The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 208: The Beloved Pet of the Group, Pei Ziheng

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: The Beloved Pet of the Group, Pei Ziheng

"Teacher Ou, I heard your birthday is coming up, so here’s a little something from me."

Ou Liya smiled and tried to refuse, "Junyou’s mom, I appreciate the thought, but let’s not do this with the gift. You should take it back."

"It’s nothing expensive, just a silver bracelet."

Wu Mei insisted as she pushed the jewelry box into Ou Liya’s hands, "Teacher Ou, aren’t you taking it because you think the gift is too light?"

Upon hearing Wu Mei’s words, Ou Liya accepted the gift.

"Then, thank you very much."

"What’s there to thank for? I will still need you to look after my Junyou in the future. By the way, Teacher Ou, Junyou told me he can’t hear very well during class. Could you see if there’s a way to move him to a seat where he can hear better? If he can’t hear the lessons clearly, how can his grades improve, right?"

Ou Liya nodded, "Yes."

Wu Mei hurriedly thanked her, and then shifted the topic, "Teacher Ou, some parents are so full of themselves just because their child gets good grades. They don’t consider that without your special attention, could their son achieve such results? In my opinion, the good seats in the first row should be taken turns by everyone, why should her son be an exception."

...

Soon, Friday’s class meeting came around.

Pei Ziheng didn’t say anything after hearing the new seat arrangement from Ou Liya, and just started packing up his things.

Then a voice rang out in the class: "Teacher Ou."

All forty pairs of eyes in the class turned to the speaker, the class’s study committee member, Zhao Xiaotong.

She stood up straight, with a serious face, "Pei Ziheng is short and will be blocked by the students in the front row if he sits at the back. He won’t be able to see the blackboard."

Her statement received the support of most of the classmates.

Suddenly, they all spoke up on behalf of Pei Ziheng, requesting Ou Liya to place him at the front.

Ou Liya, who had been teaching for several years, had never encountered such a situation. She was taken aback and quite puzzled.

When did Pei Ziheng become so well-liked among his classmates?

As the homeroom teacher, she had the authority to firmly assign Pei Ziheng the seat she had arranged for him.

But doing so could easily lead to resistance and defiance from the students, which would greatly hinder her future management and teaching.

Thus, with the class’s united plea, Pei Ziheng remained seated in the front row.

Ou Liya maintained a nonchalant facade, even praised a few class officers who had led the charge in speaking for Pei Ziheng, but what she truly thought remained known only to her.

...

Guessing that Pei Ziheng should be coming back from school soon, Shen Mingzhu waited in advance at the entrance of the food factory.

Since the parent-teacher meeting, upon realizing that she had often neglected Pei Ziheng, Shen Mingzhu deliberately reduced her workload to devote more attention and energy to him.

"Hello, Aunt Mingzhu."

Seeing Shen Mingzhu from afar, several children walking with Pei Ziheng ran up to greet her sweetly.

Shen Mingzhu smiled and responded to each one of them.

Zhao Xiaotong and the class’s welfare officer, Song Xinru, chattered on, telling Shen Mingzhu about today’s class meeting, "...We all spoke up for Pei Ziheng, and Teacher Ou let him stay in the front row."

Shen Mingzhu put on a surprised expression, "Thank you so much for helping Ziheng. You all are kind and beautiful little angels."

The girls’ cheeks grew red with delight from Shen Mingzhu’s compliments.

"No problem, Aunt Mingzhu. We’re all classmates; it’s only right to help each other!"

"Yes, Aunt Mingzhu, and you even treated us to cookies. The cookies you bake are so delicious!"

Shen Mingzhu beamed, "If you like them, I’ll bake some more for you to enjoy next time, okay?"

"Sure!"

Soon, the children all cheerfully went on their way home one after another, all except Zhao Yun who remained, leaning on his stick.

He scratched his head, his youthful face turning slightly red, "Aunt Mingzhu, our nanny is busy tonight and won’t be cooking. Can I come to your place for dinner?"

Shen Mingzhu was noncommittal, "Does your dad know about this?"

"He’s busy networking every night, doesn’t have time to bother with me."

Shen Mingzhu patted his shoulder, "Alright, let’s go."

"Thank you, Aunt Mingzhu!"

Zhao Yun was so happy he almost jumped for joy, eagerly helping Pei Ziheng with his schoolbag.

Pei Ziheng glanced at him, his face stern and silent, showing a look of disdain.

Despite this, Zhao Yun remained delighted, draping an arm over Pei Ziheng’s shoulder as they walked, chatting about funny things at school. From behind, they looked just like brothers.

Shen Mingzhu walked behind them, smiling at the scene, her conviction that Zhao Yun was not of bad character growing stronger.