The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 266 - 265: Shen Baolan’s Joke (Revised)

Chapter 266: Chapter 265: Shen Baolan’s Joke (Revised)

"Miss Second, your items have been returned."

Yan Su was slightly surprised to see the three exquisitely arranged large gift boxes on the coffee table.

"So many?"

The driver smiled, "The gift is as important as the sentiment behind it, which shows Mrs. Pei truly wants to thank Miss Second."

Yan Su bent over and opened the three gift boxes one by one, and the sweet fragrance instantly filled the room.

One box contained soft candies, divided into six compartments, with different colored candies in each.

Yan Su pinched a red one; it had a rich strawberry flavor, with just a hint of sweetness—just perfect.

After tasting a bit of everything from the three boxes, Yan Su split the contents, keeping half for herself and sending the other half to Yan Jing.

Yan Jing had given up sugar for many years, so surely she would enjoy these sugar-free sweets and soft candies.

...

Since receiving a scooter for his birthday, Pei Ziheng would take it downstairs to play whenever he was free.

Today, he was gliding through the residential courtyard on his scooter. When he neared the carport, Shen Baolan suddenly appeared, waving a sausage stick at him.

"Pei Ziheng, come here."

Pei Ziheng slid over without a change in expression, his dark eyes quietly observing the other person.

Shen Baolan stuffed the sausage into his hand, "Eat it, this is from Xiaohao’s birth mother, sent all the way from the Capital. It’s quite expensive."

"Pei Ziheng, you see, a birth mother, no matter how far away, always keeps her son in her heart."

"Even though your step-mother is nice to you now, once she has her own son, she won’t have time for you anymore. All women are the same; they only care for their biological sons. You should also find your birth mother; isn’t that right?"

A sneer flickered across the depths of Pei Ziheng’s dark eyes, but on the surface, he appeared helpless and pitiful, "My birth mother is far away, I can’t find her. Can you help me find her?"

Seeing Pei Ziheng take the bait, Shen Baolan nearly burst into laughter.

If Pei Ziheng’s birth mother showed up, wouldn’t Shen Mingzhu be furious?

"Sure, tell me where your birth mother is, and I’ll help you find her."

"She’s in..."

Pei Ziheng leaned in, whispering so only the two of them could hear, "Underground, you go down and find her."

Shen Baolan was stunned.

Pei Ziheng’s fair and lovely little face curled into a devilish smile, "Remember to go find her quickly, I’ll be waiting for your news."

After saying that, he gleefully skated away on his scooter.

Shen Baolan watched Pei Ziheng’s retreating figure, shaking with rage.

The little brat, he actually cursed her to die!?

Although Pei Ziheng had successfully enraged Shen Baolan, he still wasn’t satisfied. Seeing Zhou Hao not far away, playing marbles with a few friends, he glided over with a cold hook to his lips.

"Zhou Hao."

Seeing Pei Ziheng greet him voluntarily, Zhou Hao was quite flattered.

After all, Pei Ziheng was usually so aloof, barely acknowledging him.

Looking enviously at the scooter Pei Ziheng was riding, Zhou Hao’s face betrayed his longing.

Zhou Hao edged closer to Pei Ziheng and fished out a handful of White Rabbit Creamy Candies from his pocket, "Pei Ziheng, I’ll give you these milk candies, and you let me play with your scooter for a while."

Pei Ziheng looked at him, pity in his dark eyes, "You keep them for yourself. Once your step-mother has a son, your candies and toys, even the bed you’re sleeping in now, will all be taken by your grandmother and step-mother for your brother. You’ll have nothing."

Zhou Hao had grown a year older and was no longer as easy to bully as last year.

"Pei Ziheng, your mom is going to have another baby too, and since you’re not her biological child, when the baby comes, she will only love your brother, not you!"

Pei Ziheng smirked, "Who said my mom is having a brother? My mom is having a sister, and I will always be my mom’s only son."

"Zhou Hao, it’s the same for you, if your stepmom has a sister, you will be your dad’s only son, and your grandparents will only dote on you."

"If you want your stepmom to have a sister too, I have a way..."

...

Shen Baolan laid out the dinner on the table and saw her stepson come back in sweating profusely from outside. She was just about to call him to wash hands and eat when the stepson dashed up to her, facing her belly—

"Have a sister!"

"Have a sister!"

"Have a sister!"

After shouting three times, Zhou Hao happily ran off.

Shen Baolan was dumbfounded with anger.

Ever since she married into the Zhou family, she had been intent on having a son, to solidify her status as the Zhou family daughter-in-law and to have someone to rely on in the future.

Although the stepson’s actions were dismissed as the heedless words of a child, it still left her feeling extremely irritated, but she dared not scold him and could only keep her frustration bottled up.

However, this was just the beginning.

The next morning, as soon as Zhou Hao got up, he ran up to her without even washing his face, and shouted at her belly "have a sister" three times again.

Not only that, but at noon, in the evening, and every day after that, Zhou Hao would unerringly shout at her belly "have a sister" morning, noon, and night, nearly driving Shen Baolan insane.

Zhou Hao, however, was very happy. This was the method taught to him by Pei Ziheng, as long as he shouted "have a sister" toward his stepmom’s belly every morning, noon, and night, his stepmom would definitely have a sister, and his status and affection would not be threatened.

Shen Baolan was superstitious and believed that if her stepson kept shouting like this every day, even if she was carrying a son, he would be turned into a daughter.

But no matter how much she schemed, trying to coax and bribe Zhou Hao to stop shouting "have a sister", he wouldn’t listen.

Zhou Hao might have been young, but he was not foolish – a brother could take everything from him, and would share his inheritance, so he wouldn’t stop just for some small favors and let his stepmom give birth to a brother for him.

Shen Baolan had no choice but to turn to her husband and in-laws to discipline Zhou Hao.

For the Zhou family members, having a son or a daughter made no difference, as they already had a son (grandson).

Moreover, they were worried that if Shen Baolan had her own son, she might mistreat Zhou Hao, the eldest grandson (eldest son), so they turned a blind eye to Zhou Hao’s behavior.

What made Shen Baolan even more frustrated was that when the story spread in the family yard, every time she went out, people would tease her about having a daughter, making her so angry she refused to leave the house. She stayed at home every day, touching her belly and muttering "have a son, have a son" until she was nearly driven mad.

...

Shen Baolan and the stepson’s incident reached Shen Mingzhu’s ears, but Shen Mingzhu just laughed it off and didn’t take it to heart.

That day, as usual, Shen Mingzhu arrived at the mall to inspect her stores when she saw people quarreling in front of a store from a distance.

She instinctively wanted to quicken her pace to see what was going on but slowed down again when she looked down at her belly that was almost blocking her toes.

What’s the rush? The sky isn’t falling.

As she approached calmly, she unexpectedly found that it was someone she knew.

"Ms. Ou, what’s going on?"

Seeing her, Ou Liya was equally surprised, then realized something and pointed at the Mingzhu Restaurant, "Pei Ziheng’s mom, is this your store?"

Before Shen Mingzhu could reply, a strange female voice intervened from the side, "Since you know each other, that’s great. My daughter wants to have your store’s shaved ice pastry."