The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 327 - 326 Venting Out

Chapter 327: Chapter 326 Venting Out

Seeing the shock and disbelief on Ou Liya’s face, Shen Mingzhu couldn’t help but secretly amuse herself, "Who else did you think it was?"

Ou Liya’s expression turned cold, "Shen Mingzhu, what do you want with me?"

Shen Mingzhu raised an eyebrow, "I’m quite busy, and I didn’t want to see you. After you left school, we should have gone our separate ways. To be honest, I can’t understand – do we really have such a deep-seated hatred between us? Is it worth slandering me in front of others after all this time?"

"I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you don’t have anything else, I’m going inside."

Ou Liya wanted to avoid the confrontation with a guilty conscience, but Shen Mingzhu wasn’t about to let her walk away just like that.

"Miss Zhuang came to my shop the other day and told me everything you did in great detail."

Ou Liya froze, her face a mix of shock and confusion.

She was surprised that Zhuang Xueqi had indeed gone to see Shen Mingzhu, and puzzled about what sort of relationship Zhuang Xueqi had with Shen Mingzhu to personally inform her about such matters.

Could it be that Shen Mingzhu and Zhuang Xueqi are friends?

The fact that Zhuang Xueqi not only didn’t believe her but also gave her a severe lesson made sense now.

Ou Liya was annoyed with herself for having acted rashly without gathering enough information and ended up causing more trouble than she had intended to handle, yet she refused to admit defeat.

"Stop pretending, Shen Mingzhu. If you weren’t intimately close with Young Master Ning, would he bother to patronize your new store and take the trouble to come looking for me with you?"

"You didn’t come earlier, nor later, but waited until Zhuang Xueqi went back to her hometown for the ancestral worship before you dared to show off to me. If that’s not being guilty, what is?"

Shen Mingzhu was surprised, "You think the person in the car was Young Master Ning?"

Ou Liya glanced at the sports car behind Shen Mingzhu, "It’s well known that Young Master Ning cherishes his car and never lets others drive it. If you’re so capable, have the driver come out, if it’s not him, I’ll apologize to you."

"Alright then."

Shen Mingzhu knocked on the car window, and shortly after, the driver’s door was pushed open.

Ou Liya was stunned when she saw it was Zhong Qing, not Ning Yuan, getting out of the car.

"Let me formally introduce you, this is my best friend, Zhong Qing, Young Master Ning’s aunt through marriage, and of course, also Zhuang Xueqi’s aunt."

Upon learning Zhong Qing’s identity, Ou Liya’s face turned as ugly as if she had eaten shit.

She finally understood why Zhuang Xueqi hadn’t believed her instigating.

"Apologize now."

She might as well apologize, it was just saying a couple of words, there was no loss to her.

Ou Liya took a deep breath, and quickly blurted out an "I’m sorry," then turned around to leave.

"Wait."

Shen Mingzhu called out to her with a smile that was not quite a smile, "A mere verbal apology doesn’t seem very sincere."

Ou Liya turned to look back, her face displaying her annoyance, "What on earth do you want?"

"Miss Ou, when students at school make mistakes, you usually require them to write a self-criticism. My request is very simple, write a one-thousand-word self-criticism for me, and we’ll call it even."

"In your dreams."

Shen Mingzhu shrugged, her smile bright, "Working as a private tutor for the Zhuang Family should be more lucrative than your position at the school, I guess. You probably don’t want to lose that job."

Ou Liya became furiously embarrassed, "Shen Mingzhu, are you threatening me?"

"Take it however you want, but until I get the one-thousand-word self-criticism, this isn’t over."

Ou Liya clenched her teeth, quickly weighing the pros and cons in her mind.

Even though she had to endure Zhuang Xu’s mischief and the humiliation from the Zhuang Family’s servants every day, this was her only way to pay off her debts.

She didn’t think that she would be let off the hook with her debt to the Zhuang Family if she were to be dismissed.

Working as a family tutor for the Zhuang Family, after all, seemed quite respectable in the eyes of outsiders and friends.

Upon considering this, Ou Liya had no choice but to compromise.

Shen Mingzhu took the self-criticism letter written by Ou Liya and, after reading it carefully, asked Ou Liya to sign her name at the end.

"Shen Mingzhu, don’t go too far!"

Shen Mingzhu scoffed with laughter, "Compared to you slandering my reputation, is making you apologize really too much?"

Zhong Qing spoke up at the right moment, "Hurry up, we have other things to do. Or should I call Xueqi for you?"

Facing Zhong Qing’s pressure, Ou Liya had no choice but to sign her name at the end of the self-criticism letter.

Shen Mingzhu, satisfied, put away the letter and calmly warned Ou Liya, "I hope you take this as a warning. If you dare to provoke me again, I guarantee that this handwritten letter will be copied many times and distributed to all your relatives and friends."

"If you don’t want social death, behave yourself."

Having dropped the harsh words, Shen Mingzhu turned and got into the car.

Zhong Qing quietly looked at Ou Liya, her gentle voice like a blade that could slice through skin, "Don’t pick on my friend again, or if I start picking on you, you won’t be able to handle it."

Watching the red sports car disappear ahead, Ou Liya finally realized the grave mistake she had made.

If she had known earlier that Shen Mingzhu had such powerful friends by her side, she would have tried to befriend Shen Mingzhu from the start. Using Shen Mingzhu as a stepping stone to befriend aristocrats like Zhong Qing was the path she should have taken.

One wrong step led to many more.

...

"Happy now?"

In the car, Zhong Qing asked with a smile while driving.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t hide her emotions, her face showing satisfaction, "I’ve finally vented my anger."

Zhong Qing freed one hand to pat Shen Mingzhu’s head, teasing, "You do have a face that seems easy to bully."

Watching Zhong Qing drive with one hand, Shen Mingzhu’s heart instinctively tightened.

"Qingqing, drive carefully, stop playing around."

Zhong Qing laughed and withdrew her hand, "What’s the matter, afraid I’ll wreck you?"

"I’m afraid you’ll wreck the car, it’s so expensive."

Zhong Qing playfully said, "Anyway, it’s not our car. If it gets wrecked, so be it. The Ning Family has plenty of money."

True that.

They soon arrived at the Hot Spring Villa.

After parking the car, the two first went to check the rooms with their keys.

Zhong Qing had booked a traditional Chinese style private courtyard. Entering the door was the living room, with a guest room on each side, and in the backyard was a hot spring pool of not more than twenty square meters, surrounded by high walls offering excellent privacy.

Each guest room had a small terrace leading to a floating bridge, which one could step on to directly enter the hot spring pool.

By the time Shen Mingzhu had finished touring the courtyard, Zhong Qing had already changed into warm and comfortable clothes.

The mountain was much colder than the city, and Shen Mingzhu had to wear a cotton coat over her coat to keep warm.

After having lunch at the villa’s restaurant and not wanting to wander outside because of the cold, they took a brief walk around the villa before quickly returning to their courtyard.

The courtyard was heated with floor heating; the warmth greeted them as they entered.

After drinking some wild chrysanthemum tea provided by the villa for a while, the two undressed and soaked in the hot spring pool.

Submersing their whole bodies into the hot water, every pore seemed to open up, and the fatigue was swept away by the warmth.

"This is really comfortable."

Hearing her sigh, Zhong Qing’s face revealed a smile.

Shen Mingzhu’s gaze fell on the left side of Zhong Qing’s chest. The mist in the pool was too thick, and she could not see clearly, but she thought it looked like a bite mark.

How perverse, Yan Yi?

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