The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 261 - 260 The Awareness of Being a Profligate

Chapter 261: Chapter 260 The Awareness of Being a Profligate

Having caught her breath and realizing it was getting late, Shen Mingzhu, accompanied by Shen Hongmei, prepared to return to the factory.

As she was about to reach the entrance of the mall, she ran into Yao An, who was patrolling the premises.

"Manager Yao," Shen Mingzhu greeted him proactively and enthusiastically.

Yao An nodded at her in acknowledgment.

She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt Yao An’s attitude towards her had become less disdainful than before.

Operating on the principle of trying one’s luck, Shen Mingzhu once again offered the products she brought.

"Manager Yao, please take these pastries back for your family to try. They might not be valuable, but they taste quite good. Consider it trying something new."

To her surprise, this time Yao An didn’t refuse outright.

"Alright, then thank you."

"You’re welcome. If your family likes them, just let me know, and I’ll bring you some more."

After she left, Yao An carried the items back to his office.

"Miss Ying, I’ve brought the items."​​

Without waiting for Yan Su’s instruction, Yao An proactively took the things out of the paper bag and neatly arranged them on the coffee table.

The packaging was quite unique—a white rectangular box tied with a wine-red ribbon, which had the name and trademark of the pastries printed on it.

One box of flower pastries and one box of snowflake crisp.

"They look pretty good. Miss Ying, would you like to try them?"

Yao An said this, not so much to flatter her.

As the person in charge of the mall, he certainly had a discerning eye. He knew at a glance whether something was of good quality or not.

As soon as he opened the box of flower pastries, he was greeted with a very sweet and tempting rose fragrance.

Tasting it, the pastry crust was flaky and fragrant without being greasy, the filling was fresh and richly flavored, and he could even discern the complete rose petals it contained.

The other box of snowflake crisps was similarly outstanding. Creamy in color and bite-sized, once he took a bite, it was soft, fragrant, and crispy. The prevalent milky flavor, interspersed with the crunchy nuts and the sweet and sour dried fruits, left him wanting more.

After eating a piece, Yao An wanted to reach for another, but his hand had barely stretched out when Yan Su covered the two boxes of pastries.

He sheepishly withdrew his hand.

...

Back in the car, Yan Su put the paper bag aside and rested her forehead on her hands in thought before instructing the driver.

"To Mingyuan."

The driver acknowledged.

Upon reaching the Ning Family residence, Yan Su sat in the living room for a while before Yan Jing, dressed in fitted yoga attire, slowly descended the stairs.

"Big sister."

Yan Su stood up to greet her.

Yan Jing gestured for her to sit as she stretched and made small talk, "Did you come over for something?"

Yan Su didn’t sit, instead maintaining a little distance as she followed behind Yan Jing.

Compared to her usual grace and poise, Yan Su was clearly much more reserved in front of Yan Jing.

"I have a friend who makes pastries and is thinking about getting a shop space in Friendship Mall."

Yan Jing turned to look at her, her expression inscrutable, "A man or a woman?"

"A woman."

As she spoke, Yan Su handed the pastries she brought over to Yan Jing, "It’s these. I think they taste quite good."

Yan Jing glanced at them, nodding, "I understand."

"Then could you mention it to brother-in-law?"

"No need to consult him for such a small matter, you just need to find... what’s his name..."

"Yao An."

"Mhm, just get him to arrange it."

"Thank you, big sister."

Yan Jing took a deep breath to end her stretching, turned around to gently touch Yan Su’s cheek, and said affectionately, "When have you ever been so formal with me."

Yan Su was slightly embarrassed.

Yan Jing was a full generation older than her, and although they had the same father but different mothers, she was very affectionate towards her younger sister.

Sometimes, Yan Su felt that Yan Jing didn’t treat her like a sister, but rather, doted on her like a daughter.

The servants brought warm water for Yan Jing.

Sitting on the sofa, Yan Jing sipped her water while continuing to talk to Yan Su, "Next week I’m going to France, I’ll bring back two bags for you. What colors do you want?"

"No need."

Yan Jing’s attitude was noncommittal as she said, "Then I’ll buy all the colors and you can choose at your leisure."

Yan Su knew her older sister wasn’t joking, and quickly said, "Black, no, blue, I’ll take blue."

Yan Jing laughed, "Better yet, I’ll buy them all and you can pick. Whatever is left, I’ll deal with."

Yan Su: "..."

After the sisters chatted for a while, Ning Yuan came in with a swagger, swinging his car keys. Seeing Yan Su, he called out, "Auntie," tossing the keys towards the butler before he collapsed onto the sofa.

"Mom, is there anything to eat? I’m starving."

Catching the car keys Ning Yuan threw, the butler laughed and replied, "Lunch will be ready in half an hour; I’ll fetch some snacks from the kitchen to tide you over, young master."

Yan Jing said, "That’s not necessary, there are some on the coffee table."

The butler glanced at the items on the coffee table and cheerfully said, "Then I’ll go make a cup of tea for the young master."

Ning Yuan, famished, casually grabbed a flower cake and stuffed it into his mouth.

He had intended just to fill his stomach, but the flavor that burst in his mouth took him by surprise.

"Not bad at all, what kind of cake is this?"

Yan Su replied, "Flower cake."

As Ning Yuan chewed, he stared at the dark red filling in the middle of the flaky pastry, "Is this made with flowers? Can you make cakes with flowers?"

Yan Jing looked disdainfully at her son devouring the food and dropped the comment "I’m going to shower" before heading upstairs.

Having finished the cake in a few bites, Ning Yuan grabbed another one.

The butler thoughtfully brought over a cup of Pu’er tea to help cut through the richness, and Ning Yuan ate and drank with relish, alternating between the cake and the tea.

After wolfing down three cakes, Ning Yuan finally felt content. Curious, he picked up a piece of snowflake crisp.

"What’s this?"

"Snowflake crisp."

Looking at the milky-white candy in his hand, Ning Yuan thought the name snowflake crisp was quite fitting. He casually asked which bakery they were from.

This question stumped Yan Su.

Although she had secretly helped Shen Mingzhu, she didn’t want her brother to know.

The butler, not understanding Yan Su’s hesitation, said, "It’s from a friend of Miss Second, who plans to open a snack shop in the mall."

Hearing this, Ning Yuan turned to Yan Su, "Auntie, when is your friend opening the shop? I’ll support it when it does."

"Not that soon."

As tasty as the snowflake crisps were, having several sweet treats in one go was bound to get cloying. Ning Yuan reached for his tea, inadvertently hooking his finger on the band of the biscuit box.

Seeing the "Mingzhu" brand printed on the band, Ning Yuan almost choked.

"Mingzhu? Auntie, the friend you mentioned, it’s not Shen Mingzhu, is it?"

Faced with Ning Yuan’s look of bewilderment and shock, Yan Su was at a loss for words.

Outside the Ning Family’s main gate, Yan Su looked at Ning Yuan who had accompanied her out, "Don’t tell Xiaoyi about this."

Ning Yuan, with an expression of horror, replied, "With old Yan’s temper, if he finds out I kept this from him, he’ll definitely give me a hard time."

"But on another note, Auntie, why did you help Shen Mingzhu?"

Seated in the car, Yan Su watched the landscape retreat and pondered over Ning Yuan’s question.

She was never a woman of tender-heartedness or kindness; in her world, those were liabilities and burdens. Exchanging benefits and weighing the pros and cons were the rules of survival.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had helped someone without expecting anything in return.

Perhaps, there are people in this world who are truly unique, capable of effortlessly awakening one’s compassion.

...

After seeing Yan Su off, Ning Yuan immediately thought of calling Yan Yi to tell him, but when he returned to the living room, he found his mother had already taken a bath and was sitting on the sofa.

"Your auntie left?"

"Yeah."

Yan Jing beckoned her son over with gentleness, "Come here, I have something to tell you."

Ning Yuan backed away fearfully, "Mom, don’t be like that, I’m scared."

Yan Jing smiled, "Are you coming over or not?"

Ning Yuan obediently went over and sat down.

Yan Jing raised her hand to tidy his disheveled hair, "Your father and I have discussed it, and we’re planning to get you engaged to Xueqi in October."

"I don’t, I don’t even like her!"

Yan Jing continued to smile, "Baby, do you know what it means to have the awareness of being a wastrel?"

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