The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 326 - 325: Settling Accounts with Ou Liya

Chapter 326: Chapter 325: Settling Accounts with Ou Liya

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"I heard Xueqi visited your shop today. She didn’t cause you any trouble, did she?"

"No, Miss Zhuang is straightforward and lively; we got along very well."

Hearing this, the voice of Yan Yi on the other end of the phone laughed, "That’s good. If she ever causes you any trouble in the future, just come to me directly. As an elder, I have the responsibility and obligation to discipline her."

"Okay."

After finishing the topic of Zhuang Xueqi, Yan Yi casually inquired about the revenue of the new shop.

Shen Mingzhu answered truthfully.

On the sofa beside, Pei Yang appeared to be playing with his daughter on the surface, but in reality, he was all ears eavesdropping on his wife’s phone conversation.

Hearing that Shen Mingzhu wasn’t hanging up the phone after a long while, Pei Yang quietly removed one of Little Guoguo’s socks.

Then, under Little Guoguo’s surprised and puzzled gaze, he flicked his finger.

"Wow..."

It doesn’t hurt, Daddy will rub it for you.

As Pei Yang massaged his daughter’s little foot, he called out to Shen Mingzhu, "Wife, Guoguo is hungry."

Shen Mingzhu turned to see her daughter crying loudly and hung up the phone as quickly as possible, bending down to pick up her child.

"Why is Guoguo wearing only one sock?"

Holding her daughter, Shen Mingzhu walked towards the bedroom while pinching her daughter’s tender little foot exposed to the air and asked.

Pei Yang scurried along behind the mother and daughter, "She kicked it off just now, and I haven’t had the chance to put it back on."

Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu didn’t pay it much mind.

With the heating on in the house during winter, there was no worry about her getting cold without socks.

On the other end of the line, Yan Yi stared at the landline phone, and a sneer appeared in his eyes as he thought of that word "wife" he heard right before the call ended.

...

After feeding her daughter enough milk in the morning, Shen Mingzhu planned to pump some milk to store in the fridge as usual, but found that she couldn’t pump out as much as before.

"It seems like my milk supply has decreased."

During breakfast, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but share her worries with Pei Yang.

Pei Yang teased her with a smile, "Is it possible that our Guoguo’s appetite has grown? She’s eating as much in one meal as she used to in two or three, so of course you have no milk left to pump."

That was true.

Guoguo weighed just over five pounds at birth, but now she was eleven or twelve pounds.

Pei Yang said, "Looking at the days, it’s about time to start feeding her formula. I’ll go to the mall and buy a couple of cans after breakfast."

Shen Mingzhu said, "I’ll go with you."

Choosing a child’s formula is a big deal. If you’re not careful and buy counterfeit or toxic formula, it can affect the child’s whole life.

She must personally oversee this.

After buying the formula, the couple also took the opportunity to pick up some winter clothes for their family and elders.

Like most breastfed babies, Little Guoguo was not happy with the transition from breast milk to formula. She sulked with her mouth puckered, crying so much her little face turned red, but she refused to open her mouth.

Shen Mingzhu tried many ways, like changing brands of formula, bottle nipples, softening the nipples with hot water, and mixing breast milk into the formula.

After much ado, Little Guoguo finally started on formula.

Little Guoguo adapted quite well to formula, and after two or three days, she no longer needed to be breastfed during the day. As long as she was fed enough before bedtime, she could sleep through the night.

This undoubtedly lessened Shen Mingzhu’s burden significantly. She no longer had to breastfeed and pump before going to work or rush home after work in a hurry.

Once life became easier, she moved the outing she’d planned with Zhong Qing up her schedule.

Previously, Zhong Qing had won a bet against Ning Yuan and earned the right to use Ning Yuan’s new sports car for a day. Zhong Qing had been planning to go out for a spin and relax with her.

But she couldn’t bear to leave her daughter behind, so it hadn’t happened yet.

...

Early in the morning, after pumping the breast milk for her daughter’s night feeding and storing it in the fridge, Shen Mingzhu started to change her clothes and do her makeup.

Pei Yang had breakfast and was ready to leave for work. Watching her apply eyebrow pencil in front of the mirror, he said with a sour tone, "I don’t see you getting dolled up at home, but the moment you go out, you have to make yourself up like a little fairy."

Shen Mingzhu replied offhandedly, "I don’t have time for that, and besides, who would I dress up for at home?"

"For me, of course."

"You’ve seen everything about me already."

"But I want to see you looking like a fairy."

```

"You’re the enchantress," Shen Mingzhu spat.

Pei Yang walked up beside her, staring intently at her reflection in the mirror, "Are you going out with Zhong Qing?"

"Yeah."

"When will you be back?"

"Tomorrow afternoon, I guess. It’s the same place we went with my elder sister and them for a hot spring getaway the year before last. I heard they’ve developed it and built a new Hot Spring Villa. I’m going to try it out first, and if it’s good, we’ll go there to have fun next year."

After finishing her words, Shen Mingzhu turned her head to face him, "Do I look good?"

"Not good-looking," Pei Yang responded insincerely.

Shen Mingzhu rolled her eyes at him, "You should go to work. I need to get ready to leave, too."

Pei Yang looked at her getting dressed with the petulance of a resentful woman, "Can’t you take me with you?"

"We’re having a girls’ trip, no men allowed."

"What if you run into danger or bad guys without me by your side?"

Shen Mingzhu frowned, "Can’t you say something more auspicious?"

Pei Yang slapped his mouth lightly, "I’m sorry, I’m just worried about you."

Shen Mingzhu swiftly tied her scarf, "Just take good care of our son and Guoguo, I’ll be careful on my own."

A roar of a sports car engine grew louder as it approached.

When she stepped outside, there was Ning Yuan’s red Lamborghini.

"Qingqing!"

Shen Mingzhu waved excitedly at Zhong Qing, who was stepping out of the driver’s seat.

Perhaps for driving convenience, today Zhong Qing was dressed sharply: a black leather jacket with a fur collar, a wide belt cinched at the waist, tight pants, knee-high boots, and her hair tied up in a high ponytail at the back of her head.

She exuded the cool, alluring air of a female special agent.

Zhong Qing helped her with her belongings and, with a bright smile to Pei Yang who was at the doorway seeing them off, she said, "I’m borrowing Mingzhu for the day, she’ll be returned to you unharmed tomorrow."

"Have fun," Pei Yang responded, managing to appear generous in front of others.

Shen Mingzhu walked over and stood on tiptoes to plant a kiss on the man’s lips, "I’m off."

"Mm."

...

In the sports car, Shen Mingzhu admired the streets for a while, then turned to Zhong Qing, "It’s still early; let’s go somewhere else first."

"Sure, where do you want to go?"

"12 Fengtian Street."

Zhong Qing momentarily raised an eyebrow in surprise but quickly smiled.

The red sports car soon came to a halt in front of 12 Fengtian Street, before the Zhuang Family’s grand gates.

"Ou Liya, someone’s outside for you."

When Ou Liya was a family tutor for the Zhuang Family, the nannies and servants would respectfully address her as Teacher Ou.

Now, having accrued a massive debt over a broken vase and demoted to Zhuang Xu’s nanny, and disliked by Zhuang Xueqi, the attitude of the nannies and servants towards Ou Liya had also turned sour.

As she stepped out of the Zhuang Family’s gate, Ou Liya’s gaze was immediately drawn to the red sports car across the street.

She recognized it as the vehicle of Ning Yuan, Xueqi’s fiancé.

Looking around and seeing no one else, a thought popped into Ou Liya’s head.

Could it be Ning Yuan who was looking for her?

She had heard that Ning Yuan was quite a playboy and had a rocky relationship with Xueqi.

"Beep beep."

Just then, the red sports car honked twice, seemingly signaling her to come over.

Ou Liya’s heart pounded violently.

With a mix of anxiety and excitement, she walked towards the sports car, but just as she was about to knock on the window, the passenger door on the other side suddenly opened.

Seeing Shen Mingzhu getting out of the car, Ou Liya’s expression almost cracked.

"Why is it you?!"

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