The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 330 - 329: Pampering the Son

Chapter 330: Chapter 329: Pampering the Son

"Guoguo, Mama missed you so much, did you miss Mama?"

It was unclear whether it was because her nursing was interrupted or she smelled her mother’s scent; Little Guoguo stared blankly at Shen Mingzhu for a few seconds before bursting into a loud wail.

"Don’t cry, let’s continue eating until you’re full."

Her pacifier was pushed back in but was forcefully spat out by Little Guoguo, probably showing her little temper.

Shen Mingzhu had to stand up and hold her daughter, walking in circles in the living room, while humming a lullaby.

After a good while, Little Guoguo finally stopped crying, and continued clutching her bottle, trying hard to suckle.

Shen Mingzhu looked at her daughter’s pink and white little face with satisfaction, feeling that she could never get enough, and when she looked up, she saw Pei Ziheng sitting quietly beside her, his dark eyes fixedly watching her.

Shen Mingzhu suddenly realized that she had been so focused on comforting her daughter that she had neglected her son.

"Son, come here."

When Pei Ziheng came closer, Shen Mingzhu pulled him to the sofa to sit tightly next to her and asked gently about the last couple of days at home and how Guoguo was doing.

Pei Ziheng answered earnestly, one by one.

Although his face remained calm, Shen Mingzhu could feel that his mood wasn’t very high.

After Guoguo had eaten her fill, Shen Mingzhu handed her over to Aunt Yu to burp, and she then took Pei Ziheng beside her into her arms and said gently, "Son, Mama inadvertently neglected you just now, can you forgive Mama?"

She could distinctly feel that after she spoke these words, Pei Ziheng’s previously tensed body softened in her embrace.

"Mama, I’m not mad at you."

Little liar.

Shen Mingzhu pretended to know nothing and let go of him, her eyes beaming as she praised, "My son really is magnanimous. However, Mama still wants to tell you that her love for you is no less than for Guoguo. It’s just that Guoguo is still little now, so she needs a bit more care so that she can grow up quickly."

"But you are very important in Mama’s heart. If there’s anything making you unhappy, you must tell Mama, okay? Only if you tell me can I know what needs to be improved, and then I can correct it."

Pei Ziheng looked up with his snow-white, delicate face, his dark eyes shimmering like scattered stars, "Mama, you are doing great, you are the best Mama in the world."

"And my Ziheng is the best son in the world."

Pei Ziheng let her hold him obediently.

Actually, he had been feeling unhappy and disappointed just before.

As soon as Mama got home, she was all about his little sister, and after washing her hands, she picked up his sister first without greeting him like she used to.

He felt that Mama seemed to care about him less than before.

But now, his feeling of loss and unhappiness had been completely soothed.

Because he knew he was in Mama’s heart, and she loved him just the same as before.

Aunt Yu, who was playing with Little Guoguo between the dining room and the living room, admired the affection between mother and son as she watched, a look of admiration on her face.

In her years as a nanny, she had served three different stepmothers, with Shen Mingzhu being the third.

The first two stepmothers, although they couldn’t be faulted in their treatment of their stepson on the surface, lacked genuine affection; it was all for show.

Only Shen Mingzhu truly doted on her stepson as if he were her biological child, loving him and not willing to let him suffer the slightest grievance.

"Mama, I came first in this term’s final exams."

Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu feigned surprise, "Really? Son, you’re amazing!"

In reality, Shen Mingzhu had already called his teacher beforehand and knew that Pei Ziheng had been selected as one of his class’s top students and that he had been nominated by the school to compete for a district-level honor.

Being selected for the district-level honor meant there was a chance to compete for the city-level honor the following year.

For a primary school student, this was an unparalleled glory and achievement.

Shen Mingzhu had initially been worried about her son skipping a grade, thinking it might be too much, too soon. But looking at the score report with perfect grades in two subjects and the shiny yellow certificate, all her concerns dissipated.

She found glue in the house and pasted the merit certificate on the wall of the living room, alongside Pei Ziheng’s previously won certificates.

Pei Ziheng looked up at her, pasting the certificate, with happiness and contentment on his little face.

Once the certificate was in place, Shen Mingzhu looked down, ready to step off the stool, but saw Pei Ziheng tiptoeing, reaching out his hands to help her.

Who’s the sweet little warm man at someone’s home?

Oh, it’s hers.

Shen Mingzhu held Pei Ziheng’s tender little hand, stood up steadily, looked up to admire the certificate on the wall for a while, and then bent down to ask Pei Ziheng what reward he wanted.

Pei Ziheng thought for a bit and answered that he wanted a bicycle.

Shen Mingzhu promptly agreed, "Once your dad gets off work, we’ll go buy it."

Shen Mingzhu had it in mind that when Pei Yang finished work, the two of them would take their son to buy the bicycle, and they’d have Aunt Yu look after the house and Guoguo.

But it seemed luck was not on their side as heavy snow began to fall by evening. Worrying that it would be difficult for Aunt Yu to get home in the snow, Shen Mingzhu let her off work early.

"Son, I’m sorry, but with the snow, how about we wait until it stops to go buy the bicycle?"

"Mom, it’s okay, we can buy it next spring too."

"Thank you for understanding, son. To make it up to you, I will personally cook your favorite dish tonight. What would you like to eat?"

Without hesitation, Pei Ziheng asked for sweet and sour pork, prompting Shen Mingzhu to tease him, "You’ve had it so many times, aren’t you sick of it?"

"I could never get sick of the sweet and sour pork Mom makes, not in a lifetime!"

Shen Mingzhu covered her cheek, letting out a soft hiss.

Seeing this, Pei Ziheng’s face instantly filled with concern, "Mom, what’s wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

"Your words are too sweet; they’re giving me cavities."

"Yi ya~"

Little Guoguo, held in Shen Mingzhu’s arms, gazed with her big grape-like eyes, seemingly curious about the fun game mother and son were playing.

Shen Mingzhu lowered her head to nibble on her daughter’s soft face, then handed her over to her son to watch, and went off to cook dinner.

She looked over the vegetables in the basket and the contents of the fridge, quickly planning the dinner menu in her mind.

Perhaps due to the snowy roads, Pei Yang arrived home only after it had become completely dark.

As soon as he arrived, he slipped into the kitchen to be affectionate with her, "I’ve finally come back, I missed you to death."

As he moved to kiss Shen Mingzhu’s face, she pushed him away ruthlessly, "Stop it, I’m cooking. Go look after Guoguo; she’s getting heavier, and Ziheng probably can’t hold her."

"Just one kiss, and then I’ll go," he bargained.

Unable to resist his pestering, Shen Mingzhu turned her head for a quick peck but found herself caught in a French kiss by Pei Yang, lasting until the smell of burning meat brought them back to reality.

Besides the sweet and sour pork her son loved, Shen Mingzhu also made ribs with potatoes, Pei Yang’s favorite, and added a pot of Cantonese cured meat clay pot rice.

The cured meat was homemade, the pork bought from rural farms, and seasoned with a secret sauce to create a flavor that was absolutely divine.

Shen Mingzhu rarely cooked, so father and son both ate until they were round-bellied.

After dinner, Pei Yang was in charge of washing and cleaning the pots, while Shen Mingzhu went upstairs to the baby room with her son and Guoguo.

Little Guoguo sat on the carpeted floor, looking around curiously at this and that.

Shen Mingzhu and Pei Ziheng were sitting cross-legged, folding paper cranes.

While her mother and brother were not paying attention, Little Guoguo reached into the basket full of paper cranes and tried to stuff one into her mouth.

Pei Ziheng immediately retrieved the paper crane.

"You can’t eat this; it will upset your stomach."

Guoguo didn’t care about that, feeling unhappy about not getting the paper crane, she was on the edge of crying.

Before she could make a sound, Ziheng lifted her onto his lap and took out another sheet of paper to continue folding cranes.

Oh, this is interesting.

Little Guoguo was captivated by her brother’s movements and soon forgot her tears.

After tidying up, Pei Yang also came upstairs, joining the mother and children in folding paper cranes.

"My sister called today. She said the verdict for Wang Hongcheng has been announced."