The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 272 - 271: Better to Go Crazy Than to Implod

Chapter 272: Chapter 271: Better to Go Crazy Than to Implod

Shen Mingzhu was taken aback by her son’s idea.

Upon further thought, she realized if her son managed to skip a grade to third grade, then Ou Liya would no longer be his class teacher, and she wouldn’t have to worry about Ou Liya giving her son a hard time.

But her son had just turned six this year, wouldn’t it be too much of a stretch for someone so young to enter third grade? She worried it might do more harm than good.

With this in mind, Shen Mingzhu didn’t agree right away, but instead planned to take her son to see a psychologist for an assessment and then consult with the school.

After all, skipping a grade wasn’t something they could just decide on their own, it would need the school’s approval.

"Son, promise Mommy one thing, if a teacher or classmate ever bullies you at school again, you must tell me so I can help you resolve it, okay?"

"Mhm."

"Every time you tell me something about your school, I’ll tell you a story from when I was in school, how does that sound?"

"Good!"

Gazing at her son’s joyful and beautiful little face, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with emotion.

In the blink of an eye, she had been here for almost two years, with a son, a husband, a family, a career, friends, and the soon-to-be-born little life.

Her goal to reform her antagonist son had somewhat been achieved; the next goal was to have a daughter smoothly so the family of four could live happily ever after.

Lost in these thoughts, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but wonder if her experiences in the previous life were just a dream?

...

The next day, not long after Shen Mingzhu had arrived at the office, Ou Liya came looking for her and dropped a hundred yuan on her desk.

After counting the money, Shen Mingzhu took out the unpaid invoice documents from the drawer and handed them back to Ou Liya.

Ou Liya crumpled the documents into a ball with a sneer, "We’re even now."

Shen Mingzhu smiled and nodded, "Hmm, let’s just say I fed all the things I gave away before to dogs."

After speaking, she sighed, "If I feed a dog a piece of meat, it would wag its tail at me. Some people are even worse than dogs, tsk tsk."

Ou Liya’s face turned cold with barely concealed rage in her eyes, "You’re a mother, can’t you show a little class?"

Shen Mingzhu sneered, "Now, what class do I have to show a dog?"

Watching Ou Liya leave with her sleeves flapping, Shen Mingzhu felt an indescribable sense of relief wash over her.

It was better to vent outwardly than to suffer internal strife.

Upon leaving the office, Ou Liya immediately spotted Pei Ziheng sitting under the eaves, helping the workers by peeling potatoes, and her gaze flickered.

"Pei Ziheng, did your mom get you a long leave just for you to do this? She’s harming you, don’t you know?"

"Cui Junyou and Zhao Xiaotong are studying hard every minute, if you don’t focus your time and effort on studying, they’ll soon catch up to you."

Ou Liya wasn’t really concerned about Pei Ziheng’s well-being with her words; rather, she intended to drive a wedge between mother and son in revenge for Shen Mingzhu’s insults.

Any other six-year-old might have fallen for it.

Unfortunately for her, Pei Ziheng, despite his delicate and pretty doll-like appearance, had a heart as black as a devil’s.

Fully aware that his mother was pregnant and yet deliberately insulting him as "trash," trying to upset her, he hadn’t yet settled the score with Ou Liya and she dared to provoke further.

Staring at Ou Liya’s retreating figure, Pei Ziheng’s eyes flickered with intense scorn and coldness.

...

"Cui Junyou, your handwriting has improved a lot recently, but it’s still far behind Pei Ziheng’s. Look at how well Pei Ziheng writes."

Cui Junyou looked at the two copybooks being compared, with lips pressed tightly together without uttering a word.

"Zhao Xiaotong, I made you the study committee member to set a good example for the whole class, but look at you, you only came in seventh in the midterms. If you don’t step it up, I will have to give your position to Pei Ziheng, who came in first."

Zhao Xiaotong, with tears welling, remained silent.

"Wang Ziyi, you are the math class representative, and how did you only score 94 on the midterms? You scored 6 points less than Pei Ziheng. This won’t do, you must work harder and strive to score full marks like Pei Ziheng next time, you understand?"

Wang Ziyi nodded with a face filled with shame.

After Wang Ziyi left, a teacher in the office couldn’t help but speak up, "Ms. Ou, encouraging students is fine, but you’re always comparing them to Pei Ziheng in your class. Aren’t you afraid of provoking hatred and dissatisfaction towards him?"

Ou Liya smiled as if it was nothing, "How could that be? Pei Ziheng has always been the top of the class. Using him as a benchmark motivates everyone to pursue vigorously."

"If Pei Ziheng’s grades are so outstanding, why didn’t you give him the ’Triple-A Student’ award last semester?"

The smile on Ou Liya’s face faded a bit, "The ’Triple-A Student’ award isn’t only about grades. He’s quite lacking in other areas and doesn’t get along well with classmates."

Hearing this, the other person had no more to say, since it was none of their concern.

Ou Liya flipped open the teaching plan to prepare for her class, with a faint smile on her lips.

Indeed, she was intentionally causing trouble for Pei Ziheng.

As a seasoned teacher, she knew all too well how to instill hostility in students and thus isolate a student from the whole class.

A rural woman who had married into the city by cunning means and dares to insult her as a dog should be ready to pay the price.

Before long, another Monday arrived.

Spending a sweet and pleasant weekend with her partner, Ou Liya was radiating charm.

From the school gate to the office, countless gazes focused on her, which was extremely pleasing to her mood.

"Ms. Ou."

She had just taken a seat at her desk when Shu Min, who usually got along well with her, approached.

Ou Liya instinctively thought Shu Min was about to compliment her new dress, which she had bought at the People’s Shopping Mall with her partner yesterday; it was the latest fashion from Shangcheng.

However, Shu Min didn’t ask about the dress. Instead, she placed a children’s newspaper in front of her with a complicated look in her eyes.

"Ms. Ou, take a look at this."

Ou Liya picked up the newspaper and saw an article with the title "My Homeroom Teacher".

"My homeroom teacher has a very pleasant name, Ou Liya, with her curved eyebrows and big eyes..."

Reading this far, a delighted smile appeared on Ou Liya’s face.

A student from her class had actually published an article in the youth newspaper, and it was in praise of her. After work, she would show the newspaper to her partner.

Ou Liya continued reading with anticipation, but soon the smile faded from her face. Shame, annoyance, surprise, and anger flickered across her face rapidly, over and over again.

Before she had finished reading, she crumpled the newspaper into a ball, and when she looked up, she starkly realized that all eyes in the office were on her.

At that moment, she finally understood that their gazes weren’t because she dressed beautifully today but because they were watching her become a laughingstock!

"No wonder everyone is envious of such talent when she’s always decked out in gold and silver. We simply can’t compare."

Someone sneered, and Ou Liya’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. As she bowed her head, she removed the gold earrings from her ears and took off the bracelet from her wrist, about to put them in her bag when someone called from outside the office door—

"Ms. Ou, Principal Wang wants to see you."

Ou Liya stiffened.