The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 271 - 270: The Furthest Path in the World is the Son’s Tricks

Chapter 271: Chapter 270: The Furthest Path in the World is the Son’s Tricks

After finding out why Ou Liya was angry, Ou’s mother couldn’t help but share her indignation.

"Coming out of the countryside, they really are uneducated. Who desires her measly food anyway? Since she asked you for money, just give it to her, and don’t bother with her stepson anymore. Let him fend for himself, whatever he is!"

Ou Liya looked at her mother with displeasure, "Mom, do you know how much she asked me for? A hundred bucks! That’s equivalent to two months of my salary!"

Ou’s mother was so shocked that her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, "Has she gone crazy for money? Just a few lousy pastries and she wants a hundred bucks, this is extortion, we should call the police!"

"Mom, did you take anything from her shop behind my back?"

Ou’s mother sheepishly replied, "I only took something once, just two pounds of each item, that shouldn’t cost so much, right?"

"When did you take it? Where’s the stuff now?"

"I treated a few friends to it."

Ou Liya was immediately annoyed, "The stuff in her shop is already pricey. Two pounds of each item come to thirty-eight bucks. You couldn’t even bother to tell me."

Ou’s mother said in a weaker tone, "But that still doesn’t add up to a hundred."

Ou Liya said despondently, "Yawen’s family also took some, plus the previous bill wasn’t settled, it all adds up to that amount."

Ou’s mother panicked, "What are we going to do? We can’t expect you to pay all that money by yourself, can we?"

Ou Liya rubbed her forehead in frustration, "Let me think about it."

Logically speaking, this was not a small sum of money, and Ou Liya could have frankly discussed it with her boyfriend’s family. Even if she ended up paying, at least she could make a good impression.

The problem was that she had previously bragged about Shen Mingzhu being a sycophantic parent, which would be like slapping herself in the face if she now admitted that Shen Mingzhu wanted her to pay up.

But if she didn’t tell the truth, how could she afford such high expenses whenever her boyfriend’s family casually took pastries from Mingzhu Square?

...

"Auntie Tao, I had no choice. Her son injured a classmate and I had to deal with it. She got mad at me and insisted that I pay for the pastries from before. She’s from the countryside and has no sense of reason at all."

After listening, Xie’s mother immediately expressed that they would no longer take pastries from Mingzhu Restaurant and severely criticized Shen Mingzhu.

Ou Liya let out a sigh of relief.

Seeing it was getting late, Ou Liya stood up to leave. Her boyfriend, Xie Yawen, escorted her to the train station.

"Liya, take this money and give it to that student’s parent with the last name Pei."

Xie Yawen had some sense of responsibility and spontaneously took out eighty bucks, moving Ou Liya deeply.

"Yawen, thank you, you’re really kind."

Ou Liya gently leaned into Xie Yawen’s arms, wanting to get cozy with him, but Xie Yawen clearly didn’t share the same idea.

"Liya, as an educator, you ought to be honest and honorable, uphold moral integrity, and be a role model for the students. Don’t casually accept gifts from parents in the future."

Her boyfriend’s words were like a series of loud slaps across Ou Liya’s face, stinging her cheeks.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she defended herself, "I had intended to pay, but the parent wouldn’t accept it..."

"Then don’t take things from the parents. In any case, be more careful in the future and don’t make the same mistake again."

"Our Xie Family has always been upright and honest. We have only one requirement for our daughter-in-law: she must be a woman of good character."

"I understand."

Watching her boyfriend walk away, Ou Liya bit her lower lip in grievance.

...

The duty group incident made Shen Mingzhu fully realize that Ou Liya was indeed targeting her son or dissatisfied with her.

She couldn’t be bothered to delve into the specific reasons. She had her son take a long leave of absence; partly because she didn’t want to give Ou Liya the chance to bully him and partly because she planned to transfer her son to another school.

To get away from a class teacher like Ou Liya who lacked professional ethics!

After dinner, Pei Yang tied on an apron and washed the dishes in the kitchen while Shen Mingzhu stood beside him, peeling loquats and discussing the matter.

"...I heard that this school has a not-so-good reputation before, but considering it’s close to the food factory and I can take care of things easily, I didn’t think too much about it. I’m planning to transfer Ziheng to a more reliable and better school."

Pei Yang was very concerned about his son’s education and healthy growth, and he immediately agreed to visit several other primary schools tomorrow to see if they could make the transfer.

"Ah, open your mouth."

Looking at the loquat flesh peeled and pitted by Shen Mingzhu, Pei Yang happily opened his mouth.

As soon as the loquat flesh entered his mouth, his expression froze momentarily, swallowing it whole before continuing to wash the dishes.

When Shen Mingzhu offered him peeled loquat for the second time, he shook his head to refuse, "I ate too much dinner, I can’t eat anymore right now. You should take them to our son, he’s growing and should eat more fruit."

"Alright then."

Shen Mingzhu thought the man made sense and picked up a plate full of loquat flesh, turning to head to her son’s room.

As soon as she left, Pei Yang’s handsome features instantly wrinkled into a frown.

Goodness, that was sour!

"Son, time for loquats, eat them before you go back to studying."

"Thank you, Mom."

Seeing a plate full of loquats peeled by Shen Mingzhu, Pei Ziheng’s beautiful little face showed happiness and contentment.

Pei Yang originally wanted to come over and see his son’s comical reaction, but when he entered and saw his son enjoying the loquats, he was very puzzled.

"Son, are the loquats sweet?"

"Sweet!"

Could it be that he was just unlucky and got a sour one?

Not convinced, Pei Yang picked out another piece of yellow loquat flesh from the plate. As soon as it was in his mouth, the sourness made him inhale sharply.

Seeing his son’s triumphant smile, Shen Mingzhu realized something, "Are the loquats very sour today?"

Pei Yang had just nodded when he heard his son’s crisp response, "Not sour at all, not in the slightest. Being able to eat the loquats Mom peeled is the ultimate bliss!"

Pei Yang: "..."

Turning around, he saw his wife’s teasing expression, "Since you think the loquats I peeled are sour, then don’t eat them."

Pei Yang, with a strong desire to survive, explained, "Even if they’re sour, I love them. I love the loquats you peel the most."

No sooner had he finished speaking, than his son stuffed a plate of loquat flesh into his hands, "Dad, since you love them the most, you should have them all. Aren’t I filial?"

Pei Yang: "..."

The longest journey in the world is no match for my son’s tricks.

As a gloomy Pei Yang left with a plate of loquats, Shen Mingzhu earnestly started a heart-to-heart conversation with her son.

"Son, is Teacher Ou nice to you? Compared to the other students, is there any difference in how she treats you?"

"Teacher Ou doesn’t like me."

A prick in her heart, Shen Mingzhu’s voice became even gentler, "Then why didn’t you tell Mom? If you had told me earlier, I would have certainly helped to resolve this."

"Teacher Ou doesn’t like many students, not just me. I also don’t like her, so whether she likes me or not, I don’t care."

Hearing Pei Ziheng’s answer, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but silently marvel at the strength of the ’antagonist gene’; such early maturity and intelligence, sharp thinking, and clarity in thought.

"Son, Dad and I discussed, and we’re thinking of transferring you to a better school. What do you think?"

Normally the son would comply with whatever she arranged, but this time, he shook his head in refusal.

"Mom, I don’t want to transfer schools."

"Why not? Don’t you want to stay with your friends?"

"Mom, next term I want to skip a grade."