -45: How Did You Get So Round?

Shen Mingzhu finally remembered what she had neglected!

In the book she read, Zhou Hao was the protagonist, with the perspective and plot revolving around him and the Zhou family.

Pei Ziheng, being used as an antagonist tool character, only appeared in specific plots.

Therefore, the author didn’t elaborate much on Pei Ziheng’s background, and Pei Yang didn’t even have a name mentioned, only briefly described with one line.

Gone too soon.

In written language, “gone too soon” generally refers to young and middle-aged adults between 20 and 40 years of age.

Pei Yang was 26 years old now, and deducing from the plot in the book, he must have died before the age of 28,

because when describing the formation of Pei Ziheng’s antagonist personality in the book, it read: Pei Ziheng has suffered brutal abuse from his evil stepmother since he was 5.

Even if the original character was stupid and reckless, she wouldn’t dare to abuse her stepson while her husband was still alive.

Therefore, it could be concluded that Pei Yang died when Pei Ziheng was 5 years old.

Good heavens, Pei Ziheng is already 4 and a half years old this year.

This means Pei Yang could live at most one more year.

Freaking hell!

Does it have to be this thrilling!

Shen Mingzhu could no longer stay calm.

She had no appetite for cooking, couldn’t concentrate on reading, and spent her days as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

Naturally, she didn’t wish for Pei Yang to die.

But she neither knew when Pei Yang would die nor how he would die; even if she wanted to save him, she had no means to do so.

Living under the same roof, Pei Ziheng naturally noticed Shen Mingzhu’s unusual behavior.

She looked like she was facing some kind of problem, frowning all day long, cooking meals well below standard, not tidying up the messy house, and sighing eight hundred times a day.

“Are you sick?”

Finally, one day, after Shen Mingzhu mistakenly used sugar for salt while cooking, Pei Ziheng couldn’t help but voice the doubts in his heart.

Shen Mingzhu looked at him and nodded seriously, “Yes, I’ve got a heart disease.

It’s a kind of ailment that can only be cured with a heart medicine.

You can’t help me, so stop asking, okay?”

Pei Ziheng rolled his eyes and resigned himself to eating the sweet-tasting mushroom stir-fried pork in his bowl.

Seeing her stepson quietly eating with a beautiful demeanor, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but heave a deep sigh.

“Ziheng, let me ask you a question.”

Pei Ziheng glanced at her, with an impatient look that said go ahead and ask.

“What would you do if, I mean, suppose, just suppose, your dad were to die?”

Pei Ziheng’s action of eating paused, and his dark piercing eyes were like two cold and sharp blades, directly stabbing towards Shen Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t want to admit it, but she was actually frightened by the gaze of a 4-year-old child.

“Don’t be angry, huh?

I’m just joking with you.

You can rest assured, even if something happens to your dad, I won’t neglect you.

Here, have some mushroom, it’s sweet and tasty.”

Pei Ziheng lowered his gaze and continued eating, but his heart wasn’t as calm as it appeared on the surface.

What exactly does this woman know?

Has she been so restless for the past few days because she foresaw his dad’s death?

After a whirlwind of thoughts, Pei Ziheng decided to observe and wait quietly.

And after Shen Mingzhu half-jokingly and half-seriously spoke to her stepson about Pei Yang’s death, she oddly found her mood had become strangely calm.

She was never one to brood over things, so since she couldn’t prevent the plot from unfolding, she might as well just let go.

After all, no one knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first.

——

Before long, New Year’s Day arrived.

Upon waking up, Shen Mingzhu was delighted to find that it had snowed.

This was Fengcheng’s third snowfall this winter.

The first two snowfalls were quite light, like little foam beads that disappeared as they floated down.

But today’s snowfall was made up of large goose feathers, blanketing the entire city in a thick coat of white; it was as if the city had been turned into a wintry realm, draped in silver and white, immensely picturesque.

Shen Mingzhu was a bit excited.

She used to live in a coastal tropical city and rarely had the opportunity to experience the beauty of a snowy day up close.

While snow was beautiful, it was also truly cold, especially for someone like Shen Mingzhu who was accustomed to tropical climates.

She felt both love and fear towards the northern winters and would only dare to go out wrapped up like a bear alongside Pei Ziheng.

Today was the New Year’s class activity at Pei Ziheng’s kindergarten.

After breakfast, Shen Mingzhu took Pei Ziheng and headed out.

The roads were slippery with snow, so they both moved slowly.

By the time they reached the kindergarten, most of the children and their parents had already arrived.

The small classroom had been arranged to look like a little auditorium, with colored paper and balloons hanging all around the ceilings and walls.

The podium had been turned into a small stage, and there were seats for the audience below it.

A narrow pathway divided the audience seats into left and right sections, with parents on the left and children on the right.

As Shen Mingzhu was leading Pei Ziheng to find a seat, someone suddenly called out to her from the left.

She looked over and took a moment to recognize the person calling her as Shen Baolan.

Shen Baolan had ballooned up like a blowfish over the past month, with a double chin now prominently on display.

Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help exclaiming to herself, impressed.

Even the pigs in the sty don’t grow that fast.

Approaching Shen Baolan, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but remark with some impoliteness, “How did you balloon into a sphere like that?”

“Ziheng’s mom, Zhou Hao’s mom is expecting now, so naturally, her appetite is a bit larger than before,” another mom explained with a smile, coming to Shen Baolan’s defense.

Meanwhile, Shen Baolan stood with her hands on her hips, deliberately flaunting her belly and boasting that she had been craving sour foods often, which likely meant she was carrying a boy.

All the while, she shot covert glances at Shen Mingzhu, her eyes brimming with a triumphant look as if to say, “Aren’t you envious?

Aren’t you jealous?”

Shen Mingzhu offered her congratulations without much sincerity, but she thought to herself, no wonder the Zhou family hurried to bring Shen Baolan back from her parents’ home—it turned out there was a baby on the way.

Those born with a halo sure have it different.

Tsk.

Shen Mingzhu did feel a pang of jealousy, but not towards Shen Baolan’s pregnancy.

It was Shen Baolan’s dumb luck she envied.

There was still time before the event started, and the children were scampering around the classroom like little monkeys, while the parents sat chatting and cracking sunflower seeds to pass the time.

As they chatted, the parents began to inquire about what talents the children would display during the event.

One said their child would sing, another said theirs would recite.

The talent show didn’t limit the form of performance—it was all about participation, even just telling a joke on stage was fine.

As the conversation heated up, Shen Baolan suddenly cued Shen Mingzhu, “What’s your Ziheng going to perform?”

The other parents also looked over curiously, and Shen Mingzhu felt compelled to respond.

“Counting.”

“Counting?”

“Yeah, from one to a hundred.”

Shen Baolan nearly burst out laughing, “Oh my, you’re killing me, Mingzhu.

I don’t mean to criticize, but as a stepmom, you ought to put a little more effort into the kid.

Instead of being busy with this and that at home, you’d be better off spending more time teaching the child.

My Xiaohao, I teach him every night.

He not only knows the multiplication table by heart, he also can do addition and subtraction with two-digit numbers.”

Hearing this, the nearby parents showered Shen Baolan with admiration for her competence and forward-thinking, and they also praised Zhou Hao, saying what a smart and clever boy he was, and how he was sure to achieve great things in the future.

Puffed up by praise, Shen Baolan surely would have sprouted a tail that would stick straight up to the sky if she could grow one.

While reveling in her triumph, Shen Baolan didn’t forget to take a few digs at Shen Mingzhu.

“Mingzhu, you really need to learn how to be a mother.

It’s not enough to just provide food and clothing, you can’t spoil the child rotten either.

Your Ziheng was such a smart kid before, and now he’s reduced to only being able to perform counting, which is quite pathetic.

If this continues, he’ll never amount to anything in his life.”

Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes so hard they nearly reached heaven, “Well, that’s none of your concern.

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s making money.

So what if I end up supporting him for his whole life?

Cars, houses, cash, whatever he wants, I’ll give him.

However he wants to spend it is up to him.”

“Keep blowing smoke!”

“I might as well be blowing it right at you, mightn’t I?”

The two exchanged barbs in a relentless spat, unaware that Pei Ziheng, standing by the window behind them, was looking at Shen Baolan with a scoffing gaze, his dark eyes colder than snow.