The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 535 - 534: Unexpected Encounter with Yang Lizhen

Chapter 535: Chapter 534: Unexpected Encounter with Yang Lizhen

After dinner, Yan Yi parted with Meiqian outside the restaurant, drove back to his office at the school, picked up the mooncake from the coffee table, and then returned to his personal work studio.

The studio was not far from his apartment, a somewhat aged two-story mansion.

The first floor was a reception hall, and the second floor housed his personal office area, as well as several independent counseling rooms.

The counseling rooms were equipped with beds so patients could rest for a while after their consultations.

Under the watchful eyes and greetings of the employees on the first floor, Yan Yi slowly made his way upstairs.

After entering his office, he looked around and then walked up to the bookshelf, removed the antique vase that was originally there, and placed the mooncake on it.

Stepping back a few paces to look, he called his assistant with satisfaction, "Put this away."

Assistant Xiao Zhang instinctively glanced at the mooncake that had replaced the vase and left, holding the vase.

"Doctor Yan has always liked this ornament, why suddenly ask to put it away?"

At the reception desk on the first floor, the receptionist helped Zhang Zhong wrap the ornament in velvet cloth and placed it inside a wooden box.

Zhang Zhong chuckled, "He has other favorites now."

"Is there a treasure more valuable than this?"

The antique vase was a Xuande Period Chrysanthemum Petal Plate, worth millions, so much so that every time they cleaned Yan Yi’s office, they were exceptionally careful, fearing they might knock and shatter the bowl.

"I don’t know, it looks like a box of mooncakes to me."

His tone carried a hint of uncertainty, after all, who would place a box of mooncakes in the most prominent position in their office?

"Maybe there is something important inside the mooncake box."

That was the only explanation.

The receptionist thought so too and couldn’t help but glance several times at the mooncake on the curio stand later when bringing tea to Yan Yi, curious about what was inside.

Not only the studio’s employees were curious, but also the customers who came for psychological counseling.

"Doctor Yan, this is a Ronghua mooncake, you’re displaying it here, does it have some special meaning?"

Yan Yi pondered for a moment and replied, "Consider it a reward for myself."

She donated mooncakes to the public security officers, not only because of her kind nature but partly to thank the police for eliminating Hong Tai.

Rounded up, it was also her thanks to him.

With this box of mooncakes, his hard work was worth it.

Out of trust in Yan Yi, many customers switched from their usual mooncake brands to Ronghua.

Unintentionally, this also brought some sales to Shen Mingzhu.

However, Shen Mingzhu was unaware of this, as she was busy with the opening of Shenji.

After thorough inquiries by Old Zhu, confirming that the couple from Shengli Seafood Store were honest and trustworthy businesspeople, Shen Mingzhu decided to cooperate with them.

Having settled the cooperation, Shen Mingzhu drove to check on the construction at the store.

With roadwork outside Tianxiangyin Store making it impossible to park, Shen Mingzhu parked her car on the neighboring street, got out, and walked to the store with Shen Hongmei.

As they walked, they discussed candidates for the new assistant.

Pei Qiuxia had been doing well as a cashier, and Shen Mingzhu planned to officially transfer her to the finance department and find someone new to take over Pei Qiuxia’s previous assistant duties.

The work of an assistant wasn’t difficult, but the person by her side needed absolute loyalty.

Shen Mingzhu had her eye on two candidates from the office and had been secretly assessing them for a while.

"In terms of work ability, Wen Xiaoqin stands out more, bold yet attentive, and she has her own ideas and judgement in her work. Huang Ju is more subdued and introverted, not much of a social butterfly, but she completes whatever she is assigned to do, rarely gossiping, quietly going about her business."

Shen Mingzhu nodded, "Then which of the two do you think is more suitable to take over Qiuxia’s job?"

Shen Hongmei said, "I personally prefer Huang Ju, it’s better to have someone tight-lipped by your side."

Another point was that Wen Xiaoqin was beautiful and had an assertive personality, clearly an ambitious woman.

Shen Hongmei was worried that such a person, following Shen Mingzhu every day, might set her sights on Pei Yang—what then?

Shen Mingzhu was unaware of Shen Hongmei’s thoughts, but she agreed with Shen Hongmei’s selection criteria.

Indeed, she needed someone tight-lipped by her side. As for work capability, that could be cultivated later on.

"Then go back and arrange it, have Qiuxia take Huang Ju under her wing for a period of time. If she does well, formally transfer her to my side," she said.

"Okay," Shen Hongmei replied.

As they approached Shenji, a mother and son came walking towards them.

Shen Mingzhu was preoccupied and didn’t pay much attention to the newcomers until they greeted her—

"Shen Mingzhu."

Shen Mingzhu looked at the other party, feeling a sense of familiarity, but couldn’t quite place her.

Yang Lizhen stroked her hair, "What, don’t recognize me anymore?"

Only then did Shen Mingzhu recognize Yang Lizhen and couldn’t help but take a good look at her.

Her hair was permed, her lips were colored with mood lipstick, her eyebrows tattooed dark and long, and she wore blue eyeshadow—if she hadn’t greeted her, Shen Mingzhu would definitely not have recognized her.

Beyond the change in makeup, Yang Lizhen’s attire was also much more fashionable than before.

A fitted square-neck blouse paired with a slit skirt, and wedge leather shoes on her feet.

Most striking of all was the shiny gold necklace around her neck.

Noticing Shen Mingzhu’s gaze, Yang Lizhen instinctively straightened her back, perhaps trying to convey:

Look, even without the Shen Family, I still got to wear a gold necklace.

Shen Mingzhu wasn’t interested in dealing with Yang Lizhen, but she was curious about the little boy Yang Lizhen was holding.

He looked to be about six or seven years old, fair and clean—an obvious city child.

Yang Lizhen was quite forthright, "This is my stepson."

Shen Hongmei was surprised, "You got remarried? When did this happen?"

"You’d do better to worry about yourself than to concern yourself with me," Yang Lizhen retorted.

To Yang Lizhen, Shen Hongmei was just jealous of her.

Shen Hongmei was around the same age as her, yet while she had remarried, Shen Hongmei hadn’t even had her first marriage.

Shen Hongmei rolled her eyes at her, "Who’s concerned about you? I’m just curious about which man had such poor taste to choose you for a cunning daughter-in-law."

Yang Lizhen’s complexion darkened slightly before she quickly shifted the focus onto Shen Mingzhu.

"Shen Mingzhu, you and Shen Hongmei are good sisters, aren’t you? While you have a happy family, how come you haven’t thought about finding a man for Shen Hongmei too?" she asked.

"Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn’t instigated my divorce from Shen Xiangnan, I would never have met my current husband and moved to the city to live the good life."

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "Since it’s a good life, cherish it and don’t repeat your past—being lazy, using your in-laws’ property to help your family, and always eyeing your sister-in-law’s money. If you get divorced again, you might find it hard to remarry."

"You!"

Yang Lizhen’s face contorted with anger.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t take the encounter with Yang Lizhen to heart, but Shen Hongmei couldn’t let it go. That afternoon, she gathered information about Yang Lizhen from relatives back home.

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