The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 274 - 273: A Son Pays for His Mother’s Debt, Makes Sense, Right?

Chapter 274: Chapter 273: A Son Pays for His Mother’s Debt, Makes Sense, Right?

Ou Liya turned her head and glared fiercely at Shen Mingzhu, her eyes as if she wanted to devour her.

While desperately backing away, Shen Mingzhu hugged her stomach, "Calm down a bit. If you dare to touch me, I’ll immediately lie down, and it won’t be cheap to get back up."

Ou Liya was so angry that her face turned green.

At that moment, a teacher stood at the principal’s office door calling for her, saying that Wa Mingde wanted to talk to her. With a gloomy expression, she had no choice but to return to the office.

"Mr. Wa, I was wrong."

Wa Mingde was not softened by her tears pouring down her face like rain, "You only realize your mistake now? Why didn’t you think of the consequences when you were accepting the bribes!?"

After berating her harshly, Wa Mingde told her to go back to class for now. Punishment was inevitable, but the specific measures would require a meeting of the school leaders to discuss and decide.

Ou Liya, wiping away tears, walked out of the principal’s office and saw Shen Mingzhu standing outside. Her face stiffened for a moment before she hurriedly ran off.

Shen Mingzhu sneered at the retreating figure and, supporting her waist, went into the principal’s office.

...

In the office, Ou Liya pretended to be calm as she corrected homework, but the strange looks from her colleagues and their tacit isolation made her feel uneasy.

Every minute and every second felt like an agonizing punishment.

Finding it hard to sit still until it was time for class, she picked up her teaching plan and fled the office.

"Class, turn to page 78. The little white rabbit and the little gray rabbit... "

"Teacher, that’s wrong. We’ve already covered the little white rabbit and the little gray rabbit."

Looking down at the dozens of familiar, youthful faces, Ou Liya’s mind went blank for a while before she remembered the correct lesson material, "I made a mistake. Everyone, turn to page 82... "

Perhaps due to her poor state, Ou Liya made several mistakes during the lesson, all pointed out by the students, which made her feel both irritated and embarrassed.

It wasn’t until she returned home at midday and school was out that Ou Liya’s tense nerves finally relaxed, and she cried bitterly in her mother’s arms.

After crying, she began to worry about the Xie Family’s reaction if they found out about this incident.

Xie Yawen was an overseas returnee. After coming back to the country, he had been working as a doctor at the People’s Hospital. Marrying Xie Yawen meant she had entered the middle class.

But Xie Yawen couldn’t stand any dirt in his eye. Knowing that she had taken bribes, he would certainly break up with her.

At this moment, Ou Liya was filled with regret for having ruined her bright future over some minor, short-lived benefits.

...

"Son, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

Pei Ziheng was indifferent inside, but on the surface, he appeared to consider seriously, "The bad news."

"Principal Wa’s decision is that you have to take the second graders’ exam at the end of the term, and you must score full marks in both subjects, only then can you skip a grade and move to the third grade next semester."

This requirement was ridiculously easy for Pei Ziheng.

"Mom, I’ll work hard."

"Keep it up, Mom is rooting for you."

"So what’s the good news?"

"Ms. Ou got a scolding from Principal Wa, cried a mess."

She got what she deserved.

Pei Ziheng criticized in his heart, but outwardly, he feigned curiosity and asked why Ou Liya was scolded.

Not wanting her son to encounter the complexities of adulthood too soon, Shen Mingzhu casually said, "She did something wrong. Let’s not talk about her. Mom managed to fight for a chance for you to try attending second grade. Next week when you go to school, you’ll directly join the second grade class and take the final exam there."

"Okay."

Shen Mingzhu lovingly stroked his head and softly admonished, "If you can’t keep up with the learning progress, make sure you come home and talk about it right away. Don’t force yourself, understand?"

"Understood."

...

These past few days had crawled by for Ou Liya like years.

On one hand, she was on tenterhooks that the Xie Family might see the article in the youth newspaper; on the other, she was anxious about how the school would discipline her—and who was the one sabotaging her behind her back.

The article was published under a pseudonym, but generally, newspapers had the contact information of contributors for communication and payment for the piece.

The newspaper was located out of town, and Ou Liya, unable to be in two places at once, could only ask her mother to make the trip for her.

Soon enough, her mother called back with the results of her inquiry—

"They said the person’s last name is Cui, but they refused to tell me anything else."

Last name Cui, could it be Cui Junyou?

Ou Liya gripped the phone so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

She had initially suspected Pei Ziheng, after all, he was smart and wouldn’t find it challenging to write such an essay, but if it was Cui Junyou, wouldn’t that make sense too?

After all, she had not told a soul about taking Wu Mei’s gold earrings—not even when her good friend Shu Min asked; she had claimed they were a purchase of her own.

Was it all because she once said Cui Junyou’s handwriting wasn’t as good as Pei Ziheng’s?

At that thought, Ou Liya felt so indignant she could almost spit blood.

The incident where Wu Mei had publicly demanded her jewelry back had already left her utterly humiliated; now, knowing that it was Cui Junyou who "reported" her, her hatred for the Cui Family, mother, and son, soared to new heights.

However, Ou Liya could never have dreamed that all this was a trap meticulously set by Pei Ziheng.

Ou Liya arrogantly thought she could cast a shadow over Pei Ziheng, aiming to isolate him from his classmates, yet she overlooked his stature in the hearts of his female classmates.

After Zhao Xiaotong was targeted by her, she sought out Pei Ziheng right after school, brought him classroom notes, and relayed to him every word Ou Liya had said.

Turning the tables, Pei Ziheng reached out to Cui Junyou and generously shared his own calligraphy tips.

Cui Junyou, deeply grateful, let it slip to Pei Ziheng about Ou Liya accepting the jewelry from Wu Mei.

Pei Ziheng then craftily penned that "essay," and the unscrupulous act of throwing Cui Junyou under the bus was also a retribution for Wu Mei’s past bullying of his mother.

A son repaying for his mother’s debt; that seems fair, doesn’t it?

...

On Thursday, Wa Mingde called Ou Liya in.

"After a meeting, the school has decided to suspend you from your job and your classes."

This verdict was like a bolt from the blue for Ou Liya.

With tears brimming in her eyes, she pleaded, "Mr. Wa, I know I’ve made a mistake. I’ve been diligent and dedicated in my years of teaching at Heping. It’s just this once that I haven’t stayed true to my original aspiration. Please give me a chance to rectify my error."

Wa Mingde, having a modicum of pity for his student, pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer.

"This is the best result I could negotiate for you as your teacher."

Ou Liya took the paper and her face instantly went ashen.

A voluntary application form for teaching in rural areas—didn’t that mean she would have to go to a remote and impoverished village?

"If you’re willing to teach in the countryside for three years, you can come back and continue teaching at the school. Otherwise, you’ll have to find another path. Take your time to think it over."

For Ou Liya, this wasn’t a tough choice since there was no way she would go to the countryside.

After completing her resignation procedures, amid the sympathetic, pitiful, or mocking gazes of her colleagues, Ou Liya walked out of the school with her spine ramrod straight.

On the sports field, Pei Ziheng and Zhao Yun were playing basketball. He glanced in Ou Liya’s departing direction and then averted his gaze, a slight curl appearing at the edge of his mouth as he lifted his foot.

Thud.

The basketball soared far away, just like the unpleasant person disappearing from sight.

When Ou Liya returned home, she found her fiancé Xie Yawen seated in the living room, watching her with an expressionless face.

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